About KIVI ABC6

The station debuted on February 1, 1974, with the call letters KITC (for "Idaho Television Company," the station's initial owner), and was Boise's third commercial station. It began with an analog feed on VHF channel 6 and quickly became affiliated with ABC. Prior to the station's inception, the network was split between CBS affiliate KBOI-TV (channel 2) and NBC station KTVB (channel 7), with off-hours ABC programming aired on both. Although Boise had become large enough to sustain three full network affiliates since the 1950s, the complexity of establishing a translator network to cover this wide and mountainous region deterred many prospective owners until the late 1960s.

KITC's call letters were changed to KIVI-TV for the first time in 1975, but the -TV suffix was dropped in 1998. In 1977, Idaho Television Company sold KIVI and its sister station, KPVI in Pocatello, to Futura Titanium Corporation. Futura, in turn, sold the station to the Evening Post Publishing Company in 1981, and the Evening Post signed a contract in 2001 to sell the station to Milwaukee-based Journal Communications, which closed in 2002.

Through its status as a full-power satellite of KPVI in Pocatello, KKVI in Twin Falls was the Magic Valley's initial ABC affiliate. The main station changed its allegiance to NBC in January 1996. Because the network was already available in Twin Falls via KTVB's low-powered semi-satellite KTFT-LP, KKVI became the area's first full-time Fox affiliate as KXTF. Fox has previously been shown on that channel during off-hours in a secondary capacity. Due to network modifications in Twin Falls, the owner of KIVI acquired K68CO and converted it into a low-powered semi-satellite known as KSAW-LP.

Banks Broadcasting decided to sell KNIN to Journal Communications (owner of KIVI) on July 1, 2008, creating Boise's first television duopoly. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) first denied the application on November 10. Banks Broadcasting promptly filed an appeal. On January 16, 2009, the FCC changed its decision to reject the agreement. KNIN abandoned its long-time studios on West Bannock Street in downtown Boise on April 24, and was absorbed into KIVI's facilities in Nampa.

E. W. Scripps Company announced on July 30, 2014, that it will buy Journal Communications in an all-stock deal. The merged company kept the television assets but split off the print assets as Journal Media Group. KIVI-TV, KNIN-TV, and five radio stations were initially excluded from the merger; but, in September, Journal filed a petition to transfer these stations to the Journal/Scripps Divestiture Trust (with Kiel Media Group as trustee). On April 1, 2015, the transaction was finalized. Scripps kept KIVI and the other five radio stations but not KNIN. KIVI, on the other hand, is still providing services and facilities to KNIN, which was sold to Raycom Media and is currently owned by Gray Television.