The station was founded in 1956 as KVIP-TV by William B. Smullin of California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. (COBI), owners of KOBI in Medford, Oregon and KOTI Klamath Falls, Oregon as a primary NBC affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation.
It changed from primary NBC affiliation to a full-time ABC affiliation in 1978, which in turn started the seven-year process for building KCPM (now KNVN).