KGBT-TV

KGBT-TV
Rio Grande Valley, Texas
United States
City Harlingen, Texas
Branding CBS 4 (general)
CBS 4 News (newscasts)
Slogan Complete Valley Coverage
Channels Digital: 31 (UHF)
(to move to 18 (UHF))
Virtual: 4 (PSIP)
Subchannels 4.1 CBS
4.2 Azteca
4.3 Comet TV
Owner Sinclair Broadcast Group
(KGBT Licensee, LLC)
First air date October 4, 1953 (1953-10-04)
Call letters' meaning Genevieve Beryl Tichenor
(wife of founding owner McHenry Tichenor)
Former channel number(s) 4 (VHF analog, 1953–2009)
Former affiliations ABC (1953–1976)
NBC (1976–1981)
both secondary
Transmitter power 1000 kW
345 kW (CP)
Height 368 m (1,207 ft)
460 m (1,509 ft) (CP)
Facility ID 34457
Transmitter coordinates 26°8′56.8″N 97°49′19.2″W / 26.149111°N 97.822000°W / 26.149111; -97.822000
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website valleycentral.com

KGBT-TV, virtual channel 4 (UHF digital channel 31), is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Harlingen, Texas, United States and serving the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan area. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. KGBT's studios are located on West Expressway (I-2/US 83) in Harlingen, and its transmitter is located in La Feria in Cameron County. On cable, the station can be seen on Charter Spectrum channel 4. KGBT is also available on channel 4 on DirecTV and Dish Network.

History

KGBT-TV was founded as KGBT Radio, in 1941. KGBT Radio was an independent radio station with a staff of eleven people. The station was owned by the Harbenito Broadcasting Company. KGBT became an affiliate of the CBS Radio Network in January 1944, becoming the first CBS radio affiliate in lower South Texas.

KGBT-TV opened in 1953, as a CBS affiliate. KGBT-TV was founded by Tichenor Media System, Inc., a regional conglomerate of Spanish-language radio stations. Tichenor owned the KGBT radio station until 2003 when the company merged with Univision Communications.

Before 1976, KGBT shared ABC programming with NBC affiliate KRGV-TV. When KRGV-TV became an ABC affiliate, KGBT-TV took on a secondary NBC affiliation until 1981 when KVEO-TV signed on. KGBT-TV is the only major English-language station in the Rio Grande Valley to have never changed its primary network affiliation.

In 2013, KGBT-TV was purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of a larger deal which involved 18 television stations. The sale was completed on November 25.[1][2]

Digital television

Digital channels

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming [3]
4.11080i16:9KGBT-HDMain KGBT-TV programming / CBS
4.2480i4:3KGBTAzteca America
4.3Comet TV

KGBT's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.[4]

Programming

Syndicated programming

Syndicated programming on KGBT includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and Judge Judy, all of which are distributed by CBS Television Distribution.

Specialty programming

KGBT produces annual telethons to benefit children's hospitals. The station has also produced local segments for the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

News operation

24/7 Weather Lab

KGBT-TV was the first, and still remains the only, news station in the metropolitan area with its own live weather radar, which is called "Live Super Doppler." KGBT-TV broadcasts a 24-hour weather station, which provides updated local forecasts.

On April 29, 2008, KGBT-TV's 43-year veteran weatherman, Larry James, retired. James was a veteran of the station's "glory days" during the late 1960s and 1970s when the station produced the top-rated newscast in the Rio Grande Valley.

Sports Extra

Sports Extra is an extended sports segment that airs on Friday and Sunday. The main focus of the Friday segment is local high school football games. The Sunday edition provides the highlights of high school, college and professional football. The Sunday edition generally features a panel of local sports writers and sports talk radio personalities, who break down high school football games and provide analysis.

Prior to the start of the high school football season, KGBT produces Action 4 Sports: Countdown to Kickoff. The hour-long special briefly previews each team in the Rio Grande Valley. As of September 2008, Sunday Sports Extra is in association with 956 Sports. 956sports.com provides commentators who share their input and provide analysis. Sunday Sports Extra is one of the most watched local sports productions in the Rio Grande Valley.

Former on-air staff

  • Angela Hill (later at WWL-TV for 4 decades, retired)
  • John Winter (1992–1994), later at WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida, deceased

References

  1. ↑ Malone, Michael (February 28, 2013). "Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
  3. ↑ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info.
  4. ↑ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf
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