5 p.m. debut, which meant viewers did not get to see the station launch until 10:10 p.m. that evening; its first full day of programming would start a day later on July 5. Like other independent stations in the United States, KTRG aired reruns of off-network and first-run syndicated programs (such as Jeff's Collie, The Texan, Riverboat, Leave It to Beaver and Supercar), as well as producing local shows like The Gripe Box (a talk show), Wally & Harvey (which featured Little Rascals shorts), and a local version of Romper Room, the latter later moving to KHON in 1966. It also aired movies nightly from 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., along with hourly news updates. By 1963, KTRG began adding Japanese-language programming. The station came under new ownership on January 15, 1966. In 1967, KTRG changed its call letters to KIKU and began broadcasting from a new studio facility on Puuhale Road; at this point, the station began offering English programming from 1 to 5 and 10 to 11 p.m., with Japanese programming from 5 to 10 p.m. By 1972, KIKU carried Japanese programming for nearly the entire broadcast day. Its schedule included several tokusatsu series aimed at children (such as Kamen Rider V3, Rainbowman, Ganbare!! Robocon and Battle Fever J). Mid-Pacific Television Associates, owned by the Cushman family of San Diego in partnership with TV Asahi and ten local investors, bought the station on April 9, 1979. Beginning in 1980, it ran English programming (like Hour Magazine and The John Davidson Show), along with cartoons and old movies from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; this was followed by Japanese programming from 7 to 10 p.m. and English programming again from 10 p.m. until sign-off. In 1981, the station returned to being a full-time English language general entertainment station running a blend of cartoons, sitcoms, westerns, movies, and for a brief time, a local newscast. It also picked up ABC daytime shows that were preempted by KITV (channel 4). Japanese programming moved to various UHF stations in the market. In 1984, the station's callsign was changed to the current KHNL (the KIKU call letters now reside on an unrelated station on channel 20 in Honolulu), it then branded itself as the "News Alternative" and "Free Movie Channel"; the station also acquired the rights to broadcast University of Hawaii at Manoa sporting events. Fox affiliate In 1986, the station was acquired