KPLC

See also KPLC: Kenya Power and Lighting Company.

KPLC

Lake Charles–Lafayette, Louisiana
Branding	KPLC 7 (general) KPLC 7 News (newscasts)
Slogan	7 at Your Service
Channels	Digital: 7 (VHF)
Subchannels	7.1 NBC 7.2 KPLC Weather Channel 7.3 This TV
Affiliations	NBC (Secondary to 1980)
Owner	Raycom Media, Inc. (KPLC License Subsidiary, LLC)
First air date	September 29, 1954
Call letters' meaning	Port of Lake Charles
Former callsigns	KPLC-TV (1954-2003)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 7 (VHF, 1954-2009) Digital: 8 (VHF)
Former affiliations	ABC (secondary, 1954-1980)
Transmitter power	31 kW
Height	451 m
Facility ID	13994
Transmitter coordinates	30°23′46″N 93°0′3″W
Website	www.kplctv.com/

KPLC, channel 7, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana broadcasting on digital channel 7. It is owned by Raycom Media, and has transmitter facilities located in Fenton, Louisiana.

The station also serves as the default NBC affiliate for the Lafayette, Louisiana market, since that market does not have an NBC affiliate of its own. It operates a "virtual station" for Acadiana and sells advertising in the area.

Digital television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Digital channels

Channel	Video	Aspect	Name	Programming
7.1	1080i	16:9	KPLC-DT	Main KPLC programming / NBC
7.2	480i	4:3	SLWA	The SLWA Channel
7.3			KPLC-DT3	This TV

History

KPLC-TV began broadcasting in the summer of 1954. Owner T.B. Lanford of Shreveport had previously signed on KPLC-AM radio and was eager to expand into television.

The station was later purchased by a St. Louis group headed by investor Elliot Stien. He visited KPLC frequently along with his friend, St. Louis Cardinals baseball legend Stan Musial.

In 1970, G. Russell Chambers purchased KPLC-TV from the St. Louis group and dramatically increased the station's coverage by adding a 1,500-foot (460 m) tower, providing a quality signal for the NBC affiliate as far north as Leesville, as far east as Lafayette and to the Gulf of Mexico. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations required that the radio stations be sold. Perry Sanders purchased the AM/FM combo and changed its call letters to KLCL.

In 1986, Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Liberty Life Insurance Company, took over. KPLC was one of the first television stations in the U.S. to launch its own website in the 1990s.

In 2004, KPLC began broadcasting in digital as well as analog with the launch of KPLC (DT). Later in the year the station launched its first local 24-hour weather channel, "KPLC WeatherPlus." Simultaneously, the station launched a service specifically for cellphones and PDA's, "7 On Your Cell."

In March 2004 while workers were installing a new transmission tower in high winds, the old transmission tower fell, causing a service disruption lasting about two weeks to over-the-air viewers in Southwest Louisiana. Service to cable customers was not interrupted due to the station's signal being delivered by fiber lines. A lower-power temporary tower was erected on top the station's broadcast studios a couple of days after the tower fell, allowing viewers within a few miles of the station to again receive the signal over-the-air.

In January 2006, Liberty and KPLC were purchased by Raycom Media, which also owns two other Louisiana television stations, KSLA-TV in Shreveport and WAFB in Baton Rouge.

Programming

KPLC currently airs all of NBC network programming in high definition and none of its syndicated programming such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, America Now and Entertainment Tonight in HD.

News operation

KPLC's makeshift studio during Hurricane Rita coverage

During Hurricane Rita, which struck in September 2005, the station delivered around-the-clock news from a temporary, makeshift studio in a safer location than its normal studios in downtown Lake Charles.

KPLC does not offer any of its local news in high definition. As of December 13, 2010, KPLC-TV in the process of completely rebuilding their master control facility including migration to HD for both syndicated and locally produced material.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• The Southwest Louisiana Report (1954–1961)
• The Marlboro News (1961–1966)
• 24 Hours (1966–1970)
• Total News (1970–1974)
• NewsCenter 7 (1974–1983)
• 7 News (1983–present)

Station slogans

• "7 at Your Service" (1980–present)
• "Louisiana's Most Honored News Team" (1989–1994)
• "Coverage. Community. Commitment." (1999–2004)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

News team

Anchors

• Cynthia Arceneaux - weeknights at 5, 6 and Nightcast (10 p.m.)
• John Bridges - weekday mornings 7 News Sunrise
• Agnes DeRouen - weekdays at noon; also managing editor
• Charlie Haldeman - news director and fill-in anchor
• Lee Peck - Saturdays at 6 p.m. and weekends at 10 p.m.; also Crackdown on Crime reporter
• Elizabeth Temple - weekday mornings 7 News Sunrise; also Healthcast medical reporter

7 Storm Team

• Wade Hampton - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and Nightcast (10 p.m.)
• Kristian Claus - meteorologist; Saturdays at 6 p.m. and weekends at 10 p.m. "Nightcast"
• Ben Terry - meteorologist; weekday mornings

Sports team

• Joe Downs - sports director; weeknights at 6 and Nightcast (10 p.m.)
• Sam Gannon - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6 and weekends at 10 p.m.

Reporters

• Holly Carter - video journalist
• Kadi Hanes - neighborhood web producer & journalist
• Theresa Schmidt - general assignment and environment reporter
• Olivia Vidal - video journalist
• Victoria Waterman - video journalist

Former on-air staff

• Rob Marciano - chief meteorologist (1994–1997; now meteorologist at CNN)
• Bonnie Schneider - meteorologist (now meteorologist at CNN)

External links

• Official website (Mobile)
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KPLC
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KPLC-TV