A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's surface to any number of tuned receivers simultaneously.
116-460: KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Texas , United States, affiliated with CBS . It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe -licensed Quest station KTBU (channel 55). The two stations share studios on Westheimer Road near Uptown Houston ; KHOU's transmitter is located near Missouri City , in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County . The station first signed on
232-436: A 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour morning newscast on Saturday morning, hour-long newscasts at 10 p.m. on Saturday and on Sunday morning, and half-hours at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunday. The station also airs KHOU 11 Sports Extra, which features extensive Sunday night sports coverage and commentary, following its 10 p.m. newscast on Sunday night. Throughout its existence, KHOU has been widely regarded as
348-501: A 30-minute delay (beginning at 12:07 a.m. CT) since the show first premiered in 1995, fitting a syndicated sitcom, game show or tabloid news program between the two shows. Because the latter program's original host, Tom Snyder , had a simulcast with the CBS Radio Network (which aired locally on KPRC-AM ) and took calls from viewers during his stint as host, KHOU asked via disclaimer for Houston area viewers to not call
464-550: A barter in some cases. Tegna Inc. Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA ) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia . It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies. Tegna comprised the more profitable broadcast television and digital media divisions of
580-540: A high definition digital signal. On June 13, 2013, the Gannett Company announced that it would acquire Belo for $ 1.5 billion and the assumption of debt, marking the company's entry into the Texas market and ending KHOU's nearly three decades of ownership by Belo The sale was completed on December 23. Two years later, on June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and
696-528: A low-powered MeTV affiliate, and a Quest owned-and-operated station. It also provides operational services to another Fox affiliate, WUPW in Toledo, through a shared services agreement with that station's owner American Spirit Media (agreements that were carried over from WTOL's previous ownership; ASM had acted in a similar capacity with several stations). Stations are listed alphabetically by state and city of license . In 2015, Tegna Media test-ran
812-541: A CBS affiliate, and has largely cleared the entire CBS network lineup without interruption. In addition to its newscasts, KHOU also airs Great Day Houston , a local talk show hosted by Deborah Duncan with paid segments from local businesses in Houston, following CBS Mornings . The talk show, which has aired on the station since 2005, is taped at KHOU's studios on Westheimer Road west of the Galleria. KHOU also serves as
928-460: A UHF rebroadcaster of KHOU's digital signal (which remains on VHF channel 11). On February 22, 2022, Tegna announced that it would be acquired by Standard General and Apollo Global Management for $ 5.4 billion. As a part of the deal, KHOU and KTBU, along with their Austin sister station KVUE and Dallas sister stations WFAA and KMPX , would be resold to Cox Media Group . The sale was canceled on May 22, 2023. Since its inception, KHOU has been
1044-525: A Washington, D.C. bureau to produce content for local newscasts, and arguing that Tegna's stations had "too many employees". Standard General responded to the letter, denying that they planned to cut jobs or hub content, and promoting that Tegna would become the largest female-run and minority-owned broadcaster in the United States. They also responded to objections by NewsGuild-CWA describing Standard General as "backed by anonymous investors located in
1160-484: A breakout year for KHOU, with its newscasts reaching #1 in viewership in several timeslots during the May sweeps period, unseating KTRK during the midday hours, and at 5 p.m. (it debuted in May 1974) and 6 p.m., which also coincided with CBS' resurgence to number one in prime time by that year. The station's ratings boost, aided by its continuously strong syndicated lineup and a series of high-profile investigative reports by
1276-456: A competitive ratings race during the 1990s. Its resurgent newscasts, combined with a strong syndicated programming lineup, helped to sustain the station through what would be a turbulent ratings period for CBS, which lost broadcast rights to NFL games in addition to several of its largest affiliates (including its longtime affiliates in Dallas and Austin ) during this time. 1999 proved to be
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#17327906009301392-510: A feed from the station's doppler radar for roughly 90 minutes until the station could resume its breaking news coverage which lasted the entire weekend. During Hurricane Ike , which hit the Texas Gulf Coast in mid-September 2008, KHOU's storm coverage was distributed nationwide via DirecTV and XM Satellite Radio , as well as through a live feed on the station's website. On August 21, 2017, KHOU began covering Hurricane Harvey as
1508-639: A headquarters complex. Tegna also retained G/O Digital, a digital marketing services brand that it launched in August 2013, and the 20 broadcast stations it acquired from Belo Corporation in December 2013 and the six stations it acquired from London Broadcasting Company in July 2014. In September 2016, Tegna announced plans to spin off Cars.com to create two independent publicly traded companies. Tegna shareholders approved an initial public offering of Cars.com as
1624-469: A legendary broadcaster for Major League Baseball and NFL Films ) and Ron Franklin (later with ESPN ). Outside of broadcasting, one of its former sports anchors, Dan Patrick , eventually became Lieutenant Governor of Texas . KHOU also has gained a reputation for its investigative reporting staff (currently known as KHOU 11 Investigates ), whose most notable stories include its 2000 investigation into defective tire designs by Firestone – which led to
1740-463: A limited-run informative talk show hosted by Dallas-based bishop T. D. Jakes on its owned stations in Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Cleveland. The show, titled T.D. Jakes , was co-produced by Debmar-Mercury , Tegna Media, 44 Blue Productions, Jakes' own production company, TDJ Enterprises and EnLight Productions and lasted from August 17, 2016, to September 8, 2017. On December 9, Tegna greenlit
1856-445: A local news powerhouse in that city), Belo began to make significant investments into KHOU, which had become one of CBS' weakest affiliates during the 1980s under the final years of Dun & Bradstreet ownership. With the addition of stronger syndicated programming including the popular game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (both of which were picked up from KPRC-TV) and The Oprah Winfrey Show (which KTRK-TV turned down),
1972-547: A main team consisting of anchors Steve Smith and Marlene McClinton (who the station hired from WMAQ-TV in Chicago), chief meteorologist Dr. Neil Frank and sports director Giff Nielsen (a former Houston Oilers quarterback who became KHOU's lead sports anchor following his retirement from the NFL in 1984), along with a new set, graphics and theme music, KHOU began to mount a serious challenge to its longtime competitors, evolving into
2088-469: A move to a second floor conference room proved to only be a short-term option, though critical equipment (such as the studio's robotic cameras) was also moved up to the second floor before the flooding became worse. The station's brand-new news set (which had debuted in November 2016), weather center, newsroom and master control were destroyed by the floodwaters, which rose up to five feet (2 m) within
2204-415: A much shorter wavelength, and thus requires a shorter antenna, but also higher power. North American stations can go up to 5000 kW ERP for video and 500 kW audio, or 1000 kW digital. Low channels travel further than high ones at the same power, but UHF does not suffer from as much electromagnetic interference and background "noise" as VHF, making it much more desirable for TV. Despite this, in
2320-647: A newscast until January 5, 2020, when it launched a new Sunday Morning newscast from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. prior to CBS Sunday Morning , with the hour instead being filled by one of CBS's three hours of E/I programming which KHOU preempted to carry a Saturday morning newscast in between the two hours of CBS This Morning Saturday . Following the launch of the Sunday morning newscast and subsequent changes in federal regulations on children's television programming , KHOU has since aired two of CBS's three hours of E/I programming from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, followed by
2436-399: A picture–in–picture treatment or split–screen format for viewers in Houston to continue watching the game while the weather report was issued. KHOU made no public apology for the interruption incident. The station's signal is multiplexed : On September 26, 2011, KHOU began broadcasting Bounce TV on its second digital subchannel (which originally launched as a quasi-independent station) upon
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#17327906009302552-404: A publicly traded spin-off in May 2017. Shortly after, Tegna completed the spin-off of Cars.com, which now trades under a new ticker symbol, CARS. Upon the completion of the spin-off, Dave Lougee, president of Tegna Media, was named president and CEO of Tegna and joined the company's board of directors. Gracia Martore, president and CEO of Tegna, retired and stepped down from the board. Prior to
2668-639: A secondary street-side studio at the George R. Brown Convention Center along Avenida Houston . The studio opened in the fall of 2018, and is primarily used for its weekday newscasts. This setup is similar to that of Dallas sister station WFAA's Victory Park studio, which opened a decade earlier in January 2007. On March 29, 2018, KHOU announced that it had signed a lease for 43,000 square feet (3,995 m) of space at 5718 Westheimer Road near Uptown Houston ( Galleria area). The station occupies three floors of
2784-570: A statement, she explained that the split plans were "significant next steps in our ongoing initiatives to increase shareholder value by building scale, increasing cash flow, sharpening management focus, and strengthening all of our businesses to compete effectively in today's increasingly digital landscape". Additionally, the company announced that it would buy out the remainder of Classified Ventures (a joint venture between Tegna and several other media companies) for $ 1.8 billion, giving it full ownership of properties such as Cars.com . As part of
2900-419: A stepping stone for many well-known television news personalities, as many of its reporters have gone on to work for national networks. KHOU's best known former on-air staffers include former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather , NBC News correspondent Dennis Murphy , newswomen Linda Ellerbee and Jessica Savitch , and sports anchors Jim Nantz (now the lead announcer for CBS Sports), Harry Kalas (later
3016-465: A subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet in 1971. In June 1959, the station changed its callsign to KHOU-TV (the "-TV" suffix was dropped from the call letters the week following the June 12, 2009, digital transition, as most Belo stations did at the time) and had its city of license relocated to Houston. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license listed both the Houston and Galveston service areas for
3132-580: A time. On April 24, 1960, the station moved to its first Houston facilities at 1945 Allen Parkway , along Buffalo Bayou in the Neartown neighborhood west of downtown Houston . In 1984, Dun & Bradstreet sold its entire broadcasting division, including KHOU, to the Belo Corporation , who spun off its Beaumont station, KFDM-TV (channel 6) in order to comply with FCC regulations at the time. KFDM provided at least grade B coverage to much of
3248-561: A tumultuous period during the early 1970s, when Stone departed for a radio reporter role with NBC News in New York and Lasher died from a fatal heart attack in a station breakroom shortly after KHOU's 6 p.m. newscast concluded one night. Stone would eventually return to Houston in 1972 to become the lead anchor at KPRC-TV, and helped that station to overtake KHOU as the leading news station in Houston; both stations would eventually be overtaken by KTRK-TV, whose Eyewitness News came to dominate
3364-425: A variety of ways to generate revenue from television commercials . They may be an independent station or part of a broadcasting network , or some other structure. They can produce some or all of their programs or buy some broadcast syndication programming for or all of it from other stations or independent production companies. Many stations have some sort of television studio , which on major-network stations
3480-496: Is non-commercial educational (NCE) and considered public broadcasting . To avoid concentration of media ownership of television stations, government regulations in most countries generally limit the ownership of television stations by television networks or other media operators, but these regulations vary considerably. Some countries have set up nationwide television networks, in which individual television stations act as mere repeaters of nationwide programs . In those countries,
3596-470: Is broadcast via terrestrial radio waves. A group of television stations with common ownership or affiliation are known as a TV network and an individual station within the network is referred to as O&O or affiliate , respectively. Because television station signals use the electromagnetic spectrum, which in the past has been a common, scarce resource, governments often claim authority to regulate them. Broadcast television systems standards vary around
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3712-792: Is often used for newscasts or other local programming . There is usually a news department , where journalists gather information. There is also a section where electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations are based, receiving remote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV . Outside broadcasting vans, production trucks , or SUVs with electronic field production (EFP) equipment are sent out with reporters , who may also bring back news stories on video tape rather than sending them back live . To keep pace with technology United States television stations have been replacing operators with broadcast automation systems to increase profits in recent years. Some stations (known as repeaters or translators ) only simulcast another, usually
3828-860: The Dispatch Broadcast Group 's television and radio assets, subject to regulatory approval, for $ 535 million. The purchase includes the WBNS television ( CBS affiliate WBNS-TV ) and radio ( WBNS (AM) and WBNS-FM ) stations in Columbus, the Ohio News Network , and NBC affiliate WTHR television in Indianapolis . The sale was approved by the FCC on July 29, 2019, and was completed on August 8. In December 2019, Tegna agreed to sell KFMB-AM-FM to Local Media San Diego for $ 5 million;
3944-477: The E. W. Scripps Company ). In June 2019, KHOU engaged in a similar rebranding process for its 4 p.m. newscast, rebranded as The 411 , emphasizing a conceptual format and on-air graphics style similar to that of its morning newscast. KHOU has since dropped the HTownRush branding for its morning newscast as of 2022, instead rebranding as KHOU 11 Morning News . Unlike most CBS affiliates, the station did not air
4060-404: The E. W. Scripps Company , and Sinclair. Tegna also owns two digital multicast networks ( True Crime Network , Quest ). In June 2015, Gannett spun off its broadcasting division. Robert Dickey – who led Gannett's newspaper group – would continue as CEO of the company as a sole newspaper publisher, leaving the former broadcasting and digital operations under the leadership of Gracia Martore . In
4176-772: The Federal Communications Commission . The acquisition was completed on February 15, 2018. On August 20, 2018, Tegna agreed to purchase two stations spun off from the Gray Television - Raycom Media merger, CBS affiliate WTOL-TV in Toledo (the sale likely includes rights to an existing shared services agreement with American Spirit Media -owned Fox affiliate WUPW ) and NBC affiliate KWES-TV in Odessa in order to alleviate ownership conflicts involving Gray's ownership of ABC affiliate WTVG in
4292-737: The Houston Rockets ' 1981 and 1986 appearances in the NBA Finals (both losses to the Boston Celtics; all Rockets games broadcast through CBS' NBA broadcast contract were aired on KHOU from 1973 to 1990) and the University of Houston men's basketball team's two NCAA National Championship appearances in 1983 and 1984 —all via their national coverage by CBS Sports . KHOU also carried Southwest Conference football and men's basketball games (with an emphasis on games involving
4408-535: The University of Houston and Rice University ) on Saturday afternoons before the conference folded in 1996, as well as CBS' broadcasts of the 2011 and the 2023 NCAA Final Fours and Super Bowls VIII (1974) and XXXVIII (2004)—all of which took place in Houston. Presently, KHOU may also carry select games from the National Women's Soccer League 's Houston Dash and select SEC football games involving Texas A&M and LSU (which have large fanbases in
4524-405: The broadcast range , or geographic area, that the station is limited to, allocates the broadcast frequency of the radio spectrum for that station's transmissions, sets limits on what types of television programs can be programmed for broadcast and requires a station to broadcast a minimum amount of certain programs types, such as public affairs messages . Another form of television station
4640-534: The electricity bill and emergency backup generators . In North America , full-power stations on band I (channels 2 to 6) are generally limited to 100 kW analog video ( VSB ) and 10 kW analog audio ( FM ), or 45 kW digital ( 8VSB ) ERP. Stations on band III (channels 7 to 13) can go up by 5 dB to 316 kW video, 31.6 kW audio, or 160 kW digital. Low-VHF stations are often subject to long-distance reception just as with FM. There are no stations on Channel 1 . UHF , by comparison, has
4756-498: The "Spirit of Texas" slogan and (initially) TM Productions ' "Spirit" music package that originated at its Dallas sister station WFAA. In January 1989, KHOU revamped the appearance of its newscasts, with an image campaign that included full-page ads in the Houston Chronicle and Post , as well as an on-air promotional campaign that focused more on ordinary citizens throughout Greater Houston than on its news team. With
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4872-694: The AFC, most Texans games—including all road games against NFC opponents—are aired on CBS (which has held the contract to carry AFC games since the 1998 season), and are therefore aired locally on KHOU. The station also served as the over-the-air outlet for all of the Texans' appearances on Thursday Night Football until 2018 (when Fox picked up the full rights to the Thursday night package that lasted until 2021, thus moving those telecasts locally to KRIV), and have aired simulcasts of ESPN's Monday Night Football in
4988-625: The Cayman Islands", stating that the entirety of its board is represented by U.S. interests. On February 24, 2023, it was confirmed that FCC staff had referred the deal to an administrative law judge , effectively killing the deal since the hearing process would necessarily run longer than the merger agreement's deadline to close the deal. The deal was terminated on May 22, 2023. Tegna owns or operates 68 television stations located in 54 markets (including fourteen duopolies ); it also owns two radio stations in Columbus, Ohio. Twenty-two of
5104-492: The Central and Mountain time zones, as most network affiliates often program a 6 p.m. newscast during the traditional access hour (7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT) before prime time, with KTRK itself having aired an hourlong 6 p.m. newscast in this hour since September 1982. In 1987, KHOU refused to air a television adaptation of the then-popular Garbage Pail Kids trading card series on Saturday mornings, owing to concerns regarding
5220-481: The DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV and DirecTV Stream services at 8 p.m. ET on November 30. The dispute was resolved on January 13, 2024. The following month, TEGNA affirmed the dispute with DirecTV caused it to see lower subscription and overall revenue during 2023. In 2020, activist shareholder Soo Kim, owner of Standard General , began to pursue control over Tegna, citing its "pattern of passivity" on
5336-510: The Gulf of Mexico led to catastrophic flooding throughout the metropolitan area, with much of the flooding being unprecedented in many places. On the early morning of Sunday, August 27, KHOU was forced to evacuate its studios due to rising floodwaters from the nearby Buffalo Bayou. Around 6 a.m., the first floor of the building became inundated with floodwaters, forcing station employees to completely abandon its facility nearly three hours later after
5452-557: The Houston Public Media facilities. On November 16, 2017, KHOU officially announced it would not return to the Allen Parkway facility; the building would eventually be sold to an affiliate of Service Corporation International (whose headquarters are located in an office building adjacent to the former KHOU studios) and was eventually demolished the following May. In December 2017, KHOU announced that it would open
5568-476: The Houston area) via their leagues' respective CBS Sports contracts. KHOU presently broadcasts 33 hours, 55 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5 hours, 35 minutes each weekday, three hours on Saturdays, and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours on Sundays). On weekdays, this includes a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour morning newscast from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m., a full hour at 4 p.m., and half-hours at noon, 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Its weekend newscasts include
5684-502: The Houston market for the next several decades and which had become one of ABC's strongest affiliates by the end of the decade, eventually becoming one of the network's owned-and-operated stations in 1986. While the station did hire former KPRC-TV lead anchor Steve Smith away from KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh to become its lead anchor in 1975 (a role he maintained for the next 24 years at the station), KHOU continued to trail its rivals as
5800-554: The LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting on the campus of the University of Houston . At various times, WFAA, along with Tegna NBC affiliate KUSA in Denver , provided assistance with weather graphics and master control. Due to technical difficulties, WFAA originated the August 27 edition of the 10 p.m. news that was simulcast in both cities. Eventually a reliable signal was established an hour later from KUHT's studios at
5916-598: The Melcher Center and storm coverage continued. KHOU is the third commercial station in Houston to utilize a part of the UH campus for its facilities, after ill-fated KNUZ-TV (channel 39) from 1953 to 1954 and KTRK-TV (channel 13) from its 1954 launch until its 1961 move to its current studios in the Upper Kirby district. On the evening of August 31, the station resumed CBS programming with its prime time lineup. For
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#17327906009306032-505: The Toledo market and CBS affiliate KOSA-TV in the Odessa market. In March 2019, Tegna announced its formation of VAULT Studios, its first, in-house digital content studio. The studio's first content would be true crime podcasts, drawing on its station news content. On March 20, 2019, Tegna entered an agreement with Nexstar Media Group to acquire eleven stations for $ 740 million in order to reduce Nexstar's national ownership reach under
6148-559: The U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another large portion of this band (channels 52 to 69) away, in contrast to the rest of the world, which has been taking VHF instead. This means that some stations left on VHF are harder to receive after the analog shutdown . Since at least 1974, there are no stations on channel 37 in North America for radio astronomy purposes. Most television stations are commercial broadcasting enterprises which are structured in
6264-554: The air on March 22, 1953, as KGUL-TV (either Gulf of Mexico or seagull ). It was founded by Paul Taft of the Taft Broadcasting Co. (no relation to the Cincinnati -based company of the same name nor its associated Taft family ). Originally licensed to Galveston , it was the second television station to debut in the Houston market (after KPRC-TV , channel 2), taking the secondary CBS affiliation from KPRC-TV as
6380-804: The board of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan . Tegna and Cooper Media, parent corporation of the Justice Network , announced on November 7, 2017, a new multicast network, Quest . Tegna would be the charter station group as such would receive a minority stake in the network, which launched in January 2018. The range of programming on the network would be engineering and science, human achievements, military history and natural history. On December 18, 2017, Tegna announced it would acquire KFMB-AM - FM - TV in San Diego from Midwest Television, Inc. for $ 325 million, pending approval from
6496-441: The building. Additionally, the station's over the air signal, including its CBS and diginet feeds, were knocked off the air as computers and other equipment became submerged by floodwaters, with staff relegated to providing updates on social media . After KHOU's signal was knocked off the air, sister station WFAA began providing live news coverage for KHOU by live-streaming on both station's websites and social media profiles until
6612-485: The company at $ 5.4 billion. The company, which will retain the Tegna name, will be controlled by an affiliate of Standard General, with Standard Media CEO Deb McDermott (who previously led Young Broadcasting and Media General ) becoming CEO. Affiliates of AGM, as well as Cox Media Group (which is principally owned by AGM, with Cox Enterprises as a minority shareholder) and other investors, will hold non-voting shares in
6728-476: The company stated that "the other two parties have not signed confidentiality agreements to enable due diligence and have not delivered any information on financing sources". Kim began to engage in a proxy fight , with Standard General proposing four nominations to Tegna's board of directors at its next shareholders' meeting in April. Tegna's shareholders chose to re-elect all 12 current board members. Kim accepted
6844-405: The company's completion of the spin-off of Cars.com, it was reported by DealReporter that Nexstar Media Group may be considering a bid to acquire Tegna. In June 2017, Tegna announced it had entered into a definitive agreement, together with the other owners of CareerBuilder , to sell CareerBuilder to an investor group led by investments funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and
6960-606: The company's stations are affiliated with NBC (including one digital subchannel of KBMT and two semi-satellites of KCEN-TV and WCSH ), fifteen are affiliated with CBS , thirteen are affiliated with ABC , and six are affiliated with Fox . In addition, the company owns eight CW affiliates (including three digital subchannels of KFMB-TV , KYTX , and WMAZ-TV ), ten MyNetworkTV affiliates (including six digital subchannels of KFMB-TV, KIDY , KTTU-TV , KXVA , WQAD-TV , and WZDX ), four independent stations (including two digital subchannels of KTVB and its satellite of KTFT-LD),
7076-659: The company. Tegna's digital advertising subsidiary Premion will be held as a standalone business between Standard and CMG. The sale includes a clause that will slowly increase the value that Standard and Apollo will pay per-share if the sale takes longer than nine months to close. The sale will also result in the realignment of station holdings presently associated with both companies: Standard Media's four stations WDKA , WLNE , KBSI , and KLKN will be sold to Cox Media Group, which will then divest its Boston station WFXT to an affiliate of Standard General, and acquire WFAA / KMPX , KHOU / KTBU , and KVUE , from Tegna. The sale
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#17327906009307192-443: The decade from NBC's strong prime time programming of the 1980s. Its newscasts fared even worse than CBS' own floundering network programming itself at the time, occasionally even placing behind syndicated reruns on independent stations in the Houston market. Having achieved considerable success with the news department of its flagship station in Dallas, WFAA, since the 1970s, Belo sought to seek similar results for KHOU, and beginning in
7308-418: The decade progressed. A string of notable departures also did not help the station's cause, including the 1976 departure of chief meteorologist Doug Brown (who himself succeeded Lasher) to KTRK where he became that station's longtime morning meteorologist, and the subsequent departures to KPRC of news anchors Bob Nicholas (one of Houston's first African-American news anchors) in 1979 and Bill Balleza in 1980, with
7424-452: The diginets, which would finally return on October 12. Around the same time, the station's on-air look returned to normal with full news and weather graphics restored and program guide listings on the terrestrial signal. A temporary news set, similar in design to its previous news set destroyed in the Harvey floods with additional brick accents, would eventually be constructed for the station at
7540-524: The dismissal of several HISD officials. All of these stories were initially reported by investigative reporter Anna Werner, who eventually went on to become the chief investigative reporter for CBS News . Despite not being historically associated with a major newspaper, and being based in Galveston for most of the 1950s, news has always played an integral role in the history of KHOU. The station gained notoriety in 1961 when then-anchor Dan Rather showed what
7656-447: The eastern portion of the Houston market, with portions of Liberty County getting a city-grade signal. In those days, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals, and would not even consider a waiver for a city-grade overlap. Known for its ownership of The Dallas Morning News and its flagship TV station in its home city of Dallas, WFAA (historically one of ABC 's strongest affiliates and
7772-671: The federally imposed 39% cap and alleviate ownership conflicts with existing Nexstar properties once it completes a merger with Tribune Media . Included are stations WOI-DT – KCWI-DT in Des Moines and WQAD-TV , based in Moline, Illinois but also serving neighboring Davenport and Pennsylvania ( WPMT / Harrisburg and WNEP-TV / Scranton – Wilkes-Barre ). Other Nexstar/Tribune stations going to Tegna are WZDX / Huntsville , KFSM-TV / Fort Smith – Fayetteville , WTIC-TV – WCCT-TV / Hartford , and WATN-TV – WLMT / Memphis . The FCC approved
7888-456: The first month, the station only broadcast its main HD channel while its two subchannels (at the time Bounce TV and Justice Network ) remained shut down. The following week, on September 4, KHOU began to reuse parts of its previous 2011–2016 news set in the temporary studio. On October 4, the subchannels returned as widescreen SD simulcasts of the main channel in preparation for the eventual return of
8004-482: The first station in the market to do so. On September 7, 2009, KHOU-TV expanded its weekday morning newscast with the addition of the 4:30 a.m. program First Look ; despite being the last station in the Houston market to launch a 4:30 a.m. newscast, KHOU was the only station in the market to announce its intentions to do so (three of Houston's major network affiliates – KHOU, KTRK-TV and KPRC-TV – launched 4:30 a.m. newscasts within three weeks of each other in
8120-610: The following year), Face the Nation began airing its full hour at 9:30 a.m., where the first half-hour had already been airing for years, with the religious broadcast from Second Baptist Church continuing to air at 10:30 a.m. In 2002 , the Houston Texans joined the NFL as the league's 32nd franchise, as part of the American Football Conference 's newly formed South Division . Being part of
8236-602: The full broadcast of CBS Saturday Morning leading into KHOU's Saturday morning newscast from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. On November 24, 2022, KHOU was criticized for interrupting a Thanksgiving Day game between the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions for a tornado warning with 23 seconds left in the game, causing viewers to miss a last second game-winning field goal by the Bills. The station did not incorporate
8352-498: The high-rise in facilities that include two studios, two control rooms, an open collaboration space for all content producing departments, technical operations, sales and executive offices. The station began its operations from its new facility on Sunday, February 17, 2019, during its 10 p.m. newscast. On January 21, 2020, KHOU would gain a sister station when Tegna acquired KTBU (channel 55) from Spanish Broadcasting System which had been airing its Mega TV service over that station;
8468-420: The highest point available in the transmission area, such as on a summit , the top of a high skyscraper , or on a tall radio tower . To get a signal from the master control room to the transmitter, a studio/transmitter link (STL) is used. The link can be either by radio or T1 / E1 . A transmitter/studio link (TSL) may also send telemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of
8584-419: The last ABC-owned station to carry the quiz show. However, KHOU continues to carry Wheel of Fortune at 6:30 p.m., making Houston one of the few markets in the United States where both game shows air on separate stations; in most markets, both game shows are sold as a package, often airing next to one another on the same station in prime time access. Both shows rarely air next to each other in most markets in
8700-468: The late 1980s hired several high-profile people to its news team. The most notable was former National Hurricane Center director Dr. Neil Frank , who was hired as the station's chief meteorologist in July 1987. In another key move, KHOU also hired former KTRK morning anchor Sylvan Rodriguez (then a correspondent with ABC News ' West Coast bureau) to anchor the station's early evening newscasts. During this time, KHOU also commissioned an image rebrand using
8816-467: The late summer of 2009 with little fanfare). On August 1, 2011, KHOU debuted a new half-hour newscast at 4 p.m. on weekdays to replace The Oprah Winfrey Show ; this would expand to a full hour in 2015 after losing the Houston rights to Jeopardy! to KTRK. Like many CBS and ABC stations in other markets, KHOU has also expanded its weekend 10 p.m. news broadcast to a full hour, including the aforementioned KHOU 11 Sports Extra on Sunday nights. In 2018,
8932-436: The latter also joined that year by the aforementioned Ron Franklin, who moved to KHOU to fill the same role of sports director at KPRC. As a result, channel 11 crashed to last place, and would largely remain entrenched in this position throughout the 1980s. When Belo acquired KHOU in 1984, the station continued to trail behind dominant KTRK and NBC affiliate KPRC, which usually placed a strong second and would further benefit in
9048-479: The latter came after a Black nominee put forward by Standard General withdrew, citing a previous incident involving CEO Dave Lougee in 2014. The company stated that Lougee "immediately acknowledged the incident and has stated that he made a mistake, for which he had apologized immediately at the time". On February 22, 2022, Tegna announced that it had agreed to be taken private by a group led by Standard General and Apollo Global Management for $ 24 per-share, valuing
9164-809: The latter network continues to broadcast as a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) operation. The fourth digital subchannel became an affiliate of Sinclair Broadcast Group 's Comet network in February 2024. KHOU discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on the morning of June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television . The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 31 to VHF channel 11. [REDACTED] Media related to KHOU at Wikimedia Commons Television station The Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow ( TV Station Paul Nipkow ) in Berlin , Germany ,
9280-604: The local television broadcaster of Houston's annual Thanksgiving Day parade, the H-E-B Holiday Parade . Despite being in a market with an ABC-owned station (KTRK-TV), Jeopardy! aired on KHOU from 1986 to 2015 and Wheel of Fortune has aired on that station since 1986 despite their presence on ABC's other network-owned stations along with another ABC O&O syndication staple, The Oprah Winfrey Show , which KHOU carried for its entire run from 1986 to 2011. Jeopardy! moved to KTRK on September 14, 2015, making it
9396-400: The local television station has no station identification and, from a consumer's point of view, there is no practical distinction between a network and a station, with only small regional changes in programming, such as local television news . To broadcast its programs, a television station requires operators to operate equipment, a transmitter or radio antenna , which is often located at
9512-419: The main broadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up that station over-the-air , or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies which other station it is allowed to carry. VHF stations often have very tall antennas due to their long wavelength , but require much less effective radiated power (ERP), and therefore use much less transmitter power output , also saving on
9628-573: The mandatory recall of Wilderness AT, Firestone ATX and ATX II tires, as well as numerous lawsuits (the defective tires resulted in a number of deaths, including that of KTRK reporter Stephen Gauvain), a story in the early 2000s that led to the shutdown of the Houston Police Department 's crime lab, and allegations of dropout rate fraud in the Houston Independent School District , which resulted in
9744-531: The market. In March 2020, Tegna stated that it had turned down two acquisition offers by Gray Television and Apollo Global Management , stating that "these two parties made their proposals shortly before the recent market dislocation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and both subsequently informed Tegna that they were ceasing discussions". In regards to other rumored offers from Byron Allen and religious broadcaster TBN (the latter in partnership with Jahm Najafi ),
9860-453: The network on March 27, 2020; in February 2021, the fourth digital subchannel became an affiliate of Twist . The fifth digital subchannel, Circle , which is 50 percent owned by Gray Television with the other half owned by a subsidiary of Ryman Hospitality Properties ' Opry Entertainment Group , debuted with the network on January 1, 2020. Bounce TV moved to KPXB-DT2 in January 2022. Twist and Circle were both shut down on December 31, 2023;
9976-479: The network's late night offerings of the era were considered to be less lucrative compared to syndicated offerings. Beginning in 1993, KHOU (like most CBS affiliates) began carrying the Late Show (then hosted by David Letterman ) at 11:05 p.m. CT , eventually moving it to immediately following its 10 p.m. newscast (at 10:35 p.m. CT) by 1995. However, the station had always aired The Late Late Show on
10092-484: The network's launch. The station had previously signed on to carry the .2 Network on one of its digital subchannels, although .2 Network never debuted. In 2015, the station began carrying programming from the Justice Network on its third digital subchannel. Quest was added to the fourth digital subchannel on January 16, 2018, and was changed to a simulcast of sister station KTBU after that station switched to
10208-414: The network's new primary affiliate, and has stayed aligned with the network ever since. One of the original investors in the station was actor James Stewart , along with a small group of other Galveston investors. The studio was located at 2002 45th Street in Galveston. In 1956, the original owners sold the station to the Indianapolis -based Whitney Corporation (later Corinthian Broadcasting), which became
10324-496: The old Gannett, while Gannett's publishing interests were spun off as a "new" company that retained the Gannett name. Tegna owns or operates 68 television stations in 54 markets, and holds properties in digital media. In terms of audience reach, Tegna is the largest group owner of NBC -affiliated stations, ahead of Hearst Television and Sinclair Broadcast Group , and the fourth-largest group owner of ABC affiliates, behind Hearst,
10440-405: The other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. KHOU was retained by the latter company, which would be named Tegna . Being situated near Buffalo Bayou in an area that had become prone to flooding, KHOU's longtime studios had become vulnerable to damage from major hurricanes and severe weather as the Houston area grew exponentially over the last six decades. On the night of June 8, 2001,
10556-608: The past (due to ABC's live broadcast of Dancing with the Stars on KTRK conflicting with the games). The Texans are one of two teams never to have been blacked out at home, the other being the Baltimore Ravens ; this stands in contrast to the city's previous NFL team, the Houston Oilers , who were often blacked out at home in their twilight years in Houston before moving to Nashville in 1997 for reasons related to
10672-476: The programmes seen on its owner's flagship station, and have no television studio or production facilities of their own. This is common in developing countries . Low-power stations typically also fall into this category worldwide. Most stations which are not simulcast produce their own station identifications . TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather (or news) services to local radio stations , particularly co-owned sister stations . This may be
10788-523: The removal of at least 64 Tegna stations in 53 markets, covering about nearly 3 million customers. On October 18, Dish Network filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against Tegna. However, on February 4, 2022, Dish Network reached an agreement with Tegna, resulting in all Tegna owned stations returning. Another carriage dispute with DirecTV in late 2023 resulted in the removal of 66 Tegna stations from
10904-492: The result of the vote, stating that the actions had helped to "[challenge] management's narrative about the Company's performance and seeking greater transparency about Tegna's numbers, acquisition metrics, and engagement with third parties". In 2021, Standard General once again put forward nominees to Tegna's board of directors, alleging that the company was underperforming and had issues with diversity, equity, and inclusion ;
11020-416: The revamping of its news department, and the carrying over of both its Dallas flagship's theme music and popular image branding, The Spirit of Texas , KHOU began to challenge KTRK and KPRC in the local ratings, and eventually became one of CBS' strongest affiliates by the 1990s during a very challenging period for the network. In 1998, KHOU became the first television station in the market to begin broadcasting
11136-415: The sale on September 16. On May 6, 2019, it was reported that Tegna was going to acquire the 85% of the Justice Network and Quest from Cooper Media that it did not own already for $ 77 Million to close by the end of the second quarter. Cooper Media's president and general manager Brian Weiss transferred to Tegna and continued managing the two networks. On June 11, 2019, it was reported Tegna Inc. purchased
11252-423: The sale was completed on March 17, 2020. A carriage dispute with DirecTV , beginning at 7 p.m. ET on December 1, 2020, resulted in the removal of at least 60 Tegna stations in 51 markets, covering about 39% of TV homes, from the DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and AT&T TV services. The dispute was resolved on December 20, 2020. A carriage dispute with Dish Network , beginning on October 6, 2021, resulted in
11368-443: The sale was completed on March 24 with KTBU moving its operations three days later into KHOU's Westheimer facilities and dropping Mega TV in favor of Tegna's digital multicast network, Quest , which had previously been airing on KHOU's fourth digital subchannel. While KTBU may serve as an alternate CBS affiliate should KHOU need its main signal for long-form breaking news and severe weather coverage, its primary role has been to serve as
11484-552: The second half-hour of the Sunday morning talk show Face the Nation , which had been tape-delayed to 2:30 a.m. the following Monday morning due to KHOU's longstanding broadcasts of religious programs from Houston-based Lakewood Church and Second Baptist Church , with the former also airing on Sunday night following its 10 p.m. newscast and KHOU 11 Sports Extra (see below). After Lakewood's broadcasts moved to KTRK in 2020 (only to return to KHOU at 11 p.m. only on Sunday nights
11600-540: The separation, the company announced that the broadcasting and digital company would be named Tegna—a partial anagram of "Gannett". The spin-out was structured so that "old" Gannett changed its name to Tegna, Inc., then spun off its newspaper holdings into a "new" Gannett. The split was completed on June 29, 2015. Tegna retained "old" Gannett's stock price history, though it trades under a new ticker symbol, TGNA. The "new" Gannett inherited old Gannett's longtime ticker symbol, GCI. The two companies, however, continued to share
11716-550: The series for an entire run for the 2016–2017 broadcast season. The series debuted on September 12 on most, if not all Tegna-owned stations, as well as several large markets, including Baltimore ( WMAR-TV ), Detroit ( WMYD ), Orlando ( WFTV / WRDQ ), Chicago ( WCIU-TV ), San Antonio ( KSAT-TV ), and San Diego ( KGTV ). Debmar-Mercury, however, is not participating in the production run, being replaced by independent company Flow Media Partners. T.D. Jakes ended in September 2017 and
11832-481: The show's ridicule of the disabled and its abundance of heavy violence; as a result of these decisions and concerns, CBS decided not to air it on their Saturday morning schedule for the 1987–88 television season, and the series, to date, has never been telecast in the United States. Like most CBS affiliates prior to 1993, KHOU often carried syndicated programming (including Entertainment Tonight and reruns of M*A*S*H ) in late night following its 10 p.m. newscast, as
11948-506: The station rebranded its weekday morning newscasts as HTownRush , with a format emphasizing social media interaction including its own namesake hashtag, a summary of top stories during the first five minutes of each half-hour, and special segments including in-house features exclusive to Tegna stations such as Deal Boss , one-minute business/technology news briefs from Cheddar , and consumer reporter John Matarese's Don't Waste Your Money consumer segments (which usually air on stations owned by
12064-407: The station was able to resume broadcasting on its own. The station's staff then evacuated to the nearby Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Houston Branch building on higher ground while a new contingency plan was drafted. With the assistance of PBS member station KUHT (channel 8) and master control from WFAA, KHOU eventually resumed live broadcasting later that night from temporary facilities at
12180-463: The station's newscasts in September 1999, and 6 p.m. anchor Sylvan Rodriguez, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and eventually succumbed to the disease in April 2000. Two former local newscasters in New York City, Greg Hurst of ABC flagship WABC-TV and Len Cannon of Fox flagship WNYW (the latter also a former NBC News correspondent and substitute anchor), would respectively join
12296-409: The station's studios flooded during Tropical Storm Allison , resulting in damage to much of the station's offices including its newsroom. The damage was so severe that the station had to cease its ongoing coverage of the ensuing flash flood emergency (which itself had interrupted regular programming that night) and instead broadcast a West Coast feed of the Late Show with David Letterman , followed by
12412-545: The station, also included an exclusive interview with Serbian and Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic during the Kosovo War , just a month before his indictment, that drew international news coverage. This news came despite the station losing three of its core anchors key to the station's resurgence: longtime anchor Steve Smith, who retired from broadcasting in May 1999 to pursue other interests, his fellow anchor Marlene McClinton, who abruptly resigned during one of
12528-512: The station, with Hurst succeeding Smith as lead anchor in 1999 and Cannon joining the station in 2006 to replace longtime anchor Jerome Gray, who went to rival KPRC-TV. Cannon himself became lead anchor in 2017 after Hurst left the station (with Hurst eventually joining fellow CBS affiliate WREG-TV in Memphis ). On February 4, 2007, following CBS' coverage of Super Bowl XLI , KHOU began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition, becoming
12644-549: The storm was projected to hit the Texas Gulf Coast with extensive rainfall expected in the Greater Houston area. The station began wall-to-wall coverage on August 25, 2017, with extensive coverage of the storm's landfall in Rockport (near Corpus Christi ). While initial coverage focused on storm damage and cleanup in parts of KHOU's viewing area, by the following Saturday, August 26, massive and continuous rain bands from
12760-412: The team's controversial management under owner Bud Adams . Beginning in 2014 , with the institution of 'cross-flex' rules, games in which the Texans play an NFC opponent at home can be moved from Fox O&O KRIV (channel 26) to KHOU, with the same standard also applying for AFC road games at NRG Stadium being moved over to KRIV. Other notable appearances by Houston sports teams on KHOU have included
12876-439: The toll-free call-in number due to the tape-delay. This practice would continue under later hosts Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson , as well as the first few months of James Corden 's tenure as host. On September 8, 2015, it began airing The Late Late Show at its network-approved time (11:37 p.m. CT) following Stephen Colbert 's debut as host of The Late Show ; leaving the station's only CBS preemption being that of
12992-399: The world. Television stations broadcasting over an analog system were typically limited to one television channel , but digital television enables broadcasting via subchannels as well. Television stations usually require a broadcast license from a government agency which sets the requirements and limitations on the station. In the United States, for example, a television license defines
13108-654: Was approved by Standard General and Apollo Global Management on May 17, 2022. On October 6, 2022, Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Frank Pallone and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi issued a letter to the FCC expressing concerns for the transaction, arguing that it "would violate the FCC's mandate by restricting access to local news coverage, cutting jobs at local television stations, and raising prices on consumers". They specifically cited statements by Standard General regarding plans for
13224-487: Was believed to be the first radar image of a hurricane broadcast on television during Hurricane Carla ; this report, which was credited for saving thousands of lives that otherwise would have been lost, would later become a catalyst in his eventual hiring by CBS News. In 1970, KHOU had boasted of the top-rated news team in Houston, led by anchorman Ron Stone (who had been discovered by Rather in 1961), weatherman Sid Lasher and sports director Ron Franklin. The station entered
13340-703: Was replaced with news and entertainment show Daily Blast Live , which premiered on September 11, 2017. Other shows Tegna Media has on first-run syndication across most of its stations are Sister Circle (also shown on cable network TV One ), and reality competition Sing Like A Star . Sister Circle ended its run in Spring 2020. In January 2018, Tegna announced a partnership with Sony Pictures Television to handle syndication distribution and advertising sales for its original programs. Daily Blast Live concluded its run on September 6, 2024. Gannett Company spun-off most of its internet media properties to Tegna. When
13456-678: Was the first regular television service in the world. It was on the air from 22 March 1935, until it was shut down in 1944. The station was named after Paul Gottlieb Nipkow , the inventor of the Nipkow disk . Most often the term "television station" refers to a station which broadcasts structured content to an audience or it refers to the organization that operates the station. A terrestrial television transmission can occur via analog television signals or, more recently, via digital television signals. Television stations are differentiated from cable television or other video providers as their content
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