KMTR-TV
Encyclopedia
KMTR is the NBC
and The CW
affiliate television station
serving the Eugene
/Springfield, Oregon
designated market area. Owned by Newport Television
, the station reaches additional viewers in central and western Oregon
via co-owned full-powered satellite stations KMCB digital channel 22 (Coos Bay
) and KTCW digital channel 45 (Roseburg
). KMTR's transmitter is located near Springfield, Oregon
.
KMTR covers local news, sports, and weather for Springfield, Eugene and Western Oregon. It currently is the only local television station in Eugene/Springfield offering streaming video newscasts on the Internet.
began selectively omitting certain NBC prime time broadcasts from its evening lineup, replacing them with alternate programming from rival network, CBS
. The resulting conflict over this programming decision preceded the introduction of KMTR to the media market, and a switch of KVAL affiliation away from NBC to CBS.
In late 1995, the station was bought by the Wicks Broadcast Group of New York City. In March 1996, Wicks Broadcast Group named Brian Benschoter the station’s new GM who started shaking things up immediately for the third place Eugene based station. On May 21, 1996 he abruptly fired longtime sports anchors Brian Lamb and Steve Freedman without warning. Lamb, an 11.5 year veteran of the station, and Freedman an 8.5 year employee introduced the “Prep Athlete of the Week” segment that became an immensely popular weekly honor. The award is still considered by locals as the top media honor one can receive for high school sports in the Eugene/Springfield area.
Lamb and Freedman were replaced by Joe Giansante a new addition to the KMTR family and sports talk radio host on KUGN AM 590.
In March 1999, Wicks sold the station to the Ackerley Group
, who merged with Clear Channel Communications
in 2001. KMTR was named "Station of the Year" for 2005 by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters (OAB).
In February 2006, the two satellite stations, KMTZ and KMTX, changed call letters to KUCW and KTCW, respectively. The call letters held no real meaning, as neither station, nor the primary station, KMTR, had secured the CW affiliation yet. However, after the announcement of The CW's formation, some broadcasters, Clear Channel in particular, placed key call letters with "CW" in them on their stations, just to keep them out of the hands of the competition. This seems to have been the case with the Coos Bay station, for in September 2006, Clear Channel transferred the "KUCW" call letters to its Salt Lake City CW affiliate, formerly KUWB. The Coos Bay station picked up the call letters KMCB - likely taking the "M" from the primary station, and the "CB" from Coos Bay.
Effective September 2006, KMTR has added programming from The CW Television Network
to its DT2 subchannel, as well as converting cable-only WB station KZWB to the CW.
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to Newport Television, a unit of Providence Equity Partners
. The deal closed on March 14, 2008.
As of April 2011, KMTR remains the only "Big Four" network affiliated station in Western Oregon to continue to produce its local newscasts in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition.
Notes:
KMTR-DT/KMCB-DT/KTCW-DT broadcasts on digital channels 17, 22, and 45.
Digital channels>
Channel
Name
Programming
xx.1
KMTR-DT/KMCB-DT/KTCW-DT
NBC
HD
xx.2
KZWB-DT
The CW
KMTR-TV broadcasts were to be digital-only effective February 17, 2009 but this has been delayed due to FCC
opposition.
KMTR, KMCB and KTCW remain on their respective pre-transition channel numbers, (17, 22, and 45), PSIP is used to display virtual channel
s for each stations corresponding to their former analog channel numbers.
KMTR Repeaters
KTCW Repeaters
KMCB Repeaters
Reporters
Weather
Sports
station in Los Angeles, KCOP-TV
.
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...
and The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
affiliate television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
serving the Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
/Springfield, Oregon
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
designated market area. Owned by Newport Television
Newport Television
Newport Television, LLC is a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. In September 2007, Newport agreed to sell KFTY and KVOS-TV to LK Station Group LLC for $26.6...
, the station reaches additional viewers in central and western Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
via co-owned full-powered satellite stations KMCB digital channel 22 (Coos Bay
Coos Bay, Oregon
Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...
) and KTCW digital channel 45 (Roseburg
Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
). KMTR's transmitter is located near Springfield, Oregon
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
.
Overview
In its promotion and marketing KMTR refers to itself as NewsSource 16. Together with KMCB and KTCW, the stations are known as Oregon's News Source Network. The station also operates a cable-only station, former WB affiliate KZWB.KMTR covers local news, sports, and weather for Springfield, Eugene and Western Oregon. It currently is the only local television station in Eugene/Springfield offering streaming video newscasts on the Internet.
History
KMTR started as a UHF station carrying NBC programming. KMTR began broadcasting after former NBC affiliate KVAL-TVKVAL-TV
KVAL-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, USA. It is an affiliate of the CBS network. The station began broadcasting on April 15, 1954...
began selectively omitting certain NBC prime time broadcasts from its evening lineup, replacing them with alternate programming from rival network, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. The resulting conflict over this programming decision preceded the introduction of KMTR to the media market, and a switch of KVAL affiliation away from NBC to CBS.
In late 1995, the station was bought by the Wicks Broadcast Group of New York City. In March 1996, Wicks Broadcast Group named Brian Benschoter the station’s new GM who started shaking things up immediately for the third place Eugene based station. On May 21, 1996 he abruptly fired longtime sports anchors Brian Lamb and Steve Freedman without warning. Lamb, an 11.5 year veteran of the station, and Freedman an 8.5 year employee introduced the “Prep Athlete of the Week” segment that became an immensely popular weekly honor. The award is still considered by locals as the top media honor one can receive for high school sports in the Eugene/Springfield area.
Lamb and Freedman were replaced by Joe Giansante a new addition to the KMTR family and sports talk radio host on KUGN AM 590.
In March 1999, Wicks sold the station to the Ackerley Group
Ackerley Group
The Ackerley Group was an American media company that owned several television stations that was taken over by Clear Channel Communications in 2001. Its chairman was Seattle-based businessman Barry Ackerley.-Stations list :...
, who merged with Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
in 2001. KMTR was named "Station of the Year" for 2005 by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters (OAB).
In February 2006, the two satellite stations, KMTZ and KMTX, changed call letters to KUCW and KTCW, respectively. The call letters held no real meaning, as neither station, nor the primary station, KMTR, had secured the CW affiliation yet. However, after the announcement of The CW's formation, some broadcasters, Clear Channel in particular, placed key call letters with "CW" in them on their stations, just to keep them out of the hands of the competition. This seems to have been the case with the Coos Bay station, for in September 2006, Clear Channel transferred the "KUCW" call letters to its Salt Lake City CW affiliate, formerly KUWB. The Coos Bay station picked up the call letters KMCB - likely taking the "M" from the primary station, and the "CB" from Coos Bay.
Effective September 2006, KMTR has added programming from The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
to its DT2 subchannel, as well as converting cable-only WB station KZWB to the CW.
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to Newport Television, a unit of Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
. The deal closed on March 14, 2008.
As of April 2011, KMTR remains the only "Big Four" network affiliated station in Western Oregon to continue to produce its local newscasts in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition.
Satellite stations
| Station | City of license City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... |
Channels Channel (broadcasting) In broadcasting, a channel is a range of frequencies assigned by a government for the operation of a particular radio station, television station or television channel. In common usage, the term also may be used to refer to the station operating on a particular frequency.-See also:*Broadcast... (Digital Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals... ) |
First air date | Former callsigns Call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations... |
ERP Effective radiated power In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains... (Digital) |
HAAT Height above average terrain Height above average terrain is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is actually much more important than effective radiated power in determining the range of broadcasts... (Digital) |
Facility ID Facility ID The facility ID number or FIN is a unique positive integer assigned by the United States Federal Communications Commission to each domestic and international broadcast station in its Common Database System . Licensees are required to provide the relevant station's FIN when filing reports and... |
Transmitter Coordinates |
| KMCB | Coos Bay Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area... |
22 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) |
July 8, 1991 | KMTZ (1991-2006) KUCW (2006) |
10 kW | 179 m | 35183 | 43°23′39"N 124°7′56"W |
| KTCW | Roseburg Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:... |
45 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) |
April 19921 | KMTX-TV (1992-2006) | 12 kW | 109 m | 35187 | 43°12′22"N 123°21′56"W |
Notes:
- 1. The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says KTCW signed on April 8, while the Television and Cable Factbook says it signed on April 20.
Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:KMTR-DT/KMCB-DT/KTCW-DT broadcasts on digital channels 17, 22, and 45.
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...
HD
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
KMTR-TV broadcasts were to be digital-only effective February 17, 2009 but this has been delayed due to FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
opposition.
KMTR, KMCB and KTCW remain on their respective pre-transition channel numbers, (17, 22, and 45), PSIP is used to display virtual 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....
s for each stations corresponding to their former analog channel numbers.
Translators
The stations are rebroadcast on the following translators:KMTR Repeaters
- K11KI-D Channel 11 DorenaDorena, OregonDorena is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located southeast of Cottage Grove on the Row River, a tributary of the Coast Fork Willamette River.-History:...
(Digital) - K35JH-D Channel 35 London SpringsLondon Springs, OregonLondon Springs is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It lies south-southwest of Cottage Grove at an elevation of . London Springs is near the Coast Fork Willamette River, south of Cottage Grove Lake....
(Digital) - K43JY-D Channel 43 FlorenceFlorence, OregonFlorence is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,466.-History:The Florence area was originally inhabited by the Siuslaw tribe of Native Americans. Some state that the city was named for state senator A. B...
(Digital) - K48KC-D Channel 48 Cottage GroveCottage Grove, OregonCottage Grove is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. The population was 9,686 at the 2010 census.-History:...
(Digital) - KMOR-LP Channel 51 EugeneEugene, OregonEugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
(City Grade Signal)
KTCW Repeaters
- K22GX Channel 22 Tri-CityTri-City, OregonTri-City is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,519 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tri-City is located at...
- K31AE Channel 31 SutherlinSutherlin, OregonSutherlin is a city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 6,669 at the 2000 census. Nearby features include Cooper Creek Reservoir, the Umpqua River, a few golf courses, and numerous vineyards.-Geography:...
KMCB Repeaters
- K46AS Channel 46 Coos BayCoos Bay, OregonCoos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...
(City Grade Signal)
Personalities
Anchors- Ryan Cummings - weeknights at 6:30 & 11 p.m. (also 5 & 6 p.m. reporter)
- Megan Higgens - weekends at 6:30 & 11 p.m. (also weekday reporter)
- Nohelani Graf - weeknights at 6:30 & 11 p.m. (also 5 & 6 p.m. reporter)
- Renee McCullough - weeknights at 5 & 6 p.m.
- Marc Mullins - weekday mornings (also reporter)
- Matt Templeman - weekdays at 5 & 6 p.m. (also news director)
- Kelli Warner - weekday mornings (also health reporter)
Reporters
- Alex Drude - general assignment reporter
- Chris McKee - general assignment reporter (also photographer)
- Hannah Olsen - Coos Bay Bureau Reporter
- David Anderson - Roseburg Bureau Reporter
Weather
- Joseph Calbreath - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 6:30, & 11 p.m.
- Jordan Steele - weekday mornings
- Angela Brauer - meteorologist; weekends at 6:30 & 11 p.m. (also reporter)
Sports
- Joe Leadingham - Sports Director; seen weekdays
- TBD - weekends (also sports reporter)
Newscast titles
- NewsWatch (1990s-1998)
- NewsSource 16 (1998-present)
Trivia
The call letters KMTR originally belonged to the MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
station in Los Angeles, KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, KCOP is a sister station to Fox network outlet KTTV , and is affiliated with the MyNetworkTV programming service...
.