KALB-TV

KALB-TV

Alexandria, Louisiana
Branding	KALB NewsChannel 5 CBS 2 (on DT2)
Slogan	Your Local Station CBS 2 and You! (on DT2)
Channels	Digital: 35 (UHF) Virtual: 5 (PSIP)
Subchannels	5.1 NBC 5.2 CBS
Owner	Hoak Media Corporation (Hoak Media Of Alexandria License, LLC)
First air date	September 29, 1954
Call letters' meaning	Know Alexandria, Louisana Better
Former channel number(s)	5 (VHF analog, 1954-2009)
Former affiliations	DuMont (1954-1955) ABC (1954-1957) CBS (1954-1957) all secondary
Transmitter power	820 kW
Height	481 m
Facility ID	51598
Transmitter coordinates	31°2′15.6″N 92°29′45.3″W
Website	KALB.com

KALB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Louisiana licensed to Alexandria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 (virtual channel 5.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Forest Hill. The station can also be seen on Suddenlink channel 5 and in high definition on digital channel 730. Owned by the Hoak Media Corporation, KALB has studios on Washington Street in Downtown Alexandria. Syndicated programming on the station includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Anderson, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Rachael Ray Show among others.

Digital television

KALB operates the area's CBS affiliate on a second digital subchannel. It uses the "NALB-TV" call sign in a fictional manner for identification purposes. This can also be seen on Suddenlink channel 2 (hence the on-air branding CBS 2) and in high definition on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on KALB-DT2 includes Extra, How I Met Your Mother, Judge Alex, and The Doctors along with others. The CBS 2 website is shared with sister station News Channel 5. KALB is among a handful of local television outlets in the United States broadcasting its main channel and at least one of its subchannels in full high definition (both are seen in 1080i in this case).

Channel	Video	Aspect ratio	Programming
5.1	1080i	16:9	main KALB programming / NBC (HD)
5.2			KALB-DT2 "CBS 2" (HD)

History

KALB began broadcasting on September 29, 1954 with NBC's airing of the 1954 World Series. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 5. The station has been an affiliate with the network from the very first day although it also carried programs from CBS and ABC until 1957 plus DuMont until that network folded in 1955. In 1957, the station was bought by Shreveport businessman T.B. Lanford and his company Red River Valley Broadcasting. Park Communications purchased KALB in 1993 and merged with Media General in 1997. KALB began broadcasting in stereo in 1988. The station launched its digital signal in 2002.

On October 29, 2007, Media General announced it was exploring the sale of KALB. On March 14, 2008, the company reached an agreement to sell the station and sister outlet WMBB in Panama City, Florida to the Hoak Media Corporation. The deal was closed on July 16. However, KALB still retained its Media General-era logo with the arc motif. On February 17, 2009, it turned-off its analog signal on channel 5 and now only operates in digital on channel 35. However, through PSIP, digital tuners show the virtual channel as the former analog channel.

Originally, it aired a digital signal from a transmitter at its facilities in Downtown Alexandria. KALB is one of the country's most dominant stations in part because it was the only commercial station in town until KLAX-TV signed-on in 1983. Alexandria is sandwiched between Monroe/El Dorado to the north, Baton Rouge to the east, Shreveport to the west, and Lafayette/Lake Charles to the south. This created a large "doughnut" in Central Louisiana where there could be only one VHF license. When cable arrived in the market in the 1970s, companies supplemented the area with stations from those cities. Before CBS began broadcasting on KALB-DT2, viewers watched CBS on cable from KLFY-TV in Lafayette, KNOE-TV in Monroe, or WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge.

News operation

News open.

KALB operates a relatively large news department compared with other big three affiliates in markets of its size. This results in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for such a small market. It is one of the country's most dominant stations largely because it had the area more or less to itself until KLAX launched in 1983.

Unlike many NBC affiliates, this station does not air a weekday morning show for a full two hours. There is also no early evening local newscast on Sundays. On weeknights, KALB-DT2 airs CBS 2 News at 6:30pm with the CBS Evening News airing at 6:00pm. This is unlike most affiliates in the Central Time Zone, which normally air the broadcast at 5:30pm. The morning news/weather updates and weekend newscasts are simulcast on both CBS 2 and News Channel 5. The weekend broadcasts are co-branded with the title "Weekend Edition".

During weather forecast segments, KALB features a live NOAA National Weather Service weather radar feed from a site on the south side of Alexandria International Airport. On-air, this is known as "Sky Warn 5 Live Doppler". Additionally, KALB has a partnership with Radio Maria, AM 580 in Alexandria, to simulcast its newscasts during severe weather or other emergencies. KALB's meteorologists also provide daily weather updates for Radio Maria and its network of stations.

The station also produces locally-originated programs such as live coverage of the Komen Alexandria Race for the Cure and live political debates during election season. Each hurricane season, the station's team of meteorologists produces a 30-minute hurricane special called "Suriving the Storm." On Thanksgiving, a "Giving Thanks" special airs, and 30-minute "Spirit of the Season" specials air at various times during the holiday season. These holiday and special event programs are produced locally by KALB-TV and features the station's personalities.

The "5th Quarter" show is hosted by sports anchors Lizzie Hill and Mo Carter. It includes football highlights and scores from schools throughout Central Louisiana. The "5th Quarter" airs from 10:10pm-10:35pm on Friday nights during high school football season.

Station presentation

Newscast titles

• Your Esso Reporter (1954–1961)
• The Central Louisiana Report (1961–1966)
• The Sixth/Eleventh Hour Report (1966–1971)
• TV-5 News (1971–1978)
• Region 5 News (1978–1984)
• NewsCentral 5 (1984–1994)
• News Channel 5 (1994–present)
• CBS 2 News (2010-present; KALB-DT2 newscasts)

Station slogans

• "TV-5, We're Central Louisiana's Station" (early-1970s)
• "Turn to TV-5" (mid-1970s)
• "Central Louisiana's #1 News Team" (late 1970s-early 1990s)
• "The Leader" (early-1990s)
• "On Your Side" (mid 1990s-2011)
• "Your Local Station" (2011-present)
• "The One to Turn To" (2011-present; WALB-DT2 slogan)

News team

Anchors

• Sherman Desselle - weekend evenings; also weeknight reporter
• Mark Hamblen - weekday mornings Jambalaya and weekdays at noon; also reporter
• Dale Hoffman - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Joy Howe - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.; also managing editor

Storm Team 5

• Tom Konvicka (member, AMS) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Rachael Penton - meteorologist; weekday mornings Jambalaya and weekdays at noon
• Dorrell Wenninger - meteorologist; weekend evenings, also multimedia journalist

Sports team

• Morrell "Mo" Carter - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m., also sports multimedia journalist
• Chris Bailey - sports anchor; weekend evenings, also sports multimedia journalist

Reporters

• Brooke Buford - multimedia journalist
• Nolan Crane - multimedia journalist
• Mark Klein - multimedia journalist
• Natalie North - multimedia journalist

Management and production

• Michele Godard - general manager
• Keith Weiss - news director
• Amy Bryant - noon and 5 p.m. news producer
• Alex Cornetta - Jambalaya morning producer
• Bryant Ferguson - assignment manager/photojournalist
• Ryan Workman - weeknight 6 and 10 p.m. news producer
• Daisy Brame - Jambalaya associate producer
• Kevin Clarkston - associate producer/production tech

External links

• KALB.com (Official Website)
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KALB-TV