KEYT-TV
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2009) |
| File:KEYT 2013 Logo.png
File:KCOY 12 Current Logo.png | |
| City | Santa Barbara, California |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | general: Channel 3 newscasts: NewsChannel 3 DT2: KCOY 12 DT2 newscasts: NewsChannel 12 DT3: News Now |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | 3.1: ABC (secondary until 1964) 3.2: CBS[1] 3.3: Local news & events/MyNetworkTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KCOY-TV, KKFX-CD, KION-TV, KECY-TV, KESQ-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | May 31, 1953 |
Former call signs | KEYT (1953–1987) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 3 (VHF, 1953–2009) |
| Analog/DT1: Primary: NBC (1953–1964) Secondary: DuMont (1953–1954) CBS (1953–1969) DT2: Retro TV (2007–2017) DT3: Bounce TV (until 2020) | |
Call sign meaning | KEY Television or KEY Channel Three |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 60637 |
| ERP | 250 kW |
| HAAT | 918 m (3,012 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°31′32″N 119°57′32″W / 34.52556°N 119.95889°W |
| Translator(s) | K31KE-D San Luis Obispo |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KEYT-TV, virtual channel 3 (UHF digital channel 27), is a dual ABC/CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Santa Barbara, California, United States and serving the Central Coast of California. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG), it is a sister station to San Luis Obispo-licensed low-powered, Class A Fox affiliate KKFX-CD (channel 24); NPG also operates Santa Maria-licensed Dabl affiliate KCOY-TV (channel 12) through a shared services agreement (SSA) with owner VistaWest Media, LLC. KEYT-TV's studios are located at 730 Miramonte Drive on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara; KCOY-TV and KKFX-CD share separate facilities at West McCoy Lane and Skyway Drive in Santa Maria north of Santa Maria Public Airport. KEYT-TV's transmitter is located atop Broadcast Peak, between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez in the Santa Ynez Mountains.
History
Early years
KEYT-TV first signed on the air on May 31, 1953, after obtaining a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 13, 1952.[3] It was owned by the Santa Barbara Broadcasting & Television Corporation. Harry Butcher, who owned KIST (1340 AM), was a 14% owner of the new TV station.
During the 1950s, the station ran programming from all four TV networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and the DuMont Television Network.[4] Dumont discontinued operations in 1956. KEYT-TV lost its NBC affiliation in 1964 when KCOY in nearby Santa Maria signed on. KEYT-TV then shared CBS with KCOY until 1969, when the inclusion of San Luis Obispo County into the Santa Barbara–Santa Maria media market resulted in KEYT becoming exclusively affiliated with ABC. KCOY became the CBS affiliate, and KSBY in San Luis Obispo became the region's NBC affiliate. KEYT channel 3 has identified its local newscasts as KEY News since the 1980s.
Later developments
In September 1998, KEYT-TV owner Smith Broadcasting purchased radio station KTMS (1250 AM) for $1.6 million[5] and launched an all-news format with new call letters KEYT to match those of its new TV sister. "KEYT 1250" featured news reports from the Associated Press and simulcasts of KEYT-TV newscasts. (The previous news/talk format and call letters of KTMS moved to 990 AM upon the sale to Smith.) The radio operation was a financial drain on Smith Broadcasting from the beginning, losing $1 million over five years, and the station was sold to Lazer Broadcasting in October 2003.[6]
Between March 2007 and September 2007, as the station transitioned to a high definition signal, KEYT-HD was initially unavailable to cable subscribers in the Central Coast due to a carriage dispute with the local cable companies. KEYT eventually reached an agreement with Cox Communications in Santa Barbara, Comcast in Santa Maria, and Charter Cable in San Luis Obispo to carry its HDTV signal. In 2012, Time Warner Cable in Ventura County began carrying the HDTV signal.
On September 7, 2012, News-Press & Gazette Company announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase KEYT-TV from Smith Media for $14.3 million.[7] The transaction was approved by the FCC on November 6[8] and was completed on November 19, 2012.[9][10] Smith Media had owned KEYT since 1987.
On January 28, 2013, KEYT retired the longtime KEY News branding and, with the new owner's purchase, rebranded as NewsChannel 3. The branding is similar to that of Palm Springs sister station KESQ-TV. KEYT's newscasts and site now include a graphics package that is similar to all NPG stations and is operated by Internet Broadcasting.
On April 1, 2013, KEYT began broadcasting its news in high definition. Until that point, KEYT aired network and syndicated programming in HD but the newscasts were still in standard definition.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KEYT-HD | Main KEYT-TV programming / ABC |
| 3.2 | 1080i | CBS-HD | CBS[1] | |
| 3.3 | Now | Local news & events / MyNetworkTV |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KEYT-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 27.[12] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 3.
Programming
Syndicated programming featured on KEYT includes Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Dr. Oz Show, Extra, TMZ and Access Hollywood, while KEYT-DT2 syndicated programs include The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy, Family Feud, and Entertainment Tonight.
News Now
When KEYT acquired the MyNetworkTV affiliation in June 2006, it initially showed only MyNetworkTV programming, with a test pattern running outside of network programming hours.[13] By the fall of 2007, the station had managed to obtain syndication broadcast rights to Family Guy and South Park, and officially launched its second digital subchannel under the branding "MyNetworkTV Central Coast" in October 2007, replacing Los Angeles-based MyNetworkTV affiliate KCOP on all cable systems in the Central Coast region.
The subchannel initially ran a standard-definition simulcast of KEYT's primary channel outside of MyNetworkTV programming. On October 30, 2007, KEYT-DT2 added a secondary affiliation with the Luken Communications-owned Retro Television Network to RTV programming outside of MyNetworkTV prime time program slots.[14] The subchannel subsequently changed its branding to "My RTN" to coincide with the new affiliation, later changing to "My RTV" after the network modified its on-air acronym to "RTV", then finally "My Retro TV".
On April 18, 2017, the 3.2 subchannel dropped Retro TV because station management was unsure of it continuing as a going concern with a declining affiliate base, along with contractual restrictions on using it as an overflow channel for breaking news. (Before that date, it was the only "Big Three" network affiliate nationwide left still carrying the network as a subchannel). In the interim, the station relaunched KEYT-DT2 as News Now, airing simulcasts and rebroadcasts of newscasts from KEYT-TV and KKFX-CD, along with live rolling coverage of local political events, news coverage and other public affairs and local interest programming; the subchannel continues to carry MyNetworkTV programming in primetime.[15][16][17]
The News-Press & Gazette Company announced on October 10, 2018 that it was converting KSBB-CD to ATSC 3.0 operations, airing News Now in that format, with its own ATSC 1.0 signal and programming being moved to a subchannel of KEYT-TV.[18]
In January 1, 2021, CBS programming moved from sister station KCOY to KEYT-DT2, moving News Now programming to a new third subchannel.
Notable former on-air staff
- Christine Craft - anchor/reporter (1970s)
- Giselle Fernández - reporter (circa 1983)
- Michelle Franzen - reporter/fill-in anchor (1993–1994)
- Edie Lambert - anchor/reporter (now at KCRA-TV in Sacramento)
- Indra Petersons (now with ABC News)
- Kelsey Gerckens and Joey Buttitta - reporters (and winners of The Amazing Race 27)
Rebroadcasters
KEYT also operates a translator to extend its coverage area into San Luis Obispo County. It operates a repeater station in San Luis Obispo, California, K31KE-D, on channel 31.
References
- ^ a b How to find NewsChannel 12 keyt.com (NewsChannel 3-12) 1 January 2021 (same-day retrival)
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KEYT-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Telecasting Yearbook 1953-1954 page 66.
- ^ Ellwanger, Jim. "TV Guide: Los Angeles Metropolitan Edition".
- ^ "Chancellor Becomes The Biggest With Capstar Buy" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 4, 1998. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ Savage, Sam (July 5, 2005). "KZSB News-Press Radio Heralds Return of Community News and Talk". redorbit.com. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ "NPG Paying $14.3M For KEYT Santa Barbara". tvnewscheck.com. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- ^ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1514499.pdf
- ^ Staff, FCC Internet Services. "Application Search Details". licensing.fcc.gov.
- ^ Noozhawk. "New Owners Complete Acquisition of KEYT Television".
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "MyNetworkTV Adds 10 Affils - Business solutions from AllBusiness.com".
- ^ "RTN To Launch This Week in Santa Barbara".
- ^ Martin, Jeff (April 7, 2017). "KEYT, Fox 11 Launching News Now Channel". Noozhawk. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ^ "Station response to viewer feedback regarding KEYT-DT2; "There were a number of issues that led us to launch our News Now channel. One was the future of retro television itself was uncertain, we didn't want to be left in the lurch with no programming to offer if they suddenly went off the air. Second, we wanted to be able provide a home for community events that normally wouldn't be broadcast on the KEYT primary channel. Our affiliation agreement with retro prevented us from using our secondary channel to bring community events such as State of the City addresses or live coverage of press conferences of news events around town."". Facebook, via KEYT Facebook page. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ "KEYT-TV SANTA BARBARA, CA". www.rabbitears.info.
- ^ "News-Press Gazette Readies 3.0 Launch in Santa Barbara".