KXAS-DT , virtual Channel 5, is the NBC station for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station was Texas' first TV station and made its debut on September 28, 1948. Its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill. KXAS broadcasts on channel 41, but uses PSIP to cause digital TV receivers to display channel 5. The station is owned by a joint venture of NBC Universal (76%) and LIN Television (24%) - its only other sister station under this co-ownership is KNSD in San Diego. However, because NBC has majority control of the station, KXAS is run as an NBC owned and operated station.
History
The station was launched on September 28, 1948, as WBAP-TV , the first television station in the state of Texas. It was owned by Amon G. Carter, publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram , along with WBAP radio. A year later, the two stations were joined by WBAP-FM (96.3 FM, now KSCS).
Even though it was obvious that Dallas and Fort Worth would be a single television market, Carter didn't care whether people in Dallas could see channel 5; he had long been a booster for the Fort Worth area. The station moved to the 1,500-foot candelabra tower owned by WFAA-TV and KRLD-TV (channel 4, now KDFW) in Cedar Hill in 1957 along with its FM sister, reportedly only after NBC threatened to yank its affiliation. Before this, WFAA-TV served as the NBC affiliate for the eastern half of the market.
On November 24, 1963, a WBAP-TV remote unit set up at Dallas Police Headquarters fed the live images of accused Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald being gunned down by Jack Ruby to the NBC network. It was the first time a murder had been witnessed live on network television in the United States. It was also notable that, during NBC's network coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, news reports from WBAP-TV's studios were transmitted in color, with NBC broadcasting the coverage in New York from a black and white studio (WBAP-TV was one of the earliest local stations to convert its local programming to color).
The station was owned by the Carter family trusts until 1974, when the FCC barred common ownership of newspapers and TV stations in all but a few cases. The FCC grandfathered the Metroplex's other newspaper/radio/television combination--Belo's Dallas Morning News and WFAA-AM-FM-TV--but would not do the same for the Star-Telegram and WBAP-AM-FM-TV. Accordingly, the Carters decided to break up their media empire. WBAP-TV was then sold to LIN Broadcasting, the predecessor of today's LIN TV Corporation, for $35 million. LIN took control in the summer of 1974 and changed the calls to the current KXAS-TV (the Star-Telegram , WBAP-AM and KSCS were sold to Capital Cities Communications at that time; the newspaper is now owned by the McClatchy Company, while the two radio stations are now owned by Citadel Broadcasting as part of ABC Radio).
In 1987, the old Cedar Hill tower was severely damaged when an F-4 on approach to Dallas Naval Air Station clipped several guy wires. WFAA, KDFW and KXAS were knocked off the air for several days. KXAS opted to build its own tower to the east of the old tower.
LIN wholly owned the station until 1997, when it sold 76% of KXAS to NBC, in exchange for 24% of KNSD in San Diego (which NBC had recently purchased from New World Communications, who had also owned channel 5's rival KDFW until it and the other Fox affiliates owned by New World were sold to Fox) and cash. As part of the deal, NBC took control of KXAS' operations.
on November 19, 2009 a fire at the Fort Worth studios of KXAS & KXTX knocked both KXAS and it's sister station KXTX off the air. the fire was located in the electrical room of the studio. fire alarms went off at 9:30 PM, which lead to the studio to be evacuated when a fire alarm went off, but then again were evacuated when the fire disputed the 10 o'clock news on KXAS.
Digital Television
The station's digital channel is UHF 41, multiplexed:
NBC Weather Plus was offered on the 2nd digital subchannel; the national NBC WX+ network is defunct as of December 1, 2008. On December 23, the channel was revamped as NBC Plus , featuring weather maps, radar and the L-bar, alongside audio from Fort Worth's NOAA Weather Radio station KEC55.
Analog-to-Digital Conversion
After the DTV transition period ended on June 12, 2009 , KXAS-DT continued on channel 41 PSIP is used to display KXAS-TV's virtual channel as 5 on digital television receivers. Their analog signal transmitted instructional programming about how to receive digital TV until June 26, 2009. KXAS-TV started High Definition newscasts on September 7, 2007 at 10 AM.
News Operation
KXAS broadcasts a total of 32 hours of local news a week (5½ hours on weekdays and 3½ hours each on Saturdays and Sundays).
KXAS is locally known for its weather coverage. It claims to be the first station to have hired only full-time meteorologists. One of its first, Harold Taft, broadcast for over 40 years. On March 28, 2000, while an F3 tornado was ripping through downtown Fort Worth, the 6 PM newscast caught the tornado on air live as NBC 5 Weather Team Chief Meteorologist David Finfrock was explaining to the NBC 5 viewers at home as well as Jane McGarry and Mike Snyder about the tornado warning for Tarrant County.
On January 16, 2009 KXAS began sharing its news helicopter with Fox owned-and-operated KDFW (channel 4).
Notable Personalities
Current On-Air Talent
(as of July 12, 2009)
Current Anchors
- Ashanti Blaize - Sundays at 5 and 10PM (also reporter)
- Kevin Cokely - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10PM (also reporter)
- Brian Curtis - weekdays at 4, 4:30 and 10PM (also reporter)
- Deborah Ferguson - weekday mornings "NBC 5 Today" (also reporter)
- Scott Friedman - weekend mornings "NBC 5 Today" (also reporter)
- Brendan Higgins - weekday mornings "NBC 5 Today" (also reporter)
- Meredith Land - weeknights at 5PM (also reporter and sub-anchor)
- Jane McGarry - weeknights at 6 and 10PM
- Kristi Nelson - weekdays at 4PM (also reporter)
- Mike Snyder - weeknights at 5 and 6PM
Reporters
- Tammy Dombeck - "Gridlock Buster Traffic" reporter; seen weekday mornings "NBC 5 Today"
- Ellen Goldberg - general assignment reporter
- Scott Gordon - general assignment reporter
- Ken Kalthoff - general assignment reporter (also fill-in anchor)
- Randy McIlwain - general assignment reporter
- Annie Potasznik - "Around Town" correspondent
- Grant Stinchfield - investigative and general assignment reporter
- Susy Solis - freelance general assignment reporter
- Omar Villafranca - general assignment reporter
- Lindsay Wilcox - general assignment reporter
NBC 5 Weather Plus Meteorologists
- David Finfrock (AMS Member) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, and 10PM
- Jennifer Lopez (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings "NBC 5 Today" (5-7AM) and "DFW Today" (11AM-12PM)
- Steve MacLaughlin (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekdays at 4, Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10PM
- Samantha Davies (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval; NWA Member) - Meterologist; weekend mornings "NBC 5 Today"
- Michael Hammer - Meterologist; fill-in
Sports Team
- Newy Scruggs - Sports Director; weeknights at 6 and 10PM (also "NBC 5 Sports Extra" and "Out of Bounds" host)
- Matt Barrie - Sports Anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10PM (also sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor)
- Randy McIlwain - sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor
- Grant Stinchfield - sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor
KXAS Alumni
News/Station Presentation
Newscast Titles
- The Texas News (1948-1971 and 1974-1979; formerly used on KTRK-TV in Houston in the 1960s)
- News at Six/News at Ten (late 1960s)
- Area Five Texas News (1971-1974)
- Action News (1979-1985)
- Channel 5 News (1985-1989)
- Texas News 5 (1989-1998)
- NBC 5 Texas News (1998-2000)
- NBC 5 News (2000-present)
Station Slogans
- Five Keeps Bringing It Home To You (1970-1980)
- Channel 5, Proud as a Peacock! (1979-1981; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- Channel 5, Our Pride is Showing (1981-1982; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- We're Channel 5, Just Watch Us Now (1982-1983; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- Channel 5 There, Be There (1983-1984; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- Channel 5, Let's All Be There! (1984-1986; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- Channel 5 News, The Team to Watch for News (1985-1989)
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