KHSL-TV
Encyclopedia
KHSL-TV Channel 12 is a CBS
affiliate television station based in Chico, California
. Its transmitter is located in Cohasset, California
. The station is owned and operated by Catamount Broadcasting of Norwalk, Connecticut
, which also operates KNVN
channel 24, a NBC
affiliate owned by Evans Broadcasting. That transmitter is located in Red Bluff, California
, shifting the news and advertising focus to Redding. As a duopoly, both stations telecast Action News
and Action News Weekend Report. The station's Redding
offices are located in the Mt. Shasta Mall.
For many years, KHSL-TV has been the dominant television station in the Central Valley north of Sacramento. News presenters have referred to the viewing area on air as the "North State." Until recently, the San Francisco Chronicle included KHSL-TV in its television listings. Under certain weather conditions, KHSL's old analog signal could occasionally be received as far south as the eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. For many years, KHSL-TV provided a signal to a large network of translators, but due to satellite and cable TV, only the station translators are still in operation.
KHSL-TV's on-air staff over the years has included television host and producer Moriss Taylor, actor Richard Kiel
, voiceover announcer and vocalist Ron Palmer, news reporter Rick Rigsby, news anchors Dean Reeter (the former anchor at Channel 7R in Redding), Bill Windsor, Larry Stuelpnagel, Bill Ihle (later with KFBK Radio, Sacramento) and Angela Astore (later with KSTP-TV Minneapolis-St. Paul and CNN Headline News), meteorologist Anthony Watts and sports directors Ray Narbaitz, Dennis Lehnen and Royal Courtain. Former California state assemblyman Stan Statham
also anchored news at KHSL-TV and is currently the president of the California Broadcasters Association
.
The McClungs owned the station until 1994, when they sold it to United Communications Corporation. On September 14, 1998, KHSL-TV was purchased by Catamount Broadcasting. It had long been the dominant station until the merger with KNVN, when KRCR became #1 in the ratings.
From its infancy, KHSL-TV was an affiliate of CBS. When KRCR-TV entered the Chico-Redding market as the NBC affiliate, the two stations occasionally cherry-picked ABC programming since no third commercial station yet existed. In the mid-1970s, KRCR-TV switched to ABC. KHSL-TV then picked up some NBC programming - notably The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - but was forced to air it using an air feed from KRON-TV in San Francisco, necessitating awkward masking of KRONs visual IDs and local commercials. Finally, when KCPM (now KNVN) launched and took the NBC affiliation, the sharing of a third network was no longer necessary in the Chico-Redding market. However, there may have been at least one attempt back in the mid-1960s to bring a third commercial station to the area that would have been an ABC affiliate, but it never materialized and even KCPM did not come without challenges and financial troubles of its own.
and KCVU
in overall ratings, placing 4th and 3rd, respectively.
In February 2000, it merged its news department with that of KHSL because the failing new KNVN was at risk of having all of its newscasts dropped because of low viewership, but it still wanted to have some form of local news on. It didn't want to go back to using Sacramento news because it still wanted a complete form of local news, so it merged with KHSL to form Northern California News
, or more commonly known as NCN in December 2001. It dropped NCN in 2005 in favor of "The (hour) News" brand. It finally came up with a more permanent name in September 2006 called "Action News".
. This coincided with the company's acquisition of KIWB from Bluestone Television
in July 2006. It has its own 10:00 newscast titled CW Action News at Ten. It broadcasts on cable channel 10 on both Comcast
and Charter
systems. It is also available on Dish Network channel 43 and on DirecTV channel 10. It gets most of its programming from The CW Plus
, but airs Maury at noon and Dr. Phil at 1pm.
Weather
Sports
Reporters
Digital channels for KHSL>
Channel
Programming
12.1
KHSL HD
12.2
The CW 10
Digital channels for K42HL-D>
Channel
Programming
42.1 / 24.4
Antenna TV
42.3 / 24.3
KNVN SD
42.4 / 12.3
KHSL SD
42.5 / 12.4
The CW 10
42.6 / 24.6
The AccuWeather Channel
.
to feed their systems now since they have now lost OTA coverage. Viewers in northern areas of Sacramento
can now occasionally receive a clear KHSL signal, when before they could only get a snowy image at best. To make up with the reception problem in Redding, KHSL has launched a digital fill-in translator from South Fork Mountain on channel 36.
, such as Dr. Phil
, The Dr. Oz Show
and Extra
. Local news broadcasts, however, are still produced and aired in standard definition.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate television station based in Chico, California
Chico, California
Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
. Its transmitter is located in Cohasset, California
Cohasset, California
Cohasset is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, United States, approximately NNE of Chico, California. Its main street is named Cohasset Road, which comes from the Algonquian Indian language and means "long rocky place"...
. The station is owned and operated by Catamount Broadcasting of Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
, which also operates KNVN
KNVN
KNVN-TV is the NBC television station for the Chico/Redding, California market. The station is owned by Evans Broadcasting, and operated by Catamount Broadcasting, the owners of CBS affiliate KHSL-TV...
channel 24, a NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate owned by Evans Broadcasting. That transmitter is located in Red Bluff, California
Red Bluff, California
Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,076 at the 2010 census, up from 13,147 at the 2000 census....
, shifting the news and advertising focus to Redding. As a duopoly, both stations telecast Action News
Action News
Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
and Action News Weekend Report. The station's Redding
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
offices are located in the Mt. Shasta Mall.
For many years, KHSL-TV has been the dominant television station in the Central Valley north of Sacramento. News presenters have referred to the viewing area on air as the "North State." Until recently, the San Francisco Chronicle included KHSL-TV in its television listings. Under certain weather conditions, KHSL's old analog signal could occasionally be received as far south as the eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. For many years, KHSL-TV provided a signal to a large network of translators, but due to satellite and cable TV, only the station translators are still in operation.
KHSL-TV's on-air staff over the years has included television host and producer Moriss Taylor, actor Richard Kiel
Richard Kiel
Richard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
, voiceover announcer and vocalist Ron Palmer, news reporter Rick Rigsby, news anchors Dean Reeter (the former anchor at Channel 7R in Redding), Bill Windsor, Larry Stuelpnagel, Bill Ihle (later with KFBK Radio, Sacramento) and Angela Astore (later with KSTP-TV Minneapolis-St. Paul and CNN Headline News), meteorologist Anthony Watts and sports directors Ray Narbaitz, Dennis Lehnen and Royal Courtain. Former California state assemblyman Stan Statham
Stan Statham
Stan Statham was an American politician from California. He was elected as a Republican to the California State Assembly in 1976 and served until 1994, when he decided to run for Lieutenant Governor...
also anchored news at KHSL-TV and is currently the president of the California Broadcasters Association
California Broadcasters Association
The California Broadcasters Association represents radio and television stations in California. It has sponsored debates between California gubernatorial candidates....
.
History
KHSL-TV signed on in 1953, owned by the McClung family's Golden Empire Broadcasting Company along with KHSL-AM 1290. The call letters are in honor of Harry Smithson and Sidney Lewis, who founded KHSL-AM in 1935 and sold it to the McClungs a year later. Ruth "Mickey" McClung was one of the first women to own a television station.The McClungs owned the station until 1994, when they sold it to United Communications Corporation. On September 14, 1998, KHSL-TV was purchased by Catamount Broadcasting. It had long been the dominant station until the merger with KNVN, when KRCR became #1 in the ratings.
From its infancy, KHSL-TV was an affiliate of CBS. When KRCR-TV entered the Chico-Redding market as the NBC affiliate, the two stations occasionally cherry-picked ABC programming since no third commercial station yet existed. In the mid-1970s, KRCR-TV switched to ABC. KHSL-TV then picked up some NBC programming - notably The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - but was forced to air it using an air feed from KRON-TV in San Francisco, necessitating awkward masking of KRONs visual IDs and local commercials. Finally, when KCPM (now KNVN) launched and took the NBC affiliation, the sharing of a third network was no longer necessary in the Chico-Redding market. However, there may have been at least one attempt back in the mid-1960s to bring a third commercial station to the area that would have been an ABC affiliate, but it never materialized and even KCPM did not come without challenges and financial troubles of its own.
Newscast History
One of the station's first newscasts was "Valley Headline News," which in 1959 was broadcast on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday's at 7:00 p.m. W.E. Thomas was the news director.Merger with KNVN
On August 10, 1998 when KCPM changed its callsign to KNVN, Grapevine Communications sold the station because the station was extremely high in debt and overdue for bankruptcy. To avoid possibly putting KNVN off the air, the nearly bankrupt station signed a shared services agreement with KHSL, eventually leading to the creative yet controversial consolidation of the news departments. The ratings of the newscasts have always lagged far behind KHSL and KRCR, and the takeover resulted in the newscast ratings very slightly going up, while KHSL's ratings slightly declined and then the ratings of both stations plummeted once the newscasts were merged. Today's newscasts have slightly increased ratings with six newscasts per weekday and two per day on the weekends, but both KHSL and KNVN still lag behind KRCR-TVKRCR-TV
KRCR-TV is an ABC affiliated television station in California, USA, that serves the northern Sacramento Valley, including the towns of Redding and Chico. Its studios are located in Redding, where the station is licensed...
and KCVU
KCVU
KCVU Fox 20 is a Fox Network affiliated television station based in Chico, California. The station is owned and operated by Sainte Partners II, L.P. of Modesto, California...
in overall ratings, placing 4th and 3rd, respectively.
In February 2000, it merged its news department with that of KHSL because the failing new KNVN was at risk of having all of its newscasts dropped because of low viewership, but it still wanted to have some form of local news on. It didn't want to go back to using Sacramento news because it still wanted a complete form of local news, so it merged with KHSL to form Northern California News
Northern California News
Northern California News aired on Chico, California television stations KHSL-TV Channel 12 and KNVN-TV Channel 24 simultaneously at 5:00pm, 5:30pm and 11:00pm from 2001 to 2005. The newscasts were anchored by Matt Keller and Maureen Naylor, with Dave Vanore covering the weather and had various...
, or more commonly known as NCN in December 2001. It dropped NCN in 2005 in favor of "The (hour) News" brand. It finally came up with a more permanent name in September 2006 called "Action News".
Chico-Redding CW
Starting in September 2006, its DT2 subcarrier added programming from The CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. This coincided with the company's acquisition of KIWB from Bluestone Television
Bluestone Television
Bonten Media Group, LLC is a New York City-based owner of television broadcast stations in the United States. It was formed by Randall D. Bongarten and Diamond Castle Holdings in November 2006. Its first acquisition was group of 14 stations from Bluestone Television on May 31, 2007. Bluestone had...
in July 2006. It has its own 10:00 newscast titled CW Action News at Ten. It broadcasts on cable channel 10 on both Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
systems. It is also available on Dish Network channel 43 and on DirecTV channel 10. It gets most of its programming from The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
, but airs Maury at noon and Dr. Phil at 1pm.
Action News
KHSL features half-hour long newscasts at noon and 6pm 5 days a week with 2-minute news updates at the top of the hour throughout the day, it also simulcasts its nightly 11pm news on KNVN. It also produces an hour-long 5pm newscast for KNVN, a half-hour 10pm newscast for the CW 10, a morning show weekdays at 5:30 am, and a weekend newscast at 6:30 pm. In addition to the 11pm news, the weekday morning and weekday evening newscasts are simulcast on KNVN.Newscast titles
- Newscope 12 (1970s)
- The Big News (1970s)
- News 12 (1980s)
- Channel 12 News (1985–2003)
- Northern California NewsNorthern California NewsNorthern California News aired on Chico, California television stations KHSL-TV Channel 12 and KNVN-TV Channel 24 simultaneously at 5:00pm, 5:30pm and 11:00pm from 2001 to 2005. The newscasts were anchored by Matt Keller and Maureen Naylor, with Dave Vanore covering the weather and had various...
(2003–2005) - KHSL News (2005-2006)
- CBS 12/NBC 24 News (Briefly in 2006)
- Action NewsAction NewsAction News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
(2006–present)
Station slogans
- The Northstate's Finest (1990s?-2001)
- #1 in Northern California (2001–2005)
- Where Local News Comes First (2005–2006)
- Live, Local, Latebreaking (2006–2010)
- More News, More Often (2011-present)
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Alan Marsden - 5, 6, and 11p.m. weeknights
- Kira Klapper - 5, 6, and 11p.m. weeknights
- Megan McMann - Wake Up! Anchor 5:30-7a.m. weekday mornings (also a reporter)
- Linda Watkins-Bennett noon - anchor
- Debbie Cobb - 6:30 and 11p.m. weekends
- Elizabeth Gadley - 10pm weeknights (also a reporter)
Weather
- Kris Kuyper - 5, 6, 10 and 11p.m. weekdays and evenings (AMS/NWA)
- Rob Blair - 5:30-7a.m. mornings & noon
- Cort Klopping - 6:30 and 11:00 p.m. weekends (also a news reporter)
Sports
- Geraud Moncuré - 5, 6, 10, and 11p.m. weekdays and evenings
- Lee Carrell - 6:30 and 11p.m. weekends
- Ross Field - Sports Reporter
Reporters
Former anchors & reporters
- Louisa HodgeLouisa HodgeLouisa Hodge is an award winning Emmy winner and two-time Emmy nominee general assignment reporter for KCBS-2/KCAL-9 at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, California...
(NCN "Wake Up!" host (2003–2005, now at KRON in San Francisco, CA) - Dana Howard (Reporter, now at KXTVKXTVKXTV, channel 10, is an ABC affiliate television station in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the Gannett Company. Its transmitter tower is located in Walnut Grove, California, and studios are located on Broadway, just south of Business Loop 80 at the south edge of downtown...
10 in Sacramento, CA) - Maureen NaylorMaureen NaylorMaureen Helen Naylor is an American television news anchor and previouly did the weekend newscasts for Fresno's KFSN ABC 30 Action News in HD from March, 2005 to March, 2008. She is now a reporter for KTVU in Oakland/San Francisco.-Early life:...
(NCN news anchor) (2001–2005, Now at KTVUKTVUKTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
in Oakland, CA) - Stan StathamStan StathamStan Statham was an American politician from California. He was elected as a Republican to the California State Assembly in 1976 and served until 1994, when he decided to run for Lieutenant Governor...
(news anchor) (1960s-1970s, former California state assemblyman, now president of the California Broadcasters Association) - Anthony Watts (chief meteorologist) (1987–2002, 2004, now at KPAY radio in Chico and current member for Chico Unified School District board)
- Royal Courtain (sports anchor) (1970's-1998, then KRCR-TVKRCR-TVKRCR-TV is an ABC affiliated television station in California, USA, that serves the northern Sacramento Valley, including the towns of Redding and Chico. Its studios are located in Redding, where the station is licensed...
, now with Charter Media) - Rick Rigsby (news reporter) (1970's-1984, now an ordained minister and motivational speaker)
Locally-produced programs
- The Moriss Taylor ShowThe Moriss Taylor ShowThe Moriss Taylor Show was one of the longest-running locally-produced television shows in history. Hosted by longtime radio personality and producer Moriss Taylor, the show was a weekly country music-variety staple featuring such musicians as Charlie Robinson, Yvonne Haygood, Bill Teague, Mark...
(1956–1995; now airs on MyTV Northern CaliforniaMyTV Northern CaliforniaMyTV Northern California is the regional My Network TV affiliate based in Chico, California, also serving Redding and Eureka. The station consists of KRVU-LD 21, KZVU-LD 22 and KEMY-LP 33 is owned and operated by Sainte Partners II, L.P. of Modesto, California, founded by the late Chester Smith...
) - "Sunday Evening" with Bruce Lang (1980s-1998)
- KNVN's Your Show LiveYour Show LiveYour Show Live was a locally-produced television program that was broadcast from the Mt. Shasta Mall in Redding, California. It aired live weekday mornings on KNVN-TV Channel 24 in Chico, California and was rebroadcast on tape delay weekday afternoons on KHSL-TV Channel 12, also of Chico...
with Shaye Leeper and Dave Tappan (2002–2004)
Digital television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
Antenna TV
Antenna TV is an American digital broadcast television network, primarily featuring classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s, along with some feature films. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
Analog-to-digital conversion
KHSL became digital-only on December 22, 2008. KHSL shut down its analog signal on January 1, 2009, continuing on its pre-transition channel number, 43. Receivers will also still display the signal as channel 12 through the use of PSIPProgram and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
.
Early switchover
KHSL replaced normal programming with digital TV information on analog channel 12, and eventually turned it off on January 1. KHSL's new 235 kW, 500 feet (152.4 m) digital tower is up and running and has been for the past four months, but will double its power to nearly 500 kW on February 17, 2009.Loss in OTA coverage
According to the engineering department, KHSL chose not to return to VHF Channel 12, as digital transmission has much poorer results than UHF Channels, but there was still a substantial loss in over-the-air (OTA) coverage. There has been lots of criticism because a VHF signal better covers the terrain of the rural, mountainous viewing area in communities and could have actually gained coverage if the digital transmitter used the analog tower. However, results by most stations in the U.S. show a loss of coverage with a VHF signal, but the Chico/Redding area is unique in the fact that the valley is suited better for UHF (VHF is notorious for impulse noise) while the foothills and mountains are better suited for VHF (UHF does not travel the natural curve of the Earth well), but KHSL had to take a loss of approximately 50,000 potential viewers since it cannot satisfy both types of terrain at the same time, less than it would have on VHF 12 but still much worse than the other stations in the area which saw little or no loss in coverage http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/maps_current/Chico-Redding_CA.pdf. However, it still covers 537,000 people which is still second to KCVU, which now covers 550,000 people; and pulls ahead of KRCR, KIXE, and KNVN, which better cover the core Chico/Redding area but only cover 400,000 people each. Many rural cable systems use Dish NetworkDish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
to feed their systems now since they have now lost OTA coverage. Viewers in northern areas of Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
can now occasionally receive a clear KHSL signal, when before they could only get a snowy image at best. To make up with the reception problem in Redding, KHSL has launched a digital fill-in translator from South Fork Mountain on channel 36.
High Definition
KHSL airs most CBS-produced and some syndicated shows in HDHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, such as Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
and Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
. Local news broadcasts, however, are still produced and aired in standard definition.