KTVU

U.S. center

Background

KTVU signed on March 3, 1958, as an independent VHF station on Channel 2, founded by a group of local investors including former Don Lee Network and KFRC radio executives. In 1963, Cox Broadcasting (later Cox Media Group) purchased the station for $12.3 million and held it for 51 years, during which KTVU became one of the most-watched independent stations in the Western United States. In 1986, KTVU became a charter affiliate of the newly launched Fox network, though Cox retained ownership. Fox Television Stations acquired KTVU and sister station KICU-TV from Cox in a station swap in 2014, making it a Fox-owned-and-operated station. Despite the Fox corporate umbrella, KTVU maintains an editorially separate local newsroom and is rated near-center by Media Bias/Fact Check, distinguishing it clearly from the national Fox News Channel. The station serves a predominantly liberal Bay Area audience and has built its reputation largely on local news coverage. It drew national scrutiny in 2013 after broadcasting fabricated and racially mocking pilot names tied to the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash; KTVU later apologized and the NTSB acknowledged its role in the error.

Sources

1. KTVU – Wikipedia
2. KTVU Fox 2 – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
3. FOX to acquire San Francisco's KTVU from Cox Media – The Desk
4. Fox/Cox Swap Ends 51 Years of KTVU Ownership – Adweek
5. KTVU FOX 2 – Bias and Reliability – Biasly
6. The History of FOX — KTVU Channel 2 – Medium/StarTime

Profile compiled 2026-08-25; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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