KDNL-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KDNL-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = St. Louis' Leader in Entertainment Programming
station_branding = ABC 30
analog = 30 (UHF)
digital = 31 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = ABC
network =
founded =
airdate = June 8, 1969
location = St. Louis, Missouri
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
licensee = KDNL Licensee, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = independent (1969-1986)
Fox (1986-1995)
UPN secondary (1995-1998)
effective_radiated_power = 2190 kW (analog)
1000 kW (digital)
HAAT = 335 m (analog)
320.5 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 56524
coordinates = coord|38|34|50|N|90|19|45.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.abcstlouis.com/ www.abcstlouis.com]

KDNL-TV, "ABC 30", is the ABC television affiliate in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned and operated by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, KDNL-TV's transmitter is located in the parking lot of the Kenrick 8 Cine on Trianon Parkway (off Watson Road).

The station broadcasts in stereo and broadcasts a Secondary Audio Program (SAP) channel, used mainly for Descriptive Video Service (DVS).

KDNL-DT (KDNL-TV's digital channel) operates on channel 31.

History

1969-1986

KDNL-TV started broadcasting on June 8, 1969 as the first UHF television station in the St. Louis market. It was St. Louis' second independent station until 1986. The station was owned by Evans Broadcasting. Initially, KDNL ran a format of business news, religious shows, old network sitcoms, rejected network programming from KSDK and KTVI, and old movies. KDNL offered Japanese live-action and cartoons dubbed into English including, "Johnny Sokko" and "Ultraman".

By 1979, business news had been eliminated. Evans sold the station to Cox Enterprises in 1981. Programming during most of 1982 and early 1983 continued to be general entertainment during the day and Preview (TV channel) Subscription Television at night. This included religious shows, old movies, classic off-network sitcoms and dramas. By 1984, cartoons had been added to the lineup. Also under Cox, the station won bids for stronger off-network sitcoms.

In 1986, KDNL joined the then-fledging Fox after KPLR-TV turned the network down, going under the name Fox 30. In addition, KDNL was the television home of the NHL's St. Louis Blues between 1976 and 1981, and again from 1983 through 1986. In 1991, Cox sold KDNL to St. Louis-based River City Broadcasting.

1990s

In 1994 New World Communications, bought St. Louis' longtime ABC affiliate, KTVI, along with 3 other stations from Argyle. New World had cut an affiliation deal with Fox. By the time KPLR took on affiliation with The WB, that station also turned down ABC despite being a VHF station. So instead KDNL took the ABC affiliation and also agreed to run UPN programming as a secondary affiliate. Despite its size, the St. Louis market did not have enough willing commercial stations at the time to support a full-time UPN affiliate until 2003 (when WRBU dropped HSN to become a regular commerical operation with UPN affiliation). New World completed its acquisition of KTVI in the summer of 1995, and Fox moved to KTVI. After becoming the ABC affiliate, KDNL also began to air more first-run syndicated shows and reduced its reliance on older sitcoms. In 1996, Sinclair Broadcast Group bought River City. KDNL dropped UPN programming in 1997, and KNLC and KPLR-TV began sharing UPN.

2000s

St. Louis didn't have a full-time UPN affiliate until WRBU in East St. Louis took on the affiliation in April 2003. In 2004 KDNL, preempted the movie "Saving Private Ryan"; all Sinclair-owned ABC affiliates preempted the movie.

Sinclair had refused to allow Charter Communications, the dominant cable provider in the St. Louis area, to carry KDNL's HDTV channel, being the longest hold out in the area (not counting KMOV's pulling of their signal in January 2007) until April 2007, when Sinclair and Charter came to a national retransmission agreement for three years until 2010. Subsequently, KDNL-DT began airing on Channel 780 on Charter systems on April 19, 2007 [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/7581C32D04894AF4862572BC000AABEC?OpenDocument] .

Today, it is rated 5th, coming behind KPLR-TV, the CW affiliate (and behind KTVI for 3rd place, KMOV for 2nd, and KSDK for 1st).

News operations

Local news on KDNL premiered on January 1, 1995. Initially, news was limited to a daily 9 p.m. newscast. When KDNL became an ABC affiliate, the 9 p.m. news moved to 10 p.m. and an additional evening newscast was added. Although ratings were initially good, KDNL was never competitive with KMOV, KSDK (both have had at least 20% shares over the years), or even KTVI. The evening newscast fluctuated between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. and was even cancelled outright for a time. Turnover in the newsroom was very high, and it showed in the ratings.

In the spring of 2001, a transmitter failure left KDNL off the air for a number of days (or at least was broadcasting at lower power than it did). What little audience there was for KDNL's news switched to other sources and never returned. KDNL finally dropped news altogther on October 12, 2001. To this day, KDNL-TV is one of the very few major network affiliates that does not have local news. KDNL is the second-largest (in terms of DMA) major network affiliate that has no newscast(s) (only to CBS O&O WWJ in Detroit). Most major network affiliates are contractually obligated to air local news, but KDNL's affiliation agreement does not have such a clause. KDNL now occasionally employs its former news staff to offer commentary on sporting events and the station has sufficient funds to cover sports.

KDNL has been one of ABC's weakest-performing affiliates in the decade since it joined the network. In contrast, KTVI was one of ABC's strongest-performing affiliates.

Personalities

Former on-air talent

*Andy Banker: Reporter (1995-2001; currently at KTVI)
*Paul Brown: Reporter
*Maurice Drummond: Sports Reporter (currently at KTVI)
*Rick Edlund: Anchor ( -2001; currently at KPLR)
*Patrick Emory: Anchor (1999-2000)
*Trish Gazall: Traffic Reporter
*Dilva Henry; Reporter
*Derrin Horton: Reporter
*Kelley Hoskins: Feature Reporter (currently at KPLR)
*Steve Jerve: Meteorologist (1995-1998; currently at WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida)
*Ric Kearbey: Meteorologist (1997-2001; now at WHOI-TV in Peoria, Illinois)
*Darren Kramer: Anchor (1995- )
*Gina Kurre: Anchor (1997-2001)
*Leslie Lyles: Anchor (1995-1998)
*Don Marsh: Anchor (1995-c.1998)
*Rick Powers: Sports Reporter (1997-2001)
*Grant Rampy: Reporter (currently Washington, DC correspondent for Tribune Broadcasting)
*Mitch Roberts: Sports Reporter (1995-1997)
*Phil Rozen: Anchor
*Keryn Shipman: Chief Meteorologist (1998-2001; currently serving as chief meteorologist for KPLR-TV)
*Kevin Slaten: Sports Reporter (currently at KFNS (AM))
*Joby Smith: Sports Reporter (1995-1996)
*Jean Jackson: Anchor
*Jim Wicks: Anchor (1995-1995)

Post-Super Bowl XL criticism

Following Super Bowl XL in 2006, KDNL [http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/entertainment-tube-talk/2006/02/kdnl-blows-it-for-greys-anatomy/ was criticized] for airing an hour-long local postgame show after network coverage instead of the much-hyped 'Code Black' episode of "Grey's Anatomy", despite St. Louis not having any stake or connections to Super Bowl XL. The postgame show, followed by "Grey's" at 10:15pm, was listed in local paper listings and in electronic program guides, however the station did not disclaim it within any promos that aired through the game and those who use the TV Guide as their main listings source didn't know about the local postgame show, causing the station and other local media (such as the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch") to be overwhelmed with complaints about KDNL's problems as the city's ABC affiliate.

This incident, along with off-synced TiVo and VCR recordings nationwide which didn't capture the entire episode, was instrumental in forcing ABC to reair the episode the following Thursday, after "Dancing with the Stars".

External links

* [http://www.kdnl30.com/ Official website]
*TVQ|KDNL
*BIA|KDNL|TV|TV