KTBS-TV

KTBS-TV

Shreveport, Louisiana
Branding	KTBS 3 (general) KTBS 3 News (newscasts)
Slogan	On Your Side (general) News When You Need It; First in News, First in HD (news) Local Lives Here (6 p.m. newscast) The Calm During The Storm (weather)
Channels	Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 3 (PSIP)
Affiliations	ABC (secondary until 1960)
Owner	KTBS, LLC (Wray family)
First air date	September 3, 1955
Call letters' meaning	Tri-State Broadcasting System
Sister station(s)	KPXJ
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 3 (VHF, 1955-2009)
Former affiliations	Primary: NBC (1955-1960)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	563 m
Facility ID	35652
Transmitter coordinates	32°41′7.6″N 93°56′0.8″W
Website	KTBS.com

KTBS-TV, virtual channel 3, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its transmitter is located near Mooringsport. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 28 and is owned locally by the Wray family as part of a duopoly with the CW affiliate KPXJ (channel 21). The two stations share studios on East Kings Highway in Shreveport, as well as equipment, talent, and crew.

Digital television

Digital channels

Channel	Video	Aspect	Programming
3.1	720p	16:9	Main KTBS-TV programming / ABC
3.2	480i	4:3	The Local AccuWeather Channel
3.3	480i	4:3	KTBS 24 Hour News Channel

On June 12, 2009, KTBS-TV left channel 3 and moved to channel 28 when the analog to digital conversion completed.

History

KTBS began broadcasting on September 3, 1955. It was owned by the Wray family along with KTBS radio (AM 710, now KEEL) and several other radio stations in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. These stations were known as the Tri-State Broadcasting System--hence the station's calls. The radio stations were sold off in the late 1950s, but the Wrays have retained channel 3 to this day.

A plaque with the 1996-2005 version of the station logo, outside the KTBS studios on East Kings Highway.

The station was originally a primary NBC affiliate, sharing ABC with KSLA-TV. In 1960, Shreveport and Texarkana were collapsed into a single television market. Texarkana's KTAL-TV took over the NBC affiliation for the enlarged market, leaving KTBS with ABC. Over the years, KTBS has been one of the strongest ABC affiliates in the country. Along with sister station KPXJ, it is one of the only locally owned and operated stations in the area.

The station was one of two de facto ABC affiliates (KLAX-TV (channel 31) in Alexandria being the other) for the Monroe area starting in 1994, when their ABC affiliate, KARD-TV (channel 14) switched its affiliation to Fox, until 1998, when ABC returned to the Monroe area on upstart KAQY (channel 11).

Out-of-market cable coverage

KTBS is carried on various cable companies outside of the designated market. KTBS is carried as far as Longview, Texas to the west, Mount Pleasant, Texas to the northwest, El Dorado, Arkansas to the northeast, Jonesboro, Louisiana to the southeast, and Carthage, Texas to the southwest.

Programming

KTBS clears the entire ABC schedule, with the exception of World News Sunday, which is pre-empted in favor of an hour-long newscast on Sundays at 5 p.m. As of 2009, it is one of a few television stations still signing off at night. The station signs off on Friday nights/early Saturday mornings at 1:05-4 a.m. and on Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings at 1:45-5 a.m. But instead of a usual sign-off, its weather radar is displayed instead.

KTBS was the home of the Louisiana Lottery drawings from its inception in 1993 to April 2009 when KTAL acquired the rights to the drawings.

News operation

In 2003, following the Wrays' purchase of KPXJ from Paxson Communications, KTBS began producing a nightly, half-hour 9 o'clock newscast (which has since been expanded to one-hour in length) on that station. The broadcast consists of the same format as the 10 o'clock news on KTBS. Additionally, KTBS produces a half-hour, weekday morning newscast at 7 a.m. on KPXJ. KTBS had aired rebroadcasts of its 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts on KPXJ before the station switched from i affiliation to UPN. As of the May 2008 ratings period, KTBS is rated number one in several time periods.

In addition to their main studios, KTBS operates two news bureaus: the Texarkana Bureau is located on Jefferson Avenue in Texarkana, Arkansas. On weeknights at 6 and 10 o'clock, the station airs news segments from the East Texas area. KTBS operates a 24-hour live signal of its "KTBS Mega 3 Radar" on its second digital subchannel, which, in addition to airing weather reports, also air Texas Rangers baseball games on Friday Nights. On its third digital subchannel, KTBS operates a 24-hour news rebroadcast channel known as KTBS 24 Hour News. It is also offered on Comcast basic channel 30 and digital channel 201.

On October 15, 2008, KTBS began broadcasting its newscasts in a 16:9 standard definition widescreen format; becoming the first station in the market to do so. On June 28, 2010, KTBS expanded its 6 p.m. newscast to one hour, becoming the first station in the market to carry an hour-long 6 p.m. newscast (CBS affiliate KSLA began broadcasting an hour-long 6 p.m. newscast a short time later); As a result, KTAL is the only Big Three affiliate in the market to carry syndicated programming during the 6:30 half-hour.

In July 2010, KTBS also expanded the weekend edition of its 10 p.m. newscast to one hour. Again, KSLA quickly followed suit with an hour-long newscast at 10 p.m. on weekends. On August 30, 2010, KTBS expanded its weekday morning newscasts to 2½ hours, by moving its start time to 4:30 a.m. (one of the few stations in a non-Top 50 Nielsen market to begin their weekday morning newscast at 4:30). On October 14, 2010, KTBS became the first in the market to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition during their 5pm newscast. Rival KSLA, began producing news in high definition the next morning.

KTBS airs a total of 31½ hours of local newscasts a week (five hours on weekdays, and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays) on KTBS. In addition, KTBS produces morning and 9 p.m. newscasts for sister station; these programs add an additional 9 1/2 hours of newscasts that KTBS produces each week (1 1/2 hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). In total, KTBS produces 41 hours of local newscasts each week. This amount of news greatly exceeds any other station in the area and many in the nation.

Weather coverage

KTBS is one of two stations in the Arklatex that have their own radar. But the KTBS doppler radar system, "Mega 3", operates on 1 million watts of power, much stronger than the "StormTracker 12 Live Doppler" radar used by rival KSLA-TV. KTBS also utilizes their radar much more than KSLA. During severe weather events, KTBS uses Mega 3 alone. KSLA does not use their radar thus going with the NWS radar sites across the region. On a side note, KTBS was the first in the nation to have a doppler radar operating at 1 million watts of power.

Newscasts

Weekdays

• KTBS 3 First News - 4:30-7 a.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 7 on KPXJ - 7-7:30 a.m.
• KTBS 3 News Midday - 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 5 - 5-5:30 p.m.
• KTBS 3 6:00 News Hour - 6-7 p.m.
• KTBS 3 9:00 News Hour on KPXJ - 9-10 p.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 10 - 10-10:35 p.m.

Saturdays

• KTBS 3 First News Saturday - 5:30-7 a.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 5 - 5-5:30 p.m.
• KTBS 3 9:00 News Hour on KPXJ - 9-10 p.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 10 - 10-10:35 p.m.
• KTBS 3 Saturday Overtime - 10:35-11 p.m.

Sundays

• KTBS 3 First News Sunday - 8-9:30 a.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 5:30 - 5:30-6 p.m.
• KTBS 3 9:00 News Hour on KPXJ - 9-10 p.m.
• KTBS 3 News at 10 - 10-10:35 p.m.
• KTBS 3 Sunday Overtime - 10:35-11 p.m.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• News Final (1955–1959)
• The Night Report (1959–1967)
• Eyewitness News (1967–1971)
• Action 3 News (1971–1982)
• The News on 3 (1982–1985)
• Channel 3 News (1985–1993)
• 3 Ark-La-Tex News (1990s)
• Nightcast (10 p.m. newscast; 1986–1993)
• KTBS 3 News (1993–present)

Station slogans

• "On Your Side" (1988–present)
• "The Calm During the Storm" (2008–present; weather slogan)
• "Local Lives Here" (2010–present; 6 p.m. newscast slogan)
• "First in News, First in HD" (2010–present; HD slogan)

News team

Current on-air staff

Anchors

• Chrissi Coile - weekday mornings on FirstNews (4:30-7 a.m.) and 11:30 a.m.
• Bob Griffin - weekend mornings FirstNews; also "Griffin's Ark-La-Tex" feature reporter
• Gerry May - weeknights at 5, 6, on KTBS, at 9 (on KPXJ) and 10 p.m. on KTBS; also reporter
• Judy Wagonar - weekend news anchor at 5:30 p.m. and 10 (5 p.m. on Sunday)
• Ed Walsh - weekday mornings on FirstNews (4:30-7 a.m.); also reporter

Storm Team 3

• Joe Haynes (AMS Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 9 (on KPXJ) and 10 p.m.
• Alexandra Cranford - meteorologist; weekday mornings FirstNews (4:30-7 a.m.) and 11:30 a.m.
• Neil Shaw - weather anchor; Saturdays at 5:30, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.
• Skip Kordas - meteorologist; fill-in

Sports team

• Tim Fletcher - sports director; weeknights at 6, 9 (on KPXJ) and 10 p.m.
• Leslie Spoon - sports anchor; Saturdays at 5:30, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m., also sports reporter and host of Saturday and Sunday Overtime

Reporters

• Chris Arnold - multimedia journalist; also photographer
• Erin Buchanan - general assignment reporter
• Nick Caloway - multimedia journalist; also news producer
• Carolyn Cerda - Longview bureau reporter
• Gary Cooper - multimedia journalist
• Angela Cruz - education reporter
• Julie Parr - Texarkana bureau reporter
• Chris Redford - "Crime Team" reporter
• Rick Rowe - weekday morning reporter; also "Live and On the Scene" segment producer
• Rod White - multimedia journalist

Notable former on-air staff

• Liz Swaine - reporter (1981-1998; executive assistant to the mayor of Shreveport, 1998–2006; candidate for mayor of Shreveport, 2006; executive director of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) of Shreveport, 2010-present)

Trivia

• A clip from KTBS' newscast was featured in the movie Meet Joe Black.

External links

• KTBS.com (Official Website)
• KTBS on Twitter
• KTBS wireless weather
• KPXJ "CW 21"
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KTBS-TV