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KCBS-TV

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KCBS-TV, "CBS2 Los Angeles" is the CBS owned and operated station in the Los Angeles area, and is the West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. The station is seen via satellite through Dish Network and DirecTV. Its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.

History

Experimental years

KCBS-TV is one of the oldest television stations in the world. It was created by Don Lee Broadcasting, which owned a chain of radio stations on the Pacific Coast, and was first licensed by the Federal Radio Commission, forerunner of the Federal Communications Commission as experimental television station W6XAO in June 1931. On December 23, 1931 it went on the air, and by March 1933 was broadcasting one hour daily except Sundays. The station used a mechanical camera which broadcast only film footage, but demonstrated all-electronic receivers as early as 1932. It went off the air in 1935, and then reappeared using an improved mechanical camera producing a 300-line image for a month-long demonstration in June 1936. By August 1937, W6XAO had programming on the air six days per week. Live programming started in April 1938.

By 1939, with the image improved to 441 lines, an optimistic estimate of the station's viewership was 1,500 people in a few hundred homes. Many of the receiver sets were built by television hobbyists, though commercially made sets were available in Los Angeles. The station's six-day weekly schedule consisted of live talent four nights, and film two nights. During World War II, programming was reduced to three hours, every other Monday. The station's frequency was switched from Channel 1 to Channel 2 in 1945 when the FCC decided to reserve Channel 1 for low-wattage community television stations.

As KTSL

The station was granted a commercial license (the second in California, behind KTLA-TV) as KTSL-TV on May 6, 1948, from the initials of Thomas S. Lee, station owner and son of founder Don Lee. It affiliated with the DuMont Television Network later that year.

As KNXT

On January 1, 1951, CBS gave up its 49 percent stake in KTSL's competitor KTTV and purchased KTSL. CBS programming moved to KTSL. In November of 1951, KTSL changed its call letters to KNXT, to coincide with CBS' Los Angeles outlet, KNX-AM 1070. (KNXT's call sign meaning: K News-EXpress Television after a now-defunct newspaper.)

In 1960, KNXT created the nation's first one-hour local newscast, "The Big News," which featured the late Jerry Dunphy, one of Southern California's most beloved news icons, along with legendary weatherman Bill Keene and sportscaster Gil Stratton. This helped make KNXT the number-one news station in Los Angeles. At times, a quarter of Los Angeles televisions were tuned into the Big News, the highest ratings ever for a television newscast in the area. Eventually, KNXT expanded to two-and-a-half hours of live local news, as well as a late-night newscast. However, in the mid 1970s, rival KABC-TV began gaining ratings at KNXT's expense. The station fired Dunphy (who was quickly hired by KABC) and adopted a format similar to KABC's Eyewitness News. However, the change went nowhere. Just as most of its fellow CBS O&Os were dominating their cities' ratings, KNXT rapidly fell into last place.

As KCBS-TV

On April 2, 1984, at noon, KNXT changed its call letters to the present KCBS-TV. In 1997, it adopted the "CBS2" moniker for its on-air image, following the lead of its Chicago and New York sisters. In 2002, KCBS-TV became sister stations with KCAL-TV after the latter was purchased by CBS Corporation.

For a time during the 1980's and 1990's, KCBS has several locally produced programs such as "2 on the Town," a local show similar to Evening Magazine and KABC-TV's Eye On L.A., and KidQuiz, a Saturday Morning Children's Game show hosted by longtime weathercaster Maclovio Perez. Ironically its sister station KCAL-TV still does a show called "9 on the Town."

Aside from a brief period in 1993, when its 6 p.m. news managed to tie KABC for first place, KCBS was an also-ran in the Los Angeles TV ratings for over 30 years, spending most of that time in last place while KABC and KNBC fought it out for first.

KCBS made numerous attempts to get out of the ratings basement at the start of the 21st century. In 2000, former KNBC "Today in L.A." anchor Kent Shocknek joined KCBS to become its morning co-anchor. Then in 2001 the station hired Harold Greene, longtime anchor at KABC, as its 5 and 11 p.m. anchor. A year later, he was joined by his former partner at KABC, Laura Diaz. In 2004, Paul Magers, longtime anchor at KARE-TV in the Twin Cities, replaced Greene on the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news, bumping Greene to the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts. The 4 p.m. newscast moved to KCAL with the arrival of Dr. Phil on KCBS. At the beginning of 2005, longtime KABC weatherman Johnny Mountain moved to KCBS, surprising many since it appeared that he was going to retire.

At first, it seemed that none of these changes brought KCBS any closer to becoming a factor in the Los Angeles news race. However, in April 2006, KCBS grabbed the #2 spot at 5 PM from KABC due to a strong lead-in from Dr. Phil. More importantly, KCBS shot past both KABC and KNBC to take first place at 11 PM for the first time in 30 years.

In the Summer of 2006, KCBS and its sister station KCAL began moving from the old CBS Columbia Square on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street to a new office complex at CBS Studio Center in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Studio City, five miles away from the old studio. Both stations will begin broadcasting from the new studios in the fall of 2006. With the move KTLA-TV will become the only VHF station in Los Angeles to broadcast from Hollywood. KTTV, KCOP, and KABC have abandoned their Hollywood studios during the mid 1990's and early 2000's. Additionally, KNX Radio and KCBS-FM left Columbia Square in the fall of 2005, to move to studios in the Miracle Mile.

Former callsigns

  • 1948–1951: KTSL
  • 1951–1984: KNXT
  • 1984–present: KCBS-TV

Logos

Newscasts

Monday-Friday

  • CBS2 News at 5am 5-6 a.m.
    • with Kent Shocknek, Suzanne Rico, John Elliot with Weather and Vera Jimenez with Traffic
  • CBS2 News at 6am6-7 a.m.
    • with Kent Shocknek, Suzanne Rico, John Elliot with Weather and Vera Jimenez with Traffic
  • CBS2 News at 11am 11-11:30 a.m.
    • with Kent Shocknek, Sandra Mitchell and Henry Dicarlo with Weather
  • CBS2 News at 5 5-6 p.m.
    • with Paul Magers, Laura Diaz and Johnny Mountain with Weather
  • CBS2 News at 6 6-6:30 p.m.
    • with Harold Greene, Ann Martin, Johnny Mountain with Weather and Jim Hill on Sports
  • CBS2 News at 11 11-11:35 p.m.
    • with Paul Magers, Laura Diaz, Johnny Mountain with Weather and Jim Hill on Sports

Saturday & Sunday

  • CBS2 News at 5 5-5:30 p.m.
    • with Glen Walker, Linda Alvarez and Josh Rubenstein with Weather)
  • CBS2 News at 6 6-6:30 p.m.
    • with Glen Walker, Linda Alvarez, Josh Rubenstein with Weather and Steve Hartman on Sports
  • CBS 2 News at 11 11-11:35 p.m.
    • with Glen Walker, Linda Alvarez, Josh Rubenstein with Weather and Steve Hartman on Sports
  • CBS2 Sports Central (with Jim Hill and Steve Hartman) 11:15-11:35pm

Newscast Titles

  • Fleetwood Lawson & The News (1951-1960)
  • The Big News (1960-1976)
  • 2LA Newsroom (1976-1978)
  • Channel 2 News (1978-1988)
  • Channel 2 Action News (1988-1998)
  • CBS 2 News (1998-present)

Movie Umbrella Titles

  • The Early Show (1960s-late 1980s)
  • The Late Show (1960s-1989)
  • The Best of CBS (1970s)
  • The CBS 6:30 Movie (1976-1978)
  • The CBS Movie Special (1970s)
  • The Saturday Night Movie Special (1980s)
  • The Channel 2 Saturday/Sunday Night Movie (1980s)
  • CBS Special Movie (1987-1995)
  • The KCBS Early Movie (1989-1996)
  • The KCBS Late Movie (1989-1996)
  • The KCBS Saturday Night Movie (1989-1996)
  • The CBS 2 Saturday/Sunday Night Movie (2001-present)
  • A CBS 2 Special Movie Presentation (2001-present)

Personalities

The station's former anchors include Steve Kmetko, Keith Olbermann, Paula Zahn, Ann Curry, Brent Musburger, Dan Miller, Jerry Dunphy, Connie Chung and Maury Povich. Jerry Dunphy was once an anchor at KCBS and KCAL, both CBS-owned Stations in Los Angeles.

Sports director Jim Hill is the station's most notable current personality. Hill, a former San Diego Charger, was a sportscaster for CBS Sports during his first stint at KNXT/KCBS-TV, from 1976 to 1987. Hill then left to become sports director at KABC-TV, but returned to KCBS-TV in 1992 and has remained sports director at the station since. Two other ex-athletes who are also sportscasters for KCBS and KCAL are Eric Dickerson and James Worthy.

On an interesting note, current KCBS anchor Harold Greene was the inspiration behind fictional San Diego news anchor Ron Burgundy the 2003 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.[citation needed] Greene had previously anchored at KCST-TV in San Diego and nearby KABC-TV.

See also

Template:TVcoord

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