KTVL

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KTVL
city =
station_
station_slogan = Coverage You Can Count On
station_branding = News 10
analog = 10 (VHF)
digital = 35 (UHF)
other_chs = (see article)
subchannels = 10.1 HD 10.2 The CW
10.3 CBS SD
affiliations = CBS
network =
founded =
airdate = October 3, 1961
location = Medford/Klamath Falls, Oregon
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = KMED-TV (1961-1977)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Freedom Communications, Inc.
licensee = Freedom Broadcasting of Oregon Licensee, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Primary:
NBC (1961-1983)
Secondary:
ABC (1961-1984)
effective_radiated_power = 132 kW (analog)
10.2 kW (digital)
HAAT = 1009 m (analog)
1008 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 22570
coordinates = coord|42|4|51.5|N|122|43|13|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.ktvl.com/ www.ktvl.com]
[http://www.southernoregoncw.com/ www.southernoregoncw.com]

KTVL Channel 10 (known as "News 10") is a CBS television affiliate based in Medford, Oregon and broadcasts its signal from their transmitter high atop Mount Ashland, 15 miles (24 km) south of the city. The station covers eight counties in southern Oregon and northern California. Its studios are located on Rossanley Drive in north west Medford. The station can be seen on 27 translators. [http://www.ktvl.com/content/?cid=Translator+Information]

History

Channel 10 signed on the air October 3, 1961 as KMED-TV, owned by Ray Johnson and his company, Radio Medford, Inc., along with KMED-AM 1440. Several groups contended for the second television station in the area, but Radio Medford received a substantial assist from Bill Smulin, owner of KTVM (now KOBI), who offered Radio Medford space on KTVM's tower. KMED-TV was an NBC affiliate, since KMED-AM had been an NBC radio affiliate since 1937. It also shared ABC with KTVM.

In 1963, the station started a joint news department with its radio sister. KMED-AM had set up the first full radio news department between Portland and San Francisco in 1957.

In 1966, the station moved to a new tower on Mount Ashland, which added Klamath Falls to its city-grade coverage. It is the highest transmitting tower in the Pacific Northwest, with over 132,000 watts of power. To this day, channel 10 is the only Medford station that covers the entire market without a full-power satellite station.

KMED-TV bought the first color cameras in Southern Oregon in 1968, a year of many firsts for the station. That year also saw the area's first live remote broadcast, the first television editorials and the first use of live microwave technology.

In 1977, KMED was sold off, and KMED-TV became KTVL. Johnson sold KTVL to its current owner, Freedom Communications. Under Freedom's ownership, KTVL aired the first color weather forecast in Southern Oregon. In the meantime Johnson was working on another station. Which would become KTVZ in Bend, Oregon.

In 1983, KTVL traded affiliations with KOBI and became a CBS affiliate, though it continued to carry some ABC programming until KDRV signed on a year later. Kingsley Kelley currently serves as the station's general manager and is considered a community-minded individual.

Jerry Lewis Telethon

KTVL is also the only southern Oregon and northern California television station that has continuously broadcast the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon every Labor Day Weekend since 1970. (Fellow CBS affiliate KHSL-TV in Chico, California, was the next closest station to do so before broadcasting the program was ceased after 1997 by new ownership.) The local portion of the telethon is now hosted by members of the News 10 newscast team including Trish Borucki, Kevin Lollis and Libby Dowsett. It is believed to be one of the most successful local telethon broadcasts in the country. The most emotional moment came in 2002 when a devastated Marvin Rhodes announced that Grants Pass, Oregon resident Ray Dimmick, who battled courageously against ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), had died in December 2001. Dimmick, accompanied by his wife Debra, appeared on the show every year for 10 years despite his condition deteriorating. A tribute video was broadcast in his memory.

Marvin Rhodes, who was the main host for 35 years, and Donna Hildebrand, who was co-host for over 25 years, ended their tenure as telethon hosts in 2005.

KTVL Alumni

Other notables that worked at KTVL included former news anchor and commentator Hank Henry (former Jackson County commissioner who died in 2003), legendary weatherman Leon Hunsaker (also formerly of KOBI, now retired), Fred Inglis (now weekend sports anchor at KTVU in Oakland/San Francisco), commentator Pete Belcastro (now serving as director of Rogue Valley Community Television (RVTV) at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon), Ethan Harp (now reporter at KNTV in San Jose/San Francisco) and Ann Curry (telethon co-hostess, now of NBC's The Today Show).

News

The newscasts are currently anchored at 5:00pm and 6:00pm by Libby Dowsett and Shannon Young. The chief meteorologist is Kevin Lollis and Mike Ingram handles sports anchoring duties. Young also anchors the 11:00pm newscasts. Trish Borucki anchors the 6 AM newscasts. Matthew Workman anchors the weekend news at both 6:00pm and 11:00pm. Juliane Ngan co-anchors the 6:00 PM newscasts on Saturday and Sunday

Former News Titles

* "NewsCenter 10" (?) (?-1980s)
* "Channel 10 News" (1980s-2002)

"After 10"

On June 3, 2006, KTVL launched a new locally-produced late night program for young adults called "After 10", hosted by Curtis Bartlett and Lindsey Matherly, every Saturday night at 11:30pm. It was dubbed as the only locally produced show that delivers news and information on the local music scene, video games, movie releases (in theaters and on video), graphic novels, music videos, viral videos from the internet, and websites.

"After 10" was KTVL's attempt to compete against NBC's "Saturday Night Live" by producing a program for their target audience themselves, instead on relying on syndication. "After 10" is currently being retooled and is expected to relaunch 3rd quarter 2007.

outhern Oregon CW 11

On September 18, 2006, The WB and UPN merged to form the new CW Network. KTVL has picked up the affiliation to The CW, and is broadcasting its programming on a digital subchannel. KMFD, Medford's former WB "cable-only" station is the new CW affiliate and has been renamed KTVL-DT 2, "Southern Oregon's CW 11".

Digital Television

The station's digital channel:

External links

* [http://www.ktvl.com/ KTVL News 10 website]
* [http://www.southernoregoncw.com/ SouthernOregonCW.com]
* [http://www.wsmb.org/Page.asp?NavID=15 History of Television In Southern Oregon]
*TVQ|KTVL
*BIA|KTVL|TV|TV

References