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KMOV is a CBS affiliated television station, operating on channel 4 in St. Louis, Missouri. KMOV is owned by the Dallas, Texas-based Belo Corporation, with studio and office facilities in St. Louis and transmitter located in Lemay, Missouri.
station began broadcasting on July 8, 1954 as KWK-TV, owned by the Convey family along with KWK radio (1380 AM, now KSLG). It took the CBS affiliation from WTVI (channel 54, now KTVI on channel 2).
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Encyclopedia
KMOV is a CBS affiliated television station, operating on channel 4 in St. Louis, Missouri. KMOV is owned by the Dallas, Texas-based Belo Corporation, with studio and office facilities in St. Louis and transmitter located in Lemay, Missouri.
History
The station began broadcasting on July 8, 1954 as KWK-TV, owned by the Convey family along with KWK radio (1380 AM, now KSLG). It took the CBS affiliation from WTVI (channel 54, now KTVI on channel 2). Until 1955, it also aired whatever ABC programs that WTVI turned down.
However, CBS wanted its own television station in St. Louis to run alongside its powerhouse radio station, KMOX (1120 AM). It originally won a construction permit for channel 11 -- the last remaining commercial VHF license in St. Louis -- in 1955. However, CBS decided two years later instead to buy KWK-TV, and transferred the channel 11 license to St. Louis hotelier Harold Koplar in a money-less transaction. Almost immediately, the deal was held up after the St. Louis Amusement Company, one of the applicants for channel 11, protested to the United States Court of Appeals in January 1958. The appeal was dropped in November 1958. CBS officially took control of channel 4 later that month, and changed its calls to KMOX-TV after its radio sister. The following April, channel 11 signed on as independent station (and now CW affiliate) KPLR-TV.
By 1986, CBS was experiencing rough financial straits, an after-effect of successfully fending off a hostile takeover attempt by Ted Turner the previous year. CBS spent the latter portion of 1985 repurchasing a large portion of its stock to help block the Turner takeover. Once Turner sold its stock, CBS was saddled with significant debt and needed to raise cash. The company made the decision to sell KMOX-TV, its smallest owned-and-operated television station at the time, and on May 16, 1986, former CBS subsidiary and future parent company Viacom purchased the station and renamed it KMOV.
As part of a sale of Viacom's non-UPN affiliated stations, Belo acquired KMOV in a three-way deal also involving two television stations in the Seattle-Tacoma market. As part of the transaction, Belo sold KIRO-TV to Cox Enterprises, who subsequently sold its existing Seattle-Tacoma station, KSTW, to Viacom. The deal was consummated on June 1, 1997.
As a CBS-owned station, channel 4 cleared the entire network schedule. When Viacom took over in 1986, this changed rather drastically. KMOV began signing off the air at night, thus pre-empting the overnight news program CBS News Nightwatch. A barrage of scattered primetime pre-emptions later followed that was so rampant, the station earned a mention in Ken Auletta's 1991 book, Three Blind Mice. KMOV randomly replaced CBS prime-time shows with programming such as Billy Graham Crusades and National Geographic specials, syndicated movie packages, and occasional sporting events. According to Auletta, KMOV pre-empted 103 hours of CBS prime-time programming in 1987, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the network prime-time schedule. In the 1990s, the prime-time pre-emptions eased, and currently, the station only occasionally pre-empts a CBS prime-time program. The station also resumed a 24-hour broadcast schedule in the early-1990s.
In February 2002, KMOV and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch launched the weekly news discussion program Extra Edition; hosted by weekday morning news anchor Marc Cox. In 2003, KMOV began producing and airing At the Zoo, a program that gives behind-the-scenes look at the St. Louis Zoo, hosted by KMOV chief meteorologist Kent Ehrhardt.
In September 2008, KMOV premiered Great Day St. Louis, a one-hour daytime show, mostly focusing on entertainment and lifestyle topics in the St. Louis area. The show is hosted by Stephanie Simmons and Carol Daniel.
News Operations
Channel 4 was a strong contender in the St. Louis news ratings for most of the time from the late-1960s to the early-1980s. From the early-1980s until recently, KMOX-TV/KMOV has been a solid runner-up to KSDK. Although KMOV's newscasts won much critical acclaim, they were rarely rewarded with a ratings win. The 10 p.m. newscast regularly won at least a 20% share in viewership, while KSDK averaged about 30% share.
Since 2004, KMOV has seen significant growth in viewership. The station initially beat out KSDK at 10 p.m. in November, 2004. KMOV won at 10 p.m. again in May 2006. In November, 2006, KMOV's 10 p.m. newscast not only beat out KSDK's, but also became the most-watched late newscast in the country. Most of the 10pm growth can be attributed to CBS' primetime ratings increases and NBC's large drop in viewership. However, KMOV has also seen growth in all of its other newscasts, at times where the station does not benefit from a strong CBS lead-in.
Many KMOV personalities have moved on to jobs in the national spotlight (both Richelle Carey and meteorologist Reynolds Wolf moved to CNN in 2006). While this would initially seem like a positive, the "revolving door" and the unfamiliarity many of the station's personalities have in the market has been one of KMOV's weaknesses. Three of the station's four main anchors (Russell Kinsaul, Vickie Newton, and one anchor opening; Donna Savarese left the station in 2007) have been with the station for fewer than five years, three of the stations four main meteorologists (Matt Chambers, Steve Templeton, and Kristen Cornett) have been with the station fewer than three years. Though this may have initially caused some hiccups for KMOV, the ratings now seem to be increasing. Since the departure of Karen Foss from KSDK in December, 2006, Larry Conners assumed the mantle of longest-serving 10 p.m. news anchor in the market.
On January 27, 2008 at 5:30 p.m., KMOV became the second station in St. Louis to broadcast in 1080i High Definition behind KSDK which has been in HD since 2006. With the switch to HD came a new set by FX Group and new graphics which is a red and blue version of the graphics used on sister Belo Stations KING-TV, KREM-TV, KTVB/KTFT, WCNC-TV, KGW-TV, and Northwest Cable News.
In 1976, it was the second station to adopt the "Channel 2 News" theme that eventually became the de facto official theme music for CBS' O&Os. It dropped the tune in 1986 after Viacom took control, but it later used another "Channel 2 News"-derived tune, The CBS Enforcer Music Collection from 2001 to 2008. Ironically, for a time in the late 1980s, it used News Series 2000--a tune traditionally associated with ABC stations--as its theme song.
KMOV-TV News / Station Presentation
Newscast Titles
- Channel 4 Newsroom (mid 1970s-early 1980s)
- News 4 St. Louis (early 1980s-1992)
- 24 Hour News Source (early 1990s)
- Channel 4 News (1992-1993)
- News 4 St. Louis (1993-2007)
- News 4 in High Definition (2008)
KMOV Station Slogans
- The Vision of St. Louis (1992-1996)
- Your News, News 4 (Early 1990s-1999)
- Where There's Always Something Extra (2004-2007)
- News 4 Never Stops (2007-present)
News 4 Personalities
Current On-Air Talent
(as of March 2, 2009)
Current Anchors
- Larry Conners - weeknight 5PM and 10PM Anchor
- Marc Cox - weekday mornings (also reporter)
- Carol Daniel - "Great Day St. Louis" host
- Virginia Kerr - weekday mornings (also feature reporter)
- Russell Kinsaul - weeknights at 6, and Sundays at 5:30 and 10PM (also reporter)
- Vickie Newton - weeknights at 5 and 10PM
- Stephanie Simmons - "Great Day St. Louis" host
- Robin Smith - weekdays at noon (also reporter)
- Laurie Waters - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10PM (also reporter)
News 4 Reporters
- Erica Byfield - general assignment reporter
- Craig Cheatham - general assignment reporter
- Paul Cook - traffic reporter, seen weekday mornings
- Julian Grace - general assignment reporter
- Lisa Manzo - general assignment reporter
- Chris Nagus - general assignment reporter
- Ray Preston - general assignment reporter
- Mark Schnyder - general assignment reporter
- Matt Sczesny - general assignment reporter
- Tim Tialdo - "Great Day St. Louis" reporter
- Diana Zoga - general assignment reporter
4WARN Storm Team
In addition to providing forecasts on KMOV, the 4WARN Storm Team also provides forecasts for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KEZK-FM radio.
- Kent Ehrhardt (AMS / NWA Seal of Approval): Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 10PM (also host of "At the Zoo")
- Matt Chambers (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings
- Steve Templeton (AMS Certified / NWA Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weeknights at 6PM
- Kristen Cornett (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; Monday-Wednesdays at noon, Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10PM
News 4 Sports
- Steve Savard - Sports Director; Sunday-Thursday Sports Anchor, (also "Sports Sunday" host)
- Doug Vaughn - Sports Anchor; Friday-Saturday Sports Anchor
- Todd Schumacher - sports reporter
Former On-Air Talent
- Paul Alexander - sports anchor (1980-1986)
- Jamie Allman - reporter (now at KFTK-FM)
- Gary Apple - sports reporter (1987-1989)
- Cory Barron - meteorologist (1995-2003)
- Dottye Bennett - morning talk show host (late 1950s-early 1960s)
- Jim Bolen - anchor (1957-1994; one of the best vibe players in the nation)
- Lisa Brown - reporter
- Mike Brown - reporter
- Trish Brown - chief meteorologist (1991-1998)
- Betsey Bruce - anchor (1970-1988; currently at KTVI)
- Bob Buck - sports reporter (1976-1982)
- Dan Buck - anchor
- Richelle Carey - weekday morning anchor (2003-2006; currently at CNN Headline News)
- Les Carmichael - sports anchor (1958-1973)
- Ann Carroll - sports reporter (2005-2006; now with Fox Sports Net North)
- Steve Chamraz - investigative reporter
- Ellen Chang - reporter
- Christine Doyle - reporter
- Margie Ellisor - morning reporter/anchor (1994-1998; now at KTVI)
- Debi Faubion - reporter (1980-1988; currently at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina; An ex-America's Junior Miss)
- Dick Ford - reporter (mid-1960s)
- Ethan Forhetz - reporter (currently at KYTV in Springfield, Missouri)
- Evan Forrester - anchor
- Greg Gazinski - reporter
- Dan Gray - reporter (1984-1985; now at KTVI)
- Roger Grimsby - reporter (news correspondent; 1959-1961)
- Johnathan Hall - reporter
- Sandra Hughes - reporter (currently with CBS News)
- Herb Humphries - reporter (died in Texas in 2003)
- Julius Hunter - anchor (1974-2002)
- Jean Jackson - anchor/reporter (currently the Senior Director of Development at the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Louis University)
- Kathryn Jamboretz - reporter (1994-2000; currently at KTRS (AM))
- Donn Johnson - reporter
- Kara Kaswell - reporter
- Doug Kincaid - puppeteer/writer/performer ("Gator Tales", "D.B.'s Delight")
- Jeff Lea - reporter (2003-2006; currently with Lambert-St. Louis International Airport)
- Max Leber - medical reporter
- Linda Lorelle: reporter (late 1980s; later worked at KPRC-TV in Houston)
- Brenda Madden - reporter
- Kathy McDonald - reporter
- Tim McKernan - sports reporter (2000-2005; currently at KSLG (AM))
- Russ Mitchell - anchor/reporter (currently at CBS News)
- Al Naipo - reporter (1992-1993; currently at KTTV in Los Angeles)
- Mike Nelson - chief meteorologist (1985-1991; currently at KMGH-TV in Denver)
- Ryan Nusbickel - reporter
- Lyra O'Brien - meteorologist (2003-2006; currently at WISN-TV in Milwaukee)
- Mike O'Connell - reporter
- Dr. Joe Petrovich - meteorologist
- Mary Phelan - anchor
- Regis Philbin - hosted one of his early syndicated shows from the KMOX-TV studios (1972-1975), before making it big and moving to Los Angeles (currently host of syndicated talk show "Live with Regis and Kelly")
- Curt Ray - morning talk show host (early 1960s)
- Ollie Raymand - weather anchor (1970-1987)
- Dennis Riggs - reporter
- Mike Roberts - meteorologist (1990-1994; currently at KSDK)
- Max Roby - anchor (1958-1973)
- Erica Van Ross - reporter
- Zip Rzeppa - sports reporter
- Donna Savarese - weeknight 6PM anchor/reporter (-2007)
- Steve Schiff - anchor (1972-1986)
- James Schugel - reporter (2006-2007; currently at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis)
- Barry Serafin - anchor/reporter (1968-early 1970s)
- Mary Shalvarjian - reporter (1986-1987)
- Kristi Shearer - reporter
- Jeff Skversky - sports reporter
- Kevin Slaten - sports reporter (late 1970s; currently dominating the noon-3PM slot at Team 1380 (AM))
- Anne State - anchor/reporter (now at WBBM-TV in Chicago)
- Anne Steffens - anchor/education reporter/co-host "At the Zoo" (1996-2006; currently at the St. Louis Archdiocese)
- Melanie Strepper - weekend meteorologist (2006-2007)
- Eric Thomas - reporter (1989-1993; now at KGO-TV in San Francisco)
- Susan Thomas - traffic reporter (1996-2004; now at KEZK-AM)
- Thomas Scott "Tim" Van Gelder - sports reporter (1973-1985)
- Debbie Warshawski - reporter (1979-1985)
- Bob West - sports reporter
- Aimee Wilmoth - weather anchor (2004-2007)
- Al Wiman - health reporter (1973-1998)
- Reynolds Wolf - meteorologist (2005-2006; currently at CNN)
- Myriam Wright - anchor
Digital Television
On January 19, 2009 KMOV moved its digital broadcast from channel 56 to channel 24 in preparation for the analog television shutdown and digital conversion. KNLC, which formerly broadcast on 24, is now digital-only on channel 14. After the conversion, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display KMOV's virtual channel as 4. Because of these conversion arrangements, KMOV partnered with KNLC to raise funds to purchase digital converter boxes for low-income viewers.
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