KTBC

KTBC

Austin, Texas
Branding	Fox 7 (general) Fox 7 News Edge (newscasts)
Slogan	Just You Watch (primary general) So Fox 7 (secondary general) Giving You the Edge (news)
Channels	Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 7 (PSIP)
Affiliations	Fox
Owner	Fox Television Stations, Inc. (NW Communications of Austin, Inc.)
First air date	November 27, 1952
Call letters' meaning	Texas Broadcasting Company
Former callsigns	KTBC-TV (1952–1998)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 7 (VHF, 1952–2009) Digital: 56 (UHF, 1997–2009)
Former affiliations	Primary: CBS (1952–1995) Secondary: ABC (1952–1971) NBC (1952–1966) DuMont (1952–1955)
Transmitter power	98.6 kW
Height	383 m
Facility ID	35649
Transmitter coordinates	30°18′35″N 97°47′34″W
Website	www.myfoxaustin.com

KTBC, channel 7, is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in Austin, Texas. The station is owned by the Fox Television Stations subidiary of News Corporation. Its studios are located in downtown Austin at the corner of 10th and Brazos Streets (a block away from the Texas State Capitol Building), and its transmitter is located on Mount Larson (located separately from most other station transmitters at the nearby West Austin Antenna Farm, KTBC shares this transmitter with its former radio partner KLBJ-FM). The station is carried on channel 2 on most cable providers in the Austin market.

History

Early history

KTBC signed on the air on November 27, 1952, becoming the first television station in Austin and Central Texas. It was originally owned by the Texas Broadcasting Company (from whom the call letters are taken) which was in turn owned by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson and his wife Lady Bird, alongside KTBC radio (AM 590, now KLBJ-AM) and FM 93.7, now KLBJ-FM). It carried all four major networks at the time: ABC, CBS, NBC and the now-defunct DuMont Television Network. KTBC was primarily a CBS affiliate until 1995, with roughly 65% of its programming being carried by the station in its early history; NBC and ABC roughly split the remaining coverage in half.

In 1960, the staff of KTBC produced a film for the Texas Department of Public Safety, entitled Target Austin. The 20-minute film presents the scenario of a nuclear missile strike on the outskirts of Austin and follows the storylines of several characters from the CONELRAD broadcast to the announcement that it is safe to emerge from shelter. The film takes place in Austin, highlighting several iconic locations in the city, and featured an Austin-based cast and crew: including director Gordon Wilkison (of KTBC), narrator Cactus Pryor (also of KTBC), actress Coleen Hardin, and El Rancho restaurant owner Matt Martinez.

KTBC was the only commercial television station in the Austin market until KHFI-TV (channel 42, now KXAN-TV on channel 36) signed on in 1965. While KHFI should have logically taken over the NBC affiliation, NBC programming continued to be broadcast solely on KTBC for the next 18 months due to contractual obligations. KTBC became an exclusive CBS affiliate when all of ABC's programming moved to KVUE when that station first signed on in 1971.

The shared affiliation with all three networks had unexpected benefits with regards to coverage of news and breaking events. After Lyndon Johnson became President following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the networks established direct feed lines between KTBC and the various network affiliates in New York, Dallas and Chicago. This facilitated news report relayed while the President was residing either in Austin or at his ranch in Johnson City. The Johnsons maintained a penthouse apartment on the fifth floor of the station, which was wired for camera and sound equipment, and used on occasion for local programming on occasions when the Johnsons were away.

This multi-network capability was first demonstrated live on August 1, 1966, following the UT Tower sniper incident. After Charles Whitman's sniper rampage had been stopped, the primary newsman on the scene, Neal Spelce, presented a concise, complete wrap-up of the event that was carried on all three networks live later that evening. Although the connections were later replaced by satellite uplink technology, the lines were maintained for contingency usage for several years.

KTBC logo from June 1974.

KTBC was the dominant station in Austin for many years, in part because, then as now, it is the only full-powered VHF station in town. It was suggested the Johnsons used their clout to keep KTBC as the area's only VHF station – in actuality, this dates back to a quirk in the system that the Federal Communications Commission used to allocate television channels. In the early days of broadcast television, there were twelve VHF channels available, and 69 UHF channels (later reduced to 55 for the remainder of the analog era). The VHF bands were more desirable because signals on those channels carried a longer distance. Because there were only twelve VHF channels available, there were limitations as to how closely the stations could be spaced. After the FCC opened the UHF band in 1952, it devised a plan for allocating VHF licenses. Under this plan, almost all of the country would be able to receive three VHF channel allocations (one non-commercial and two commercial). Most of the rest of the country ("1/2") would be able to receive a third VHF channel. Other areas of the country would be designated as "UHF islands", since they were too close to larger cities for VHF service. The "2" networks became CBS and NBC, "+1" became PBS, and "1/2" became ABC, which, as the weakest network, usually wound up with the UHF allocation where no VHF was available.

However, Austin is sandwiched between San Antonio to the south, Waco/Temple/Killeen to the north, Houston to the east and San Angelo to the west. This created a large "doughnut" in central Texas where there could only be one VHF license. KTBC was fortunate to gain that license, and thus had a large advantage over KXAN and KVUE until cable arrived in Austin in late 1970s, especially in the Hill Country since UHF signals usually do not get good reception in rugged terrain.

The Johnsons sold KTBC to Times Mirror in 1973, making it a sister station to Dallas's KDFW. They kept the KTBC radio properties, and under FCC guidelines back then, changed calls to KLBJ-AM-FM. In 1994, Times Mirror sold KTBC to Argyle Television.

As a Fox-owned station

In December 1993, Fox outbid CBS to obtain the broadcast rights to football games from the National Football Conference of the NFL. In 1994, New World Communications signed a long-term affiliation deal with Fox, which was establishing itself as a major network and was looking for more VHF stations. In late 1994, most New World-owned stations (except for two) dropped their longtime "Big Three" affiliations and switched to Fox. On January 19, 1995, New World took over the operation of the Argyle stations through time brokerage agreements. Nearly three months later, New World completed its merger with Argyle.

KTBC logo from 1997 to 2008.

On July 1, 1995, KTBC ended its 43-year affiliation with CBS and became a Fox affiliate; the CBS affiliation went to former Fox affiliate KBVO, which changed its calls to KEYE-TV. Distinctively, this gave Austin (along with the Tri-Cities, Washington market with KFFX-TV; and until WTVW (now a CW affiliate) disaffiliated from the network in 2011, Evansville, Indiana) the distinction of having a Fox station on the VHF dial while the other "Big Three" affiliations were all on UHF. As the new Fox affiliate, KTBC was able to continue as Austin's unofficial "home" of the Dallas Cowboys, because of Fox's rights to the NFC. KTBC had carried most Cowboys games since the team's inception in 1960 by virtue of CBS winning television rights to the NFL in 1956. For many years, it also carried Cowboys preseason games, though those moved to KEYE in 2006. In its early years as a Fox station, KTBC filled its daytime lineup with talk shows and the nighttime lineup with off-network sitcoms.

The station came under ownership of Fox when New World merged with Fox Television Stations in 1996; this made KTBC the first network-owned television station in the Austin market (KEYE was subsequently purchased by CBS in 2000, KTBC became the only English-language network O&O in the market after CBS sold KEYE in 2007). In the spring of 1997, KTBC and Phoenix, Arizona's KSAZ-TV were nearly swapped to the Belo Corporation in exchange for Seattle's KIRO-TV. That deal ultimately fell through; however, Belo would acquire rival KVUE and Phoenix's KTVK two years later. In recent years, the station's daytime lineup has leaned away from the talk show format in favor of court shows.

KVC 13

K13VC (branded as "KVC 13") was an low-powered station that had broadcast on VHF channel 13, and was co-owned alongside KTBC. The station signed on July 1, 1995 (concurrent with KTBC's switch to Fox), as an independent station. K13VC ran a general entertainment schedule featuring sitcoms, drama series and cartoons, along with several shows that also aired on KTBC. When KTBC joined Fox, it declined the Fox Kids weekday block, although both channel 7 and KVC had simulcast Fox Kids' Saturday morning lineup (KTBC would later drop the block in 1997); KVC continued to air the weekday children's block until Fox discontinued it in 2002, leaving only the Saturday lineup.

In 1998, KVC became a UPN affiliate, inherting the affiliation from the Hill Country Paramount Network operated by LIN TV. That move resulted in much of Central Texas (outside the immediate Austin area) losing the ability to receive UPN programming over-the-air for a short time, as KVC was a low-power station that could barely be or was not at all receiveable by antenna in parts of the area. However, UPN saw increased viewership by way of Austin area cable providers. When KVC became a UPN affiliate, it also picked up the UPN Kids lineup, which later rebranded as Disney's One Too. The station continued to air UPN programming until August 3, 2000, when Fredericksburg's KBEJ (now KCWX) signed on the air on channel 2. At that time, KVC reverted to independent status, showing syndicated programming, as well as University of Texas and other college sporting events.

K13VC was forced off the air on March 29, 2003, in order to make room for the digital signal of Killeen-based Univision affiliate KAKW-TV (whose signal also serves Austin). Due to the shutdown of KVC, 4Kids TV did not air at all in the Austin market, although KVC aired its direct predecessor block, FoxBox, from September 14, 2002 to March 29, 2003.

Digital television

Digital channels

Channel	Video	Aspect	PSIP Short Name	Programming
7.1	720p	16:9	KTBC HD	Main KTBC programming / Fox
7.2			KTBC SD	Movies! (debuts May 27, 2013)

Analog-to-digital conversion

KTBC shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, as part of the analog to digital television transition. KTBC's digital signal moved from UHF channel 56 (which was removed from broadcasting use, along with the other high band UHF channels from 52 to 69, as part of the transition) to its former analog channel assignment of 7. With a licensed power of 98 kW, KTBC has the second highest effective radiated power of any station broadcasting on channel 7 in the United States (per the FCC database).

Programming

Syndicated programming seen on KTBC includes The Big Bang Theory, TMZ on TV, Judge Judy, The Wendy Williams Show and The Dr. Oz Show. Like most New World-owned stations that ended up being acquired by Fox, the station declined to carry Fox Kids programming when it became affiliated with the network, which instead aired on KVC. In January 2009, Fox replaced the 4KidsTV children's block with the infomercial lineup Weekend Marketplace; KTBC has since picked up that block, and as a result, the station now clears the entire Fox network schedule.

Children's programming

During the station's first two decades on the air, KTBC was a leader in children's programming, most notably with the long-running Uncle Jay Show. Starting in 1953, host Jay Hodgson entertained local children each weekday afternoon with the assistance of the "crusty, hunnert-year-old trader" known as Packer Jack Wallace, and both were later joined by Francis "Piper" Dyer in 1961 as the show's organist. The show also featured a studio audience made up entirely of local children, ranging from 30 to 50 in number depending on the set design at the time.

The Uncle Jay Show featured cartoons, including many of the pre-August 1948 Warner Bros. cartoons as distributed by Associated Artists Productions (whose rights are now back under Warner Bros. ownership); in 1965, the show also hosted the King Features Syndicate series of cartoon shorts featuring Beetle Bailey, Snuffy Smith and Krazy Kat. It expanded to an hour-long show in 1967 to facilitate the airing of Supercar, which had just entered into U.S. syndication. Both Hodgson and Wallace provided humor in the form of comedy skits and jokes, as well as some educational material including guest appearances by local naturalists, botanists and even movie stars and sports figures. Children in the audience were called on to participate in games, and received prizes for successful participation. Among the show's primary sponsors whose products were promoted live on-air by either Hodgson or Wallace, were the Villa Capri restaurant, local shoe emporium Kara-Vel Shoes, Mrs. Johnson's Bakery, and Superior Dairies products. The latter of these was promoted by Wallace in a very fondly remembered commercial where Wallace extols the benefits of authentic wild west cooking out on the range, and the secret ingredient being Superior Dairies Chocolate Milk.

Hodgson, who was KTBC's on-air announcer from the station's sign-on, was with the show throughout its run. Wallace, a local radio personality who appeared with Richard "Cactus" Pryor as part of the Cac and Jack Morning Show on KTBC-AM during the 1960s and 1970s, co-hosted the show with Hodgson until Wallace's death from cardiopulminary failure in late 1973, while Dyer left the show the following year to pursue other interests. In the fall of 1975, ratings for Uncle Jay began to sharply decline, and the show was moved from weekly afternoons to a Saturday morning time slot. Cartoons were dropped from the program to concentrate more on local informational and educational issues that would be of interest to children. Gone also was the "live" element of the show; while groups of children were still part of the on-screen, shows were taped during the week to be broadcast that Saturday. Hodgson continued to host solo until the show's cancellation in the fall of 1977.

Hodgson (who died in May 2007) continued to work for KTBC as a public affairs journalist after Uncle Jay was canceled, appearing in such shows as The Eyes of Central Texas, and This Is Central Texas. The latter was his final show, and ended its run after Hodgson himself retired in 1991. The final episode was an hour-long tribute to the longtime host, with testimonials by many of Austin's media personalities, including former KTBC and then-current KVUE-TV news anchor Dick Ellis, who had barely made it to the show on time and appeared dressed in hunting gear, having only heard about the show a few hours earlier while on a dove hunting trip.

News operation

KTBC building.

KTBC presently broadcasts 45½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (8½ hours on weekdays, and an hour-and-a-half each on Saturdays and Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the largest local newscast output among the Austin market's broadcast television stations.

For many years, KTBC was the dominant news station in Austin, often beating KXAN and KVUE by a wide margin. The network swap began a steady ratings decline, and by the late 1990s KTBC had lost the lead. By the turn of the century, it had fallen to fourth in most timeslots behind KXAN, KVUE and KEYE. However, channel 7 has rebounded in recent years; in the November 2010 Nielsen ratings period, the station was #1 at 4:30 a.m., 5 a.m., and 6 a.m. in the key demographic of adults 25-54.

When KTBC became a Fox affiliate in July 1995, the station expanded its local news programming; on the outset, it retained a newscast schedule that is very similar to a CBS-, ABC-, or NBC-affiliated station, though the station added an additional two hours of news on weekday mornings. The weeknight 6 p.m. newscast continued until 2000, when it was discontinued in favor of an expansion of the 5 p.m. newscast to one hour (however, the station continues to carry a 6 p.m. newscast on Saturday evenings); as a result, KTBC is one of four Fox owned-and-operated stations (and the only ex-New World station that switched to Fox) that has a newscast at 5 p.m., but does not have one at 6 p.m. (along with Memphis's WHBQ-TV, Houston's KRIV and Minneapolis's KMSP-TV). Even after KTBC joined Fox, it continued its 10 p.m. newscast, with the 9 p.m. hour time slot filled by syndicated programming, unusual for that network's affiliates. This changed in 2000 when the station moved its evening newscast to 9 p.m. – becoming the first primetime newscast in Austin.

KTBC's newscasts have been named Fox 7 News Edge since 2006. The station went through a graphic overhaul in early 2008 to match the Fox News Channel-influenced look of its stablemates. KTBC was the last Fox O&O to introduce this look on April 17, 2008. On July 1, 2009, KTBC became the fourth and last English-language television station in the Austin market (behind KEYE, KVUE and KXAN) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. In June 2010, the station's weekday morning newscast, Good Day Austin, was extended by one hour to run from 5-10 a.m. This was followed in November 2010, with the expansion of the newscast to the 4:30 a.m. timeslot, becoming the first station in the Austin market to start their morning news program at 4:30, extending the newscast to 5½ hours.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• KTBC News (1952–1980)
• NewsCenter 7 (1980–1983 and 1995–1996)
• Channel 7 News (1983–1995)
• Fox 7 News (1996–2006)
• Fox 7 News Edge (2006–present)

Station slogans

• "Austin's News Channel" (1984–1987)
• "Austin's Leading News Station" (1987–1990)
• "Austin's News Center" (1990–1995)
• "News You Can Count On" (1995–1997)
• "On Your Side" (1997–2000; news slogan)
• "Austin's Watching Fox" (1997–2000; general slogan)
• "Just You Watch" (2000–2007; general slogan)
• "Get the Edge" (2007–present; news slogan)

News team

Current on-air staff

Anchors

• Keri Bellacosa - weekday mornings on Good Day Austin (7-10 a.m.)
• Loriana Hernandez - weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m.; also reporter
• Katherine Kisiel - weekday mornings on Good Day Austin (5-10 a.m.) and weekdays at noon
• Jenni Lee - weekend evenings; also weeknight reporter
• Mike Warren - weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m.; also reporter

Fox 7 AccuWeather

• Scott Fisher (AMS Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m.
• Scott Prinsen (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend evenings
• Zack Shields - meteorologist; weekday mornings on Good Day Austin (4:30-10 a.m.) and weekdays at noon

Sports team

• Dave Cody - sports director; weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m.
• Dennis de la Pena - sports anchor; weekend evenings
• John Hygh - sports reporter

Reporters

• Foti Kallergis - general assignment reporter
• Rudy Koski - general assignment reporter
• Ann Wyatt Little - weekday morning reporter
• Noelle Newton - general assignment reporter
• [[Lauren Petrowski - general assignment reporter
• Sarah Talbert - general assignment reporter
• Nancy Zambrano - general assignment reporter

Notable former on-air staff

• Jean Boone - host of Women's World talk show (1960s)
• Mike Emanuel - weekend anchor/political reporter (now Fox News White House Correspondent)
• Alan Krashesky - weather anchor/reporter (now anchor at WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois)
• Cactus Pryor - programming manager and program host
• Gordon Smith - weatherman from 1991-2004, covered the 1966 breaking story of Charles Whitman sniping from the Main Building (University of Texas at Austin) for KLRN (now KLRU).

External links

• MyFoxAustin.com - Official website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KTBC
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for KTBC
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KTBC-TV

References

• "The Years of Lyndon Johnson - Means of Ascent" by Robert A. Caro.