KABC-TV
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
CP) | |
HAAT | 978 m (3,209 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 34°13′37″N 118°4′1″W / 34.22694°N 118.06694°W |
Translator(s) | see § Translators |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | abc7 |
KABC-TV (channel 7) is a
History
Channel 7 first signed on the air under the
The station's call sign was named after Los Angeles broadcasting pioneer Earle C. Anthony, whose initials were also present on channel 7's then-sister radio station, KECA (790 AM, now KABC). On February 1, 1954, KECA-TV changed its call sign to KABC-TV.
Originally, KABC-TV was located at the ABC Television Center, now called
KABC-TV has used the Circle 7 logo since 1962 (the same year ABC created and implemented its current logo) and augmented its bottom left quadrant with the ABC network logo in 1997. The station's news anchors and reporters wear Circle 7 lapel pins when they appear on camera, a practice that had once been standard at each of the original five ABC-owned stations.
On February 4, 2006, KABC-TV became the first television station in the state of California to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition using HD cameras in the studio and debuted an updated set.
KABC-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, at noon on June 12, 2009, as part of the
In July 2010, The Walt Disney Company became engaged in a carriage dispute with
Digital channel 7.3 previously carried programming from
Programming
News programming
This section includes a improve this section by introducing more precise citations. (September 2015) ) |
KABC-TV currently broadcasts 51 hours, 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 7 hours, 35 minutes each weekday and seven hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). KABC-TV formerly operated a
Lew Irwin Reports, the station's first locally produced newscast, debuted in 1957. Initially, the 15-minute program was broadcast Monday through Saturday at 11 p.m. and featured Irwin delivering a news summary prepared by KABC Radio news writers, followed by a seven-minute feature written by Irwin that included footage shot for the program by the
KABC-TV first adopted the Eyewitness News format for its newscasts in February 1969, not long after it became popular on New York City sister station WABC-TV. Like the other ABC-owned stations, KABC-TV used the "Tar Sequence" cue from the soundtrack of the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke as its theme music, and continued to use it even after other channels adopted an updated version of the theme, the Frank Gari-composed "News Series 2000". Later, the station used the original Cool Hand Luke theme only during the main newscast. The station's newscasts used a synthesized version of the old theme (composed by Frank Becker) during the mid-1980s. KABC-TV picked up the "News Series 2000" package first in 1989 for Eyewitness News promos, then in 1990 for additional use in bumpers and as the closing theme before being fully adopted as the Eyewitness News theme in 1992. The original Cool Hand Luke theme was retained for some Eyewitness News promos as late as 1993. In 1995, KABC began using Gari Media Group's "Eyewitness News" music package, which remains as the station's news theme.
In the highly competitive Los Angeles media market, Eyewitness News has long engaged in several initiatives to connect with local viewers and is quite beloved in Southern California for its "neighborhood news" approach. One such early effort was to originate a local newscast from a typical Southern California suburban family home. In the spring of 1972, a contest was held, asking the public to write letters telling KABC why an edition of the newscast should be produced at their home. The winner was Joseph Jensen from Sepulveda (now known as North Hills), and on June 13, the 11 p.m. edition of Eyewitness News originated live from the Jensen family dining room, with anchormen John Schubeck and Joseph Benti seated at the Jensen dinner table, reading the latest headlines. The Jensen family surrounded the journalists, dressed in their "Sunday best". Camera equipment, lights, microphones and a remote broadcast truck (similar to the ones used at sporting events), to connect the house to the ABC Television Center, were employed to help with the broadcast.[14][15]
During the 1970s and 1980s, the station's newscasts often included spirited miniature debates and commentaries reflecting various political viewpoints. Several notable politicians and
. In addition, KABC-TV aired brief editorials from the station's general manager, most notably John Severino, who served throughout the 1980s. This practice was discontinued in 1990.During the 1980s, KABC-TV was one of a few stations in the country to run a three-hour block of
From January 13, 2014, to July 28, 2022, KABC-TV produced an hour-long evening newscast on then-independent
On May 31, 2016, KABC added a 3 p.m. newscast on weekdays, competing with KTLA's newscast at that time slot. On September 10, 2018, KABC became the third television station in the market to expand its weekday morning newscast to three hours, with an additional half-hour at 4 a.m.
On September 30, 2015, the KABC-TV studios in Glendale were evacuated due to a bomb threat. The station's employees were evacuated and forced the station off-the-air; the suspect who was responsible for the threat was a 22-year-old Glendale man, who was arrested on October 14, 2015. As a result, the 4 p.m. newscast was temporarily moved outside the studio, while the police swept the studio with bomb-sniffing dogs inside. At 4:42 p.m., the station's employees were allowed to re-enter the studio and the newscast continued from the studio after the threat.[17]
In February 2017, the station's news helicopter, AIR7HD, received an upgrade and debuted with two new features: XTREME Vision and SkyMap7. XTREME Vision uses an advanced zoom lens and can track vehicle speeds in real time. SkyMap7 uses augmented reality technology which overlays the names of streets and highways onto the picture. Both features are powered by the SHOTOVER F1 Live.[18]
Ratings
The introduction of the Eyewitness News format, followed by the addition of syndicated staples such as The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986, Live with Kelly and Mark and its predecessors in 1991, and Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in 1992, has allowed KABC-TV to maintain a substantial ratings advantage over its competition. Leveraging the strength of its sizeable lead-in at 3 p.m. by the now-defunct Oprah, KABC-TV has long held first or second in the ratings for its 4 to 6:30 p.m. news block. However, ratings leads for the morning and late news have typically been expensive battles with local stations KTLA and KTTV in the morning, and KNBC (and recently KCBS-TV) at 11 p.m.
With its across-the-board ratings success in hand, the station has been known to run quick five-second promos throughout the day that feature the slogan, "ABC7 – #1 in news, #1 in Southern California". This is a throwback to its openers during the 1980s, when the station proudly proclaimed itself "Number One in Southern California". On November 1, 2015, the station debuted a new set along with new graphics.
Social media
KABC-TV, as well as the other Disney owned television stations, has a large presence on several social media platforms. In May 2014, KABC-TV claimed to be the first local TV station in the United States to surpass one million likes on Facebook.[19]
Notable current on-air staff
Anchors
- Marc Brown – anchor
- Carlos Granda – general assignment reporter
- David Ono – anchor
- Leslie Sykes – anchor
Weather
- Dallas Raines (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) – chief meteorologist
Notable former on-air staff
- Oakland–San Jose)
- Fred Anderson†
- Rona Barrett (later with Good Morning America; now head of self-named foundation)
- Angela Black (later with KCBS-TV; now an actress)
- Bill Bonds (later with WXYZ-TV in Detroit)†
- Ashley Brewer (now a Los Angeles-based anchor at ESPN)
- Jann Carl (later with Entertainment Tonight)
- Laura Diaz (later with KCBS-TV; now with KTTV)
- Todd Donoho (now host of the post-game show for Missouri Tigers men's basketball on the statewide Tiger Radio Network)
- Jerry Dunphy (later with KCAL-TV)†
- Dr. Dean Edell– health reporter with "House Calls" via satellite from KGO-TV
- George Fischbeck†
- Gary Franklin†
- Dr. Lillian Glass (retired from TV news; currently a body language expert)
- Harold Greene (later with KCBS-TV Los Angeles; retired)
- John Hambrick†
- Judd Hambrick
- Chuck Henry (later with KNBC; retired)
- Bruce Herschensohn (retired from TV; now a senior fellow at Pepperdine University)
- Brandi Hitt
- Desiree Horton (now part-time Chopper Reporter with KCBS-TV/KCAL-TV, also runs a production helicopter company)
- J. J. Jackson†
- KPIXin San Francisco)
- Kelly Lange (later with KNBC; then with KCBS-TV; retired)
- Pinky Lee†
- Sam Chu Lin†
- Bruce Lindsay (later with KSL-TV in Salt Lake City; retired)
- KCOP)
- Ann Martin (later with KCBS-TV; retired)
- Lisa McRee (now with Spectrum News 1)
- Rick Monday (now with the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network)
- Johnny Mountain (later with KCBS-TV; retired)
- Paul Moyer (previously and later with KNBC; retired)
- Hard Copy)
- Stu Nahan†
- Maila Nurmi†
- Santa Monica)
- Ron Olsen (later with KTLA; retired)
- Indra Petersons (now with NBC News)
- Regis Philbin†
- Bill Press (host of his self-named radio show)
- William C. Rader (medical license was revoked; operating in Mexico)
- Art Rascon (later with KTRK-TV in Houston; retired)
- Maggie Rodriguez (later co-host of The Early Show on CBS; now with WFLA-TV in Tampa[21])
- Ric Romero
- Wayne Satz†
- John Schubeck†
- Tom Snyder†
- Ralph Story†
- Michelle Tuzee – anchor
- Baxter Ward†
- Gene Washington
- Bill Weir (later with ABC News as host of Nightline; now with CNN)
- ^[†] Indicates deceased
Sports programming
Owing to its common ownership with ESPN, KABC-TV became the designated broadcast home of Los Angeles Rams games in 2016 for the team's appearances on Monday Night Football. KABC-TV carries the Rams' Monday Night Football games from that year onward while other games are split between three other television stations: KCBS-TV through the NFL on CBS, including the network's Thursday night games (2014–2017), KNBC through NBC Sunday Night Football and NBC-produced Thursday night games (2016–2017), and KTTV through the NFL on Fox and Fox-produced Thursday night games (2018–2021). The station also produces and broadcasts the Rams' team shows on Saturday nights during the regular season, with comedian Jay Mohr once serving as host for several weeks in 2016.[22] The same broadcast schedule applies for the Los Angeles Chargers, after they relocated from San Diego in 2017.
The Chargers named KABC-TV the team's official English-language television broadcaster from 2017 to 2019, giving KABC-TV access to preseason telecasts and weekly magazines.[23] In 2021, the Chargers moved their preseason broadcasts to KCBS-TV while the Rams moved their broadcasts to KABC-TV as part of a new partnership which also saw the station airing the coach’s show on Saturday nights.
KABC-TV will serve as the host station for Super Bowl LXI in 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
In addition, KABC-TV carries NBA games involving the
From 1976 to 1989 and from 1994 to 1995, KABC-TV aired
In its role as the local station for nationally aired NHL on ABC games from 1997 to 2004 and since 2021, it also airs select games featuring the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
KABC-TV served as the home station for the 1984 Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles.
The station also aired
Other locally produced programming
KABC-TV produces several local shows including Vista L.A. (which profiles
Prior to ABC's annual telecasts of the Academy Awards, KABC-TV produces a live pre-awards show and post-awards show, On the Red Carpet at the Oscars, featuring red carpet interviews and fashion commentary. This show also airs on the network's other O&O stations and is syndicated to several ABC affiliates and other broadcasters outside the country. From 2010 to 2014, KABC spun the special off into a weekly entertainment news show, On the Red Carpet, hosted by Rachel Smith.[24]
In the past, KABC-TV featured various locally produced shows such as AM Los Angeles; a morning talk show which at various times featured personalities Regis Philbin, Sarah Purcell, Ralph Story, Tawny Little, Cristina Ferrare, Cyndy Garvey, and Steve Edwards as hosts (Live with Kelly and Mark, formerly co-hosted by Philbin until 2011 and produced at New York sister station WABC-TV, now occupies the former time slot of AM Los Angeles). Edwards also hosted a short-lived afternoon show in the mid-1980s called 330, which aired after the ABC soap opera The Edge of Night.
On April 30, 1954, KABC-TV aired a preview program, Dig Me Later, Vampira, hosted by Maila Nurmi at 11 p.m. The Vampira Show premiered on the same night. For the first four weeks, the show aired at midnight, and it moved to 11 p.m. on May 29. Ten months later, on March 5, 1955, the series began airing at 10:30 p.m. As Vampira, Nurmi introduced films while wandering through a hallway of mist and cobwebs. Her horror-related comedy antics included talking to her pet spider Rollo and encouraging viewers to write for epitaphs instead of autographs. When the series was cancelled in 1955, she retained rights to the character of Vampira.
In 1964, Pinky Lee attempted a return to kids television by hosting a local children's comedy program on KABC-TV. The series was also seen in national syndication from 1964 to 1965. But the program fell prey to creative interference from the show's producers and from station management. Lee tried to fight off the creative interference, but his efforts were for naught. The 1960s version of The Pinky Lee Kids TV Show went off the air after one season.
The station also served as the official host broadcaster of the Kingdom Day Parade in Crenshaw.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
7.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
KABC-DT | ABC |
7.2 | 480i | LOCLish | Localish | |
7.3 | CHARGE! | Charge! | ||
7.4 | QVC2 | QVC2
|
Translators
- K21MH-D Daggett
- K26MW-D Lucerne Valley
- K30QC-D Ridgecrest
See also
- Circle 7 logo
- KABC (AM)
- KLOS-FM(formerly KABC-FM)
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KABC-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "KECA-TV Debut: Seventh Video Outlet In Los Angeles". Broadcasting. 37 (11): 64. 1949.
- ^ "KABC-TV Will Move Studios to Glendale Center". Los Angeles Times. November 4, 1997.
- ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations
- ^ "FCC DTV status report for KABC".
- ^ "CDBS Print". Licensing.fcc.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Federal Communications Commission Television Broadcast Station Construction Permit" (PDF). fcc.gov. March 3, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2012.
- ^ Entertainment ABC to return to Time Warner Cable CNN, May 3, 2000
- ^ Weprin, Alex (August 31, 2023). "Disney Channels, Including ABC and ESPN, Go Dark on Charter Spectrum In Major Carriage Dispute". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (September 11, 2023). "Disney and Charter reach deal, bringing back ESPN and ABC on Spectrum". MSN. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (January 18, 2015). "Exclusive: Comedy Multicast Net Launching on ABC, Scripps". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (January 21, 2020). "ABC Rebranding Live Well Broadcast Diginet to Localish". Broadcasting & Cable. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ "How Big the Payola in Records?". Broadcasting. 57 (9): 35. 1959.
- ^ "News - At Home". TV Week. Pomona Progress Bulletin (now the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin). June 11, 1972. p. 48.
- ^ "KABC-7 June 13 1972 Eyewitness News Live Telecast from Jenson Home". YouTube (from the Obsolete Video Services channel). November 10, 2018. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
- ^ "KDOC To Air KABC-Produced Newscast". TVNewsCheck. November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ^ Alex Stedman (September 30, 2015). "KABC Building Evacuated Due to Bomb Threat". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- ^ "KABC-TV Unveils State-of-the-art AIR7HD with XTREME VISION and SKYMAP7 Powered by SHOTOVER F1 LIVE". SHOT OVER. SHOTOVER. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ Boie, Kevin (May 8, 2014). "ABC7 celebrates 1 million Facebook fans". KABC-TV. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
KABC-TV Los Angeles on Thursday achieved a social media milestone by attracting a Facebook following of more than 1 million people -- the first local TV station in the country to accomplish that feat.
- ^ "Kevin O'Connell Basic Information". Retrieved July 5, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Maggie Rodriguez named co-host of Daytime NewsChannel 8 (WFLA-TV). February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "ABC7, LA Rams, Jay Mohr team up for new primetime sports show". KABC-TV. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "Chargers, ABC7 announce agreement to broadcast NFL team's games". KABC-TV. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
- ^ Albiniak, Paige (April 29, 2013). "Disney-ABC Goes Wall-to-Wall With 'On the Red Carpet'". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KABC". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved February 21, 2020.