KVII-TV
Encyclopedia
KVII-TV, better known as Pronews7, is an ABC
affiliated television station
in Amarillo
, Texas
that also operates satellite KVIH-TV digital channel 12 in Clovis, New Mexico
. It was owned by Stanley Marsh 3
from 1967 until he sold it to Atlanta
-based, New Vision Group
in 2002. In 2005, New Vision Group's parent company sold the station to Barrington Broadcasting
for $
22.5 million.
KVII-TV uses the "Circle 7 logo" shared with ABC's owned-and-operated station
s (O&O) and many ABC affiliates with Channel 7 frequencies. The Circle 7 logo has been in use continuously at KVII-TV since 1968, when it was adopted by then-owner Marsh Media shortly after purchasing the station.
KVII and satellite station KVIH serve viewers across a four-state region including the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, eastern New Mexico and southwestern Kansas. The station is broadcast over-the-air and via cable carriage and several UHF translators. In addition to Amarillo and Clovis, cities served include Canyon, Dumas, Pampa, Borger, Hereford, Muleshoe, Dalhart, Clarendon and Childress, Texas; Clayton, Tucumcari, Logan, San Jon and Portales, NM; Guymon, Boise City and Beaver, Okla.; and Elkhart and Liberal, Kan. Syndicated programming on KVII/KVIH includes: Judge Judy
, Live with Regis and Kelly
, Wheel of Fortune
, and Ellen
.
Pronews 7 remains dedicated to stories that affect the Panhandle. In conjunction with it's TV channel, website, Twitter feed, YouTube Channel and Facebook, Pronews 7 reaches out to thousands of residents on a daily basis.
KVII formerly operated another satellite, KVIJ-TV channel 8 in Sayre, Oklahoma
, from 1976 to 1992. KVIJ ceased operations because most viewers in its area of western Oklahoma received their network programming via cable. This gave them access to stations from the Oklahoma City
or Wichita Falls-Lawton DMAs including ABC affiliates KOCO and KSWO-TV
, respectively, and very few actually tuned in to KVIJ directly. The former studio and transmitter site of KVIJ now sit vacant northwest of Sayre at the intersection of state highways 6 and 152, at 35°25′23.9"N 99°50′35.2"W. Channel 8 began operations in 1961 as CBS
affiliate KSWB-TV
(licensed to Elk City, Oklahoma
; its call sign related to original owner South West Broadcasting), and changed its call letters to KFDO-TV in 1966 when it became a satellite of Amarillo's CBS affiliate, KFDA-TV
(at that time, channel 8 moved to Sayre). In 1976, it was sold to Marsh.
Also in 1976, KFDA's then-satellite station in Clovis, KFDW channel 12, was sold to Mel Wheeler (manager and a part owner of KFDA's then-ownership). The station remained a satellite of KFDA until 1979, when the station was sold to McAlister TV in Lubbock, Texas
, and began operating as an adjunct to ABC affiliate KAMC
(channel 28) in Lubbock under the call sign of KMCC. After the death of Bill McAlister, KMCC was sold to Marsh in 1986 and became a KVII satellite, changing the call letters to KVIH in the process. http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-09262008-31295016546797/unrestricted/31295016546797.pdf
From 1999 to 2006, KVII helped provide an Amarillo affiliate station of The WB Television Network
. KVII promoted and sold advertising for the network, while Amarillo's cable television operator broadcast the station on a cable channel. On September 18, 2006, KVII's DT2 subchannel became the area's new affiliates of The CW Television Network
.
By mid-October, the digital signal was fully operating, coinciding with the introduction of a viewer-interactive newscast, in which viewers can send e-mails with questions and concerns in regards to the stories and features in the newscasts.
The Pro News title has been used at KVII-TV continuously since Marsh Media purchased the station from John Walton in late 1967. For many years, the 10 p.m. edition of Pro News was a 45-minute broadcast, but has been truncated back to 35 minutes in recent years. Also, Pro News 7 broadcast a unique 12 noon newscast on Sundays during the 1970s and 1980s, along with the noon broadcast Monday through Friday. When general manager John Tyler moved to WQXI-TV, now WXIA-TV
in Atlanta in 1972, he took the Pro News title, expanded the 11 p.m. newscast to 40 minutes, and added noon newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays.
In February 2011 KVII-TV launched the CW Amarillo News @ 9 on its subchannel digital 7.2.
Reporters
StormSearch 7 Weather Team
Sports team
Interactive team for connectamarillo.com
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...
affiliated 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...
in Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
that also operates satellite KVIH-TV digital channel 12 in Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis is the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 32,667 at the 2000 census; according to 2010 Census Bureau estimates, the population had risen to 37,775....
. It was owned by Stanley Marsh 3
Stanley Marsh 3
Stanley Marsh 3 is an artist, philanthropist, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas, USA. He is perhaps best known as the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch, an unusual public art exhibit west of Amarillo.-Art projects and pranks:...
from 1967 until he sold it to Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
-based, New Vision Group
New Vision Television
New Vision Television is a broadcast company based in Los Angeles, California. The company owns or manages 18 television stations in medium sized markets.-New Vision I:...
in 2002. In 2005, New Vision Group's parent company sold the station to Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting Company, LLC , headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is an entity wholly focused on broadcast television. The company's assets mainly consist of television stations in middle and small sized markets...
for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
22.5 million.
KVII-TV uses the "Circle 7 logo" shared with ABC's owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
s (O&O) and many ABC affiliates with Channel 7 frequencies. The Circle 7 logo has been in use continuously at KVII-TV since 1968, when it was adopted by then-owner Marsh Media shortly after purchasing the station.
KVII and satellite station KVIH serve viewers across a four-state region including the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, eastern New Mexico and southwestern Kansas. The station is broadcast over-the-air and via cable carriage and several UHF translators. In addition to Amarillo and Clovis, cities served include Canyon, Dumas, Pampa, Borger, Hereford, Muleshoe, Dalhart, Clarendon and Childress, Texas; Clayton, Tucumcari, Logan, San Jon and Portales, NM; Guymon, Boise City and Beaver, Okla.; and Elkhart and Liberal, Kan. Syndicated programming on KVII/KVIH includes: Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, and Ellen
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
.
Pronews 7 remains dedicated to stories that affect the Panhandle. In conjunction with it's TV channel, website, Twitter feed, YouTube Channel and Facebook, Pronews 7 reaches out to thousands of residents on a daily basis.
History
KVII signed on for the first time on December 21, 1957. This made Amarillo one of the smallest markets to have full service from all three networks.KVII formerly operated another satellite, KVIJ-TV channel 8 in Sayre, Oklahoma
Sayre, Oklahoma
Sayre is a city in and the county seat of Beckham County, in Western Oklahoma, the United States. It is half-way between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Amarillo, Texas on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 census....
, from 1976 to 1992. KVIJ ceased operations because most viewers in its area of western Oklahoma received their network programming via cable. This gave them access to stations from the Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
or Wichita Falls-Lawton DMAs including ABC affiliates KOCO and KSWO-TV
KSWO-TV
KSWO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the ABC affiliated television station located in Lawton, Oklahoma. It also serves Wichita Falls, Texas. Its transmitter is located near Grandfield, Oklahoma. KSWO broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 11...
, respectively, and very few actually tuned in to KVIJ directly. The former studio and transmitter site of KVIJ now sit vacant northwest of Sayre at the intersection of state highways 6 and 152, at 35°25′23.9"N 99°50′35.2"W. Channel 8 began operations in 1961 as 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...
affiliate KSWB-TV
KSWB-TV
KSWB-TV, virtual channel 69, is a Fox-affiliated television station in San Diego, California. It broadcasts a 720p high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter southeast of Spring Valley...
(licensed to Elk City, Oklahoma
Elk City, Oklahoma
Elk City is a city in Beckham County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 11,693 at the 2010 census. Elk City is located on Interstate 40 and Historic U.S. Route 66 in Western Oklahoma, approximately west of Oklahoma City and east of Amarillo....
; its call sign related to original owner South West Broadcasting), and changed its call letters to KFDO-TV in 1966 when it became a satellite of Amarillo's CBS affiliate, KFDA-TV
KFDA-TV
-External links:*...
(at that time, channel 8 moved to Sayre). In 1976, it was sold to Marsh.
Also in 1976, KFDA's then-satellite station in Clovis, KFDW channel 12, was sold to Mel Wheeler (manager and a part owner of KFDA's then-ownership). The station remained a satellite of KFDA until 1979, when the station was sold to McAlister TV in Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, and began operating as an adjunct to ABC affiliate KAMC
KAMC
KAMC is the ABC network affiliated television station serving the Lubbock, Texas metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Lubbock.KAMC is licensed to broadcast digitally on UHF channel 27....
(channel 28) in Lubbock under the call sign of KMCC. After the death of Bill McAlister, KMCC was sold to Marsh in 1986 and became a KVII satellite, changing the call letters to KVIH in the process. http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-09262008-31295016546797/unrestricted/31295016546797.pdf
From 1999 to 2006, KVII helped provide an Amarillo affiliate station of The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
. KVII promoted and sold advertising for the network, while Amarillo's cable television operator broadcast the station on a cable channel. On September 18, 2006, KVII's DT2 subchannel became the area's new affiliates of 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...
.
By mid-October, the digital signal was fully operating, coinciding with the introduction of a viewer-interactive newscast, in which viewers can send e-mails with questions and concerns in regards to the stories and features in the newscasts.
The Pro News title has been used at KVII-TV continuously since Marsh Media purchased the station from John Walton in late 1967. For many years, the 10 p.m. edition of Pro News was a 45-minute broadcast, but has been truncated back to 35 minutes in recent years. Also, Pro News 7 broadcast a unique 12 noon newscast on Sundays during the 1970s and 1980s, along with the noon broadcast Monday through Friday. When general manager John Tyler moved to WQXI-TV, now WXIA-TV
WXIA-TV
WXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...
in Atlanta in 1972, he took the Pro News title, expanded the 11 p.m. newscast to 40 minutes, and added noon newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays.
In February 2011 KVII-TV launched the CW Amarillo News @ 9 on its subchannel digital 7.2.
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Meredith Keller - weekday mornings on daybreak & midday
- Steve Myers - weeknights at 5 p.m.
- Lisa Schmidt - weeknights at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
- Jay Ricci - weeknights at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
- Lindsey Stiner - weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.
Reporters
- Lindsey Stiner - weekend anchor and general assignment reporter
- Meredith Keller - general assignment reporter
- Matt Hamilton - general assignment reporter
- Emily Griffin- general assignment reporter
- Kyndel Lee- general assignment reporter
- Kayla Welch - executive producer/Medical Breakthroughs reporter
StormSearch 7 Weather Team
- Steve Kersh (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...
/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...
Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. - Tony Derda - meteorologist; daybreak and midday
- Shelly Sites - meteorologist; Pronews 7 @ 5 & Pronews 7 Weekend Report
Sports team
- Lee Baker - Sports Director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
- Kale Steed - Sports Anchor; weekends at 6 & 10 p.m.
Interactive team for connectamarillo.com
- Travis Ruiz - Interactive Managing Editor/Social Media Manager
Former on-air staff
- Ben McCainBen McCainBen McCain is a Los Angeles-based actor, television host, news anchor, reporter, producer, director, writer and one half of The McCain Brothers, a singing and songwriting duo...
- anchor/reporter (1976–78, now anchor, reporter and actor) - Lisa KudrowLisa KudrowLisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
- anchor/reporter (1985–88, now an actress, best known for playing Phoebe BuffayPhoebe BuffayPhoebe Buffay-Hannigan is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom Friends , portrayed by Lisa Kudrow...
on FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.)
Newscast Titles
- The Panhandle News Report (1957–1962)
- The Jim Harris Report (1962–1966)
- K-7 News (1966–1967)
- Pro News (1967–1996)
- Pronews 7 (1996–present)
Station Slogans
- Stereo 7 (1982–1984)
- The Panhandle Spirit (1987–present; uses variant Catch The Panhandle Spirit since 2009)
External links
- KVII-TV's website
- Storm Search 7 sky cam — live pictures of downtown Amarillo and surroundings from KVII's Sky Cam