KOVR

KOVR ("CBS13") is the CBS owned-and-operated television station (O&O) in Sacramento, California. It is licensed to Stockton, with studios in West Sacramento. Its transmitter, the KXTV/KOVR Tower (shared with KXTV channel 10), is located in Walnut Grove. The tower is among the tallest in the world and is likely the tallest structure in California, allowing KOVR to cover much of the San Joaquin Valley. Along with sister station KMAX, both stations are the only English language network O&O's in the Sacramento market.

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 station with a transmitter located on Mount Diablo, its signal reached the San Francisco Bay Area, hence the call letters KOVR. ("covering" all of Northern California)

As an ABC Affiliate

ABC's original Sacramento affiliate, KCCC (channel 40, which signed on a few months before KOVR), merged its operations with KOVR in May 1957 and went silent. KOVR then became the valley's full-time ABC affliate. That same year, the station moved its transmitter to reduce overlap with ABC's San Francisco O&O, KGO-TV. In 1959, John Kluge's Metropolitan Broadcasting (which later became Metromedia) bought KOVR and owned the station until 1964. In 1960, the station expanded its operations and built a studio in Sacramento on Arden Way. In 1987 KOVR consolidated its operations including the station's main studio (which until that time was on Miner Avenue in Stockton)and the general offices and news operation in from Sacramento to a new building in West Sacramento.

For many years, from 1964 into the late 1970s, the station was owned by McClatchy Newspapers along with The Sacramento Bee and Modesto Bee newspapers, as well as radio stations KWG in Stockton and KFBK in Sacramento. Scoopy, McClatchy's mascot bee (originally designed by Walt Disney, whose namesake company would eventually acquire ABC) was also the mascot for KOVR 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. After McClatchy sold the station to Outlet Communications in the late 1970s, KOVR went into a gradual decline in terms of both ratings and the quality of its programming, 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 merged with River City Broadcasting by 1993. In 1996, River City merged with Sinclair Broadcast Group.

KOVR does have its high water marks in local broadcasting: it was the first station in Northern California to use videotape (rather than film) for its newscasts, and was the first station in the Sacramento/Stockton area to broadcast in stereo.

Switching to CBS

On March 6, 1995, CBS affiliate KXTV (then owned by Belo Corporation; now owned by Gannett) took the ABC affiliation, leaving KOVR with the CBS affiliation. Despite becoming a CBS affiliate, KOVR chose not to air Guiding Light, a practice continued from KXTV during its CBS days (due to the show's below-average ratings in the area). Another CBS affiliate, WNEM in Saginaw, Michigan, also does not air the soap opera, also citing low ratings.

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 Zone markets is shown from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. 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 would later move the newscast back up to 11 p.m.).

KOVR's previous logo, under Sinclair ownership. This logo is similar to a former logo of another Sinclair-owned station, Portland, Maine's WGME.

Becoming a CBS O&O

In May 2005, Sinclair sold KOVR to Viacom's television stations unit (now part of CBS Corporation), creating CBS' third California duopoly with O&O KMAX-TV, the local UPN station. CBS Corp. was forced to sell KFRC-AM 610 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 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 Show. However, on August 11, 2005, CBS Corp. 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 moving to KOVR for the 2005 season. The station did, however, change its on-air branding from the long-standing "KOVR 13" to "CBS 13" in compliance with the CBS Mandate.

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 10pm newscast throughout the week. The new weekend schedule, which begins August 27, will, for example, have 60 Minutes airing at 6pm on Sunday nights. Also, the station is planning on a new sports wrap-up show to follow their weekend late night newscasts, to begin September 9. KOVR will now be the only non-Pacific Time Zone CBS station to run the entire network primetime lineup beginning at 7pm.

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 Show to a later time (which will still be seen on the station weekdays at 3 p.m. until September 8, 2006). On September 11, 2006, NBC Universal's Jerry Springer and will be dropped (and will be moved to KTXL-TV due to the fact that Springer also airs on most Tribune-owned stations), and KOVR will be the market's new home of CBS-owned King World's "Dr. Phil", which the station plans to air at 3 p.m. on weekdays. No decision has been made for the 2 p.m. time slot nor has there been a decision as to whether or not Guiding Light will be added for the Fall of 2006. Other local time slots also have not been determined yet.

News Department

While under Sinclair ownership, KOVR had worked with a small-to-moderate news staff. However, with CBS' purchase, the KOVR and KMAX newsrooms have been combined at KOVR's West Sacramento location. Personalities from KMAX 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 MSNBC and KCRA) and Pallas Hupé (from Detroit Fox station WJBK). 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 Anchors Arran Andersen (from KOLD) and Keith Norton (from WLKY). KOVR has been without a competitive Sports Department since the departure of John Henk in 1997.

The team of news personalities with KOVR has also been overhauled since purchase by CBS. 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. As of 17 July 2006, remaining on-air staff include Anchor Michele Kane, Chief Weatherman Dave Bender, Investigative Reporter Kurtis Ming, Health Reporter Diana Penna, and field reporters John Iander, Dennis Shanahan, and Charlotte Fadipe.

Newscasts

Monday-Friday
CBS 13 News at 5 AM 5-6 a.m. (with Michele Kane and Lisa Gonzales with Jeff James on Weather and rotating traffic reports)
CBS 13 News at 6 AM 6-7 a.m. (with Michele Kane and Lisa Gonzales with Jeff James on Weather and rotating traffic reports)
CBS 13 News at Noon 12-12:30 p.m. (with Michele Kane and Lisa Gonzales with Nick Toma on National News and Jeff James on Weather)
CBS 13 News at 4 4-5 p.m. (with Tony Lopez and Kris Pickel with Sam Shane on National News and Dave Bender on Weather)
CBS 13 News at 5 5-5:30 p.m. (with Sam Shane and Pallas Hupé with Brandi Hitt on National News and Dave Bender on Weather)
CBS 13 News at 6 6-6:30 p.m. (with Sam Shane and Pallas Hupé with Brandi Hitt on National News, Dave Bender on Weather and Arran Anderson on Sports)
CBS 13 News at 10 10-11 p.m. (with Sam Shane and Pallas Hupé with Brandi Hitt on National News, Dave Bender on Weather and Arran Anderson on Sports)

Saturday
CBS 13 News at 5 5-5:30 p.m. (with Serene Branson and Ron Jones on National News and Angelique Frame on Weather)
CBS 13 News at 6 6-6:30 p.m. (with Serene Branson and Ron Jones on National News, Angelique Frame on Weather and Arran Andersen on Sports)
CBS 13 News at 11 11-11:35 p.m. (with Serene Branson and Ron Jones on National News, Angelique Frame on Weather and Arran Andersen on Sports)

Sunday
CBS 13 News at 5:30 5:30-6 p.m. (with Serene Branson and Ron Jones on National News and Angelique Frame on Weather)
CBS 13 News at 6:30 6:30-7 p.m. (with Serene Branson and Ron Jones on National News, Angelique Frame on Weather and Arran Andersen on Sports)
CBS 13 News at 11 11-11:35 p.m. (with Serene Branson and Ron Jones on National News, Angelique Frame on Weather and Arran Andersen on Sports)

Former newscasters

*Pat De Silva
*Craig Prosser
*Jack Kavanaugh
*Stan Atkinson
*Jennifer Whitney
*Paul Joncich
*Dan Gray
*John Henk
*Marcy Valenzuela
*Kristine Hanson
*Eric Alvarez
*Gloria Gomez
*George Franco
*Rebecca Somach
*Jon Baird
*Jennifer Krier
*Dewey Hopper
*Bill Kelly
*Tom Loffman
*David Ono
*Patrick Emery
*Dave Walker
*Lois Hart
*Ross Blackstone
*Jason Howe
*Stephanie Nishikawa
*Patti Lee

News music

* Newswatch (Telesound) - ? until ?
* News Watch (Non Stop Music) - ? until 1995
* KOVR 1995 News Theme (Unknown) - 1995 until 2004
* Sinclair News Music Package (Stephen Arnold Music) - 2004 until 2006
* Extreme (Stephen Arnold Music) - 2006 until present

External links

* CBS13/UPN31 website
* www.cbscorporation.com