Channel 4 News (United States)
Encyclopedia
Channel 4 News is the name shared by various local newscasts
- primarily NBC
affiliates - throughout the United States
. The branding is a successor to the NewsCenter brand.
brand was discontinued on most NBC stations), the NewsCenter brand and program format for local newscasts was distributed among NBC-owned stations and affiliates as a response to the rising popularity of ABC and Westinghouse's Eyewitness News
and Capital Cities' Action News
brands/formats.
In 1982, WRC-TV
in Washington, D.C.
moved away from the NewsCenter branding, a move that other NBC stations mirrored in the subsequent years. By 1985, the Channel 4 News name had spread to KNBC
in Los Angeles, California
, and by the end of the decade, NBC-owned stations in Denver, Colorado
and Miami, Florida
were using the Channel 4 News name as well. KNBC, which previously used Ford News and Weather, KNBC News Service, NewsCenter 4, and News 4 L.A. as its newscast names, uses the Channel 4 News name to this day. WNBC
in New York City
, although it used the NewsCenter brand from 1974 to 1980, did not use the Channel 4 News brand, instead adopting its own brand, News 4 New York
, in 1980.
NBC stations and affiliates not on channel 4 also began using variations of the Channel 4 News name: WMAQ-TV
in Chicago, Illinois named its newscasts the Channel 5 News, and WGRZ-TV
in Buffalo, New York
, one of the last to adopt the phrase, uses Channel 2 News.
The newscast theme used on KNBC, WRC, and several other NBC affiliates with the Channel News branding was an updated version of composer Michael Randall's NewsCenter Theme. KNBC's current version of the NewsCenter Theme was composed by Groove Addicts, Inc.
News broadcasting
News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network...
- primarily NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliates - throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The branding is a successor to the NewsCenter brand.
History
Beginning circa 1974 (when the previous The Sixth/Eleventh HourThe Eleventh Hour (branding)
The Eleventh Hour and The Sixth Hour were brand names given to the eleven P.M. and six P.M. local newscasts on NBC owned-and-operated television stations from the mid-1960's until about 1974, when the NewsCenter branding began to be used...
brand was discontinued on most NBC stations), the NewsCenter brand and program format for local newscasts was distributed among NBC-owned stations and affiliates as a response to the rising popularity of ABC and Westinghouse's Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
and Capital Cities' Action News
Action News
Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
brands/formats.
In 1982, WRC-TV
WRC-TV
WRC-TV, channel 4, is an owned and operated television station of the NBC television network, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
moved away from the NewsCenter branding, a move that other NBC stations mirrored in the subsequent years. By 1985, the Channel 4 News name had spread to KNBC
KNBC
KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and by the end of the decade, NBC-owned stations in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
were using the Channel 4 News name as well. KNBC, which previously used Ford News and Weather, KNBC News Service, NewsCenter 4, and News 4 L.A. as its newscast names, uses the Channel 4 News name to this day. WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, although it used the NewsCenter brand from 1974 to 1980, did not use the Channel 4 News brand, instead adopting its own brand, News 4 New York
News 4 New York
News 4 New York is the brand identifier of WNBC-TV in New York City. It began using this for its news broadcasts in 1971 to 1972, again on October 13, 1980, and again in March 2008. Prior to this, WNBC used the NewsCenter 4 brand for their newscasts...
, in 1980.
NBC stations and affiliates not on channel 4 also began using variations of the Channel 4 News name: WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
in Chicago, Illinois named its newscasts the Channel 5 News, and WGRZ-TV
WGRZ-TV
WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, one of the last to adopt the phrase, uses Channel 2 News.
The newscast theme used on KNBC, WRC, and several other NBC affiliates with the Channel News branding was an updated version of composer Michael Randall's NewsCenter Theme. KNBC's current version of the NewsCenter Theme was composed by Groove Addicts, Inc.