KTSF
Encyclopedia
KTSF is an independent television station
serving the San Francisco Bay Area
. Although licensed
to San Francisco, the station's studio building is located in south suburban Brisbane, California
. It is owned by Lincoln Broadcasting Company, and broadcasts its digital signal on UHF
channel 27 from a transmitter located on San Bruno Mountain
. Through the use of PSIP
, KTSF's virtual channel
is displayed as 26 on digital television receivers.
In the 1980s, KTSF expanded its Asian content to reflect the changing demographics of the Bay Area. With increasing immigration from the Philippines and Korea, KTSF added Tagalog and Korean content and expanded its schedule to include programming from India and Iran.
A significant step in the station’s history came in 1987 when it hired Gallup
to conduct the first-ever Chinese-language consumer study done in the United States. The challenge for any commercial broadcaster is to be able to demonstrate to advertisers a profile of its viewers. The Gallup study demonstrated to mainstream US companies that the Chinese-American market behaved like most other groups. For instance, the vast majority of Chinese people had bank accounts at "mainstream" financial institutions such as Bank of America
and Wells Fargo
, while only a small percentage had accounts at Chinese-owned banks. The major grocery store chains, with their large variety of products and convenient locations, were patronized by 75% of Chinese-Americans on a weekly basis.
With this new research, KTSF was able to attract mainstream US companies to the Asian American market. KTSF built new studios in Brisbane and on February 6, 1989, launched the first live Chinese newscast in the United States.
Throughout the 1990s, with the H1-B visas in place, it was easier for US companies to attract qualified workers from other countries. The Bay Area saw a large number of workers from China, Taiwan and India move to Silicon Valley. KTSF responded by dramatically expanding its Mandarin-language and South Asian programming.
In 2005, KTSF became the first US Asian broadcaster to subscribe to Nielsen
. With the daily overnight viewing data, KTSF was able to help advertisers better target the Asian demographic.
On February 13, 2006, KTSF began broadcasting Talk Tonight, a live Mandarin-language phone-in talk show; guests have included a variety of entertainment, political and sports figures.
By 2010, KTSF carried programming in 12 languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hindi and Tagalog.
Fuji TV had been broadcast since February 1972 http://www.fuji-tv.com/us/index.html, while Tokyo Television debuted on KTSF as far back as September 4, 1976. http://www.ttvusa.com/company_eng.php Fuji TV has been on the air even before KTSF made its actual debut.
KTSF is currently the only station in the United States broadcasting nightly, live local and international news programming in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Cantonese News airs Monday to Friday from 7 to 8 pm and Mandarin News airs from 10 to 11 pm. Cantonese Weekend News airs at 6 pm on Saturdays while Mandarin Weekend News airs at 6 pm on Sundays. When the newscasts are to be on a break, the current time is displayed on the screen. Both Cantonese and Mandarin news, however, may be delayed or preempted due to special programming.
KTSF currently uses Traditional Chinese subtitles for both Cantonese and Mandarin newscasts; open captions are employed since closed captioning
is only available for languages based on the Latin alphabet
(e.g. English and Spanish).
, consisting of CMC California Music Channel and CMC Beat Lounge, broadcasts on KTSF. There is also a late-night version of the CMC that broadcasts late Saturday night, known as CMC Late Night. http://www.ktsf.com/en/programming/rest.html#English
, the signal appears as virtual channel
26 on digital receivers. The station ceased analog transmission on June 12, 2009.
The station's digital channel is multiplexed, with all subchannels in 4:3 standard definition:
Digital channels>
Ch
Programming
26.1
Main KTSF programming
26.2
NHK World (no longer broadcasting on this channel – moved to KCNS
subchannel 38.4 on November 1, 2011)
26.3
KBS World
26.4
ICN
26.5
Viet Today TV
26.6
Mirror of 26.1
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 San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Although licensed
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....
to San Francisco, the station's studio building is located in south suburban Brisbane, California
Brisbane, California
Brisbane is a small city located in the northern part of San Mateo County, California on the lower slopes of San Bruno Mountain. It is on the northeastern edge of South San Francisco, next to the San Francisco Bay and near the San Francisco International Airport.The population was 4,282 as of...
. It is owned by Lincoln Broadcasting Company, and broadcasts its digital signal on 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...
channel 27 from a transmitter located on San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain in northern San Mateo County, California is the northernmost part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the mountain lies within the San Bruno Mountain State Park, a unique open-space island in the midst of the San Francisco Peninsula's urbanization. Next to the state park is the...
. Through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, KTSF's 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....
is displayed as 26 on digital television receivers.
History and programming
In 1965, Lillian Lincoln Howell was issued a broadcast license for a new channel in San Francisco. Her goal was to offer programming to sectors of the market that were not being reached by the television stations then on the air. Her stated mission was to “serve the underserved.” It took many years to build the station but when it finally went on the air on September 4, 1976, it began broadcasting with mainly Chinese and Japanese programming. KTSF became the first US broadcaster to carry Asian-language programming.In the 1980s, KTSF expanded its Asian content to reflect the changing demographics of the Bay Area. With increasing immigration from the Philippines and Korea, KTSF added Tagalog and Korean content and expanded its schedule to include programming from India and Iran.
A significant step in the station’s history came in 1987 when it hired Gallup
The Gallup Organization
The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational...
to conduct the first-ever Chinese-language consumer study done in the United States. The challenge for any commercial broadcaster is to be able to demonstrate to advertisers a profile of its viewers. The Gallup study demonstrated to mainstream US companies that the Chinese-American market behaved like most other groups. For instance, the vast majority of Chinese people had bank accounts at "mainstream" financial institutions such as Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
and Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
, while only a small percentage had accounts at Chinese-owned banks. The major grocery store chains, with their large variety of products and convenient locations, were patronized by 75% of Chinese-Americans on a weekly basis.
With this new research, KTSF was able to attract mainstream US companies to the Asian American market. KTSF built new studios in Brisbane and on February 6, 1989, launched the first live Chinese newscast in the United States.
Throughout the 1990s, with the H1-B visas in place, it was easier for US companies to attract qualified workers from other countries. The Bay Area saw a large number of workers from China, Taiwan and India move to Silicon Valley. KTSF responded by dramatically expanding its Mandarin-language and South Asian programming.
In 2005, KTSF became the first US Asian broadcaster to subscribe to Nielsen
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. With the daily overnight viewing data, KTSF was able to help advertisers better target the Asian demographic.
On February 13, 2006, KTSF began broadcasting Talk Tonight, a live Mandarin-language phone-in talk show; guests have included a variety of entertainment, political and sports figures.
By 2010, KTSF carried programming in 12 languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hindi and Tagalog.
Japanese programming
KTSF also broadcast Japanese programming during primetime on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as the morning news program (broadcast on weekdays) known as FCI Morning Eye. Fuji TV provides Saturday night programming, branded as Fuji TV , while Tokyo TV provides Sunday night programming, branded as TTV. http://www.ttvusa.com/english.php A notable example that is broadcast on KTSF via TTV is "Hello Restaurant."Fuji TV had been broadcast since February 1972 http://www.fuji-tv.com/us/index.html, while Tokyo Television debuted on KTSF as far back as September 4, 1976. http://www.ttvusa.com/company_eng.php Fuji TV has been on the air even before KTSF made its actual debut.
Cantonese and Mandarin news
KTSF launched its news department in 1989, and debuted Cantonese News on February 6 of the same year as the first live Chinese-language television program in the United States. The station subsequently launched Mandarin News, as well as a local Mandarin-language talk program, known presently as Talk Tonight. The station also added Weekend Cantonese and Mandarin news on March 25, 2006. Mandarin News originally was a 30 minute news program before it expanded to one hour at its current 10:00pm time slot, leading to Cantonese News, which had its time slot at 8:00pm before it moved to their current 7:00pm slot.KTSF is currently the only station in the United States broadcasting nightly, live local and international news programming in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Cantonese News airs Monday to Friday from 7 to 8 pm and Mandarin News airs from 10 to 11 pm. Cantonese Weekend News airs at 6 pm on Saturdays while Mandarin Weekend News airs at 6 pm on Sundays. When the newscasts are to be on a break, the current time is displayed on the screen. Both Cantonese and Mandarin news, however, may be delayed or preempted due to special programming.
KTSF currently uses Traditional Chinese subtitles for both Cantonese and Mandarin newscasts; open captions are employed since closed captioning
Closed captioning
Closed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
is only available for languages based on the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
(e.g. English and Spanish).
CMC on KTSF
On weekday afternoons, California Music ChannelCalifornia Music Channel
California Music Channel is an American music video service based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the world’s longest running local music video television stations. The live broadcasts feature on-camera disc jockeys, audience participation, and contemporary music videos. It is owned by...
, consisting of CMC California Music Channel and CMC Beat Lounge, broadcasts on KTSF. There is also a late-night version of the CMC that broadcasts late Saturday night, known as CMC Late Night. http://www.ktsf.com/en/programming/rest.html#English
Cantonese News
- Mei Ling Sze - anchor, also chief editor (on leave until September 2011)
- Yalek Huynh - news anchor
- Angelina Wong - reporter
- Cecilia Im - news anchor
- Kwokshu Leung - weekend news anchor
- Hellas Leung - reporter
Mandarin News
- Jie Chen - anchor
- Pei-Chun Liao - anchor/reporter
- Jo Wan - anchor/reporter
- Sean Au - reporter
- Ling-Chia Ku - weekend news anchor and editor/reporter
Other programming
- Sam Spear - horse racing host
- Lipoi Niualiku - CMCCalifornia Music ChannelCalifornia Music Channel is an American music video service based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the world’s longest running local music video television stations. The live broadcasts feature on-camera disc jockeys, audience participation, and contemporary music videos. It is owned by...
host - Chuy Gomez - CMC Beat Lounge and CMC Late Night Host
Digital television
KTSF's digital signal launched in 2002 on UHF channel 27; through the use of PSIPProgram and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, the signal appears as 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....
26 on digital receivers. The station ceased analog transmission on June 12, 2009.
The station's digital channel is multiplexed, with all subchannels in 4:3 standard definition:
KCNS
KCNS is a digital television station in San Francisco, California, in the United States, owned by NRJ TV, LLC. It carries programming from the Retro Television Network on its main channel, and programming from Sino TV and Saigon TV on its subchannels. The station operates on 39 digital, covering...
subchannel 38.4 on November 1, 2011)
KBS World (United States)
KBS World is an American television channel operated by KBS America, a subsidiary of Korean Broadcasting System, targeting Koreans in North America. Launched on October 6, 2005, it runs with their broadcasting schedule, separated from KBS World in South Korea....