KTXS-TV
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| KTXS-TV | |
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| Sweetwater/Abilene, Texas | |
| Branding | KTXS 12 |
| Slogan | The News Leader |
| Channels | Analog: 12 (VHF) |
| Translators | KTXE-LP 38 San Angelo |
| Affiliations | ABC The CW (DT2) |
| Owner | Bonten Media Group, LLC (BlueStone License Holdings, Inc.) |
| First air date | January 30, 1956 |
| Call letters’ meaning | TeXaS |
| Former callsigns | KPAR-TV (1956-1966) |
| Former affiliations | Primary: CBS (1956-1979) Secondary: ABC (1956-1979) |
| Transmitter Power | 316 kW (analog) 26.44 kW (digital) |
| Height | 427 m (analog) 351 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 308 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.ktxs.com |
KTXS-TV is the ABC television affiliate service the Abilene/Sweetwater, Texas market. The station is licensed to Sweetwater, and broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 12 (Suddenlink cable 4 in Abilene) from a broadcasting tower near Trent, Texas.
KTXS also has a low powered repeater, KTXE-LP channel 38 in San Angelo, Texas (called "KTXE 12", reflecting its cable slot on Suddenlink channel 12 in San Angelo).
Contents |
[edit] History
KTXS signed on as KPAR-TV on January 2, 1956. It was part of the West Texas Television Network, based at KDUB-TV (now KLBK-TV) in Lubbock, and was a primary CBS affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. The station's first studio was built on the east edge of Sweetwater; broadcasts from this location included a newscast at 6 pm.
Grayson Enterprises bought the West Texas Television Network stations in 1961. Grayson opened a satellite studio in Abilene in the early 1960s, and soon moved most of KPAR's operations there. This resulted in the first of many fines from the FCC for violating "main studio" regulations. In 1966, the station moved most of its operations to a new studio in north Abilene and the call letters were changed to KTXS. The station became a sole ABC affiliate when KTAB-TV signed on in 1979 and took over as Abilene's CBS affiliate.
In the late fifties or early sixties, auxiliary studios were built at a former auto dealer building in Abilene. In 1962 or later, the Abilene studios were moved to a new shopping mall (Westgate Shopping center)on the west edge of Abilene. These were used until 1966 when the studios were moved to the highway bypass at the north edge of town, straddling the city of abilene, the county, and a small town called Impact (founded to allow liquor in otherwise dry west Texas).
Grayson nearly lost its stations, including KTXS, four times between 1968 and 1971 due to licensing issues. In 1977, their renewals were deferred pending a hearing. Grayson was accused of fraudulent billing, program and transmitter log fabrication, main studio violations, failure to make required technical tests, etc.
The case was settled in what was then described as a "distress sale" where the stations were sold to a minority controlled group (nowadays known as a historically underutilized group)at a reduced price. The company break up actually help define the parameters of such a sale. KLBK and KTXS were sold to Prima, Inc., who was granted a permanent waiver of the main studio rule. It shut down the Sweetwater studio, but still identifies as "Sweetwater/Abilene."
In 1979, the station dropped CBS and became a full ABC affiliate after KTAB-TV signed on.
[edit] The News Leader
"The News Leader" has been the station's longtime slogan.
According to Nielsen Media Research, KTXS has been a perennial ratings leader for morning and weekend newscasts. And for ratings-period February 2006, the station's ten o'clock news broadcast was top-rated for the first time in the program's history.
The KTXS news team is led by longtime 6 & 10 anchor Wayne McCormick.
In the early 1980s, KTXS was the first station in the Abilene/Sweetwater DMA to hire a professional meteorologist -- Jerry Eckhart -- to handle weathercasting duties.
[edit] The CW
Beginning in September of 2006, KTXS started broadcasting the shows of the new CW Television Network on its digital channel 20.
[edit] New Ownership
Bluestone Television sold KTXS to Bonten Media Group in 2007. Bonten Media also owns station WCYB and manages several others.
[edit] On-Air Talent
[edit] News
- Janet Kwak: Anchor/Reporter (5pm anchor, weekday reporter)
- Laura Madison: Anchor (5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 morning anchor)
- Wayne McCormick: 6 and 10 pm Anchor
- George Levesque: News Director/5 pm Anchor
- Chrissie Mouton: Anchor (6 and 10pm anchor)
- Matt Smith: Farm and Ranch Reporter
- Cam Tran: Anchor/City Reporter (seen weekend evenings, weekday reporter)
- Jennifer Saucedo: Crime and Courts Reporter
- Jacqueline LaCroix: Education Reporter
- Mike Skow Weekend Anchor/Reporter
- Melissa Garcia Reporter
- Karie Schmidt Reporter/Producer
[edit] Weather
- Danielle Dozier: Meteorologist (seen weekend evenings)
- Chad Garneau: Meteorologist (seen weekday mornings)
- Damon Lane: Chief Meteorologist (seen weekday evenings)
[edit] Sports
- Ruben J. Gonzalez: Sports Anchor/Reporter
- Bryan Keating: Sports Director/Anchor
[edit] Past Personalities
- LeAnn Allison: meteorologist/chief meteorologist (mid-1990s-2002, now with KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs, CO)
- Rick Bentley: sports anchor/reporter (early 2000s)
- Kim Betton: anchor/reporter/photojournalist (now with KARK-TV in Little Rock, AR)
- Anita Blanton: reporter (early 2000s, now with WRIC-TV in Richmond, VA)
- Jennifer Bordelon: anchor/reporter (early 2000s, now with KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi, TX)
- Aaron Burtch: sports/weather anchor (now an admissions counselor at Abilene Christian University)
- Jennifer Bray: anchor, assignments editor, and news director (1990s-2004, now an instructor at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi)
- Paul Brown: anchor and news director (1993-2003, now with News 8 Austin in Austin, TX)
- Nelly Carreno: anchor/reporter (early 2000s, now main weather anchor at WSNS-TV in Chicago, IL)
- Michelle Casas: anchor/reporter (early-mid 1990s)
- Lenore Castro: reporter (late 1990s, deceased)
- Andy Cerota: Reporter (1994-95, now at KTRK-TV in Houston)
- Ty Chandler: anchor/reporter (early 2000s, now with KCTV-TV in Kansas City, MO)
- Christy Cheves: sports anchor/reporter (1996-1997, now owns an Austin-based PR Shop)
- Keyla Concepción: anchor/reporter (early 2000s, now public information officer with the Broward County Sheriff's Office in Florida)
- Gilbert Corsey: Reporter (2006-2008, now with WCTI-TV in New Bern, NC)
- Mike Costa: reporter (mid 1990s)
- Kris Davis-Jones: anchor/reporter (now an attorney in Austin, TX)
- Hollani Davis: anchor/reporter (early 2000s-2006, now with WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, VA)
- Jerry Eckhart: chief meteorologist
- Nina Edwards: anchor/reporter (1990s)
- Gabriella Gonzales: telemundo anchor/Reporter (2005-2008)
- Janet Gregg: (now president of Gregg Communications)
- George Flickinger: meteorologist/chief meteorologist (late 1990s-2001, now with KJRH-TV in Tulsa, OK)
- Lesley Floyd: sports reporter/anchor (early 2000s-2007, now Lesley McCaslin with News 8 Austin in Austin, TX)
- Brooke Hart: anchor/reporter (early 1990s, now with NBC Newschannel in Washington, DC)
- Mari Hayes: anchor/reporter (early-mid 2000s, now Mari Alvarez at KTSM-TV in El Paso, TX)
- Reba Hollingsworth: anchor/reporter (mid 1990s-2000, now freelance reporter in Washington, DC)
- Chance Horner: photographer/producer (late 2006-2008, now with KTUL-TV in Tulsa, OK)
- Bob Izzard: weather anchor
- Nate Johnson: meteorologist/chief meteorologist (2000-2006, now with WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC)
- Charlie Jordan: meteorologist (late 1990s-2000, retired)
- Steve Kersh: meteorologist/chief meteorologist (1990s, now with KVII-TV in Amarillo, TX)
- Andrew LaFavers: meteorologist (2001-2007, now an instructor with Dallas Baptist University)
- Mike Licquia: reporter (1990s-early 2000s, now with WCTI-TV in New Bern, NC)
- Lacie Lowry: anchor/repoter (early 2000s-2007, now with KGBT-TV in Harlingen, TX)
- Sharla McBride: sports reporter (2007-2008) in Pennsylvania
- Rupal Meta: reporter (1980s)
- Harvey Mireles: reporter (mid-2000s, last seen at KVII-TV in Amarillo, TX)
- Iain Munro: news director (2004-2007, now assistant news director with KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, NM)
- Melissa Newton: reporter (early 2000s-2007, now a freelance reporter in Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX)
- Jimmy Parker: farm and ranch reporter (deceased)
- Lauren Przybyl: anchor/reporter (early 2000s, now with WHDH-TV in Boston, MA)
- Kim Ponis: sports anchor/reporter (1990s)
- Ted Price: anchor/reporter (1990s)
- Vanessa Reyes: anchor/reporter (early 2000s, now with KFOX in El Paso, TX/Las Cruces, NM)
- Roxanne Rodriguez: anchor/reporter (early 1990s)
- Mark Rogers: sports anchor/director (early-mid 2000s)
- Elizabeth Salinas: reporter (1996-1997; now Elizabeth Salinas-Strittmatter and an Attorney in Austin, TX)
- Braid Sharp: anchor/reporter (early 2000s-2008, now in private business)
- Dean Staley:reporter (early 1990s)
- Gary Stricklin: sports director (late 1980s-early 2000s, retired)
- Tim Vasquez: meteorologist (1994-95; now author and designer of Digital Atmosphere weather analysis software, founder of WeatherGraphics)
- Amy Wallis: anchor/reporter (mid 1990s-early 2000s, last seen as host of Hot On! Dallas/Ft. Worth in Dallas, TX)
- Matt Waterwall: anchor/reporter (mid 1990s-early 2000s, now with CLTV in Chicago, IL)
- Karen Wilkison: anchor and political reporter (1990s-mid 2000s)
- Crystal Wolf: anchor
[edit] External links
- KTXS-TV Homepage
- KTXE Homepage
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KTXS
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KTXE
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KTXS-TV
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