KBTV-TV
Encyclopedia
KBTV-TV, channel 4, is the Fox affiliated television station serving the Beaumont
/Port Arthur, Texas
designated market area, and is licensed to Port Arthur. The station is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., and its studios are located at Parkdale Mall
in Beaumont. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40, using its former analog assignment of channel 4 as its virtual digital channel
via PSIP. It airs on channel 2 on cable systems in the immediate portion of the market. KBTV's high definition digital simulcast is now available on area cable systems and DirecTV
and Dish Network
.
KBTV is a typical Fox station with 26 hours a week of locally-produced newscasts, as well as first-run prime time, late night and sports programming from Fox. It also runs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows and court shows.
affiliate owned by Texas Gulfcoast Television, Inc., itself jointly owned by Port Arthur College, owner of KPAC radio (1250 AM, now KDEI
; and 98.5 FM, now KTJM
), and the Jefferson Amusement Company. Port Arthur College sold its stake in the station to the Jefferson Amusement Company in 1965; as Port Arthur College retained the radio stations, channel 4 changed its call letters to KJAC-TV.
The station was the first in the area to broadcast in color, use video tape, and air live coverage of area high school football games. Among the original programming that originated at KPAC/KJAC's studios were wrestling, the kid's western show Cowboy John, afternoon Bingo, and the Circle 4 Club. During the 1950s, KPAC also had the only local teen dance program, Jive At Five. Both The Cowboy John Show and Jive At Five had "colored days", in which African-Americans were permitted to participate.
Jefferson Entertainment Company sold KJAC to Clay Communications in 1973; Clay, in turn, sold its television stations to Price Communications in 1987. Price sold most of its television stations (except for WHTM-TV
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
) to USA Broadcast Group in 1995; USA soon renamed itself U.S. Broadcast Group after a complaint from USA Network
.
Nexstar Broadcasting purchased KJAC from U.S. Broadcast Group in 1998. The following year, the station took its present KBTV-TV callsign to align itself more with Beaumont, even though it is still licensed to Port Arthur. The call letters had previously been used by channel 9 in Denver, Colorado
(now KUSA) and channel 8 in Dallas (now WFAA). KBTV-TV also shares its call letters with KBTV-CA
channel 8 in Sacramento, California
. To go along with the call change, KBTV moved from its Port Arthur studios to its current studios inside Parkdale Mall in Beaumont. The station is one of the few television stations in the country to have studios located inside a major shopping center.
In October 2008, Nexstar reached an agreement with Fox
in which KBTV would become the new Fox affiliate for the Beaumont market. The move was made because Nexstar wanted to increase KBTV's news output. The affiliation switch took effect on January 1, 2009, when KBTV dropped its 51-year affiliation with NBC and joined Fox that same day. This caused a shakeup in the market as NBC went to a digital subchannel
of ABC
affiliate KBMT
, while KUIL-LP, which lost Fox, went independent at that time. The now-KUIL-LD has since become operated by KBMT and affiliated with MyNetworkTV
.
Technically, KBTV is the third Fox affiliate to serve the area, as KVHP
in Lake Charles
served as the default Fox affiliate for the Beaumont/Port Arthur market until 2003, when KUIL was launched. It is also the fourth station in Texas to switch to Fox from a Big Three affiliation, as KLMG-TV in Longview
switched from CBS to Fox in April 1991 (changing its call letters to KFXK), and KDFW-TV
in Dallas and KTBC-TV
in Austin both switched from CBS to Fox on July 1, 1995 as a result of the Fox/New World
affiliation deal
.
On February 2, 2009 at 2 p.m., a fire destroyed KBTV's old studios in Port Arthur at 2900 17th Street. Originally the station's home from its 1957 sign-on until 1999, the building primarily served after the move as a storage facility, though the station's doppler weather radar was still based there. The building was demolished a few months later.
After KBTV affiliated with Fox, news was expanded from 1½ to three hours on weekday mornings, and the half-hour 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts were cancelled and replaced with an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast (other stations that have switched to Fox from a Big Three affiliation typically expand their early evening 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts to one hour to 1½ hours by adding an extra half-hour to fill the gap from Fox's lack of a national evening newscast). KBTV is also one of (at least) six Fox affiliate stations that carries a 4 p.m. newscast (along with WSVN
in Miami
, WTIC-TV
in Hartford, Connecticut
, KPTV
in Portland, Oregon
, WXIN
in Indianapolis, Indiana
and WDRB
in Louisville, Kentucky
). It also discontinued its 10 p.m. newscast, and moved it to 9 p.m. (and expanding it to one hour on weeknights), although some Fox affiliates in other markets maintain newscasts at both 9 and 10 p.m. KBTV has the distinction of being one of the smallest, if not the smallest Fox affiliate (in terms of market size) to carry late afternoon newscasts. In September 2009, KBTV expanded its morning newscast to three hours from 6-9 a.m.
Fox 4 Weather Authority
Sports team
Reporters
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
/Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
designated market area, and is licensed to Port Arthur. The station is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., and its studios are located at Parkdale Mall
Parkdale Mall
Parkdale Mall is a mall located in Beaumont, Texas that opened in 1973 . The owner of Parkdale Mall is CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. The mall's anchor stores include Bealls, JCPenney, Dillard's, Macy's, Forever 21 , and Sears...
in Beaumont. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40, using its former analog assignment of channel 4 as its virtual digital channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
via PSIP. It airs on channel 2 on cable systems in the immediate portion of the market. KBTV's high definition digital simulcast is now available on area cable systems and DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
.
KBTV is a typical Fox station with 26 hours a week of locally-produced newscasts, as well as first-run prime time, late night and sports programming from Fox. It also runs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows and court shows.
History
Channel 4 signed on October 22, 1957 as KPAC-TV, an NBCNBC
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...
affiliate owned by Texas Gulfcoast Television, Inc., itself jointly owned by Port Arthur College, owner of KPAC radio (1250 AM, now KDEI
KDEI
KDEI "Radio Maria" is an AM broadcasting station airing Catholic programming at 1250 kHz in Port Arthur, Texas. It is a repeater station of KJMJ 580 kHz in Alexandria, Louisiana.-History:...
; and 98.5 FM, now KTJM
KTJM
KTJM is a radio station broadcasting a regional Mexican format. Licensed to Port Arthur, Texas, it serves the Beaumont-Port Arthur area. The station is currently owned by Liberman Broadcasting....
), and the Jefferson Amusement Company. Port Arthur College sold its stake in the station to the Jefferson Amusement Company in 1965; as Port Arthur College retained the radio stations, channel 4 changed its call letters to KJAC-TV.
The station was the first in the area to broadcast in color, use video tape, and air live coverage of area high school football games. Among the original programming that originated at KPAC/KJAC's studios were wrestling, the kid's western show Cowboy John, afternoon Bingo, and the Circle 4 Club. During the 1950s, KPAC also had the only local teen dance program, Jive At Five. Both The Cowboy John Show and Jive At Five had "colored days", in which African-Americans were permitted to participate.
Jefferson Entertainment Company sold KJAC to Clay Communications in 1973; Clay, in turn, sold its television stations to Price Communications in 1987. Price sold most of its television stations (except for WHTM-TV
WHTM-TV
WHTM-TV "ABC 27" is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Central Pennsylvania that's licensed to Harrisburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter on the ridge north of I-81 along the Cumberland and Perry County line...
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
) to USA Broadcast Group in 1995; USA soon renamed itself U.S. Broadcast Group after a complaint from USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
.
Nexstar Broadcasting purchased KJAC from U.S. Broadcast Group in 1998. The following year, the station took its present KBTV-TV callsign to align itself more with Beaumont, even though it is still licensed to Port Arthur. The call letters had previously been used by channel 9 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...
(now KUSA) and channel 8 in Dallas (now WFAA). KBTV-TV also shares its call letters with KBTV-CA
KBTV-CA
KBTV-CA, known on-air as KBTV Global Television, is a television station in Sacramento, California, broadcasting locally on VHF channel 8 as a multicultural independent station. It is owned by Tower of Babel Broadcasting. KBTV-CD's transmitter is located in downtown Sacramento...
channel 8 in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. To go along with the call change, KBTV moved from its Port Arthur studios to its current studios inside Parkdale Mall in Beaumont. The station is one of the few television stations in the country to have studios located inside a major shopping center.
In October 2008, Nexstar reached an agreement with Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in which KBTV would become the new Fox affiliate for the Beaumont market. The move was made because Nexstar wanted to increase KBTV's news output. The affiliation switch took effect on January 1, 2009, when KBTV dropped its 51-year affiliation with NBC and joined Fox that same day. This caused a shakeup in the market as NBC went to a digital subchannel
KBMT-DT2
KBMT-DT2 is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southeast Texas. The station is a second digital subchannel of ABC affiliate KBMT that is owned by the London Broadcasting Company. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 12.2 from a transmitter in Mauriceville...
of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate KBMT
KBMT
KBMT is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Golden Triangle area Southeast Texas that is licensed to Beaumont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Mauriceville. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 5 and in high definition...
, while KUIL-LP, which lost Fox, went independent at that time. The now-KUIL-LD has since become operated by KBMT and affiliated with MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
.
Technically, KBTV is the third Fox affiliate to serve the area, as KVHP
KVHP
KVHP is a television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, broadcasting locally on digital channel 30 as an affiliate of the Fox network. KVHP is owned by National Communications, LLC, and its transmitter is located halfway between Lake Charles and Beaumont, Texas in Vinton, Louisiana, allowing it to...
in Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
served as the default Fox affiliate for the Beaumont/Port Arthur market until 2003, when KUIL was launched. It is also the fourth station in Texas to switch to Fox from a Big Three affiliation, as KLMG-TV in Longview
Longview, Texas
Longview is a city in Gregg and Harrison Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 80,455. Most of the city is located in Gregg County, of which it is the county seat; only a small part extends into the western part of neighboring Harrison County. It is...
switched from CBS to Fox in April 1991 (changing its call letters to KFXK), and KDFW-TV
KDFW
KDFW, virtual channel 4 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex designated market area....
in Dallas and KTBC-TV
KTBC
KTBC, channel 7, is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in Austin, Texas. Studios are located in downtown Austin at the corner of 10th and Brazos Streets , and its transmitter is located in the city....
in Austin both switched from CBS to Fox on July 1, 1995 as a result of the Fox/New World
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
affiliation deal
Fox affiliate switches of 1994
The United States television network affiliate switches of 1994 were a series of events resulting from a multi-million dollar deal between Fox Broadcasting Company, known commonly as Fox, and New World Communications, an owner of several VHF television stations affiliated with major networks,...
.
On February 2, 2009 at 2 p.m., a fire destroyed KBTV's old studios in Port Arthur at 2900 17th Street. Originally the station's home from its 1957 sign-on until 1999, the building primarily served after the move as a storage facility, though the station's doppler weather radar was still based there. The building was demolished a few months later.
News operation
Currently, KBTV carries a total of 26 hours of local news per week (five hours on weekdays and a half-hour each on weekends), the most of any station in the Beaumont-Port Arthur market.After KBTV affiliated with Fox, news was expanded from 1½ to three hours on weekday mornings, and the half-hour 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts were cancelled and replaced with an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast (other stations that have switched to Fox from a Big Three affiliation typically expand their early evening 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts to one hour to 1½ hours by adding an extra half-hour to fill the gap from Fox's lack of a national evening newscast). KBTV is also one of (at least) six Fox affiliate stations that carries a 4 p.m. newscast (along with WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
in Miami
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...
, WTIC-TV
WTIC-TV
WTIC-TV, channel 61, is a television station in Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the Tribune Company, WTIC-TV is a charter affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company...
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, KPTV
KPTV
KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, WXIN
WXIN
WXIN, channel 59, is the Fox affiliated television station in Indianapolis, Indiana. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 45, using its former analog channel 59 as its virtual channel via PSIP...
in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and WDRB
WDRB
WDRB is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, broadcasting locally on channel 41 as a Fox affiliate. Owned by Block Communications, the station's transmitter is located in Floyds Knobs, Indiana alongside sister-station WMYO...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
). It also discontinued its 10 p.m. newscast, and moved it to 9 p.m. (and expanding it to one hour on weeknights), although some Fox affiliates in other markets maintain newscasts at both 9 and 10 p.m. KBTV has the distinction of being one of the smallest, if not the smallest Fox affiliate (in terms of market size) to carry late afternoon newscasts. In September 2009, KBTV expanded its morning newscast to three hours from 6-9 a.m.
Newscast titles
- KPAC-TV News (1957-1965)
- KJAC News (1960s)
- The Sixth Hour Report/The Eleventh Hour Report (1960s-mid 1970s)
- Channel 4 News (late 1970s-early 1980s)
- NewsCenter 4 (early 1980s-1988)
- News 4 (1988-1990)
- NewsWatch 4 (1990-1994)
- News 4 Texas (1994-1999)
- NBC 4 Beaumont News (1999-2001)
- NBC 4 Hometown News (2001-2003)
- KBTV 4 Hometown News (2003-2009)
- Fox 4 News (2009-present)
- Good Day (morning newscast; 2009-2010)
- Southeast Texas Live (4 p.m. news/lifestyle program; 2010-present)
Station slogans
- We're Watching Southeast Texas (1990-1996)
- Coverage You Can Count On (1999-2001)
- Your Hometown News (2001-2009)
- Your Weather Authority (weather slogan; 2009-present)
Current on-air staff (as of February 1, 2011)
Anchors- Sheldra Brigham - weeknights at 5:30 and 9 p.m.; also "Money Matters" segment producer
- Jessica Guidry - weekdays at 4 p.m. (Southeast Texas Live); also reporter
- Brian Glenn - weekdays at 4 p.m. (Southeast Texas Live);
- Erin Nichols - weekends
Fox 4 Weather Authority
- Dana Melancon - chief meteorologist; weekdays at 4, and weeknights at 5:30 and 9 p.m.
- Terran Kirksey (member, AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
; member, NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
) - meteorologist; weekends at 9 p.m.
Sports team
- James Ware - sports director; weeknights at 5:30 and 9 p.m.
- Nick Canizales - sports anchor; weekends at 9 p.m.; also sports reporter
Reporters
- Raquel Duncan - senior reporter
Former on-air staff
- Aimee Fuller - main anchor (now at KUSI http://latbroadcasters.homestead.com/AimeeFuller.html in San Diego, CA)