KTVT

KTVT, channel 11, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is co-owned with independent station KTXA (channel 21), and the two stations share facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth. Prior to joining CBS in 1995, KTVT was the leading independent station in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

History

Independent station

Channel 11 first went on the air on September 11, 1955 as KFJZ-TV, the first independent station in Texas. It was owned by a group of Fort Worth businessmen, and was a sister station to KFJZ radio (1270 AM, now at 870), and later (in 1959) KFJZ-FM (97.1 MHz., now KEGL). In 1960, the station's original owners sold channel 11 to NAFI Corporation (who also owned Chris-Craft Industries at the time), who changed the call letters to the current KTVT.

The Oklahoma City-based WKY Television System, a subsidiary of Oklahoma Publishing Company, purchased KTVT in 1971. Oklahoma Publishing would later rename its broadcasting arm Gaylord Broadcasting. Under Gaylord's watch, channel 11 became the leading independent station in the Southwest, carrying a broad range of cartoons, off-network sitcoms and westerns, drama shows, movies, and public affairs programming. KTVT was further aided in its status as it was a VHF station, whereas its future competitors were UHF stations. KTVT's main competitor in the 1970s was KXTX-TV (channel 39), which was owned by the Christian Broadcasting Network and ran a number of religious shows. While the station gained three additional competitors in the 1980s, KTVT was the only independent station that was profitable. It was also the first station in Dallas to offer a primetime newscast, airing at 9:00 p.m.

KTVT's popularity also spread outside of the Metroplex, as it attained superstation status along the lines of Atlanta's WTBS, Chicago's WGN-TV, and WOR-TV in New York City. KTVT broadcast its signal via satellite to C-band users and to 400 cable systems across the country, mostly in the southwestern United States, from the late 1970s through the early 1990s. This status would later hamper Oklahoma Publishing president Edward L. Gaylord's efforts to purchase a controlling interest in the Texas Rangers baseball team, whose games were carried on KTVT from 1985 (Gaylord purchased a minority share of the team that same year) until 1995.

Channel 11 was also the flagship station of Saturday Night Wrestling, a highly-popular Dallas pro wrestling show, and aired a two-hour Saturday night wrestling program titled Championship Sports.

Transition to CBS

In late 1993 Gaylord announced that KTVT, along with sister stations in Houston and Tacoma, Washington, would become charter affiliates of the new WB Television Network, which was launched in January 1995. But not long after, longtime CBS affiliate KDFW-TV (channel 4) announced it would be joining the Fox Broadcasting Company, as part of a longterm affiliation deal between Fox and KDFW's new owners, New World Communications. About to find itself without an affiliate in the Metroplex, CBS approached Gaylord, and the two parties came to an agreement -- CBS picked up both KTVT and the Tacoma station as affiliates. Upset by Gaylord's blindsided move, the WB later went to court in an effort to dissolve their arrangement; the WB later signed KXTX-TV as its Metroplex station.

CBS' full schedule of programs moved from KDFW to KTVT on July 1, 1995. On that same day the WB changed stations once again, moving from KXTX to KDAF (channel 33), the former Fox-owned station. Channel 11 had already been carrying some CBS shows for about a year prior to the affiliation switch; it had picked up The Price is Right and The Bold and the Beautiful when KDFW dropped them in favor of Donahue and an expanded midday newscast.

By the time the station continued its transition from independent to network affiliate, KTVT's superstation status was a thing of the past. It expanded its news department and began acquiring local rights to more first-run syndicated programs. Currently, channel 11 carries shows such as Inside Edition, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, all of which are distributed by corporate cousin CBS Television Distribution. Gaylord sold KTVT to CBS in 1999 and a year later Viacom bought CBS, and Viacom-owned KTXA moved from its studios in Dallas to KTVT's facility in Fort Worth.

On September 24, 2007, KTVT began broadcasting their newscasts in high-definition, becoming the third Dallas-Fort Worth television station to do so.

Digital television

In 2009, KTVT will remain on channel 11 when the analog to digital conversion is complete.

Personalities

Current on-air talent

CBS 11 News Anchors

• Ginger Allen: CBS 11 News This Morning Anchor/Reporter
• Karen Borta: CBS 11 News at 5, 6 and 10 Anchor/Reporter
• Doug Dunbar: CBS 11 News at 4, 5, 6 and 10 Anchor/Reporter
• Nerissa Knight: CBS 11 News at 6 (Saturday), CBS 11 News at 5:30 (Sunday) and CBS 11 News at 10 (weekend) Anchor/Reporter
• Tracy Kornet: CBS 11 News at 4 Anchor/Reporter
• Scott Sams: CBS 11 News This Morning Anchor/Reporter

CBS 11 News Reporters

• Rance Adams: Entertainment Reporter/On-Air Personality
• Katherine Blake: Reporter
• Carol Cavazos: Reporter
• Jack Fink: Reporter
• Teresa Frosini: Traffic Reporter
• Bud Gillett: Senior Reporter
• Jay Gormley: Reporter
• Stephanie Lucero: Senior Reporter
• Marianne Martinez: Reporter
• J.D. Miles: Reporter
• Sandie Newton: Entertainment Reporter
• Robbie Owens: CBS 11 News This Morning Reporter
• Steve Pickett: Reporter
• Brooke Richie: Reporter
• Joel Thomas: Reporter

The Investigators

• Ginger Allen: Investigative Reporter
• Bennett Cunningham: Consumer Investigative Reporter

CBS 11 StormTeam

• Larry Mowry (AMS Certified): CBS 11 News at 5, 6, and 10 Chief Meteorologist
• Kristine Kahanek (AMS Certified, NWA Seal of Approval): CBS 11 News at 4 Meteorologist
• Mike Burger (AMS Seal of Approval): CBS 11 News at 6 (Saturday), CBS 11 News at 5:30 (Sunday) and CBS 11 News at 10 (weekend) Meteorologist
• Jeff Jamison (AMS Certified, NWA Seal of Approval): CBS 11 News This Morning Meteorologist
• Garry Seith: Fill-in Meteorlogist

CBS 11 Sports (shared with TXA 21)

• Babe Laufenberg: CBS 11 News at 6 and CBS 11 News at 10 Sports Director, Host of The Score and Blitz
• Bill Jones: CBS 11 News at 6 and CBS 11 News at 10 (weekend) Sports Anchor
• Steve Dennis: Reporter
• Derek Harper: Sports Reporter
• Gina Miller: Sports Reporter

KTVT alumni

• Tracy Rowlett: Anchor/Reporter (1999-2008), now Anchor at www.Shale.TV
• Maria Arita: Anchor/Reporter (2003-2008)
• Julie Bologna: Meteorologist (2004-2008), now at WPXI-TV
• Clif Caldwell: Anchor/Reporter (2001-2007)
• Shannon Hori: Anchor/Reporter (2005-2007, now weekday anchor at sister station WFOR-TV in Miami))
• Sarah Dodd: Anchor/Reporter (2000-2007)
• Regent Ducas: Vice President/News Director (2007-2007; Fired)
• Raquel Eatmon: Reporter (2005-2007)
• Bob Goosmann: Chief Meteorologist (now chief meteorologist at KDAF; Dallas)
• Cameron Harper: Anchor (now at WPTY; Memphis)
• Michael Hill: Anchor
• Midge Hill: Anchor
• John Honoré: Meteorologist (now at KSAT-TV; San Antonio)
• Mark Johnson: Reporter (2002-2008), now Reporter/Anchor at www.Shale.TV
• Ken Malloy Anchor/Reporter (2000-2004, now at KGPE; Fresno)
• Howard McNeil: Weather Anchor (now retired)
• Betty Nguyen: Morning/Noon Anchor (now with CNN)
• Tracey Packard: Meteorologist
• Gerard Ramalho: Reporter (now Anchor/Reporter at KVBC; Las Vegas)
• Mary Stewart: Senior Reporter
• Kenneth Taylor Anchor/Reporter (2006-2008)
• Brenda Teele: Weather Anchor, Host of Positively Texas (1995-2000, now at WFAA-TV; Dallas)
• Jim Walker: Reporter (now Anchor at KBTV-TV; Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas)
• Mike Hambrick: Anchor
• Bobby Estill: Sports Director
• Timm Matthews: Sports Anchor
• Jerry Jenkins: Weekend Anchor/Reporter
• Beth McKay: Anchor/Sports Reporter
• Robert Riggs: Investigative Reporter (2002-2008)
• Bucky Sappenfield: Weekend Host
• Tameron Hall: Reporter
• Rene Syler: Anchor/Reporter
• Gwen Tolbart: Meteorologist
• Leslie Mouton: Anchor/Reporter
• John Willing: Chief Meteorologist
• Neal Barton: Chief Meteorologist (now anchor at KETK in Tyler)
• Robbie Chavez: Reporter
• Amy Gardner: Meteorologist
• Fredrika Whitfield: reporter, now with CNN
• 'Iola Johnson (Anchor, Host of Positively Texas 2000-2008)

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• Newswatch Eleven (1990)
• The Seven O' Clock News (1990)
• The Nine O' Clock News (1992)
• 11 News (1995-2000 as CBS affiliate)
• 11 on Eleven at Ten (1995-1998)
• CBS 11 News (2000-present)

Station slogans

• Channel 11, The Super-Ones (1980s-1995)
• 11News, The Eye of Texas (1995-2000)
• 11News, Looking Out For You (1997-2000)
• CBS 11, The Eye of Texas (2000-2004)
• CBS 11, Reporting the News (2002-2004)
• CBS 11 News, Coverage You Can Count On (2004-present)

Logos

External links

• KTVT official website

References

• Shannon, Mike (January, 2004). Dallas-Fort Worth TV Station History. The History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and Television