KPNX

KPNX is the NBC television affiliate for Phoenix, Arizona. It is licensed to Mesa. Its transmitter and tower are located on South Mountain in Phoenix; the station broadcasts on analog channel 12. Owned by Gannett, it operates a full-power satellite, KNAZ channel 2 in Flagstaff (which is up for sale), and numerous other translators throughout northern Arizona.

History

KPNX is the only station in Phoenix to never change its affiliation. The station was founded in 1953 as KTYL-TV in Mesa, owned by the Harkins Theatre Group. Its appearance brought NBC into Phoenix: the other three networks were jammed into KPHO-TV on channel five, with CBS primary and ABC and DuMont secondary. The station changed its call letters to KVAR in 1955 after its sale to the Louis family (which also owned KTAR radio), and then became KTAR-TV four years later. It moved into its current facility in Phoenix in 1959, but is still officially licensed to Mesa, with IDs using "Phoenix-Mesa".

The station was bought by advertising mogul Karl Eller in 1968, who then combined it with his existing business to form Combined Communications. Combined merged with Gannett in 1979, in what was at that time the biggest media merger in U.S. history. The FCC did not allow the newly merged company to keep both KTAR-TV and KTAR-AM, so it opted to sell the radio station. KTAR-TV then renamed itself KPNX.

Eller was also one of the original founding owners of the city's first major professional sports team, the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Channel 12 carried Suns games for years, from the team's 1968 inception until the 1980s, when Suns telecasts moved to KNXV (Channel 15).

The station had ranked third in the ratings for many years behind KTVK and KSAZ until a massive shift in network affiliations in Phoenix occurred in the mid-1990s. All of the market's major English-language commercial stations traded affiliations except KPNX. At that point, the station finally reached the number-one position, knocking former leader KTVK down to second place in the ratings. Gannett merged with Central Newspapers, owner of the Arizona Republic, in 2001. This resulted in KPNX being reunited with the original parent of KTAR radio (whose call letters mean "Keep Taking the Arizona Republic").

While KSAZ and KTVK produce more individually separate local newscasts, KPNX airs the largest amount of news (local and national) in the market, running about 30 hours a week of local news, along with 25 hours a week of national news from NBC (Today Show, NBC News, etc). It also runs syndicated first-run talk and reality shows along with the entire NBC schedule.

On 29 December 2005, the station began carrying NBC Weather Plus+ on subchannel 12.2 (digital channel 36). The subchannel is carried by Cox Communications on digital cable channel 763.

MSNBC and Weekend Today WEATHER PLUS+ Chief Meteorologist Sean McLaughlin worked at this station before going national.

Newscasts

Weekdays
* 12News Today - 5:00 - 7:00AM
* Arizona Midday (Talk/information show) - 11:00AM - Noon
* 12News at Noon - 12:00 - 12:30PM
* 12News UpFront (counts down the top 12 stories of the day) - 4:30 - 5:00PM
* 12News at 5:00 - 5:00 - 5:30PM
* Arizona Nightly News (formerly 12News at 6:00) - 6:00 - 6:30PM
* 12News at 10:00 - 10:00 - 10:35PM (Tape-delay rebroadcast at 1AM)

Weekend
* 12News Weekend Today - 8:00 - 10:00AM
* 12News at 6:00 - 6:00 - 6:30PM (Saturdays)
* Arizona Highway - 6:30 - 7:00PM (Saturdays)
* 12News at 5:30 - 5:30 - 6:00PM (Sundays)
* 12News at 10:00 - 10:00 - 10:30PM (Saturdays); 10:00 - 10:35PM (Sundays)
* Sports Tonight - 10:35 - 11:00PM (Sundays)

Local News in High Definition for KPNX? With 6 Gannett owned and operated statinos now offering newscasts in HD (High Definition), it's being speculated that KPNX, and Gannett sister stations WTSP and KXTV could be next in line to offer a new HD-produced newscast.

The 6 Gannett owned and operated stations now offering news in HD (High Definition)... KUSA-TV, WUSA-TV, WXIA, KSDK, KARE, and WKYC-TV.

Current News Personalities

12News Today

* Tram Mai
* Scott Light
* Sarah Walters (Weathercaster)
* Anna Laurel (Traffic Reporter)

Arizona Midday

* Jan D'Atri
* Jineane Ford

12News at Noon

* Fay Fredricks
* Sarah Walters (Weathercaster)

12News UpFront

* Mark Curtis
* Fay Fredricks

12News at 5:00

* Mark Curtis
* Lin Sue Cooney
*

Arizona Nightly News

* Mark Curtis
* Lin Sue Cooney
* Bill Kelly (Weathercaster)
* Luis Trujilo (SAP Spanish Translator)
* Brenda Durazo (SAP Spanish Translator)

12News at 10:00

* Mark Curtis
* Lin Sue Cooney
* Bill Kelly (Weathercaster)

Weekend News

* Joe Dana (Morning)
* Brahm Resnik (Evening)
* Kim Covington (Evening)
* Caribe Devine (Weathercaster, evening)

Sports Reporting

* Bruce Cooper
* Chris Holden
* Kevin Hunt
* Joe Pequeno

Consumer/Investigative Reporting

* Dave Cherry
* Rick DeBruhl

General Assignment Reporters

* Melissa Blasius
* Nick Calderone
* Rick Crabbs (Pilots "Sky12" News Helicopter)
* Rich Dubek
* Kim Holcomb
* Kevin Kennedy
* Nicole McGregor
* Zyleste Rodriguez
* Veronica Sanchez
* Sarah Sevier'''

Former Personalities

* Kent Dana, Anchor (until 2004, now at KPHO-TV, CBS affiliate in Phoenix)
* Sean McLaughlin, Chief Meteorologist (1992-2004, now at MSNBC/NBC Weather Plus, will move to KPHO in September 2006)
* Blair Meeks, General Assignment Reporter (until 2003, now at WXIA-TV)
* Deiah Riley, Anchor/Reporter (until 1999, now at WFTS-TV)
* Linda Alvarez, Anchor (late 70's, early 80's now at KCBS-TV)

*K24FA Blythe, California
*K09KG Bullhead City
*K13XA Carrizo
*K13XB Cedar Creek
*K42CQ Chloride
*K13XE Cibecue
*K35EI Dolan Springs
*K56FT Fort Apache
*K61FB Globe/Miami
*K50CY Kingman
*K46GI Lake Havasu City
*K23DK Meadview
*K30BQ Needles, California / Bullhead City
*KPSN-LP 22 Payson
*K26GF Peach Springs
*K06AE Prescott
*K57DC Verde Valley/Camp Verde
*K13XC Whiteriver

External links

*KPNX Website

KPNX: Encyclopedia BETA

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