KSAT-TV
Encyclopedia
KSAT-TV channel 12 is the local ABC
affiliate television station in the greater San Antonio
area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas
. The station calls itself KSAT 12, pronounced as "K-Sat".
In the San Antonio area, KSAT is broadcast on cable channel 13 on Time Warner Cable
. The station also serves as the default ABC affiliate for the Laredo
market, which does not have an ABC affiliate of its own.
The station was purchased by The Outlet Company
of Providence, Rhode Island
in 1968, who changed its call letters to the present day KSAT-TV in 1969. Outlet was taken private in 1986 and the new owners sold KSAT to H&C Communications
. In 1994, it was sold with KPRC-TV
in Houston
to current owner Post-Newsweek Stations, a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company
. On June 12, 2009 KSAT 12 Signed off for the last time as an analog station and kept the channel number as digital.
KSAT-DT broadcasts on digital channel 12.
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
Digital channel>
Channel
Name
Programming
12.1
KSAT-DT
main KSAT-TV/ABC programming
12.2
KSAT-DT2
LATV
KSAT was proposed as one of the flagship stations for the .2 Network
, but it has never come to the air and most of its programming rights have been distributed to other subchannel networks.
channel 12, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
. The station had been broadcasting its pre-transition digital signal over UHF
channel 48, but returned to channel 12 for its post-transition operations.
, Live! with Regis and Kelly, The Nate Berkus Show
, Entertainment Tonight
, and ABC programming.
As of the May 2011 ratings period, KSAT's newscasts are in first place in all time slots. No ratings for the First News At Four newscast have been released.
On February 5, 2009, KSAT became the second station in San Antonio (behind KENS) to broadcast its newscast in high definition; KSAT originally did not broadcast in true high definition, broadcasting in upconverted 16:9. Several months later the newscast began broadcasting (in studio) in HD. Some field reports still remain in SD up-converted 16:9.
On May 26, 2011, KSAT began to broadcast a 4PM hard news broadcast dubbed "First News At Four"; this half hour newscast is followed by Inside Edition. The timeslot previously was home to The Oprah Winfrey Show which ended its run on May 25, 2011.
On September 12, 2011, in a move announced in May of 2011, KSAT-12 became the first San Antonio station to expand it's 10 o'clock newscast to one hour. This move is in line with other television stations in other major markets across the United States who currently have a one hour ten (or eleven) o'clock newscast. Also coinciding with the expanded newscast, "Inside Edition" was no longer aired twice a day, as the newscast took over that timeslot; "Nightline" remained in it's timeslot at 11:05.
was interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey Show
(which airs on KSAT), talking about her battle with breast cancer
and her decision to anchor the news without a wig while she was going through chemotherapy
. The talk show featured clips of Mouton's first anchoring appearance after she lost her hair, including the explanation she gave on-air of what she was going through at the time. Mouton chronicled her treatment and recovery on KSAT, earning accolades from local oncologists and cancer patients.
and WDIV, cycling between the station call letters/channel and "Local 4" or "Local 2" on the animated bug).
In the Summer of 2011 KSAT updated it's graphics package with a Post-Newsweek produced package including lower-thirds, a new open, as well as several other items. It appears that graphics for the sports department are still produced in-house.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting 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. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate television station in the greater San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas
Elmendorf, Texas
Elmendorf is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States. It is part of the San Antonio—New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 664 at the 2000 census. Elmendorf is located seventeen miles southeast of San Antonio at the juncture of Farm Road 327 and the Southern Pacific...
. The station calls itself KSAT 12, pronounced as "K-Sat".
In the San Antonio area, KSAT is broadcast on cable channel 13 on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
. The station also serves as the default ABC affiliate for the Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
market, which does not have an ABC affiliate of its own.
History
KSAT first went on the air as KONO-TV Channel 12 on January 21, 1957, owned by the Roth family with KONO-AM-FM. It has been an ABC affiliate since its launch.The Outlet Company
The 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....
of Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
in 1968, who changed its call letters to the present day KSAT-TV in 1969. Outlet was taken private in 1986 and the new owners sold KSAT to H&C Communications
H&C Communications
H&C Communications is a now defunct corporation that owned a number of media outlets throughout the United States.Originally known as Channel 2 Television Company, it was created in 1983 to unite the Hobby family's television & radio interests under one umbrella after the Houston Post, their...
. In 1994, it was sold with KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV is the NBC affiliated television station based in Houston, Texas, and serving the Greater Houston television market. It has studios located in the Sharpstown district on the Southwest portion of the city, and has a transmitter site in unincorporated Fort Bend County near Missouri City...
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
to current owner Post-Newsweek Stations, a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company
Washington Post Company
The Washington Post Company is an American education and media company, best known for owning the newspaper for which it is named, The Washington Post. The Company also owns Kaplan, Inc., a leading international provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses...
. On June 12, 2009 KSAT 12 Signed off for the last time as an analog station and kept the channel number as digital.
Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
LATV
LATV is a bilingual music and entertainment network. LATV has been on the air in the Los Angeles market as KJLA since 2001 and is distributed through mostly digital television subchannels throughout the United States and Puerto Rico....
KSAT was proposed as one of the flagship stations for the .2 Network
.2 Network
.2 Network was the name of a planned television network designed for digital television subchannels owned by Guardian Enterprise Group that will replace the GTN network on a date never announced....
, but it has never come to the air and most of its programming rights have been distributed to other subchannel networks.
Analog-to-digital conversion
KSAT-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHFVery high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
channel 12, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
. The station had been broadcasting its pre-transition digital signal over UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 48, but returned to channel 12 for its post-transition operations.
Programming
KSAT-TV broadcasts Inside EditionInside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, Live! with Regis and Kelly, The Nate Berkus Show
The Nate Berkus Show
The Nate Berkus Show, commonly referred to as The Nate Show, is a syndicated talk show hosted by interior designer Nate Berkus, which premiered on September 13, 2010....
, Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, and ABC programming.
News operation
KSAT broadcasts a total of 24.5 hours of local news per week (with 4½ hours on weekdays, and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). Unusual for a television station, traffic reports during KSAT's morning newscasts are provided by officers from the San Antonio Police Department, Robert Dart and Marcus Trujillo.As of the May 2011 ratings period, KSAT's newscasts are in first place in all time slots. No ratings for the First News At Four newscast have been released.
On February 5, 2009, KSAT became the second station in San Antonio (behind KENS) to broadcast its newscast in high definition; KSAT originally did not broadcast in true high definition, broadcasting in upconverted 16:9. Several months later the newscast began broadcasting (in studio) in HD. Some field reports still remain in SD up-converted 16:9.
On May 26, 2011, KSAT began to broadcast a 4PM hard news broadcast dubbed "First News At Four"; this half hour newscast is followed by Inside Edition. The timeslot previously was home to The Oprah Winfrey Show which ended its run on May 25, 2011.
On September 12, 2011, in a move announced in May of 2011, KSAT-12 became the first San Antonio station to expand it's 10 o'clock newscast to one hour. This move is in line with other television stations in other major markets across the United States who currently have a one hour ten (or eleven) o'clock newscast. Also coinciding with the expanded newscast, "Inside Edition" was no longer aired twice a day, as the newscast took over that timeslot; "Nightline" remained in it's timeslot at 11:05.
Leslie Mouton
In 2004, weeknight co-anchor Leslie MoutonLeslie Mouton
Leslie Mouton is a television news anchor and public speaker.Mouton is the 5 a.m. anchor for KSAT-TV news, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio, Texas. She has been a broadcast journalist since 1988 and has worked at KSAT since 1999....
was interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
(which airs on KSAT), talking about her battle with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
and her decision to anchor the news without a wig while she was going through chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
. The talk show featured clips of Mouton's first anchoring appearance after she lost her hair, including the explanation she gave on-air of what she was going through at the time. Mouton chronicled her treatment and recovery on KSAT, earning accolades from local oncologists and cancer patients.
Newscast titles
- Your Esso Reporter (1957–1962)
- KONO-TV News (1962–1968)
- 12 News Final (1968–1970)
- 12 Star Final (1970–1976)
- NewsWatch 12 (1976–1987)
- KSAT 12 News (1987–present)
- KSAT 12 News Nightbeat (10 p.m. newscast; 1994–present)
Station slogans
- San Antonio's NewsChannel (1991–1994)
- San Antonio's #1 Choice for News (1994–1996)
- Live. Local. Latebreaking. (1996–present)
Anchors
- Mark Austin - weekday mornings "Good Morning San Antonio" and noon; "Behind the Kitchen Door" reporter
- Charles Gonzalez - Saturdays at 5, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.; weekday general assignment reporter
- Leslie Mouton - weekday mornings "Good Morning San Antonio" and noon
- Ursula Pari - weeknights at 4, 5, 6 p.m.
- Isis Romero - weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Steve Spriester - weeknights at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
KSAT 12 Weather Team
- Steve Browne (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
member) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. - John Honoré (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; Saturdays at 5, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.; weekday general assignment reporter
- Mike Osterhage (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings "Good Morning San Antonio" and noon; general assignment reporter
Sports Team
- Larry Ramirez - sports anchor; Wednesday-Fridays at noon, Wednesday-Fridays at 6, Saturdays at 5, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.; sports reporter
- Greg Simmons - sports director; Monday-Tuesdays at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
Traffic (provided by officers from the San Antonio Police Department)
- Detective Robert Dart - weekday mornings
- Officer Marcus Trujillo - weekday mornings
Reporters
- Jessie Degollado - general assignment reporter
- Jennifer Dodd - general assignment reporter
- Tim Gerber - general assignment reporter; fill-in anchor
- Eileen Gonzales - general assignment reporter; fill-in anchor
- Simon Gutierrez - general assignment reporter
- Jenna Hiller - general assignment reporter
- Justin Horne general assignment reporter; fill-in meteorologist
- April Molina - general assignment and "Defenders" investigative reporter; fill-in anchor
- Marilyn Moritz - "12 On Your Side" consumer reporter
- Brian Mylar - general assignment and "Defenders" investigative reporter; fill-in anchor
- Matt Rivers - general assignment reporter
- David Sears - general assignment reporter; fill-in anchor
- Stephenie Serna - general assignment reporter
- Paul Venema - general assignment reporter
- Katrina Webber - general assignment reporter
Station branding
Post-Newsweek adopted a "Local Mandate" meaning that all its stations carry the "Local" branding. KSAT 12 was briefly called "Local 12" in 2004 before reverting back to the current brand used before. This means that KSAT does not follow this station standardization, but Local is mentioned in the station's slogan: "Live, Local, Latebreaking", & periodocally during newscasts the station bug does cycle between both names (mimicking a similar behavior at sister stations KPRC-TVKPRC-TV
KPRC-TV is the NBC affiliated television station based in Houston, Texas, and serving the Greater Houston television market. It has studios located in the Sharpstown district on the Southwest portion of the city, and has a transmitter site in unincorporated Fort Bend County near Missouri City...
and WDIV, cycling between the station call letters/channel and "Local 4" or "Local 2" on the animated bug).
In the Summer of 2011 KSAT updated it's graphics package with a Post-Newsweek produced package including lower-thirds, a new open, as well as several other items. It appears that graphics for the sports department are still produced in-house.