KVIA-TV
Encyclopedia
KVIA-TV is an ABC
affiliate television station in El Paso, Texas
. It broadcasts its digital signal on channel 7 and channel 17. It is owned by and was the flagship television station of the News-Press & Gazette Company
of St. Joseph, Missouri before the company acquired KRDO-TV
. Its transmitter is located in El Paso
. Syndicated programming on KVIA includes: Entertainment Tonight
, The Dr. Oz Show
, Kim Possible
, and Live with Regis and Kelly
.
The station airs on Time Warner Cable
channel 6 and HD channel 875 in the El Paso area.
. It adopted the KELP-TV call sign in 1957. After short period of ownership, the McClendon Investment Corporation sold KILT to Joseph Harris and Norman Alexander in March 1957. The TV station became KELP-TV before the John B. Walton Jr. purchase in January 1966.
The station's original site amounted to a landfill next to a sewer, so over the years the studio land subsided, and the floors became uneven (cameras had to be chocked in place, and could come loose and run to end of cables or slam into walls, or trip over cables) and outside walls developed gaps through which studio light shone out, and landfill/sewer insects would fly in). Anchors needed to lean with the sets and cameras so that they looked upright on camera. Power was 28,000 watts on a 350-foot tower (putting the antenna only up about 110 feet above average terrain). During the same period, the station depended for its network transmissions on microwave signal sent from Los Angeles; on at least one occasion, an ice storm in Arizona caused a significant disruption in the station's network programming.
The transmitter of channel 13 was moved to the south end of Comanche Peak just above Scenic Drive in 1961. The studios moved to the west side of El Paso at the current Rio Bravo location in 1968.
Walton oversaw the move of KELP to its present location at 4140 Rio Bravo, off Executive Center on El Paso’s westside. During the 1960s and 1970s, KELP-TV was one of the few TV stations in the country with an outdoor swimming pool.
The old KELP-TV Channel 13 was home to the popular dance show Crosno's Hop, hosted by the late El Paso radio DJ Steve Crosno in the 1960s.
in February 1976, it changed its call sign to the current KVIA-TV in 1979. Then KVIA swapped channels with PBS
member station KCOS on July 10, 1981, moving from channel 13 to channel 7. It is said that the move was made to compete better with KDBC and KTSM. In 1995, KVIA-TV was bought by its current owner, News-Press & Gazette.
Before satellites were widely used in US broadcast television, many smaller market network affiliates had to arrange their own network connections. KELP-TV leased mountain tops between Phoenix, AZ and El Paso. They picked up KTVK
Phoenix (an ABC affiliate until the mid-1990s) and KGUN-TV Tucson, off air, and fed them over several hops of microwave relay towers, and landed back at the mountain top transmitter of KELP-TV. For a time, this required the transmitter operator at the site to switch between the studio feed and that of the incoming network feed. Later, the station added a backhaul link to get the network feed back to the studios. This then allowed the studio operator to preview network shows before putting them on KELP's air.
From 1976 until 1993, KVIA had a satellite station based in Carlsbad, New Mexico
; KAVE-TV, Channel 6, which carried a circle 6 logo and later renamed it KVIO to better identify it with the parent station. That station is now a satellite affiliate of Albuquerque's KOAT-TV, Channel 7 and known today as KOCT
. KVIA was also the first station in El Paso to introduce a computerized weather radar, implemented in 1979. The station also provided El Paso's first noon newscast, which began in 1976.
Beginning in 1993, Gary Warner and Estela Casas anchored the evening newscasts together, making them the market's longest-running anchor team in local television history. Their run ended at 10:50 PM on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, when Warner signed off for the last time following a special broadcast tribute. Warner was a part of KVIA/KELP since the mid-1970s; becoming the main co-anchor of Pro News in 1976 alongside Al Hinojos. Warner did leave KVIA in the late-1980s for a short stint at CNN, but returned to El Paso a few years later.
KVIA also uses a red version of the "circle 7 logo" as opposed to the more widely-used blue version. The "red 7" is very similar in color, but not in shape, to the logos from Boston, MA's NBC
affiliate WHDH and Miami, Florida
's Fox
affiliate WSVN
. KVIA's slogan is "Where News Comes First".
On February 7, 2009, KVIA began broadcasting its news in high-definition
, becoming the second TV station in El Paso to do so. KVIA-TV and XEPM-TV
in Juarez share resources especially with violence in Juarez. On December 5, 2010, KVIA-TV began carrying Azteca América
on DT4, moving LATV
to KINT-TV
26.3 and KTFN
65.3.
, KVIA-TV completed the analog television shutdown and digital conversion. Also, KVIA moved its digital broadcasts from 17 to its former analog channel number, 7.
on July 23, 2009 KVIA was given Special Temporary Authority by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to also operate on Digital Channel 17, because of reports of reception problems on digital channel 7. KVIA has filed a petition to the FCC to remain on channel 17 permanently.
StormTRACK Weather
Sports team
Reporters
before One Life to Live
. Traditionally, OLTL airs before GH. This is representative of the station's desire to appear to be "cutting-edge" in broadcasting.
On April 20, 2007, Time Warner cable began broadcasting The CW on cable channel 13 from KVIA digital television 7.2.
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 El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. It broadcasts its digital signal on channel 7 and channel 17. It is owned by and was the flagship television station of the News-Press & Gazette Company
News-Press & Gazette Company
The News Press & Gazette Company is a media company based in St. Joseph, Missouri, wholly owned and operated by the Bradley family. It is presided by Brian Bradley and David R. Bradley, with Hank Bradley , Eric Bradley and Kit Bradley serving on its Board of Directors. All are descendants of...
of St. Joseph, Missouri before the company acquired KRDO-TV
KRDO-TV
KRDO-TV, virtual channel 13, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 24. The station is owned by Pikes Peak Television, a subsidiary of the News-Press & Gazette Company of St...
. Its transmitter is located in El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. Syndicated programming on KVIA includes: 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...
, The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
, Kim Possible
Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
, and Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
.
The station airs 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...
channel 6 and HD channel 875 in the El Paso area.
History
The station signed on the air on September 1, 1956 on channel 13, originally as KILT, and was owned by famous television and radio personality Gordon McLendonGordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
. It adopted the KELP-TV call sign in 1957. After short period of ownership, the McClendon Investment Corporation sold KILT to Joseph Harris and Norman Alexander in March 1957. The TV station became KELP-TV before the John B. Walton Jr. purchase in January 1966.
The KELP era
KELP-TV was the third station on in the growing El Paso area. Channel 4, KROD-TV (now KDBC-TV), signed on in late 1952 from a mountain top site at Comanche Peak. Channel 9, KTSM-TV, had a tall tower at a lower elevation in downtown El Paso. KELP-TV signed on from 4530 Delta Drive (also home of 920 KELP (AM) in central El Paso. KELP had studios and transmitters of each station at the site, which was leased from the City of El Paso. After KELP's 1956 debut, El Paso had only three English-speaking channels for the next 22 years, until the debut of KCOS-TV in 1978 and KCIK-TV (now KFOX) in 1979.The station's original site amounted to a landfill next to a sewer, so over the years the studio land subsided, and the floors became uneven (cameras had to be chocked in place, and could come loose and run to end of cables or slam into walls, or trip over cables) and outside walls developed gaps through which studio light shone out, and landfill/sewer insects would fly in). Anchors needed to lean with the sets and cameras so that they looked upright on camera. Power was 28,000 watts on a 350-foot tower (putting the antenna only up about 110 feet above average terrain). During the same period, the station depended for its network transmissions on microwave signal sent from Los Angeles; on at least one occasion, an ice storm in Arizona caused a significant disruption in the station's network programming.
The transmitter of channel 13 was moved to the south end of Comanche Peak just above Scenic Drive in 1961. The studios moved to the west side of El Paso at the current Rio Bravo location in 1968.
Walton oversaw the move of KELP to its present location at 4140 Rio Bravo, off Executive Center on El Paso’s westside. During the 1960s and 1970s, KELP-TV was one of the few TV stations in the country with an outdoor swimming pool.
The old KELP-TV Channel 13 was home to the popular dance show Crosno's Hop, hosted by the late El Paso radio DJ Steve Crosno in the 1960s.
As KVIA
After being bought by Stanley Marsh 3Stanley Marsh 3
Stanley Marsh 3 is an artist, philanthropist, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas, USA. He is perhaps best known as the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch, an unusual public art exhibit west of Amarillo.-Art projects and pranks:...
in February 1976, it changed its call sign to the current KVIA-TV in 1979. Then KVIA swapped channels with PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station KCOS on July 10, 1981, moving from channel 13 to channel 7. It is said that the move was made to compete better with KDBC and KTSM. In 1995, KVIA-TV was bought by its current owner, News-Press & Gazette.
Before satellites were widely used in US broadcast television, many smaller market network affiliates had to arrange their own network connections. KELP-TV leased mountain tops between Phoenix, AZ and El Paso. They picked up KTVK
KTVK
KTVK is a full-service, independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter located on South Mountain in Phoenix, and can be seen across northern Arizona on a network of nearly two dozen translator stations...
Phoenix (an ABC affiliate until the mid-1990s) and KGUN-TV Tucson, off air, and fed them over several hops of microwave relay towers, and landed back at the mountain top transmitter of KELP-TV. For a time, this required the transmitter operator at the site to switch between the studio feed and that of the incoming network feed. Later, the station added a backhaul link to get the network feed back to the studios. This then allowed the studio operator to preview network shows before putting them on KELP's air.
From 1976 until 1993, KVIA had a satellite station based in Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...
; KAVE-TV, Channel 6, which carried a circle 6 logo and later renamed it KVIO to better identify it with the parent station. That station is now a satellite affiliate of Albuquerque's KOAT-TV, Channel 7 and known today as KOCT
KOCT
KOCT is a cable television station in Oceanside, California branded The Oceanside Channel. It airs local city council meetings, various Government-access television programming, and Public-access television cable TV content. It is found on channels 18 and 19 on Cox and on AT&T....
. KVIA was also the first station in El Paso to introduce a computerized weather radar, implemented in 1979. The station also provided El Paso's first noon newscast, which began in 1976.
Beginning in 1993, Gary Warner and Estela Casas anchored the evening newscasts together, making them the market's longest-running anchor team in local television history. Their run ended at 10:50 PM on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, when Warner signed off for the last time following a special broadcast tribute. Warner was a part of KVIA/KELP since the mid-1970s; becoming the main co-anchor of Pro News in 1976 alongside Al Hinojos. Warner did leave KVIA in the late-1980s for a short stint at CNN, but returned to El Paso a few years later.
KVIA also uses a red version of the "circle 7 logo" as opposed to the more widely-used blue version. The "red 7" is very similar in color, but not in shape, to the logos from Boston, MA'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 WHDH and Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
's Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
. KVIA's slogan is "Where News Comes First".
On February 7, 2009, KVIA began broadcasting its news in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, becoming the second TV station in El Paso to do so. KVIA-TV and XEPM-TV
XEPM-TV
XEPM-TV Channel 2 is a Spanish-language station owned by Televisa. XEPM airs a selection of programs from Televisa's four networks, Canal de las Estrellas, FOROtv, Canal 5 and Galavision.-History:...
in Juarez share resources especially with violence in Juarez. On December 5, 2010, KVIA-TV began carrying Azteca América
Azteca América
Azteca América is a broadcast television network marketed toward Spanish-speaking families residing in the United States. As a rapidly-growing Spanish language network, Azteca América now reaches 89% of the Hispanic households in the U.S., operating in sixty-two markets nationwide. Wholly owned by...
on DT4, moving LATV
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....
to KINT-TV
KINT-TV
KINT-TV, channel 26 , is a Univision affiliate based in El Paso, Texas. It is owned by Entravision, and is a sister station to Telefutura affiliate KTFN. KINT-TV signed on the air on May 5, 1984...
26.3 and KTFN
KTFN
KTFN is a Spanish-language television station in El Paso, Texas, broadcasting locally on digital channel 51 as a TeleFutura affiliate. KTFN is owned by Entravision, and is a sister-station to KINT-TV. The station is also aired on Time Warner Cable channel 5.-History:KTFN signed on in 1991 as...
65.3.
Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:| Subchannel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 7.1 | main KVIA-TV/ ABC programming |
| 7.2 | The CW The CW Television Network The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB... |
| 7.3 | StormTrack 24/7 Weather |
| 7.4 | Azteca América Azteca América Azteca América is a broadcast television network marketed toward Spanish-speaking families residing in the United States. As a rapidly-growing Spanish language network, Azteca América now reaches 89% of the Hispanic households in the U.S., operating in sixty-two markets nationwide. Wholly owned by... |
Analog-to-digital conversion
On June 12, 2009 at 12:30 P.M. MDTMountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as 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...
, KVIA-TV completed the analog television shutdown and digital conversion. Also, KVIA moved its digital broadcasts from 17 to its former analog channel number, 7.
on July 23, 2009 KVIA was given Special Temporary Authority by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to also operate on Digital Channel 17, because of reports of reception problems on digital channel 7. KVIA has filed a petition to the FCC to remain on channel 17 permanently.
Newscast titles
- KILTKILTKILT may refer to:* KILT-FM, a radio station licensed to Houston, Texas, United States* KILT , a radio station licensed to Houston, Texas, United States...
News (1956–1957) - KELP-TV News (1957–1973)
- Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
(1973–1976) - Pro News 7 (13) (1976–1989)
- News 7 (1989–1993)
- 7 News (1993–1998)
- ABC 7 News (1998–present)
Station slogans
- Better Together (mid 1980s–1993; general slogan)
- The News Leader (late 1980s–1993; news slogan)
- It Must Be KVIA/If It's KVIA, It Must Be ABC (1992–1993; local version of ABC ad campaign)
- The News Station (1993–1998)
- Where News Comes First (1998–present)
News music packages
- Spirit Of Texas by TM Productions (1985–1992)
- KVIA News Theme by Unknown Composer (1992–1998)
- ABC News Afilliate Music Packages by Score Productions (1998–2009)
- High Velocity (V.2) by 615 Music615 Music615 Music is a broadcast production music company based in Nashville, Tennessee. 615 Music composes television news music packages and custom image campaigns for many television networks around the world. 615 Music also operates out of Los Angeles...
(2009–present)
News team
Anchors- Celina Avila - weekdays at 4 p.m.
- Rick Cabrera - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Estela Casas - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.; also anchors 2-minute Spanish-language newscast on KVIA.com
- Maria Garcia - weekend mornings Good Morning El Paso Weekend
- Bob Harp - weekday mornings Good Morning El Paso and noon
- Cesar Rodriguez - weekend mornings Good Morning El Paso Weekend
- Veronique Masterson - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.
- Daniel Marin - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.
- Stephanie Valle - weekdays at noon
StormTRACK Weather
- "Doppler" Dave Speelman - chief meteorologist; weekdays at 4, and weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Jennifer Myers - meteorologist; weekend mornings Good Morning El Paso Weekend
- Jorge Torres - meteorologist; weekday mornings Good Morning El Paso
- Karla Huelga - weather anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.
Sports team
- Raul Martinez - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
- Paul Cicala - sports anchor; weekend evenings
Reporters
- Celina Avila - general assignment reporter
- Darren Hunt - general assignment reporter and host of ABC 7 X-tra
- Gaby Loria - general assignment reporter
- Daniel Marin - general assignment reporter
- Stephanie Valle - Good Morning El Paso reporter
Former on-air staff
- Tom CostelloTom Costello (journalist)Tom Costello is an American journalist and correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C. His reports appear on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, and CNBC...
(now at NBC NewsNBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
) - Patricio Espinoza (now at KXLN-TVKXLN-TVKXLN-DT, channel 45, is a television station in Houston, Texas, and its surrounding area.- History :Founded in 1984 by businessmen A.C. Pena and J. Adan Trevino, KXLN was the first Spanish language television station in the Houston area. From the beginning, it has been affiliated with the Univision...
)
Programming notes
KVIA clears ABC's entire schedule. However, KVIA airs the ABC daytime soap opera lineup out of pattern: KVIA airs General HospitalGeneral Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
before One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
. Traditionally, OLTL airs before GH. This is representative of the station's desire to appear to be "cutting-edge" in broadcasting.
On April 20, 2007, Time Warner cable began broadcasting The CW on cable channel 13 from KVIA digital television 7.2.