KTHV
Encyclopedia
KTHV is the CBS
network affiliate television station serving the Little Rock
/Pine Bluff
television market and central Arkansas
. The station is owned by Gannett Company
, which purchased the station in 1994. KTHV's transmitter and antenna are located atop Shinall Mountain
on the same tower as KARK.
The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 12, using its former analog assignment of 11 as its virtual channel via PSIP. A 24-hour
local news channel, THV2 is carried on KTHV digital channel 11.2. KTHV is available on Comcast in Little Rock on analog cable channel 10 and digital cable channel 233.
KTHV requested to transmit in digital only, effective June 12, 2009. After it shut down its analog signal on that date, rescheduled completion date of the nationwide analog television shutdown
, which Congress had moved the previous month to June 12, 2009, KTHV-DT remained on its pre-transition digital channel number, 12, using PSIP
to display its virtual channel as 11.
In 2005, KTHV launched a 24-hour news and weather channel, called THV2, which like competitor KATV's KATV News Now channel (which is now temporarily available only online and on Comcast
Digital Cable
until KATV's digital signal can be fully restored as a result of a tower collapse in January 2008) features a mix of rebroadcasts of KTHV's newscasts and live local news and weather updates. The channel airs over virtual digital channel 11-2 (physical RF digital channel 12-2), on Comcast Digital Cable in the Little Rock area, and online at www.todaysthv.com.
-AM in Shreveport
, the owners of the Arkansas Democrat, and businessman C.E. Lowry, among others. Its callsign is derived from former radio sister station KTHS (whose calls stood Kome To Hot Springs), which later became KAAY
after being sold to LIN Broadcasting in the 1960s.
The station's studios at 720 Izard Street in downtown Little Rock were built a year before KTHV's first broadcast, and are where the television station still broadcasts from today. The building was the first in Arkansas to be constructed for both radio and television. KTHV's studios were on the first floor, while KTHS-AM's studios were on the second floor. Though the interior of the station has been periodically upgraded, especially with improved technology, the exterior of the station remains much as it appeared when built in the 1950s.
KTHV was locally owned until December 1994, when Gannett Company acquired the station in an all-stock transaction. The purchase of KTHV marked a re-entry into the Little Rock/Pine Bluff television market for Gannett, which previously had owned and sold KARK
(channel 4), the market's NBC
affiliate, during the 1980s. The purchase of the station was believed to be positioning on Gannett's part to have a station in the former home of President Bill Clinton
.
On March 1, 1997, chief meteorologist Ed Buckner went on the air to cover a significant tornado outbreak that cause damage to much of Arkansas. There were 19 tornadoes that day, the final death toll was 26, though it is believed that it would have been much higher without the advance warning provided by Buckner and the rest of the KTHV weather staff.
In 2002, KTHV became the first station in the Little Rock television market to erect a digital antenna and broadcast a digital television signal. KTHV has operated for many years a low-powered translator station, K13HP, operating on channel 13 in Euclid Heights, Arkansas, near Hot Springs.
. Current syndicated programming includes Dr. Phil and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
, with weekend telecasts of CSI: NY
, CSI: Miami
, Monk and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
, which has used the Today's TMJ4 branding (inspired by viewers identifying the station solely as "TMJ") since July 1992, and their Boise, Idaho
station KIVI-TV, which goes by Today's Channel 6 or Today's 6. Unlike those examples, KTHV's station promos, anchors and reporters during the station's newscasts identify the station as simply "Today's THV" and omit channel number identification, although a stylized "11" is included in the station's logo.
KTHV's weather forecasts during the station's local newscasts are typically presented outside, in the "LiveView Backyard". The backyard is simply a courtyard located directly outside the station's Izard Street studios, with a chroma key
(bluescreen) wall and a robotic camera. Weather forecasts for The Early Show
and updates seen on THV2 are done from a chroma key wall inside the weather center. The concept was inspired by KTHV's sister station NBC affiliate KUSA-TV
in Denver (also owned by Gannett Company), who also does its forecasts in the courtyard of the station's studios.
On April 6, 2009 KTHV expanded its 6 p.m. newscast to one hour with the addition of a 6:30 p.m. newscast, which competes against syndicated programming on KARK, ABC affiliate KATV
(channel 7) and Fox affiliate KLRT (channel 16). On April 3, 2010 KTHV launched a Saturday edition of Today's THV This Morning, airing from 6-8 a.m., the Saturday edition of The Early Show was moved back one hour in order to accommodate the newscast; the newscast competes against KATV's Saturday edition of Channel 7 News Daybreak.
On September 13, 2010, KTHV became the first television station in Arkansas to begin its weekday morning newscast before 5 a.m., by adding a half-hour extension of Today's THV This Morning at 4:30 a.m., extending the newscast to 2½ hours. On December 19, 2010, beginning with the 10 p.m. newscast, KTHV became the first television station in the Little Rock market and the state of Arkansas to broadcast their local newscasts in high definition (KTHV had already been broadcasting some syndicated programming such as Dr. Phil
and The Ellen Degeneres Show
, as well as CBS network programming in HD).
LiveWarn Weather
Sports team
Reporters
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...
network affiliate television station serving the Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
/Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
television market and central Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. The station is owned by Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. 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...
, which purchased the station in 1994. KTHV's transmitter and antenna are located atop Shinall Mountain
Shinall Mountain
Shinall Mountain, elevation , is located near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains...
on the same tower as KARK.
The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 12, using its former analog assignment of 11 as its virtual channel via PSIP. A 24-hour
24-hour news cycle
The 24-hour news cycle arrived with the advent of television channels dedicated to news, and brought about a much faster pace of news production with increased demand for stories that can be presented as news, as opposed to the day-by-day pace of the news cycle of printed daily newspapers...
local news channel, THV2 is carried on KTHV digital channel 11.2. KTHV is available on Comcast in Little Rock on analog cable channel 10 and digital cable channel 233.
KTHV-DT
KTHV-DT broadcasts on UHF digital channel 44.| Virtual channel |
Physical channel |
Aspect ratio Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Picture format |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | 12.1 | 16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
KTHV-DT | Main KTHV programming / CBS HD |
| 11.2 | 12.1 | 16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
THV2 | Local news and weather information |
KTHV requested to transmit in digital only, effective June 12, 2009. After it shut down its analog signal on that date, rescheduled completion date of the nationwide analog television shutdown
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
, which Congress had moved the previous month to June 12, 2009, KTHV-DT remained on its pre-transition digital channel number, 12, using PSIP
Program 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...
to display its virtual channel as 11.
In 2005, KTHV launched a 24-hour news and weather channel, called THV2, which like competitor KATV's KATV News Now channel (which is now temporarily available only online and on 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...
Digital Cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
until KATV's digital signal can be fully restored as a result of a tower collapse in January 2008) features a mix of rebroadcasts of KTHV's newscasts and live local news and weather updates. The channel airs over virtual digital channel 11-2 (physical RF digital channel 12-2), on Comcast Digital Cable in the Little Rock area, and online at www.todaysthv.com.
History
KTHV first signed on the air on November 27, 1955, and was licensed to the owners of KWKHKWKH
KWKH is a classic country music radio station serving Shreveport, Louisiana. The 50-kilowatt station broadcasts at 1130 kHz. Formerly owned by Clear Channel Communications and Gap Central Broadcasting, it is now owned by Townsquare Media....
-AM in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, the owners of the Arkansas Democrat, and businessman C.E. Lowry, among others. Its callsign is derived from former radio sister station KTHS (whose calls stood Kome To Hot Springs), which later became KAAY
KAAY
KAAY is a 50,000-watt, class-A AM radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas, licensed on 1090 kHz.-History:KAAY was founded as KTHS in 1924 in Hot Springs; it moved to Little Rock in 1953. After the TV station KTHV was created from it in 1955, KTHS was sold to LIN Broadcasting, who turned it into...
after being sold to LIN Broadcasting in the 1960s.
The station's studios at 720 Izard Street in downtown Little Rock were built a year before KTHV's first broadcast, and are where the television station still broadcasts from today. The building was the first in Arkansas to be constructed for both radio and television. KTHV's studios were on the first floor, while KTHS-AM's studios were on the second floor. Though the interior of the station has been periodically upgraded, especially with improved technology, the exterior of the station remains much as it appeared when built in the 1950s.
KTHV was locally owned until December 1994, when Gannett Company acquired the station in an all-stock transaction. The purchase of KTHV marked a re-entry into the Little Rock/Pine Bluff television market for Gannett, which previously had owned and sold KARK
KARK-TV
KARK, virtual channel 4, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KARZ-TV and the two share studios on West Capitol Avenue in Downtown Little Rock one block...
(channel 4), the market's 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, during the 1980s. The purchase of the station was believed to be positioning on Gannett's part to have a station in the former home of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
On March 1, 1997, chief meteorologist Ed Buckner went on the air to cover a significant tornado outbreak that cause damage to much of Arkansas. There were 19 tornadoes that day, the final death toll was 26, though it is believed that it would have been much higher without the advance warning provided by Buckner and the rest of the KTHV weather staff.
In 2002, KTHV became the first station in the Little Rock television market to erect a digital antenna and broadcast a digital television signal. KTHV has operated for many years a low-powered translator station, K13HP, operating on channel 13 in Euclid Heights, Arkansas, near Hot Springs.
Programming
KTHV broadcasts CBS' entire schedule, but schedules one hour of CBS' Saturday morning lineup on Sunday mornings before the airing of CBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original host Charles Kuralt. The program has aired continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m...
. Current syndicated programming includes Dr. Phil and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, with weekend telecasts of CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
, CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
, Monk and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
News operation
KTHV broadcasts a total of 26½ hours of local news per week (with 4½ hours on weekdays, three hours on Saturdays and one hour on Sundays). Since 1997, the station has identified on-air as Today's THV, a branding that may be inspired by the stations of Journal Broadcast Group, which has two stations using the format; Milwaukee NBC affiliate WTMJ-TVWTMJ-TV
WTMJ-TV, digital channel 28 ; branded as "Today's TMJ4", is the NBC-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the flagship station of the Journal Broadcast Group. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha,...
, which has used the Today's TMJ4 branding (inspired by viewers identifying the station solely as "TMJ") since July 1992, and their Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
station KIVI-TV, which goes by Today's Channel 6 or Today's 6. Unlike those examples, KTHV's station promos, anchors and reporters during the station's newscasts identify the station as simply "Today's THV" and omit channel number identification, although a stylized "11" is included in the station's logo.
KTHV's weather forecasts during the station's local newscasts are typically presented outside, in the "LiveView Backyard". The backyard is simply a courtyard located directly outside the station's Izard Street studios, with a chroma key
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
(bluescreen) wall and a robotic camera. Weather forecasts for The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
and updates seen on THV2 are done from a chroma key wall inside the weather center. The concept was inspired by KTHV's sister station NBC affiliate KUSA-TV
KUSA-TV
KUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
in Denver (also owned by Gannett Company), who also does its forecasts in the courtyard of the station's studios.
On April 6, 2009 KTHV expanded its 6 p.m. newscast to one hour with the addition of a 6:30 p.m. newscast, which competes against syndicated programming on KARK, ABC affiliate KATV
KATV
KATV, channel 7, is an ABC affiliated television station serving the Little Rock television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Allbritton Communications Company....
(channel 7) and Fox affiliate KLRT (channel 16). On April 3, 2010 KTHV launched a Saturday edition of Today's THV This Morning, airing from 6-8 a.m., the Saturday edition of The Early Show was moved back one hour in order to accommodate the newscast; the newscast competes against KATV's Saturday edition of Channel 7 News Daybreak.
On September 13, 2010, KTHV became the first television station in Arkansas to begin its weekday morning newscast before 5 a.m., by adding a half-hour extension of Today's THV This Morning at 4:30 a.m., extending the newscast to 2½ hours. On December 19, 2010, beginning with the 10 p.m. newscast, KTHV became the first television station in the Little Rock market and the state of Arkansas to broadcast their local newscasts in high definition (KTHV had already been broadcasting some syndicated programming 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...
and The Ellen Degeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, as well as CBS network programming in HD).
Newscast titles
- Channel 11 with George Moore (1955-Early 1960s)
- Dateline News (1970s-early 1980s)
- Newswatch 11 (early 1980s-1982)
- 11 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...
(1982–1997) - Today's THV (1997–present)
- 11 on 11: The THV 10:00 Difference (10 p.m. newscast; 1997–present)
Station slogans
- Arkansas 11, We've Got the Touch (1984–1985; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Setting the Standard (1985–1989)
- Arkansas' Very Own (1990–1997)
- Arkansas' Fastest Growing News Station (1997–2003; news slogan)
- Today's THV: See the Difference, Feel the Difference (1997–2004; general slogan)
- Today's THV: The Difference (2004–present)
- Arkansas News and High Definition Leader THV 1st in HD (2010-present)
- Arkansas' News and Information Leader
Current on-air staff (as of September 4, 2011)
Anchors- Pam Baccam - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends on "The THV 10:00 Difference"; also reporter
- Stefanie Bryant - weekdays at noon; also reporter
- Ashley Blackstone - Weekday Mornings 4:30, Today's THV This Morning 5-7 and 9:00
- Melissa Dunbar-Gates - Today's THV This Morning Saturday 6-8am
- Alyse Eady - Weekday Mornings 5-7am and 9:00am
- Liz Massey - weeknights at 5, 6, 6:30 and "The THV 10:00 Difference"
- Craig O'Neill - weeknights at 6, 6:30 and "The THV 10:00 Difference"
- Dawn Scott - weeknights at 5 and 6:30 p.m.
LiveWarn Weather
- Ed Buckner (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...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 6:30 and "The THV 10:00 Difference" - Tom Brannon (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings "Today's THV This Morning" and noon
- Meredith Mitchell - weather anchor; Saturday mornings and 6 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 and weekends on "The THV 10:00 Difference"
- Tracey Beene - meteorologist; fill-in
Sports team
- Wess Moore - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6 and "The THV 10:00 Difference"
- Mark Edwards - sports anchor; Saturday mornings and 6 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 and weekends on "The THV 10:00 Difference"; also sports reporter
- Aiyana Cristal - sports reporter and multimedia journalist
Reporters
- Faith Abubey - multimedia journalist
- Matt Buhrman - multimedia journalist
- Lauren Clark - multimedia journalist
- Jessica Duff - multimedia journalist; also Saturday Morning Producer
- Lisa Hutson - multimedia journalist
- Max Seigle - multimedia journalist; also producer
- B.J. Steed - multimedia journalist; also producer
- Lauren Scott - multimedia journalist