CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started ou
KOVR, channel 13, is a
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
owned-and-operated television station licensed to
Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, the county seat of San Joaquin County, is currently the 13th largest city in the U.S. state of California in terms of population and one of the largest in terms of area in the Central Valley. Stockton is located in Northern California south of Sacramento and north of Modesto...
, and serving the
SacramentoSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
-Stockton television market. The station is co-owned with
CW affiliateThe 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...
KMAX-TVKMAX-TV is the CBS Corporation's CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. In May 2005, the station merged its operations with the local CBS station, KOVR , which the CBS Corp. just recently purchased -- making both the only English network O&O's in the market...
(channel 31), and the two stations share facilities in
West SacramentoWest Sacramento is a city in Yolo County, California. It is contiguous with Sacramento, but is separated by the Sacramento River which is also the county line, so West Sacramento is in a different county than Sacramento...
. KOVR's
transmitterKXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower is a 472.1 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Walnut Grove, California, USA . KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower was built in 1962...
is located in
Walnut Grove, CaliforniaWalnut Grove is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
History
KOVR is Sacramento's oldest continuously-operating television station. It first hit the airwaves in September 6, 1954 from the California State Fair. Originally an
independent stationAn independent station is television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any network...
with a transmitter located on Mount Diablo, its signal reached the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
, hence the call letters
KOVR ("covering" all of
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose , Sacramento , as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada...
). It broadcast from a studio on Miner Avenue in Stockton.
Art FinleyArt Finley is a former North American television and radio personality, mostly in San Francisco and Vancouver, until his retirement in 1995....
hosted an afternoon children's program,
Toonytown, for several years, before moving to San Francisco's KRON.
As an ABC Affiliate
In May 1957, KOVR merged its operations with Sacramento's original
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
affiliate, KCCC (channel 40, which signed on a few months before KOVR). KCCC went silent, and KOVR became Sacramento's ABC affiliate. At ABC's request, the station moved its transmitter to a temporary site near
JacksonJackson is the county seat of Amador County, California. The population was 3,989 at the 2000 census...
to avoid interference with
KGO-TVKGO-TV, channel 7, based in San Francisco, California, is an owned-and-operated television station of The Walt Disney Company subsidiary ABC...
in San Francisco.
By this time, it was obvious that Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto were going to be a single television market. In 1960, KOVR teamed up with
KCRA-TVKCRA is a television station broadcasting on channel 3 in Sacramento, California. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, and has been an affiliate of the NBC Television Network since its inception...
and KXTV to build a new
1,549-foot towerKXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower is a 472.1 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Walnut Grove, California, USA . KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower was built in 1962...
in Walnut Grove. In 1985, KOVR and KXTV moved to their current tower while KCRA moved to
its own
{{cleanup|date=December 2008}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2008}}
KOVR, channel 13, is a CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
owned-and-operated television station licensed to
Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, the county seat of San Joaquin County, is currently the 13th largest city in the U.S. state of California in terms of population and one of the largest in terms of area in the Central Valley. Stockton is located in Northern California south of Sacramento and north of Modesto...
, and serving the
SacramentoSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
-Stockton television market. The station is co-owned with
CW affiliateThe 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...
KMAX-TVKMAX-TV is the CBS Corporation's CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. In May 2005, the station merged its operations with the local CBS station, KOVR , which the CBS Corp. just recently purchased -- making both the only English network O&O's in the market...
(channel 31), and the two stations share facilities in
West SacramentoWest Sacramento is a city in Yolo County, California. It is contiguous with Sacramento, but is separated by the Sacramento River which is also the county line, so West Sacramento is in a different county than Sacramento...
. KOVR's
transmitterKXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower is a 472.1 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Walnut Grove, California, USA . KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower was built in 1962...
is located in
Walnut Grove, CaliforniaWalnut Grove is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
History
KOVR is Sacramento's oldest continuously-operating television station. It first hit the airwaves in September 6, 1954 from the California State Fair. Originally an
independent stationAn independent station is television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any network...
with a transmitter located on Mount Diablo, its signal reached the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
, hence the call letters
KOVR ("covering" all of
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose , Sacramento , as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada...
). It broadcast from a studio on Miner Avenue in Stockton.
Art FinleyArt Finley is a former North American television and radio personality, mostly in San Francisco and Vancouver, until his retirement in 1995....
hosted an afternoon children's program,
Toonytown, for several years, before moving to San Francisco's KRON.
As an ABC Affiliate
In May 1957, KOVR merged its operations with Sacramento's original
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
affiliate, KCCC (channel 40, which signed on a few months before KOVR). KCCC went silent, and KOVR became Sacramento's ABC affiliate. At ABC's request, the station moved its transmitter to a temporary site near
JacksonJackson is the county seat of Amador County, California. The population was 3,989 at the 2000 census...
to avoid interference with
KGO-TVKGO-TV, channel 7, based in San Francisco, California, is an owned-and-operated television station of The Walt Disney Company subsidiary ABC...
in San Francisco.
By this time, it was obvious that Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto were going to be a single television market. In 1960, KOVR teamed up with
KCRA-TVKCRA is a television station broadcasting on channel 3 in Sacramento, California. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, and has been an affiliate of the NBC Television Network since its inception...
and KXTV to build a new
1,549-foot towerKXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower is a 472.1 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Walnut Grove, California, USA . KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower was built in 1962...
in Walnut Grove. In 1985, KOVR and KXTV moved to their current {{convert|2049|ft|m|sing=on}} tower while KCRA moved to
its own
{{cleanup|date=December 2008}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2008}}
KOVR, channel 13, is a CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
owned-and-operated television station licensed to
Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, the county seat of San Joaquin County, is currently the 13th largest city in the U.S. state of California in terms of population and one of the largest in terms of area in the Central Valley. Stockton is located in Northern California south of Sacramento and north of Modesto...
, and serving the
SacramentoSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
-Stockton television market. The station is co-owned with
CW affiliateThe 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...
KMAX-TVKMAX-TV is the CBS Corporation's CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. In May 2005, the station merged its operations with the local CBS station, KOVR , which the CBS Corp. just recently purchased -- making both the only English network O&O's in the market...
(channel 31), and the two stations share facilities in
West SacramentoWest Sacramento is a city in Yolo County, California. It is contiguous with Sacramento, but is separated by the Sacramento River which is also the county line, so West Sacramento is in a different county than Sacramento...
. KOVR's
transmitterKXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower is a 472.1 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Walnut Grove, California, USA . KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower was built in 1962...
is located in
Walnut Grove, CaliforniaWalnut Grove is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
History
KOVR is Sacramento's oldest continuously-operating television station. It first hit the airwaves in September 6, 1954 from the California State Fair. Originally an
independent stationAn independent station is television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any network...
with a transmitter located on Mount Diablo, its signal reached the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
, hence the call letters
KOVR ("covering" all of
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose , Sacramento , as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada...
). It broadcast from a studio on Miner Avenue in Stockton.
Art FinleyArt Finley is a former North American television and radio personality, mostly in San Francisco and Vancouver, until his retirement in 1995....
hosted an afternoon children's program,
Toonytown, for several years, before moving to San Francisco's KRON.
As an ABC Affiliate
In May 1957, KOVR merged its operations with Sacramento's original
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
affiliate, KCCC (channel 40, which signed on a few months before KOVR). KCCC went silent, and KOVR became Sacramento's ABC affiliate. At ABC's request, the station moved its transmitter to a temporary site near
JacksonJackson is the county seat of Amador County, California. The population was 3,989 at the 2000 census...
to avoid interference with
KGO-TVKGO-TV, channel 7, based in San Francisco, California, is an owned-and-operated television station of The Walt Disney Company subsidiary ABC...
in San Francisco.
By this time, it was obvious that Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto were going to be a single television market. In 1960, KOVR teamed up with
KCRA-TVKCRA is a television station broadcasting on channel 3 in Sacramento, California. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, and has been an affiliate of the NBC Television Network since its inception...
and KXTV to build a new
1,549-foot towerKXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower is a 472.1 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Walnut Grove, California, USA . KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower was built in 1962...
in Walnut Grove. In 1985, KOVR and KXTV moved to their current {{convert|2049|ft|m|sing=on}} tower while KCRA moved to
its own {{convertHearst-Argyle Tower is the common name for the guyed tower used for TV broadcasting at Walnut Grove, California, USA at . From 1985 to 2002 Hearst-Argyle Television owned the tower and site, and they remain a tenant, but in May 2002 ownership was transferred to Richland Towers.The tower is 2000 ft...
; KCRA still uses the old tower as an auxiliary.
In 1958,
GannettGannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company based in the United States. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend. Its largest non-national newspaper is The...
(ironically, the present-day owner of rival
KXTVKXTV, channel 10, is an ABC affiliate 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 Sacramento...
) bought KOVR from its original owners, then sold it a year later to
John KlugeJohn Werner Kluge is a German-American entrepreneur and a billionaire. He is best known as a television industry mogul in the United States.- Early life :...
's Metropolitan Broadcasting (which later became
MetromediaMetromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986.- Overview :...
). In 1960, the station moved its general offices and news department to a new studio on Arden Way in Sacramento. In 1987 KOVR consolidated its operations into its current facility in West Sacramento.
Metromedia sold KOVR to
McClatchy NewspapersThe McClatchy Company is a American publishing company based in Sacramento, California, that operates a number of newspapers and websites.-History:...
in 1964. McClatchy ran the station alongside
The Sacramento BeeThe Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S...
and
Modesto BeeThe Modesto Bee is a Californian newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company, an American newspaper corporation.The Modesto Bee has about 150 employees and is delivered throughout central California, reaching places such as Manteca, Merced, Patterson and Sonora. It currently serves 70,000 morning...
newspapers, as well as radio stations KWG in Stockton and
KFBKKFBK is a radio station in Sacramento, California broadcasting on a frequency of 1530 kHz. KFBK is a class A clear channel station, formerly designated as a class "I-B" station, sharing 1530 with WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio...
in Sacramento. McClatchy was able to own KOVR, KWG and KFBK because Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto are separate radio markets. McClatchy had established a trio of bee mascots (originally designed by
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
, whose
namesake companyThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
would eventually acquire ABC) of which Teevee the Bee was KOVR's official mascot during the years McClatchy owned the station—short cartoons of the bee bookended KOVR's broadcast day, either ushering in or concluding the day's programming. (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNgecUK3SJA)
After McClatchy sold the station to
Outlet CommunicationsThe Outlet Company was a corporation based in Providence, Rhode Island, which owned holdings in both retail and broadcasting. The centerpieces of the group was its flagship Providence store and WJAR radio and television, also in Providence....
in 1978, KOVR went into a gradual decline in terms of both ratings and programming quality (even as ABC became the country's highest-rated network), and has been in third place in the Sacramento ratings for most of the time since then. The station was then sold to Narragansett Television LP in 1986, then to Anchor Media in 1988. Anchor Media was merged into River City Broadcasting in 1993, and River City was purchased by the
Sinclair Broadcast GroupThe Sinclair Broadcast Group is the operator of the largest number of local television stations in the United States with a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of which are located in the South and the Midwest. Broadcasts by SBG stations can be...
three years later.
KOVR does have its high water marks in local broadcasting: it was the first station in Northern California to use
videotapeVideotape is a means of recording images and sound on to magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
(rather than film) for its newscasts, and was the first station in the Sacramento/Stockton area to broadcast in
stereoStereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound using two or more independent audio channels through a symmetrical configuration of loudspeakers in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing...
.
As an ABC affiliate, KOVR preempted a moderate amount of programming, even the 30 minute soap opera
LovingLoving is an American television soap opera which aired on ABC's daytime lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes. The serial was co-created by Agnes Nixon and former actor Douglas Marland...
. It also aired some ABC programming out of pattern:
All My ChildrenAll My Children is an American soap opera that has been broadcast Monday through Friday on the ABC TV network since January 5, 1970; repeat episodes air weeknights on SOAPnet. Created by Agnes Nixon, the show is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia...
in the early years used to air at 11 AM. (Half the ABC affiliates air
AMC at 11 AM to follow it with their noon newscasts; the timeslot is secondary compared to airing
AMC at noon traditionally). In the mid-90s, KOVR moved the soap opera to air at 3 PM, a practice continued by KXTV by the network switch until the early 2000s.
Switching to CBS
On March 6, 1995, KOVR swapped affiliations with longtime
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
affiliate KXTV (then owned by Belo Corporation; now owned by Gannett). Despite becoming a CBS affiliate, KOVR chose not to air
Guiding LightGuiding Light is an American daytime television drama and is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest-running soap opera in production and the longest running drama in television and radio history...
, a practice continued from KXTV during its CBS days (due to the show's below-average ratings in the area). Another CBS affiliate,
WNEM-TVWNEM-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Mid-Michigan that is licensed to Bay City. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter on Becker Road in Robin Glen-Indiantown. Owned by the Meredith Corporation, the station has studios on North Franklin...
in
Bay City, MichiganBay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2000 census, the city's population was 36,817, with the 2008 census estimate placing the population at 33,874...
; also did not air the soap opera until the launch of its My Network TV subchannel in 2006. Sacramento had become the only market with a CBS affiliate that did not air 'Guiding Light'. In April 2009, CBS had announced that the serial will leave the air in September 2009. The show aired its last episode on September 18, 2009. Until late 1999,
Live with Regis & Kelly (then
Live with Regis & Kathie Lee) aired on KOVR, even during its affiliation with ABC. The show now airs on KCRA.
A more notable oddity with KOVR's affiliation with CBS is that the station runs the network's primetime schedule an hour earlier than typical. CBS programming that is seen from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. in other
Pacific Time ZoneThe Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
markets (as well as many Eastern Time Zone markets) is shown from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (typically used by stations in TV markets in both
CentralThe Central Time Zone is in the Americas and observes standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time and five hours during daylight saving time...
and
MountainThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, sometimes called Greenwich Mean Time during the shortest days of autumn and winter, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
time zones) instead on KOVR. When KOVR was an ABC affiliate, the station had an 11 p.m. newscast like most stations on the coasts. Upon the network switch, the station followed the practice of now-sister KPIX in having a 10 p.m. hour-long newscast (KPIX later on moved the newscast back up to 11 p.m. in 1998). In recent ratings periods KOVR has been battling KTXL FOX40 for the lead in the 10 PM news time slot, with KOVR leading in total households and KTXL FOX40 leading in the key demographics.
Gary Condit/Chandra Levy
In 2001, KOVR gained attention when it landed an "local exclusive" interview with Congressman
Gary ConditGary Adrian Condit is a former American politician, a Democrat who served in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003...
regarding the
Chandra LevyChandra Ann Levy was an intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., who disappeared in May 2001 and is presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park in May 2002. The investigation into her disappearance uncovered an extramarital affair with then-U.S...
murder (Condit appeared the same evening on ABC, in an interview with Connie Chung). The station televised an interview on August 30 in which he claimed that he did not kill Chandra Levy after a visit with the slain intern. Despite numerous KOVR reports filed by reporter Gloria Gomez, the Condit interview was granted to another KOVR reporter, Jodi Hernandez. Much of the national interest in the case would be lost days later, in the aftermath of the September 11th terror attacks.
Becoming a CBS O&O
In May 2005, Sinclair sold KOVR to Viacom's television stations unit (now part of
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's majority...
), creating CBS' third California duopoly with O&O
KMAX-TVKMAX-TV is the CBS Corporation's CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. In May 2005, the station merged its operations with the local CBS station, KOVR , which the CBS Corp. just recently purchased -- making both the only English network O&O's in the market...
, the local
CWThe 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...
station. Viacom was forced to sell KFRC-AM in San Francisco as a condition of the sale, as the station's city-grade signal reaches Sacramento.
Programming
After the purchase was announced, some, including station management, had speculated that KOVR would eventually move CBS's primetime lineup back to 8-11 p.m. and add
Guiding Light to its schedule, along with dropping
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
. It was assumed as an O & O, that KOVR would have to carry Guiding Light. However, on May 3, 2005, it was announced that programming would remain exactly the same for the Summer and that there would be no plans to add Guiding Light.
On August 11, 2005, CBS announced that the 7-10 p.m. prime-time lineup, the 10 p.m. local newscast and the 11 p.m. airing of
The Late Show with David Letterman would remain in place. The success that the station has had with the early prime-time schedule and its 10 p.m. newscast is cited as the reason for maintaining the status quo. At that point, they also stated that
Guiding Light would not be added to KOVR, at least for the 2005 season, but would now be available through online streaming. The logic was that a show that had been off in the market for over 14 years would not receive good ratings. Plus there were few requests for it. Another reason was that the amount of spots available during the show would not make it profitable for the station to run it. The station did, however, change its on-air branding from the long-standing "KOVR 13" to "CBS 13" in compliance with the CBS Mandate. Coincidentally, WJZ-TV channel 13 in Baltimore, which has been owned by CBS since 1995, does not follow the CBS Mandate, instead using their call letters.
On July 31, 2006, the station received approval from the network to move the weekend lineup back an hour in order to maintain an hour-long 10 p.m. newscast throughout the week. The new weekend schedule, which began August 27, will, for example, have
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
airing at 6 p.m. on Sunday nights. KOVR is now the only
Pacific Time ZoneThe Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
CBS station to run the entire network primetime lineup beginning at 7 p.m. Technically, it is also one of two TV stations in the Sacramento market and in the Pacific Time Zone to start their network primetime lineup early, as
KQCAKQCA is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Sacramento, California, USA. Licensed to Stockton, the station broadcasts a digital-only signal on UHF channel 46. KQCA's transmitter is located northeast of Walnut Grove. The station is owned by Hearst Television as part of a duopoly with...
started airing its 2-hour My Network TV schedule from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, on September 5 that same year.
The Late Late Show (which had been airing at 1 a.m.) moved up one hour, pushing back the Midnight showing of
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
to a later time (which was seen on the station weekdays at 3 p.m. until September 8, 2006). On September 11, 2006,
NBC UniversalNBC Universal, Inc. is a media and entertainment company formed in May 2004 by the combination of General Electric's NBC with Vivendi Universal Entertainment, part of the French Media Group. The deal excluded the French Canal+ operations, which were retained by Vivendi. GE owns 80% of NBC Universal...
's
Jerry Springer was dropped and moved to KMAX-TV, where it ran until 2007, when it was picked up by
KQCAKQCA is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Sacramento, California, USA. Licensed to Stockton, the station broadcasts a digital-only signal on UHF channel 46. KQCA's transmitter is located northeast of Walnut Grove. The station is owned by Hearst Television as part of a duopoly with...
, who now airs the show at Noon and 2 PM. KOVR became the market's new home of CBS-owned King World's
Dr. PhilDr. Phil is a 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...
, which the station airs at 3 p.m. on weekdays. Guiding Light would also continue to not be run and
Montel WilliamsMontel Brian Anthony Williams is an American former television personality and television and radio talk show host.-Early life:Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
continued to air at 2 p.m. weekdays. In the July of 2006,
Maury PovichMaurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an American TV talk show personality, who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury...
was dropped in favor of a 4 p.m. newscast on weekdays. That fall, the schedule basically remained the same as during the previous season. The station continued preempting Guiding Light for the 2007-2008 season.
In the fall of 2008, KOVR again declined to add Guilding Light, despite the fact that Montel Williams was canceled by co-owned
CBS Television DistributionCBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, a merger of CBS Corporation's three television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television, CBS Paramount International Television, and King World Productions including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
that September. The double run of Montel Williams was scaled back to air in reruns once a day at 9 A.M. weekdays. Its old 2 p.m. time slot would now be occupied by the Dr. Phil spin-off,
The DoctorsThe Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the US, Canada, Ireland and Finland. It premiered on September 8, 2008. . The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television Distribution...
.
On April 1, 2009, it was announced that CBS was finally canceling Guiding Light altogether and its last airdate would be September 18. On August 3, it was announced a new version oc
Let's Make A DealLet's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show was based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The contestants usually had to weigh the possibility of an offer...
would replace the soap beginning on October 5, 2009. Between those dates, an additional hour of Price Is Right would be run. On September 4, 2009, KOVR ran Frasier reruns for 2 weeks while Guiding Light airs it's last two weeks of episodes. On September 21, Price Is Right's additional temporary hour would air from 9-10 AM. Let's Make A Deal from CBS will be running at 9 a.m. on the station. So effective September 21, KOVR finally began running the entire CBS schedule although its prime-time schedule will remain at its current 7-10 PM.
News Department
While under Sinclair ownership, KOVR had worked with a small-to-moderate news staff, which was unusual since Sacramento's dramatic growth during the 1980s had made it a top-20 market. However, with CBS' purchase, the KOVR and KMAX-TV newsrooms have been combined at KOVR's West Sacramento location. Personalities from KMAX-TV now also make appearances on KOVR and vice versa.
On February 1, 2006, KOVR debuted its new graphics along with new music, a new set, and a new main anchor team of Sam Shane (from
MSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States and available in both the US and Canada. Its name is a combination of "MSN" and "NBC"....
and KCRA) and Pallas Hupé (from Detroit Fox station
WJBKWJBK is the Fox-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting on digital channel 7...
). The evening newscast has instituted a three-anchor format. The program begins with Shane and Hupé anchoring the major news stories of the day, deferring to anchor/reporter Brandi Hitt for World and National News stories. The unique three-anchor setup remains during Weekend prime-time newscasts with rotating anchors.
The news department has also launched a daily sports segment during its newscasts with sports anchor Arran Andersen (from
KOLD-TVKOLD-TV is a full-service television station in Tucson, Arizona. It is the CBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona, and is owned by Raycom Media. The station broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 32.-History:...
). KOVR had been without a competitive sports department since the departure of John Henk in the late 1990s.
Most KOVR personalities with the station during the Sinclair years have either been fired or have resigned. Dismissals of former lead anchors Paul Joncich and Jennifer Whitney were sudden and unannounced whereas personalities Marcy Valenzuela and Jennifer Krier were allowed to say farewell to viewers on air. Remaining on-air staff include Chief Weatherman Dave Bender, Investigative Reporter Kurtis Ming, and Health Reporter Diana Penna.
KOVR newscasts are now broadcast in High Definition as of October 2008.
CBS13.com Rush Limbaugh controversy
In May 2007, KOVR revamped its morning news program with an emphasis on its website. The 5AM to 6AM newscast, called "CBS13.com" featured anchor Chris Burrous, reporter Lisa Gonzales and weather personality Jeff James in a show centered around viewer feedback through the web, viral videos and news found on the Internet.
On May 7, 2007, CBS13.com reported on a song that conservative radio broadcaster
Rush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio host and conservative political commentator. Limbaugh rose to prominence during the 1990s as host of a nationally-syndicated talk-radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show...
played heavily on his nationally-syndicated program called "Barack the Magic Negro" that spoofed the now President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
. CBS13.com ran a poll asking people whether they thought the song was
racist. Limbaugh, in turn, claimed KOVR was a part of the "liberal media" and called the Burrous-Gonzales-James team
"morons". In newscasts throughout the day, KOVR covered Limbaugh's lashout against the station, adding with a disclaimer after every story that KOVR
never intended to couple Limbaugh with the parody song and admitting that the station found the song on video sharing website
YouTubeYouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. In November 2006, YouTube, LLC was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion, and is now operated as a subsidiary of Google...
.
News Logo History
In the 1970s, KOVR-TV used a logo for
Channel 13 Action News. The logo consisted of a middle-sized word saying "Action", and a larger word saying "News". Below the words there was KOVR's 1960s-1970s logo, and arrows pointing both ways on both sides of the logo. In the 1980s, KOVR used a new logo for
NewsWatch 13. The logo had the italicized word "News" and the stylized "13" logo on the side, with the word "Watch" on the bottom.
Anchors
- Pallas Hupe, Weeknight Anchor 5, 6, 10pm (2006)
- Brandi Hitt, Weeknight Anchor 4pm/World and National News 5, 6, 10pm (2005)
- Tony Lopez, Weeknight Anchor 4pm/ Reporter (2005)
- Sam Shane, Weeknight Anchor 5, 6, 10pm (2006)
- Ron Jones, Weekend Anchor/ Reporter (2004)
- Lisa Gonzales, Noon Anchor (2005)
- Kris Pickel, Weekend Anchor/ Reporter (2006)
- Steve Large, World and National News weekends/ Reporter (2006)
- Chris Burrous, Morning Anchor (2005)
- Ron Hyde, Morning Anchor (2008)
- Sarah Gardner
Sarah Gardner is a retired American television news anchor. She was an anchor for KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California from 1993 to 2007.-Early life and education:...
Fill-In Anchor (2009)
Weather
Reporters
- Checkey Beckford, General Assignment Reporter (Dec. 2008)
- Elyce Kirchner, General Assignment Reporter (2007)
- Kurtis Ming, Consumer Reporter/ Fill-in Anchor (2003)
- Laura Cole, General Assignment Reporter (2007)
- Mike Dello Stritto, General Assignment Reporter (2006)
- David Begnaud, General Assignment Reporter (2007)
- Koula Gianulias, General Assignment Reporter (2006)
- Diana Penna,Health Reporter Noon (1997)
- R.E Graswich, "The Scoop" Reporter
- Andrea Menniti, General Assignment Reporter (2007)
- Andrew Luria, General Assignment Reporter (2008)
Spanish Language Interpreters
Notable alumni
- Stan Atkinson
Stan Atkinson was a television news reporter and anchor for over 45 years, mostly in the Sacramento area, including many years as principal news anchor for KCRA, Channel 3, in Sacramento. and then principal news anchor for KOVR from 1994 until his retirement in 1999...
(1994-1999 as anchor, previously an anchor at KCRA, now retired running local ads)
- Claudia Cowan
Claudia Cowan born July 31, 1963, USA, is an American news reporter for the Fox News Channel. She began her career at KTTV-TV in Los Angeles, where she worked her way up from being a messenger to an on-air reporter, then moved to KMST-TV in Monterey where she began as a desk assistant, worked her...
(as anchor/reporter, later moved to KRON in San Francisco, now reporter for Fox News)
- Kristine Hanson
Kristine Hanson is an American television broadcaster who also was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the September 1974 issue...
(2004-2005 as meteorologist, now freelancing at KGOKGO-TV, channel 7, based in San Francisco, California, is an owned-and-operated television station of The Walt Disney Company subsidiary ABC...
in San Francisco)
- Lois Hart
Lois Hackbert Hart Walker is a retired journalist. She co-anchored the evening news in Sacramento on KCRA-TV with her husband, Dave Walker, from 1990 through 2008....
(as anchor, recently at KCRAKCRA is a television station broadcasting on channel 3 in Sacramento, California. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, and has been an affiliate of the NBC Television Network since its inception...
, now retired)
- Bob Hilton
Robert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. Although known mainly for his role as announcer, he has hosted game shows as well, including The Guinness Game, Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal for NBC.Hilton has announced several game...
(as anchor, now owner and developer of Holy Cow cleaning products in Rocklin, CaliforniaRocklin is a city in Placer County, California. It is a primarily residential community located north of Sacramento. It shares borders with Roseville, Loomis, and Lincoln...
)
- Cristina Mendonsa
Cristina Mendonsa currently anchors News10 weekdays at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. with Dale Schornack...
(now evening anchor at KXTVKXTV, channel 10, is an ABC affiliate 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 Sacramento...
in Sacramento)
- Steve Somers
Steve Somers is an American talk radio host best known for his work on the New York City sports radio station WFAN . He has been with the station since its inception in 1987.-Personal life:...
(now at sports radio station WFANWFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
in New York City)
- Rafer Weigel
Rafer Weigel is the sports anchor for CNN HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade.-Background:Weigel grew up in a journalism household in Chicago—the son of the late legendary sports anchor and newspaper columnist Tim Weigel and former WGN-Radio news anchor Kathy Worthington...
(2006-2008 as reporter, now at CNN Headline NewsHLN, is a cable television news channel based in the United States, and a spinoff of the original cable news channel, CNN...
)
Newscast Titles
- The Sixth Hour Report / The Eleventh Hour Report (1966-1974)
- Channel 13 Action News (1974-1980)
- NewsWatch 13 (1980-1987)
- KOVR 13 News (1987-2005)
- CBS 13 News (2005-present)
Station Slogans
- Northern California's Fastest Growing News Service (mid 1980s-1987)
- All the News for Northern California (1989-1995)
- For All of Northern California (1995-2004)
- Asking Questions. Getting Answers. (2008-present)
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Digital Television & HD
After the
analog television shutdownThe DTV transition in the United States is the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
on June 12, 2009 , KOVR remained on its pre-transition channel number, 25 PSIP is used to display KOVR's
virtual channelIn telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel in North America, is a channel designation which differs from the actual radio channel or frequency on which the signal travels....
as 13.
Digital Television
KOVR-DT broadcasts on digital channel 25.
Digital channels>
| Channel |
Name |
Programming |
| 13.1 |
KOVR-DT |
CBS 13/CBS HDHigh-definition television is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems...
Programming |
KOVR is available on cable in portions of the Chico-Redding market as well.