KIKU
KIKU (channel 20) is an independent television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, which primarily airs Japanese and Filipino programming. It is owned by Allen Media Group alongside ABC affiliate KITV (channel 4). The two stations share studios on South King Street in downtown Honolulu; KIKU's transmitter is located in Nānākuli.
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Sister stations | KITV |
| History | |
First air date | December 30, 1983 |
Former call signs | KHAI-TV (1983–1993) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 20 (UHF, 1983–2009) |
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Call sign meaning | "Kiku" is キク(菊), or Chrysanthemum in Japanese; former call letters of KHNL when it aired Japanese-language programming, 1967–1984 |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 34527 |
| ERP | 60.7 kW |
| HAAT | 606.4 m (1,990 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 21°23′40″N 158°5′51″W |
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Public license information | |
| Website | kitv |
Channel 20 in Honolulu went on air in December 1983 as KHAI-TV. Though built and originally owned by Tennessee-based Media Central, it has specialized in Asian programming for nearly its entire history. International Channel Network acquired KHAI-TV in 1989 as part of Media Central's bankruptcy. JN Productions took over operations in 1993 and changed the station's call sign to KIKU; its owner, Joanne Ninomiya, had been the general manager of channel 13 when that station was Japanese-language KIKU-TV. JN continued to supply Japanese-language programming for KIKU until 2004. UPN programming aired on channel 20 from 2004 to the network's closure in 2006. In addition, the station produced local programming, some of which was aimed at the Vietnamese and Filipino communities in Hawaii.
After passing through a number of owners including AsianMedia Group and NRJ TV, WRNN-TV Associates acquired the station in 2019. As part of a group affiliation agreement, KIKU converted to the home shopping network ShopHQ in June 2021, a switch met with outcry and dismay by Hawaii viewers. Allen Media Group acquired KIKU in 2022 and immediately restored its prior program format, augmented by English-language syndicated programs and local newscasts from KITV.