KCEN-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KCEN-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Live Local Now
station_branding = NBC 6
analog = 6 (VHF)
digital = 9 (VHF)
other_chs = KMAY-LP 23 Bryan/College Station
affiliations = NBC (except March-September 1985)
NBC Weather Plus (DT2)
network =
founded =
airdate = November 1, 1953
location = Temple/Waco, Texas
callsign_meaning = CENtral Texas
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Frank Mayborn Enterprises, Inc.
licensee = Channel 6, Inc.
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = CBS (secondary, 1953-55)
DuMont (1953-1955)
ABC (secondary 1953-85, primary March-September 1985)
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
25 kW (digital)
HAAT = 573 m (analog)
527 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 10245
coordinates = coord|31|16|25|N|97|13|14.5|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.kcentv.com/ www.kcentv.com]

KCEN-TV "NBC 6" is the NBC affiliate for Waco, Killeen and Temple, Texas. Licensed to nearby Temple, it is owned by the family of the late Frank W. Mayborn, publishers of the "Temple Daily Telegram". With studio and transmitter on a 25 acre tract of land one mile (1.6 km) south of Eddy on I-35, KCEN-TV broadcasts locally on channel 6, with digital transmissions on channel 9. KCEN-TV also has a low-power satellite rebroadcaster, KMAY-LP on channel 23 in Bryan, Texas, which serves the Brazos Valley area. KMAY-LP began rebroadcasting KCEN in 2003. Previously, KCEN maintained a low-power channel 62 for the Bryan/College Station area for a number of years. NBC WeatherPlus is offered through KCEN's digital feed.

History

The station was founded in 1953. It was owned along with KTEM-AM 1400, which Mayborn established in 1936. Mayborn, however, realized that Temple/Killeen and Waco were going to be a single television market (although they are separate radio markets). To signify his goal to serve all of Central Texas, he decided to call his new station KCEN-TV (for CENtral Texas) rather than KTEM-TV (for TEMple). KCEN signed on with one of the tallest towers in the Southwest, at 830 feet (253 m). The station originally carried programming from all four major networks at the time, but was a primary NBC affiliate. It lost CBS to KWTX-TV in 1955; later that year DuMont halted operations. This left KCEN as an NBC affiliate with a primary ABC affiliation. When KXXV signed on in March 1985, it took over the NBC affiliation, leaving KCEN with ABC. However, that fall, KXXV and KCEN switched affiliations and KCEN returned to NBC.

In 1981, KCEN moved to a new 1,924-foot (586.5 m) tower, expanding its coverage area to almost convert|29000|sqmi|km2--one of the largest in the nation. The station now provides at least secondary coverage from the fringes of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to the fringes of Austin.

The station was the first in Central Texas to broadcast in closed captioning, in 1989.

KCEN broadcasts on cable channel 3 in Waco, Killeen and Temple, while KMAY broadcasts on cable channel 6 in Bryan/College Station. KCEN's audio can also be heard on 87.7 MHz in much of central Texas, since the audio signals of all television stations located on channel 6 are on the same frequency as 87.7 MHz on the FM band.

KCEN also maintains business offices at 17 South Third Street in Temple, as well as sales and news offices in Killeen and Waco.

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

*"KCEN-TV News" (1953-1972)
*"Channel 6 News" (1972-1977)
*"NewsCenter 6" (1977-1984)
*"NewsWatch 6" (1984-1990)
*"NewsStrong 6" (1990-1995)
*"NewsChannel 6" (1995-2000)
*"NBC 6 News" (2000-present)

tation Slogans

*"The Strength of Central Texas" (1990-1995)
*"Where the News Comes First" (1995-2004)
*"Where Central Texas Comes First" (2004-2007)
*"Live, Local, Now" (2007-present)

Newscasts

* NBC 6 News Texas Today (5:30-7am) (Monday-Friday)
* NBC 6 News First Edition (11:30am-12:00pm) (Monday-Friday)
* NBC 6 News at 5pm (5-5:30pm) (Sunday-Friday)
* NBC 6 News at 6pm (6-6:30pm) (Monday-Saturday)
* NBC 6 News at 10pm (10-10:35pm) (Daily)

External links

* [http://www.kcentv.com/ Official site]
*TVQ|KCEN
*TVQ|KMAY
*BIA|KCEN|TV|TV