KOB (TV)
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City | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Channels | |
Branding | KOB 4 |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner |
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History | |
First air date | November 29, 1948 |
Former call signs | KOB-TV (1948–2009) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog:4 (VHF,1948–2009) |
Call signmeaning | From former sister stationsKOB-AM–FM |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 35313 |
ERP | 270kW |
HAAT | 1,277 m (4,190 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°12′42.1″N106°27′0.5″W/ 35.211694°N 106.450139°W |
Translator(s) | see§ Translators |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
KOB(channel 4) is atelevision stationinAlbuquerque, New Mexico,United States, affiliated withNBC.It is owned byHubbard Broadcasting,whosesistercable channelReelzis also based in Albuquerque (KOB and Reelz, however, maintain separate operations and facilities). KOB's studios are located on Broadcast Plaza just west of downtown, and its transmitter is located onSandia Crest,east of Albuquerque.
History
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/KOB-TV_Logo.png/120px-KOB-TV_Logo.png)
KOB-TV started operations on November 29, 1948, afterAlbuquerque Journalowner and publisher Tom Pepperday won a television license on his second try. Pepperday, who also owned KOB radio (770 AM), had previously applied for one in 1943. It was the first television station in New Mexico, as well as the third television station between theMississippi Riverand theWest Coast(behind WBAP-TV (nowKXAS-TV) inFort Worth,and KDYL-TV (nowKTVX) inSalt Lake City). Initially, channel 4 ran programming from all four networks—NBC,ABC,CBS andDuMont.However, it has always been a primary NBC affiliate owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with NBC radio.
Later, in May 1952, the KOB stations were purchased by magazine publisher Time-Life (laterTime Inc.) and formerFederal Communications Commission(FCC) chairmanWayne Coy.It was Time-Life's first television asset.[2]In 1953, two new TV stations signed on within a week—KGGM-TV (channel 13, now KRQE), which affiliated with CBS, followed byKOAT,which took ABC; DuMont shut down in 1956.
Stanley E. Hubbard, founder of Hubbard Broadcasting, bought KOB-AM-TV from Time-Life in 1957, and his heirs have owned the station since.[3]KOB's radio cousins were sold off in 1986 and are now known asKKOBandKOBQ.Despite the change, many people still confuse the television and radio stations today. In 2005, KOB-TV entered into a news partnership with KKOB.
Although the KOB radio stations had long amended their callsigns, KOB-TV did not drop the "-TV" suffix until June 13, 2009, when the FCC allowed a limited opportunity for stations to change their suffixes (adding "-TV" or "-DT" ) or drop them in the wake of the digital transition that was completed the previous day.
News operation
[edit]KOB broadcasts32+1⁄2hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with5+1⁄2hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays, and two hours on Sundays). During the school year, KOB broadcasts a weekly 15-minute sportscast,New Mexico Gameday,dedicated to high school sports.
When KOAT's top anchorman, Dick Knipfing, was fired on June 4, 1979, KOB hired him to anchor their newscasts. Although KOAT sued to keep Knipfing off the air until the following year,[4]an opinion from theUnited States District Courtallowed the anchorman to proceed with his plans to begin anchoring channel 4 on August 1,[5]creating the first big-dollar anchor in Albuquerque, and allowing him to stand out in the industry as the "anchormanwars "moved to smaller markets. Knipfing's salary at that time was approximately $90,000. However, channel 4 was never able to overtake KOAT in the news ratings.
KOB produced an hour-long nightly newscast for Albuquerque's then-Fox affiliate,KASA-TV,from November 2000 through September 14, 2006, calledFox 2 News at Nine.The next day, KRQE took over production of that newscast as that station's parent company,LIN TV,began taking over KASA's operations as it purchased the station.
On September 26, 2010, KOB began producing and broadcasting its newscasts in16:9widescreenstandard definition,and debuted new on-air graphics and a new station logo (the logo used for its newscasts is very similar to that used bySwedishtelevision channelTV4for its programming) on that date as well.
On February 13, 2020, the 10 p.m. newscast was renamedKOB 4 NightBeat,switching the newscast from its formerEyewitness Newsformat to a looser talk-based news format. It is believed that it will be only for the late newscast, but could expand depending on viewer input.
On October 18, 2021, KOB resumed producing newscasts for KASA-TV, which had switched affiliations from Fox toTelemundoin January 2017 and was later acquired byNBCUniversal'sTelemundo Station Groupon October 5, 2021. [6]This marked the end of a transitional services agreement KASA-TV had withGray Television,which had purchased its former Ramar Communications-owned sister stations inLubbock(includingKJTV-TV), to continue news production in the short term.[7]
Notable former on-air staff
[edit]- Dr. George Fischbeck– weathercaster (1970–1972; later worked inLos AngelesatKABC-TVandKCBS-TV,deceased)[8]
Technical information
[edit]Subchannels
[edit]The station's signal ismultiplexed:
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
4.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KOBDT1 | NBC |
4.2 | 480i | 4:3 | KOB-DT2 | Heroes & Icons |
4.3 | KOBDT3 | MeTV | ||
4.4 | 16:9 | KOBDT4 | Catchy Comedy | |
4.5 | 4:3 | KOBDT5 | Ion Plus[11] | |
4.6 | KOBDT6 | Scripps News | ||
4.7 | KOBDT7 | Start TV |
In September 2006, KOB-TV began broadcastingNBC WeatherPluson digital subchannel 4.2, at first inserting itsDoppler weather radarduring time reserved for local segments. In December 2008, WeatherPlus was replaced with KOB's own locally programmed weather station. WeeklyE/Iprogramming required of broadcast television stations by the FCC came fromNASA TVon weekend mornings.
On February 7, 2011, the subchannel began to carry programming fromThis TV.On June 30, 2016,Comet TVwas added as a third digital channel, airingscience fictionprograms. On April 30, 2021, Decades was added as a fourth digital channel, airing decades on shows. In summer 2021,Defy TVandTrueRealwere added as KOB's fifth and sixth digital channels. On October 15, 2021, KOBDT4's Decades was replaced with Heroes & Icons, shortly after it was dropped from KASA channel 29.1, but would later return to an added seventh digital channel on November 23. On December 30, 2021, KOB changed the line-up moving H&I to channel 4.2 while Decades (which becameCatchy Comedyin March 2023) returned to 4.4 with This TV moving to 4.7.[12]On July 8, 2022, KOB addedNewsyto digital channel 4.6, while TrueReal moved to channel 4.3 replacing Comet. TrueReal subsequently ceased operations as a network on March 27, 2023, thus leaving channel 4.3 blank.[13]
On July 1, 2023, KOB-TV addedMeTVto channel 4.3, taking it fromTelemundostationKASA-TV/KTEL-CD/KRTN-LD.Concurrently, KOB-TV addedStart TV(also from KASA-TV/KTEL-CD) to channel 4.7, dropping This TV from its programming.[14]
Analog-to-digital conversion
[edit]KOB-TV shut down its analog signal, overVHFchannel 4, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionUHFchannel 26,[15]usingvirtual channel4.
As part of theSAFER Act,[16]KOB-TV kept its analog signal on the air until June 30 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop ofpublic service announcementsfrom theNational Association of Broadcasters.
Satellite stations
[edit]Two stations rebroadcast KOB's signal and insert local content for other parts of themedia market:
Station | City of license | Channels | First air date | Former callsigns | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates | Public license information |
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KOBF | Farmington | 12 12 (VHF) |
October 20, 1972 | KIVA-TV (1972–1983) | 30kW | 125 m (410 ft) | 35321 | 36°41′43″N108°13′16″W/ 36.69528°N 108.22111°W | Public file LMS |
KOBR | Roswell | 8 8 (VHF) |
June 24, 1953 | KSWS-TV (1953–1985) | 40 kW | 533 m (1,749 ft) | 62272 | 33°22′31.3″N103°46′14.3″W/ 33.375361°N 103.770639°W | Public file LMS |
KOB formerly operated a third satellite station,KOBG-TV(channel 6) inSilver City,which signed on in 2000. Its transmitter was located at32°51′49″N108°14′29.6″W/ 32.86361°N 108.241556°W.KOBG had a permit to construct a digital station on channel 8, but these facilities were never built. After the digital transition on June 12, 2009, KOBG began operating with facilities on channel 12 identical to that oflow-powertranslator stationsunderspecial temporary authority,[17]and was formally replaced with a translator (K12QW-D) on April 26, 2011,[18]though its license was not canceled until August 3.[19]
The last letter of the satellite station callsigns stands for the city or county where the station is located. KOBG was inGrant County.
Translators
[edit]- K20HA-DCaballo
- K30GJ-DColfax
- K21OH-DDatil–Horse Springs
- K32NM-DDeming
- K18LT-DEagle Nest
- K36JS-DGrants
- K22NM-DLas Cruces
- K23NN-DLas Vegas
- K17FK-DMontoya–Newkirk
- K25FI-DMora
- K26DX-DRaton
- K23NF-DRomeo, CO
- K36DI-DSanta Rosa
- K12QW-DSilver City
- K10MG-DSocorro
- K30KX-DTaos
- K09KJ-DTierra Amarilla
- K29LC-DTruth or Consequences
- K35FPTucumcari
In February 2019,Las Cruces–based K42DJ, which was owned by theNews-Press & Gazette Companyand rebroadcast theAzteca Américasubchannel ofEl Paso, Texas–basedKVIA-TV,was transferred to Hubbard and began to rebroadcast KOB instead as K22NM-D. This provided Las Cruces over-the-air access to an in-state NBC affiliate in addition to the main NBC affiliate serving Las Cruces,Nexstar'sKTSM-TV.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for KOB".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"KOB-AM-TV sale; official announcement made."Broadcasting - Telecasting,March 10, 1952, pg. 30.[1]
- ^"Time sells KOB-AM-TV stations."Broadcasting - Telecasting,January 14, 1957, pp. 96-97.[2][3]
- ^Gallagher, Hugh. "KOAT Fires Knipfing, Hires 2 Replacements".The Albuquerque Journal.June 5, 1979. A-1.
- ^Tessier, Denise. "Knipfing Allowed To Be KOB Anchorman."The Albuquerque Journal.July 7, 1979. C-5.
- ^"NBCUniversal Local Acquires Television Stations from Ramar Communications".NBCUniversal Media Village.NBCUniversal Media, LLC.October 5, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on October 2, 2020.RetrievedApril 28,2024.
- ^Malone, Michael (October 18, 2021)."KASA Albuquerque Premieres Local News".Broadcasting & Cable.Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2021.RetrievedApril 28,2024.
- ^"'Dr. George' Fischbeck, LA TV weatherman, dies at 92 ".The San Diego Union-Tribune.March 25, 2015.RetrievedApril 28,2024.
- ^"RabbitEars TV Query for KOB".rabbitears.info.
- ^"KOB TV Schedules".Kob.RetrievedJuly 4,2023.
- ^Keys, Matthew (June 28, 2024)."Scripps replacing Defy TV with Ion Plus on broadcast TV".TheDesk.net.RetrievedJune 28,2024.
- ^"Heroes & Icons moves to channel 4.2, This TV to channel 4.7".KOB.RetrievedMay 7,2022.
- ^Lafayette, Jon (March 10, 2023)."E.W. Scripps Folding TrueReal Digital Network Into Defy TV".Broadcasting Cable.RetrievedMarch 10,2023.
- ^"KOB 4 launches MeTV and Start TV in New Mexico".KOB.June 30, 2023.RetrievedJuly 4,2023.
- ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 29, 2013.RetrievedMarch 24,2012.
- ^"UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program"(PDF).Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009.RetrievedJune 4,2012.
- ^"STA purpose statement"(PDF).CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.June 17, 2009.RetrievedAugust 12,2012.
- ^"KOBG-TV Children's Television Programming Report".Federal Communications Commission.RetrievedAugust 12,2012.
- ^Harding, Kevin R. (August 3, 2011)."Re: KOBG-TV, Silver City, New Mexico"(PDF).CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.RetrievedAugust 12,2012.
External links
[edit]- 1948 establishments in New Mexico
- Catchy Comedy affiliates
- Ion Plus affiliates
- Heroes & Icons affiliates
- Hubbard Broadcasting
- Mass media in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- MeTV affiliates
- NBC affiliates
- Scripps News affiliates
- Start TV affiliates
- Television channels and stations established in 1948
- Television stations in New Mexico