KRIS-TV
 | |
| Corpus Christi, Texas United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
KRIS-TV 6, KRIS 6, KRIS-TV (general) KRIS 6 News, 6 News (Newscasts) CW South Texas (on DT2) |
| Slogan | The station with the most local news in South Texas. |
| Channels |
Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 6 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
6.1 NBC 6.2 CW+/Stadium 6.3 Grit TV |
| Affiliations | NBC (Secondary through 1964) |
| Owner |
Cordillera Communications (KRIS Communications, LLC) |
| First air date | May 22, 1956 |
| Call letters' meaning | Corpus Christi |
| Sister station(s) | KZTV, K22JA-D, K47DF-D |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 6 (VHF, 1956–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Both secondary: ABC (1956–1964) Fox (1989–1991) |
| Transmitter power | 46.1 kW |
| Height | 239.6 m (786 ft) |
| Facility ID | 25559 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 27°44′30″N 97°36′10″W / 27.74167°N 97.60278°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website |
www KRIS-DT2 "CW South Texas" |
KRIS-TV, virtual channel 6 (VHF digital channel 13), is a NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. The station is owned by the Cordillera Communications subsidiary of Evening Post Industries, and is sister to low-power independent station K22JA-D and low-power Telemundo affiliate K47DF-D; Cordillera also operates CBS affiliate KZTV (channel 10) through a shared services agreement with owner SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The four stations share studios on Artesian Street in Downtown Corpus Christi; KRIS-TV's transmitter is located in Robstown.
On cable, KRIS can be seen on Charter Spectrum and Grande Communications channel 7.
History
KRIS-TV began broadcasting on May 22, 1956 as the first VHF television station in the area beating former rival KZTV by four months. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 6 and had studios on South Staples Street in Downtown Corpus Christi. The channel has always been an NBC affiliate but shared secondary ABC status with KZTV until KIII launched on May 4, 1964. In 1989 it was a secondary Fox affiliate carrying a few shows during syndicated hours on the weekends. This ended in 1991 due to other affiliates becoming available on cable via Foxnet. KRIS-TV was the first television station in the United States to air hard liquor ads after a self-imposed 1948 industry ban was lifted. A commercial for Crown Royal whiskey aired on the station in 1996 featuring a puppy with a diploma and another carrying a Crown Royal bag in its mouth. Cordillera Communications bought the station in 1998.
On July 23, 2008, Eagle Creek Broadcasting announced that it had sold KZTV to Cordillera Communications. The transaction was opposed by McKinnon Broadcasting who at the time owned rival KIII. This objection held up the deal until August 24, 2009 when Eagle Creek announced a shared services agreement (SSA) had been established with KRIS. Cordillera Communications now owns all KZTV assets with Eagle Creek owning the broadcast license.
On August 24, 2017, KRIS and KZTV began simulcasting together to provide full coverage of Hurricane Harvey with both news teams.
KRIS-DT2
What is now KRIS-DT2 began on September 21, 1998 after KRIS entered into a partnership with The WB 100+, a national programming service operated by The WB for television markets ranked greater than 100, and cable systems in the Corpus Christi area. Prior to 1998, The WB's programming was available in Corpus Christi via WGN-TV's national feed or out-of-market WB affiliates. It was a cable-exclusive station, and as a result, used the call sign "KWDB" in a fictional manner for identification purposes. KRIS provided local advertisement opportunities and performed promotional duties for the outlet.
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which became separate from Viacom after 2005) and Warner Bros. Television (the company which owned The WB) announced they then would cease operating The WB and UPN networks and combine their resources to create a programming service called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of the new network's respective corporate parents.
On September 18 of that year, The CW officially launched nationwide at which point KRIS added a new second digital subchannel to simulcast "KWDB" and allowing non-cable subscribers access to the new network. With its over-their-air launch, "KWDB" began using KRIS-DT2 as its official calls and became part of The CW Plus, a successor to The WB 100+.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KRIS-HD | Main KRIS-TV programming / NBC |
| 6.2 | 720p | CW-STX | CW South Texas | |
| 6.3 | 480i | 4:3 | Grit Tv | Grit TV |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KRIS-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6, at noon on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13.[2] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 6. This transmitted on a frequency of 87.75 MHz (+10 kHz shift), and as a result, could be picked up on the lower end of the dial on most FM radios at 87.7. This was true of all other analog channel 6 stations in North America. This is no longer possible for full-powered stations after the conversion to digital broadcasting.
Programming
Syndicated programming on KRIS-TV includes Inside Edition, Steve, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Jeopardy!
News operation
KRIS-TV currently broadcasts 31 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours on weekdays, 2½ hours on Saturdays, and 3½ hours on Sundays). A half-hour newscast airs seven days a week on CW South Texas (channel 6.2), as well as sister station KDF-TV as KRIS 6 News at Nine.
After Evening Post bought KZTV, Evening Post opted to house the merged operation at KZTV's former studio. The move took place in September 2010. Due to technical issues with the move of the station, it was not able to air newscasts from September 26 until September 28.
KRIS-TV unveiled a brand new high definition-ready set and graphics package on September 29, 2010. The station has now become the area's first to air newscasts in 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen. As of October 16, KZTV now simulcasts KRIS-TV's weekday morning, noon, and weekend broadcasts after dropping its own shows in those time periods. For the weekend newscasts, however, there could be pre-emptions on one channel due to network obligations.
On August 7, 2011, KRIS began broadcasting news in True HD where the newscasts will be known as KRIS 6 News in HD. KRIS-TV is the second television station in Corpus Christi to broadcast in HD, behind sister station KZTV, who began broadcasting in HD on August 1, 2011.
In early 2014, KRIS-TV rebranded its newscasts as KRIS 6 News. With the rebranding came a new logo, a new opening to the newscasts and two new evening anchors (Bart Bedsole from sister station KZTV and Stephania Jimenez). Instead of all four of KRIS-TV's evening broadcasts being anchored by Lee Sausley and Jennifer Lira, as they had been since 2010, each newscast is now anchored by a different team (Bedsole and Jimenez at 5 p.m., Sausley and Lira at 6 p.m., Lira at 9 p.m., and Sausley and Jimenez at 10 p.m.)
In late 2014, KRIS expanded their 9 p.m. newscasts on KDF and The CW South Texas to Saturdays and Sundays.
In April 2015, KRIS have expanded their newscasts to Sundays at 5 p.m. and expanded 6 News at Sunrise to Saturdays and Sundays at 6 a.m.
In July 2018, KRIS expanded their noon newscast to one hour; only the first half hour continues to be simulcast on sister station KZTV.
References
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KRIS
- ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.