WOAI-TV
Encyclopedia
WOAI-TV, virtual channel
4 (digital channel 48), is the NBC
affiliate television station serving the San Antonio, Texas
metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas
, with its studios located in downtown San Antonio.
WOAI Radio and Television are among the few stations west of the Mississippi River
whose call sign begins with "W." This designation was "grandfathered" when the federal government issued regulations requiring radio stations west of the Mississippi River to start with "K," and stations east of the Mississippi to begin with "W."
and 102.3 FM, frequency now occupied by KSAQ). It carried programming from CBS
, NBC, ABC
and DuMont
, but was a primary NBC affiliate due to WOAI's long affiliation with NBC Radio. It lost CBS, DuMont to KEYL (now KENS-TV
) in 1950; the two continued to share ABC until KONO-TV (now KSAT-TV
) signed on in 1957.
In 1965, WOAI-AM-FM-TV was bought by Crosley Broadcasting
, which changed its name to Avco Broadcasting in 1968. Avco began to pull out of broadcasting in 1975. WOAI-TV was sold off to United Television (at the time a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox
) in 1975, changing its call letters to KMOL-TV. Chris-Craft Industries
gained majority ownership of United in 1981, merging the group with BHC Communications (the owners of KCOP in Los Angeles, California
and KPTV
in Portland, Oregon
).
When KRRT (now KMYS
) dropped UPN
for The WB affiliation in 1998, KMOL picked up UPN and aired it late at night, due in part to being owned at the time by Chris-Craft, UPN's then-half-owner. Eventually the UPN affiliation went to KBEJ (now KCWX
), which went on the air in 2000.
In 2001, Chris-Craft sold its stations to Fox
. Fox then traded KMOL and KTVX in Salt Lake City to Clear Channel for WFTC
in the Twin Cities. This tradeoff protected KABB
as San Antonio's Fox station. Not only did the purchase reunite KMOL-TV with WOAI (which had been one of the original two stations in the Clear Channel chain), but channel 4 also became the television flagship of the San Antonio-based conglomerate. Speculation immediately began that Clear Channel would restore the WOAI-TV calls to channel 4, and this occurred on September 9, 2002. Although the local Clear Channel radio cluster is located in Northwest San Antonio off I-10
, WOAI-TV is still based in its downtown studios near the Riverwalk
.
On November 16, 2006, Clear Channel announced that it would be selling all of its television stations after being bought by private equity firms. On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel sold its entire television group to Providence Equity Partners
' Newport Television
, with the group deal closing on March 14, 2008. However, the station continued a news partnership with its former radio sister. The two stations still share a website.
In May 2008, Newport Television agreed to sell WOAI-TV and five other stations to High Plains Broadcasting, Inc. because of an ownership conflict — Providence Equity Partners also holds a 19 percent ownership stake in the Spanish-language network Univision
, the owner of KWEX-TV
and Telefutura
station KNIC-TV
. The sale closed on September 15, 2008. However, as the sale to High Plains Broadcasting is in name only (effectively making High Plains Broadcasting a front company for Newport Television in a relationship similar to that between Mission Broadcasting
and Nexstar Broadcasting Group
), Newport Television continues to operate WOAI-TV under a shared services agreement
. On December 17, 2007 WOAI debuted a new logo and new moniker.
. WOAI-TV remained on its current pre-transition channel number, 48 using PSIP
to display WOAI-TV's virtual channel
as 4.
, The Dr. Oz Show
, The Doctors
, The Insider
(aired between The Tonight Show and Late Night show), and NBC programming. WOAI features its own daytime talk show SA Living.
with Rachael Ray
on September 13 in hopes to boost ratings for their local lifestyle program San Antonio Living. The announcement spawned controversy with many loyal viewers as Live had connections with San Antonio as Philbin was a Spurs fan and that back in 1991, Live showcased the city during Fiesta. The show will make a return to the San Antonio airwaves this September on KSAT.
WOAI-TV's newscasts have struggled for most of the last 30 years, and are currently in third place. Rivals KSAT and KENS continue to round out the top three stations.
On September 16, 2009, WOAI introduced a new set and began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition. This made it the third San Antonio station to have made the upgrade. It is the first (and so far only) station in San Antonio to broadcast all of its locally-originated field reports in HD; the other stations in the market continue to air much of their field video in standard definition
. It kept the previous logo featuring the big number 4, but transitioned the theme to a red, white, and black logo.
On September 6, 2010, WOAI extended its 6 p.m. newscast to one hour, with the addition of a half-hour extension of the newscast at 6:30 p.m.
StormTracker 4 Weather Team
and NWA
Seals of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.Albert Flores - meteorologist; weekday mornings (former longtime KENS meteorologist)
Steve Linscomb (NWA Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m., also reporter
Siobhan Anders - meteorologist; fill-in
Selena Garza - meteorologist; fill-in
Sports team
Reporters
San Antonio Living
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....
4 (digital channel 48), is the NBC
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...
affiliate television station serving the San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas
Elmendorf, Texas
Elmendorf is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States. It is part of the San Antonio—New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 664 at the 2000 census. Elmendorf is located seventeen miles southeast of San Antonio at the juncture of Farm Road 327 and the Southern Pacific...
, with its studios located in downtown San Antonio.
WOAI Radio and Television are among the few stations west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
whose call sign begins with "W." This designation was "grandfathered" when the federal government issued regulations requiring radio stations west of the Mississippi River to start with "K," and stations east of the Mississippi to begin with "W."
History
WOAI-TV signed on December 11, 1949 as the first television station in San Antonio. It was owned by Southland Industries along with WOAI radio (1200 AMWOAI (AM)
WOAI is a San Antonio, Texas, news/talk formatted radio station operating with 50,000 Watts non-directional day and night from a transmitter site near Marion, Texas. Current owner and operator San Antonio based Clear Channel Communications acquired the station in 1975 which founded the now...
and 102.3 FM, frequency now occupied by KSAQ). It carried programming from 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...
, NBC, 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...
and DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
, but was a primary NBC affiliate due to WOAI's long affiliation with NBC Radio. It lost CBS, DuMont to KEYL (now KENS-TV
KENS-TV
KENS is the CBS affiliate television station in San Antonio, Texas owned and operated by The Belo Corporation. Prior to late April 2010, KENS also managed UPN, later The CW, affiliate station KCWX through a local marketing agreement...
) in 1950; the two continued to share ABC until KONO-TV (now KSAT-TV
KSAT-TV
KSAT-TV channel 12 is the local ABC affiliate television station in the greater San Antonio area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas. The station calls itself KSAT 12, pronounced as "K-Sat"....
) signed on in 1957.
In 1965, WOAI-AM-FM-TV was bought by Crosley Broadcasting
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation
The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a radio and television broadcaster founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr.. The company was an early operator of radio stations in the United States. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Crosley's flagship station was WLW...
, which changed its name to Avco Broadcasting in 1968. Avco began to pull out of broadcasting in 1975. WOAI-TV was sold off to United Television (at the time a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
) in 1975, changing its call letters to KMOL-TV. Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly-held American corporation traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It later took on the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris-Craft Boats...
gained majority ownership of United in 1981, merging the group with BHC Communications (the owners of KCOP in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and 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...
).
When KRRT (now KMYS
KMYS
KMYS, channel 35, is the CW affiliate in San Antonio, Texas. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is licensed to the nearby city of Kerrville. Its transmitter is located near Lakehills, Texas.-Founding:...
) dropped UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
for The WB affiliation in 1998, KMOL picked up UPN and aired it late at night, due in part to being owned at the time by Chris-Craft, UPN's then-half-owner. Eventually the UPN affiliation went to KBEJ (now KCWX
KCWX
KCWX is the MyNetworkTV affiliate for San Antonio, Texas, broadcasting on PSIP virtual channel 2 over their digital channel 5. The station is licensed to Fredricksburg, with the transmitter located in Albert, north of San Antonio...
), which went on the air in 2000.
In 2001, Chris-Craft sold its stations to 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...
. Fox then traded KMOL and KTVX in Salt Lake City to Clear Channel for WFTC
WFTC
WFTC, channel 29, is a MyNetworkTV owned and operated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area...
in the Twin Cities. This tradeoff protected KABB
KABB
KABB is the Fox Network affiliate television station in San Antonio, Texas. It is co-owned with The CW Television Network affiliate KMYS by the Sinclair Broadcast Group...
as San Antonio's Fox station. Not only did the purchase reunite KMOL-TV with WOAI (which had been one of the original two stations in the Clear Channel chain), but channel 4 also became the television flagship of the San Antonio-based conglomerate. Speculation immediately began that Clear Channel would restore the WOAI-TV calls to channel 4, and this occurred on September 9, 2002. Although the local Clear Channel radio cluster is located in Northwest San Antonio off I-10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
, WOAI-TV is still based in its downtown studios near the Riverwalk
San Antonio River Walk
The San Antonio River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath downtown San Antonio, Texas...
.
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
' 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...
, with the group deal closing on March 14, 2008. However, the station continued a news partnership with its former radio sister. The two stations still share a website.
In May 2008, Newport Television agreed to sell WOAI-TV and five other stations to High Plains Broadcasting, Inc. because of an ownership conflict — Providence Equity Partners also holds a 19 percent ownership stake in the Spanish-language network Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
, the owner of KWEX-TV
KWEX-TV
KWEX-DT, channel 41, is the local Univisión owned and operated station in San Antonio, Texas. The station is the first commercially-based Spanish language television station in the United States.- History :...
and Telefutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
station KNIC-TV
KNIC-TV
KNIC-DT is a full-service television station in Blanco, Texas, broadcasting locally in digital on UHF channel 18 as the Telefutura station for San Antonio. Founded July 13, 2005, the station is owned by Univision Television Group Inc....
. The sale closed on September 15, 2008. However, as the sale to High Plains Broadcasting is in name only (effectively making High Plains Broadcasting a front company for Newport Television in a relationship similar to that between Mission Broadcasting
Mission Broadcasting
Mission Broadcasting, Inc. is a television station group that owns 15 television stations operated by Nexstar Broadcasting. The group's president is David S. Smith, who founded the company in 1998. In most areas where Mission owns a station, its arrangements allow Nexstar to control two of the top...
and Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., is an entity of broadcast television stations headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company consists of 50 television stations across the U.S., ranging from market sizes 9 to 201 . 43 of the stations are broadcasting at full power, with the other 4 broadcasting at...
), Newport Television continues to operate WOAI-TV under a shared services agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
. On December 17, 2007 WOAI debuted a new logo and new moniker.
WOAI-DT
WOAI-DT broadcasts on digital channel 48.| Channel | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | WOAI-DT | main WOAI-TV/NBC programming |
| 4.2 | WOAI-DT2 | Mexicanal Mexicanal Mexicanal Network is a Mexican based television Network launched in 2005 by and and serves Mexicans living and working in the United States, Canada and Mexico.... |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WOAI-TV shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United StatesDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
. WOAI-TV remained on its current pre-transition channel number, 48 using 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...
to display WOAI-TV'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....
as 4.
Programming
WOAI-TV broadcasts Rachael RayRachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
, The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
, The Doctors
The Doctors
The Doctors is a soap opera which aired on NBC Daytime from April 1, 1963, to December 31, 1982. There were 5280 episodes produced, with the 5000th episode airing in November 1981...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
(aired between The Tonight Show and Late Night show), and NBC programming. WOAI features its own daytime talk show SA Living.
WOAI drops Regis and Kelly
The station announced on August 22, 2010 that it will replace Live with Regis and KellyLive 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...
with Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
on September 13 in hopes to boost ratings for their local lifestyle program San Antonio Living. The announcement spawned controversy with many loyal viewers as Live had connections with San Antonio as Philbin was a Spurs fan and that back in 1991, Live showcased the city during Fiesta. The show will make a return to the San Antonio airwaves this September on KSAT.
News operation
WOAI broadcasts a total of 30 hours of local news per week (with 5½ hours on weekdays, one hour on Saturdays and 1½ hours on Sundays).WOAI-TV's newscasts have struggled for most of the last 30 years, and are currently in third place. Rivals KSAT and KENS continue to round out the top three stations.
On September 16, 2009, WOAI introduced a new set and began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition. This made it the third San Antonio station to have made the upgrade. It is the first (and so far only) station in San Antonio to broadcast all of its locally-originated field reports in HD; the other stations in the market continue to air much of their field video in standard definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
. It kept the previous logo featuring the big number 4, but transitioned the theme to a red, white, and black logo.
On September 6, 2010, WOAI extended its 6 p.m. newscast to one hour, with the addition of a half-hour extension of the newscast at 6:30 p.m.
Newscast titles
- Your Esso Reporter (1949–1953)
- World at Large (6 p.m. newscast)/Deadline (10 p.m. newscast; 1953–1962)
- TV-4 News/TV-4 News Central (1962–1973)
- TV-4 Big News (1973–1976)
- NewsCenter 4 (1976–1984)
- News 4 San Antonio (1984–1989 and 1997–2002)
- KMOL News 4 (1989–1997)
- News 4 WOAI (2002–2007 and 2008–present)
- News 4 (2007–2008)
Station slogans
- Channel 4, Proud As A Peacock!
- The Spirit of San Antonio (mid 1980s-1996)
- Straight Talk. Straight Facts. Straight to You. (1993–1995; news slogan)
- Breaking News. Breaking Weather. Investigations. (2006–2009)
- Dedicated. Determined. Dependable. (2009–present; also slogan for WAGA-TVWAGA-TVWAGA-TV, virtual channel 5.1 is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Television Network and based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
in Atlanta)
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Jaie Avila - weekday mornings; also "Troubleshooter" investigative reporter
- Randy Beamer - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Leslie Bohl-Jones - weekday mornings
- Delaine Mathieu - weeknights at 5 p.m.
- Jacqueline Ortiz - weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.; also "Kitchen Cops" feature and "Troubleshooter" investigative reporter
- Elsa Ramon - weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
StormTracker 4 Weather Team
American Meteorological Society
The 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...
and NWA
National Weather Association
The National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
Sports team
- Don Harris - Sports Director; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- David Chancellor - sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m., also sports reporter
- Humberto Cervera - sports reporter; also fill-in sports anchor
Reporters
- "Clone" Humberto Cervera - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
- Brian Collister - "Troubleshooter" investigative reporter
- Angel Covarrubias - general assignment reporter
- Kristina DeLeon - general assignment reporter
- Melissa Garcia - general assignment reporter
- Janet Kwak - general assignment reporter
- Jozannah Quintanilla - general assignment reporter (who transferred from KSAT-12 to WOAI in 2010)
- Mireya Villarreal - "Troubleshooter" investigative reporter
- Leila Walsh - general assignment reporter
San Antonio Living
- Shelly Miles - co-host; also reporter