KLAS

About KLAS

KLAS-TV, channel 8, is the CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Las Vegas, Nevada, and the oldest television station in the state. Branded on air as 8 News Now, it is owned by Nexstar Media Group, the largest owner of local television stations in the United States. Since signing on in July 1953, the station has been a CBS affiliate for its entire history, chronicling the transformation of Las Vegas from a desert gambling town into a major American metropolis. Its studios sit on Channel 8 Drive near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, and its transmitter atop Mount Arden in Henderson delivers the signal across the Las Vegas Valley and much of southern Nevada.

History: early years and the Greenspun era

KLAS-TV began broadcasting a test pattern on July 8, 1953, and went on the air on the evening of July 22, 1953, becoming the first television station to sign on in Nevada. It beat KOLO-TV in Reno to the air by two months and five days, giving Las Vegas an early claim on television history in the Silver State. The station was originally owned by Las Vegas Television Inc., run by Hank Greenspun, the owner of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper. Channel 8 has been a CBS affiliate from its first day on the air, though it also carried a secondary affiliation with ABC in its early years, sharing ABC programming with KLRJ, later KORK-TV (channel 3, now KSNV), from that station's sign-on in January 1955. The dual arrangement ended in May 1956, when KSHO-TV (channel 13, now KTNV-TV) debuted and took the ABC affiliation full time.

The Greenspun years established channel 8 as the dominant local voice in a fast-growing city. Las Vegas in the 1950s was expanding rapidly around casino development on the Strip and downtown, and the new station gave the community its first local television news, entertainment, and public affairs programming. Greenspun, a prominent Nevada publisher and political figure, used the station as an extension of his media interests, and KLAS-TV quickly became woven into the civic life of the valley.

The Howard Hughes and Landmark years

Greenspun sold the station to the Hughes Tool Company, the business empire of aviation magnate Howard Hughes, on March 30, 1968. According to longtime accounts of the deal, Hughes was reportedly dismayed that the station never played his favorite late-night movies, an eccentricity that fit the reclusive billionaire's legend in Las Vegas. After Hughes died in 1976, the station was held in an outside trust for two years until 1978, when it was sold to Norfolk, Virginia-based Landmark Communications. Landmark renamed itself Landmark Media Enterprises in September 2008.

Under Landmark, KLAS-TV invested steadily in technology. On April 16, 1996, it became the first commercial television station in Nevada, and one of the first in the United States, to carry a digital broadcast signal, launching the signal during that year's National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. A little more than four years later, on April 6, 2000, the first scheduled high-definition network broadcasts in Las Vegas began on the station's digital signal. For most of the Landmark era the station branded its newscasts as Eyewitness News, a name longtime viewers still remember.

Sale to Nexstar Media Group

On January 30, 2008, Landmark announced its intention to sell KLAS-TV along with its other television station, WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee. No suitable buyer for KLAS emerged, and Landmark took most of its properties off the market in October 2008 as the economic recession deepened. KLAS and WTVF remained under Landmark ownership for more than four years. On September 4, 2012, Journal Broadcast Group, the owner of rival ABC affiliate KTNV-TV, announced it would purchase WTVF for 215 million dollars, with the sale finalized that December. That left KLAS-TV as the only television station in Landmark's portfolio.

On November 21, 2014, Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced it would purchase KLAS-TV from Landmark Media Enterprises for 145 million dollars. The sale marked the end of 37 years of Landmark ownership and moved the station from private, family-linked ownership into a large publicly traded broadcast group. Longtime anchor Paula Francis, who had been with the station for 27 years, noted the emotional weight of the transition in a public message, while expressing confidence that the new owners would recognize what worked and improve where needed. Nexstar completed the acquisition in early 2015.

8 News Now: the news operation

KLAS-TV produces local newscasts under the 8 News Now brand across morning, midday, evening, and late-night dayparts, covering breaking news, politics, weather, and sports across the Las Vegas Valley. As a CBS affiliate, its local journalism sits alongside the CBS News national lineup, and the station has long positioned itself as the market's news leader, a heritage dating to its decades as Eyewitness News. The newsroom covers the distinctive beats of southern Nevada, from the casino and hospitality industry that drives the regional economy to state politics in Carson City, water issues on the Colorado River, and the rapid suburban growth of Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Summerlin.

The station's weather operation is a particular focus in a market where extreme heat, flash flooding, and high winds shape daily life. Its investigative unit has pursued accountability reporting on local government, law enforcement, and the gaming industry, continuing a tradition of watchdog journalism that stretches back through the station's ownership eras. The 8 News Now brand extends across the station's digital platforms, where streaming video and real-time updates supplement the broadcast schedule.

Programming

Beyond CBS network programming, KLAS-TV airs a lineup of syndicated talk, entertainment, and court shows in the hours around its newscasts, along with weekend sports and special event coverage. As the Las Vegas market's CBS affiliate, the station carries the network's signature sports properties, including NFL football, college basketball, and golf, programming that resonates strongly in a city that has become a major sports town with the arrival of the NHL's Golden Knights, the NFL's Raiders, and the WNBA's Aces. The station's digital subchannels carry additional multicast networks, extending its over-the-air offerings.

Technical information and coverage

KLAS-TV broadcasts digitally with its signal displayed to tuners on virtual channel 8. Its transmitter is located on Mount Arden in Henderson, a mountaintop site that gives the station broad coverage of the Las Vegas Valley and surrounding communities in Clark County and beyond. The station's over-the-air signal reaches viewers across southern Nevada, with cable, satellite, and streaming distribution extending its reach further. The station completed the federally mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting in 2009, building on its pioneering digital launch in 1996.

Studios and facilities

The station's studios are located on Channel 8 Drive near the northern portion of the Las Vegas Strip, in the unincorporated community of Winchester, though the facility carries a Las Vegas mailing address. The street itself takes its name from the station, a mark of how deeply the channel 8 identity is embedded in the local landscape. The facility houses the 8 News Now newsroom, production studios, and master control operations. In 2016 the station unveiled a refreshed on-air look with a new news studio and graphics package, part of an ongoing investment in its presentation under Nexstar ownership.

Notable on-air staff and alumni

KLAS-TV has been home to some of the most familiar faces in Las Vegas broadcasting. Longtime anchor Paula Francis spent 27 years at the station, becoming one of the market's most recognized journalists before the Nexstar transition. Over the decades the station's anchor desks and reporting staff have included veterans who defined local television news in southern Nevada, and its alumni have gone on to roles at stations and networks across the country. The continuity of its on-air team has been a point of pride for viewers, many of whom grew up watching the same anchors deliver the evening news.

Awards and recognition

The station's journalism has earned regional Emmy Awards, Edward R. Murrow Awards, and honors from the Nevada Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press over the years. Its investigative reporting and breaking-news coverage have repeatedly been recognized by industry peers, and the station's early adoption of digital and high-definition broadcasting drew national attention within the broadcast engineering community. As one of the heritage stations of the American West, KLAS-TV's seven decades of continuous operation stand as a record of endurance in a competitive and consolidating industry.

Community service and digital presence

KLAS-TV maintains an active community presence through partnerships with local charities, school programs, and civic initiatives across southern Nevada, along with annual drives and telethons supporting regional causes. Its digital home at 8newsnow.com carries breaking news, live streaming video, weather coverage, and investigative reporting, complemented by mobile apps and a strong social media presence. Under Nexstar ownership, the station has continued to expand its streaming and digital newsroom, serving an audience that increasingly watches local news on phones and connected televisions as well as over the air.