KOAM-TV
 | |
| Pittsburg, Kansas/Joplin, Missouri United States | |
|---|---|
| City | Pittsburg, Kansas |
| Branding |
KOAM-TV (general) KOAM News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | The Four States' Most Watched News |
| Channels |
Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 7 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner |
Morgan Murphy Media (QueenB Television of Kansas/Missouri, LLC) |
| First air date | December 13, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri |
| Sister station(s) | KFJX |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 7 (VHF, 1953–2009) Digital: 13 (VHF, 2001–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Primary: NBC (1953–1982) Secondary: ABC (1953–1967) CBS (1953–1954) DuMont (1953–1955) |
| Transmitter power | 14.8 kW |
| Height | 335.8 m (1,102 ft) |
| Facility ID | 58552 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°13′15″N 94°42′26″W / 37.22083°N 94.70722°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.koamtv.com/ |
KOAM-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 7, is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Pittsburg, Kansas, United States and also serving Joplin, Missouri. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media, which also operates Fox affiliate KFJX (channel 14, also licensed to Pittsburg) under joint sales and shared services agreements with owner SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The two stations share studio and transmitter facilities on U.S. 69 south of Pittsburg, with a secondary facility located on South Range Line Road in Joplin.
On cable, the station is available on channel 7 on most cable systems in the market, except for Mediacom, where it is carried on channel 4, and Suddenlink, where it is carried on channel 2.[1][2]
History
KOAM-TV first signed on at 5:22 p.m. on December 13, 1953 under the ownership of MidContinent Broadcasting Company, a joint venture of The Joplin Globe newspaper and KOAM radio (860 AM, the current KKOW). The Globe would eventually sell its minority stake in the station to KOAM radio owners E. Victor Baxter and Lester Cox.
KOAM-TV launched as a primary affiliate of NBC, owing to KOAM radio's long affiliation with NBC Radio, though it also had secondary affiliations with CBS (until KSWM-TV launched in 1954), DuMont (until that network's 1955 closure) and ABC (until January 1968, when KODE became a full-time ABC affiliate and KUHI-TV signed on with CBS). On September 5, 1982, KOAM swapped affiliations with KTVJ (the former KUHI-TV) and became a CBS affiliate.
KOAM's digital signal on channel 13 signed on in 2001 and remained there until KOAM turned off its analog signal at 12:38 a.m. February 17, 2009 (following The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson), at which time KOAM ceased analog broadcasting and its digital broadcast returned to channel 7. Sister station KFJX, the market's Fox affiliate, moved onto KOAM's former digital channel 13 (KFJX continued to broadcast on analog channel 14 until May 2009 when a line of severe thunderstorms damaged the broadcast tower, forcing the removal of the antenna). KFJX's signal is simulcast in high definition on KOAM's digital subchannel 7.2.
Wheel of Fortune currently airs on KOAM. Jeopardy!, however, airs on KODE (at 4 p.m.) and KSNF (at 5 p.m.), making Joplin/Pittsburg one of only a few markets where the programs are carried on separate stations (usually, both shows air on the same channel).
In June 2010, the DirecTV satellite system added Joplin locals to its channel line-up. Initially, KOAM and sister station KFJX refused to allow DirecTV to carry their stations. In February 2012, KOAM and KFJX began airing on DirecTV.
Digital channels
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP short name | Programming [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KOAM-DT | Main KOAM-TV programming / CBS |
| 7.2 | 720p | KFJX | Simulcast of KFJX / Fox | |
News operation
KOAM presently broadcasts 21½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4 hours each weekday, 1 hour on Saturdays and a half-hour on Sundays).
Notable former on-air staff
- Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News anchor from 2004 to 2015)[4]
References
- ↑ http://tvschedule.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?method=decideFwdForLineup&zipcode=64801&setMyPreference=false&lineupId=MO61705:X
- ↑ http://tvschedule.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?method=decideFwdForLineup&zipcode=64801&setMyPreference=false&lineupId=MO24438:X
- ↑ http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KOAM#station
- ↑ Krishnadev Calamur (2015-06-18). "It's Official: Brian Williams Out As 'NBC Nightly News' Anchor : The Two-Way". NPR. Retrieved 2015-07-13.