KVOA
Encyclopedia
KVOA is a full-service NBC
-affiliated television station serving Tucson, Arizona
. It broadcasts in digital
on UHF
channel 23 from its transmitter on Mount Bigelow, northeast of Tucson. Per FCC regulations, the station identifies itself on television tuners as channel 4 through PSIP
. KVOA has a low-power digital translator in Casas Adobes
and analog translators in Duncan
/Safford
and Sierra Vista
. The primary station and the Casas Adobes and Sierra Vista translators are owned by Cordillera Communications, a subsidiary of the Evening Post Publishing Company
of Charleston, South Carolina
.
In October 2006, KVOA requested companion digital LPTV channels for its Sierra Vista translator, K20FO, and Casas Adobes translator, K64BV. The FCC granted a construction permits for the Sierra Vista companion channel, K10QA-D, and the Casa Adobes companion channel, K04QP-D, on December 26, 2007.
On June 12, 2009, at the end of the digital transition, KVOA ended analog broadcasts on channel 4, continuing digital operations on RF channel 23. The same day, KVOA ended analog broadcasts on its channel 64 Casas Adobes translator, began digital operations on K04QP-D, and applied for a license to cover, which was granted June 16.
signed on as the CBS
affiliate. Although KVOA was an NBC affiliate, it carried a secondary affiliation with ABC
until 1956 when KDWI-TV (now KGUN
) began operations. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
.
It was originally owned by Chicago advertising executive John Louis, Sr., along with KVOA-AM 1290 (now KCUB
). It was a sister station to KTAR
in Phoenix
. In October 1953, KVOA brought Tucson its first-ever live television event: a World Series broadcast. The Louis broadcasting empire eventually became known as Pacific & Southern Broadcasting, headquartered in Phoenix; however, Louis did not keep KVOA for long. In 1955, Louis sold the KVOA stations to Clinton D. McKinnon, who would later acquire KOAT-TV
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
and combine the two television stations to form Alvarado Television. In 1962, the Alvarado stations were sold to Steinman Stations, the owner of WGAL-TV
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
.
In 1968, the Steinmans sold a controlling stake in KVOA-TV to Pulitzer Publishing
, making it Pulitzer's first (partial) television station acquisition outside of its home base in St. Louis, Missouri
; KOAT went to Pulitzer fully a year later. In 1972, Pulitzer was forced to spin off its share of KVOA to an employee group called Channel 4-TV after it purchased the Arizona Daily Star
the year before due to the tightening of the Federal Communications Commission
's cross-ownership
rules. Channel 4-TV also acquired Steinman's stake in KVOA around the same time.
The station was acquired by the Hobby family of Houston, publishers of the Houston Post
, in 1982. When the Post was sold a year later, the Hobby family reorganized its broadcasting interests as H&C Communications
. H&C sold off its television stations in 1993, with KVOA going to the Evening Post Publishing Company.
During the 2009 Super Bowl, Comcast's
transmission of the station was interrupted for approximately 20 seconds replacing KVOA's broadcast of the game with soft-core porn, affecting Comcast's analog subscribers in portions of the Tucson area. The substitution appears to have been made at Comcast, not at KVOA, leaving KVOA's over-the-air, satellite and other cable providers viewers unaffected. Also, Comcast's high-definition transmission of KVOA was not affected.
In May 2011, KVOA announced that it would delay the showing of an upcoming episode of Law & Order: LA based on the mass shootings which occurred in Tucson earlier that year
with a late-night airing, due to concerns that its content would be too sensitive.
, a 24-hour
cable news
television network that was exclusive to local Cox Cable subscribers, that premiered on June 7, 2007 and ended broadcasting on March 31, 2010.
For decades, KVOA had used the Eyewitness News
moniker, and the slogan "Where The News Comes First". It also was the market's news leader: by 1995, KVOA had led the Tucson news ratings for 21 straight years, half of its history – but only after Jon F. Ruby became the station's general manager in 1974 and initiated a major expansion of news. In 1995, KVOA's $750,000 satellite truck was the market's only microwave-based live news vehicle; Eyewitness News equaled or beat KGUN and KOLD combined in all time slots; was first with stereo, closed captioning, and microwave electronic news gathering; and had the largest television news staff in the market (second in size only to the Arizona Daily Star
). However in February 2006 the name shortened to News 4, with the new slogan "Coverage You Can Count On". In November 2007, KVOA changed its slogan to "Balanced News You Can Count On".
On April 22, 2007, KVOA became the first station in Tucson to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition
, starting with the 10 p.m. newscast; among the changes included a new set andupdated graphics. KVOA is the first station in Tucson to offer news in high definition and the second in Arizona (following KPNX in Phoenix). Sister station WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky
is also currently broadcasts its local newscasts in HD.
TrueView Weather
Sports team
Reporters
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...
-affiliated television station serving Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. It broadcasts in digital
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
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 23 from its transmitter on Mount Bigelow, northeast of Tucson. Per FCC regulations, the station identifies itself on television tuners as channel 4 through 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...
. KVOA has a low-power digital translator in Casas Adobes
Casas Adobes, Arizona
Casas Adobes is a census-designated place located in the northern metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona . The population was 54,011 at the 2000 census...
and analog translators in Duncan
Duncan, Arizona
Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 713. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. Duncan is at the juncture of the Gila River and the Arizona-New Mexico state border...
/Safford
Safford, Arizona
- History :Safford was founded by Joshua Eaton Bailey, Hiram Kennedy and Edward Tuttle, who came from Gila Bend, in southwestern Arizona. They left Gila Bend in the winter of 1873-74; their work on canals and dams having been destroyed by high water the previous summer...
and Sierra Vista
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Sierra Vista is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 43,044....
. The primary station and the Casas Adobes and Sierra Vista translators are owned by Cordillera Communications, a subsidiary of the Evening Post Publishing Company
Evening Post Publishing Company
The Evening Post Publishing Company is a privately held media company, based inCharleston, South Carolina, United States.In addition to The Post and Courier of Charleston, the South's oldest daily newspaper, the company owns six other newspapers in South Carolina, including the Aiken Standard...
of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
Digital programming
| Channel | Video | Format | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main KVOA-TV programming / NBC |
Analog-to-digital transition
On June 15, 2000, KVOA was issued a construction permit to build digital station KVOA-DT on UHF channel 23. There were delays in building the new station, and on June 18, 2003, KVOA was granted Special Temporary Authority (STA) to operate the digital station at reduced power. The STA has been extended several times, and as of September 2006, KVOA-DT continues to operate under STA at reduced power.In October 2006, KVOA requested companion digital LPTV channels for its Sierra Vista translator, K20FO, and Casas Adobes translator, K64BV. The FCC granted a construction permits for the Sierra Vista companion channel, K10QA-D, and the Casa Adobes companion channel, K04QP-D, on December 26, 2007.
On June 12, 2009, at the end of the digital transition, KVOA ended analog broadcasts on channel 4, continuing digital operations on RF channel 23. The same day, KVOA ended analog broadcasts on its channel 64 Casas Adobes translator, began digital operations on K04QP-D, and applied for a license to cover, which was granted June 16.
History
In September 1953, KVOA signed on as Tucson's second television station and NBC affiliate, eight months after KOLD-TVKOLD-TV
KOLD-TV is a full-service television station in Tucson, Arizona. It is the CBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona, and is owned by Raycom Media. The station broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 32; it also carries Me-TV on digital subchannel 13.2...
signed on as the 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. Although KVOA was an NBC affiliate, it carried a secondary affiliation with 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...
until 1956 when KDWI-TV (now KGUN
KGUN
KGUN-TV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station serving Tucson, Arizona, owned by Journal Broadcast Group, Inc.. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 9 from Mount Bigelow, located northeast of Tucson...
) began operations. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
.
It was originally owned by Chicago advertising executive John Louis, Sr., along with KVOA-AM 1290 (now KCUB
KCUB (AM)
KCUB is a commercial radio station located in Tucson, Arizona. KCUB airs a sports talk format. KCUB serves as the flagship station for University of Arizona Wildcats football and basketball games via IMG Sports...
). It was a sister station to KTAR
KTAR (AM)
KTAR is the callsign for a radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. It airs programming from ESPN Radio, in addition to KTAR-acquired broadcast rights for local teams...
in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. In October 1953, KVOA brought Tucson its first-ever live television event: a World Series broadcast. The Louis broadcasting empire eventually became known as Pacific & Southern Broadcasting, headquartered in Phoenix; however, Louis did not keep KVOA for long. In 1955, Louis sold the KVOA stations to Clinton D. McKinnon, who would later acquire KOAT-TV
KOAT-TV
KOAT-TV, channel 7, is an ABC network affiliated television station serving Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its transmitter is located on Sandia Crest, northeast of Albuquerque. Syndicated programming on KOAT includes: Entertainment Tonight, Ellen, The Dr...
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
and combine the two television stations to form Alvarado Television. In 1962, the Alvarado stations were sold to Steinman Stations, the owner of WGAL-TV
WGAL
WGAL is the NBC-affiliated television station for South Central Pennsylvania that is licensed to Lancaster. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter near U.S. 30 north of Hallam. The transmitter site and tower is also where WGAL's radio partner, WROZ "101.3...
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
.
In 1968, the Steinmans sold a controlling stake in KVOA-TV to Pulitzer Publishing
Pulitzer, Inc.
Founded by Joseph Pulitzer , Pulitzer Inc., owned 14 daily newspapers across the United States, and one weekly chain. Its papers included the St...
, making it Pulitzer's first (partial) television station acquisition outside of its home base in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
; KOAT went to Pulitzer fully a year later. In 1972, Pulitzer was forced to spin off its share of KVOA to an employee group called Channel 4-TV after it purchased the Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
the year before due to the tightening of the Federal Communications Commission
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...
's cross-ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
rules. Channel 4-TV also acquired Steinman's stake in KVOA around the same time.
The station was acquired by the Hobby family of Houston, publishers of the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
, in 1982. When the Post was sold a year later, the Hobby family reorganized its broadcasting interests as H&C Communications
H&C Communications
H&C Communications is a now defunct corporation that owned a number of media outlets throughout the United States.Originally known as Channel 2 Television Company, it was created in 1983 to unite the Hobby family's television & radio interests under one umbrella after the Houston Post, their...
. H&C sold off its television stations in 1993, with KVOA going to the Evening Post Publishing Company.
During the 2009 Super Bowl, Comcast's
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
transmission of the station was interrupted for approximately 20 seconds replacing KVOA's broadcast of the game with soft-core porn, affecting Comcast's analog subscribers in portions of the Tucson area. The substitution appears to have been made at Comcast, not at KVOA, leaving KVOA's over-the-air, satellite and other cable providers viewers unaffected. Also, Comcast's high-definition transmission of KVOA was not affected.
In May 2011, KVOA announced that it would delay the showing of an upcoming episode of Law & Order: LA based on the mass shootings which occurred in Tucson earlier that year
2011 Tucson shooting
On January 8, 2011, a mass shooting occurred near Tucson, Arizona. Nineteen people were shot, six of them fatally, with one other person injured at the scene during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding with members of her constituency in a Casas Adobes Safeway...
with a late-night airing, due to concerns that its content would be too sensitive.
News operation
KVOA formerly operated Southern Arizona News NetworkSouthern Arizona News Network
Southern Arizona News Network was a regional 24-hour cable news television network based in Tucson, Arizona. The network was a partnership between Cox cable, and KVOA, the Tucson NBC affiliate. SANN broadcast news and weather reports live as well as replays of earlier broadcasts. The network...
, a 24-hour
24-hour news cycle
The 24-hour news cycle arrived with the advent of television channels dedicated to news, and brought about a much faster pace of news production with increased demand for stories that can be presented as news, as opposed to the day-by-day pace of the news cycle of printed daily newspapers...
cable news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
television network that was exclusive to local Cox Cable subscribers, that premiered on June 7, 2007 and ended broadcasting on March 31, 2010.
For decades, KVOA had used the 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...
moniker, and the slogan "Where The News Comes First". It also was the market's news leader: by 1995, KVOA had led the Tucson news ratings for 21 straight years, half of its history – but only after Jon F. Ruby became the station's general manager in 1974 and initiated a major expansion of news. In 1995, KVOA's $750,000 satellite truck was the market's only microwave-based live news vehicle; Eyewitness News equaled or beat KGUN and KOLD combined in all time slots; was first with stereo, closed captioning, and microwave electronic news gathering; and had the largest television news staff in the market (second in size only to the Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
). However in February 2006 the name shortened to News 4, with the new slogan "Coverage You Can Count On". In November 2007, KVOA changed its slogan to "Balanced News You Can Count On".
On April 22, 2007, KVOA became the first station in Tucson to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, starting with the 10 p.m. newscast; among the changes included a new set andupdated graphics. KVOA is the first station in Tucson to offer news in high definition and the second in Arizona (following KPNX in Phoenix). Sister station WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
is also currently broadcasts its local newscasts in HD.
Newscast titles
- Channel 4 Final (1950s)
- Channel 4 Night Report (1950s)
- The Bennett-Jackson Report (1950s–1960s)
- 24 Hours (1960s–1971)
- In-4-mation Center (1971–1973)
- (TV-4) Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness 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...
(1973–1999) - Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness 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...
4 (1999–2006) - Tucson 4 News (2006)
- News 4 (2006–present; referred in 2010 as News 4 Tucson)
Station slogans
- Tucson's Television is TV-4 (early 1970s)
- Tucson's Total News is on TV-4 (mid-1970s)
- Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness 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...
: The News People (late 1970s–early 1980s) - Where The News Comes First (early 1990s–2002)
- Southern Arizona's News Leader (2002–2006)
- Coverage You Can Count On (2006–2007)
- Balanced News You Can Count On (2007–present)
Newscast music
- WTOP 1968 News Theme by unknown composer (1970–1972)
- WTLV 1972 News Theme by unknown composer (1972–1977)
- News Views by Syd Dale (1977–1979)
- TuesdayC by Tuesday Productions (1979–1982)
- NewsCenter Theme by Michael Randall Music (1982–1984)
- KVOA 1984 News Theme by unknown composer (1984–19??)
- News Series 2000 by Gari Communications, Inc. (19??–19??)
- Stimulus by Gari Communications, Inc. (1998–1999)
- Eyewitness News by Gari Communications, Inc. (1999–2007)
- The NBC Collection by Gari Communications, Inc. (2007–present)
News team
Anchors- Emily Guggenmos - weekend evenings
- Brandon Gunnoe - weekend evenings
- Danielle Lerner - weekday mornings (5-7 a.m.)
- Tom McNamara - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- John Overall - weekday mornings (5-7 a.m.)
- Kristi Tedesco - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Martha Vásquez - weekdays at noon and 4 p.m.
TrueView Weather
- Rob Guarino - chief meteorologist; weekdays at 4, and weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Jeff Beamish - meteorologist; weekend evenings
- Chris Nallan - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
Sports team
- Ryan Recker - sports director; weekdays at 6 and 10 p.m.
- George Savaricas - sports anchor; weekend evenings
Reporters
- Greg Dingrando - general assignment reporter
- Angelique Lizarde - general assignment reporter
- Lupita Murillo - general assignment reporter
- Sandy Rathbun - general assignment reporter
- Lorraine Rivera - general assignment reporter
- Danielle Todesco - general assignment reporter
- Larissa Wohl - weekday morning traffic reporter
Notable former on-air staff
- Savannah GuthrieSavannah GuthrieSavannah Guthrie is an American journalist and attorney, working for NBC News.After serving as a White House correspondent between 2008 and 2011 and as co-anchor of the MSNBC program The Daily Rundown between 2010 and 2011, Guthrie was announced as the co-host of Todays third hour alongside...
(currently host of third hour of The Today ShowThe Today ShowToday is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
) - Mary Kim TitlaMary Kim TitlaMary Kim Titla is an American publisher, journalist, former TV reporter, and was a 2008 candidate for Arizona's First Congressional District. She is an enrolled member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe....
(ran for Congress in 2008, publishes Native Youth Magazine) - Lou WatersLou WatersLou Waters was one of the original anchors of Cable News Network an American cable news station when it first aired in the summer of 1980. He remained one of the network's primary anchors until September 2001, adding to a journalism career spanning nearly 40 years. For much of his tenure with the...
(currently at KWBA-TV)
Translators
- K04QP-D channel 4 Casas AdobesCasas Adobes, ArizonaCasas Adobes is a census-designated place located in the northern metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona . The population was 54,011 at the 2000 census...
(serving the northwest part of the Tucson metropolitan area shielded by Mount LemmonMount LemmonMount Lemmon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually. Mount Lemmon was named in honor of botanist Sarah Lemmon, who trekked to the top of...
) - K20FO Channel 20 Sierra VistaSierra Vista, ArizonaSierra Vista is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 43,044....