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KMBC-TV

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KMBC-TV, channel 9, is a television station located in Kansas City, Missouri. KMBC-TV is owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, and is affiliated with the ABC Television Network. Its studios and transmitter are located in Kansas City, Missouri. The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 9, and its digital signal on UHF channel 29, using its current analog assignment of channel 9 as its virtual digital channel via PSIP.

History

The Federal Communications Commission awarded the license of Kansas City's third and last VHF station to two locally-based radio station operators who competed heavily for the license. The Cook Paint and Varnish Company, which operated WHB radio (then at 710 AM, now at 810 AM) and the Midland Broadcasting Company, owners of KMBC radio (980 AM, now KMBZ), began shared operation of channel 9 on August 2, 1953. Under the arrangement, the two separate stations would each alternate 90 minutes of airtime, broadcasting from separate studios but using the same channel and transmitter. The combined KMBC-TV and WHB-TV operation also carried programming from CBS, perhaps due to CBS' affiliation with KMBC radio.

Cook Paint and Varnish purchased Midland Broadcasting's holdings in April 1954, a move that would bring an end to the split-station arrangement. On June 14, 1954, KMBC-TV took over channel 9 full-time, absorbing WHB-TV's share of the frequency. Cook Paint also sold WHB radio to comply with FCC rules. In September 1955, KMBC-TV swapped affiliations with KCMO-TV (channel 5, now KCTV), becoming an ABC affiliate. KMBC-TV had formerly operated a satellite station in Sedalia (part of the Columbia-Jefferson City market), when Cook Paint & Varnish bought KDRO-TV, channel 6 (now KMOS-TV) on January 28, 1959. KDRO-TV became an ABC affiliate in 1958, but ABC refused to give it a network feed to protect KMBC-TV, instead switching to and from KMBC's signal when ABC network programming was being broadcast.

Cook Paint & Varnish then sold the KMBC stations to Metropolitan Broadcasting (later Metromedia) in 1961. Metropolitan did not want KMOS-TV, so it was sold to the Jefferson City News Tribune, then-owner of Jefferson City CBS affiliate KRCG (channel 13) and became that station's satellite. KMOS now operates as a PBS member station after having been donated to the Central Missouri State University (now University of Central Missouri) in 1978. Metromedia sold KMBC radio to Bonneville International in 1967, but kept KMBC-TV until selling it to the Hearst Corporation in 1982. Under Hearst, the station expanded its local news production.

In 1981, KMBC-TV anchor/reporter Christine Craft won a multimillion-dollar judgment against the station and Metromedia. Craft accused station managers of sexual harassment; this was one of the first such cases to be widely publicized in the United States. Craft, however, lost her case on appeal.

KMBC came under common management as upstart WB affiliate KCWB (channel 29, now CW affiliate KCWE) in 1996 under a local marketing agreement. In March 2008, KMBC began a morning newscast for KCWE, the first regularly scheduled news program for the station.

Switch to HD and move to new studios

Since its inception (from 1957-2007), the station has been based out of (what is now) the Lyric Opera building in downtown Kansas City. The station unveiled its new, purpose-built facility near Swope Park in Kansas City on August 23, 2007, beginning with KMBC 9 News at 5:00. The new building includes a news set designed by FX Group. With the relocation, channel 9 also became the first station in Kansas City to produce and broadcast its local programming in high definition. [1]

KMBC's broadcasts will be digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.[1] On February 19, 2009, the station, after receiving permission from the FCC for a Special Temporary Authority permit, moved their digital signal from digital channel 7 to channel 29, which had been vacated by sister station KCWE two months before. The station had received viewer complaints about reception due to a combination of Kansas City being an all-UHF digital market besides Channel 9, and to address signal conflicts with Pittsburg, Kansas-based KOAM-TV, which was allowed to reutilize their analog channel 7 for their digital channel and transitioned on February 17, and would have received interference from KMBC-DT as the stations' transmitters are Template:Mi to km away from each other, much less than the advised Template:Mi to km separation between a shared channel [2].

Ratings

During the late 1970s and into the 1980s KMBC was the number one television station in the Kansas City market, but the station ended the latter decade in second place behind WDAF-TV (channel 4). As soon as WDAF switched from NBC to Fox in 1994, KMBC returned to number one in the market. Currently, KMBC generally battles KCTV for first place at 10:00 p.m., while continuing to battle WDAF for first in morning timeslots. In November 2007, KMBC finished the sweeps period first in most newscasts, and tying KCTV at 10 p.m. [2] In February 2008, KMBC's newscasts won all of their time periods outright. [citation needed]

Awards

KMBC-TV's news department won seven 2007 Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, which is the most Murrow awards won by a television station in the country. The station won awards in the following categories:

  • News Series
  • Feature
  • News Documentary
  • Spot News
  • Continuing Coverage
  • Newscast
  • Overall Excellence

News Operation

KMBC-TV broadcasts a total of 25 hours of local news per week (with 3½ hours on weekdays, four hours on Saturdays and 2½ hours on Sundays).

24 Hour Weather Channel

KMBC has recently launched a new digital weather channel that gives up-to-the-minute weather information 24 hours a day on their digital subchannel 2 (DT9.2).

KMBC 9 Notable Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

Anchors

  • Jana Corrie: FirstNews Weekend Edition
  • Kelly Eckerman: 5PM anchor
  • Jim Flink: 5PM anchor
  • Kris Ketz: FirstNews anchor
  • Dion Lim: FirstNews anchor 7-9AM on KCWE
  • Larry Moore: 6 and 10PM anchor
  • Lara Moritz: 6 and 10PM anchor
  • Donna Pitman: FirstNews anchor 5-7AM
  • Dan Weinbaum: FirstNews Weekend Edition

Reporters

  • Maria Antonia: General Assignment Reporter
  • Martin Augustine: General Assignment Reporter
  • Peggy Breit: General Assignment Reporter
  • Bev Chapman: General Assignment Reporter
  • Micheal Mahoney: General Assignment Reporter
  • Marcus Moore: General Assignment Reporter
  • Chris Nagus: General Assignment Reporter
  • Justin Robinson: General Assignment Reporter
  • Johnny Rowlands: Traffic Reporter and NewsChopper 9 Pilot
  • Brenda Washington: General Assignment Reporter

KMBC 9 First Alert Weather

  • Bryan Busby: Chief Meteorologist
  • Erin Little: 5,6 and 10PM Weekend Meteorologist
  • Joel Nichols: FirstNews Meteorologist
  • Lisa Teachman: FirstNews Weekend Edition Meteorologist

Sports

  • Len Dawson: Sports Director, Sundays on KMBC 9 News at 5, Monday-Thursdays on KMBC 9 News at 6 and Sunday-Thursday evenings on KMBC 9 News at 10PM
  • Nick Griffith: Friday evenings on KMBC 9 News at 6 and 10PM
  • Karen Kornacki: Saturday evenings on KMBC 9 News at 6 and 10PM (also sports reporter)

Notable alumni

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

  • Your Esso Reporter (1953 – 1956)
  • The Kansas City Report (1956 – 1960)
  • The Television 9 Report (1960 – 1965)
  • Pulse (5 p.m. newscast) /24 Hours (10 p.m. newscast) (1965 – c. 1971)
  • Total News (c.1971 – 1978) [3]
  • The News: The xx:00 Report (1978 – 1983) [4]
  • KMBC 9 News (1983 – Present) [5]

Station Slogans

  • Only on Channel 9 (Early 70's)
  • Kansas City Turns Us On (Mid-Late 70's)
  • The Spirit of Kansas City (c.1982-83)
  • So Good To Turn To (1983-c. 1985)
  • Where the News Comes First (1986-2000)
  • Coverage You Can Count On (2000-2007)
  • Local. Live. Coverage You Can Count On (2007-present)

References

  1. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/02/02/daily59.html
  2. ^ http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2009/02/kmbc-dt-moves-t.html
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