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| Seattle-Tacoma, Washington | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Tacoma, Washington |
| Branding | Q13 Fox (general) Q13 Fox News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | So Q13 Fox (general) Right There with You (newscasts) Home of the Hawks (Seahawks game coverage) |
| Channels | Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 13 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Translators | (see article) |
| Affiliations | Fox |
| Owner | Tribune Company (Tribune Broadcasting Seattle, LLC) |
| First air date | August 2, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | Clover Park Quality |
| Sister station(s) | KZJO |
| Former callsigns | KMO-TV (1953-1954) KTVW (1954-1975) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 13 (VHF, 1953-2009) Digital: 18 (UHF, 1998-2009) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1953-1954) Independent (1954-1974 and 1980-1986) dark (1974-1975) PBS (1975-1980) |
| Transmitter power | 30 kW |
| Height | 610 m |
| Facility ID | 33894 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°32′53″N 122°48′22″W / 47.54806°N 122.80611°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: | Profile CDBS |
| Website | q13fox.com |
KCPQ, channel 13, is a television station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, United States that serves as the Fox affiliate for the Seattle-Tacoma television market. The station is owned by the Tribune Company, and is the sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KZJO (channel 22). The two stations share studio and office facilities on the west shore of Lake Union in Seattle's Westlake neighborhood, and KCPQ's transmitter is located on Gold Mountain in Bremerton, Washington.
KCPQ is one of five local Seattle television stations seen in Canada on satellite providers Bell TV and Shaw Direct. The station is also carried on several cable systems in southeastern Alaska.
Contents |
History [edit]
As KMO-TV/KTVW [edit]
Channel 13 signed on air on August 2, 1953 as KMO-TV, co-owned with KMO radio (AM 1360, now KKMO) by Carl Haymond. It carried some NBC programming for its first year until Seattle's KOMO-TV took to the air on December 11. Hampered by a poor signal from north of Tacoma and no network material, Haymond was forced to declare bankruptcy and sell the station to J. Elroy McCaw, father of cellular phone magnate Craig McCaw.
Under the ownership of McCaw's Gotham Broadcasting the station, renamed KTVW, closed its studio in Tacoma's Roxy Theater, relocated to its transmitter building, and limped along on a diet of a low-budget local programming, old network reruns and ancient B-movies. Its branding of the period featured a stylized black cat and the ironic tag line "Lucky 13." During much of the 1960s, an afternoon children's show, "Penny and Her Pals," was hosted by ventriloquist LaMoyne "Penny" Hreha.
In 1970, KTVW ran a weekday stock-market news program produced by Rockwell Hammond and hosted by Merrill Mael. Dick Stokke and, later, Joe McCusker read the news. Hammond leased six and a half hours a day from KTVW and originated the program, called "Business Action Line", live from the Northern Life Tower in Seattle from where it was microwaved to the station in Tacoma. Despite the poor over-the-air reception of KTVW in Seattle, the program had a following in the business community, if only for the 15-minute delayed stock ticker and the real time display of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However, expenses quickly overcame the income from what proved to be a limited commercial base, and the venture failed.
Mael, a respected broadcaster for six decades, died in 2000. McCusker moved on to a career with the United Nations television operation, retiring in 2007.
In the mid to late 1960s, Stu Martin (also known as "Stu Baby" and "Stu Boo") was host of a locally produced in-studio KTVW program showing B movies called "Stu Martin's Double Date at the Movies." "Satin Doll" was theme song of the program. In addition to its host, it featured two women with beehive hairdos, "Miss Early Date" and "Miss Late Date." During breaks in the movie, in addition to commercials, the program featured a talent show. Viewers called Miss Early Date or Miss Late Date with their vote on the evening's top talent featuring local entertainers or those who thought they were entertaining.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the station featured an on-air movie host named Bob Corcoran, who hawked endless items from Tacoma's B & I Circus Store and Niagara recliners. Most likely, he was successor to Stu Martin in airing B movies. Corcoran later forged a fledgling political career from his television late-night talk show. One of his early forays into politics was to enthusiastically support the candidacy of Seattle Chrysler/Plymouth dealer Ralph Williams for Washington Attorney General. Not long after waging a losing campaign, Williams was indicted for tax evasion. Station owner McCaw died in 1969 and the station was purchased by Blaidon Mutual Investors Corporation in 1971 for $1.1 million.
Blaidon tried to turn KTVW around by acquiring first-run syndicated programming and color-capable broadcast equipment (the station telecast exclusively in black-and-white until 1972). Channel 13's poor over-the-air signal, along with the weak Puget Sound economy and Blaidon's undercapitalized operation, rendered the station a money-losing proposition. In an attempt to improve ratings, the station launched an afternoon cartoon show hosted by a "superhero" for whom viewers were asked to suggest a name. The winning entry was "Flash Blaidon" and the host frequently made his entrance "flying" onto the set by jumping off a ladder whose shadow was often visible on the back wall of the cramped studio. Interestingly, Blaidon president Donald Wolfstone attempted to sell the station to then-unknown televangelist broadcaster Pat Robertson, but a court-appointed trustee canceled the deal. Another sale to a Long Island television broadcast company also fell through. For a brief time under the court-appointed trusteeship, Len Sampson, a former KOMO-TV talk host and personality, served as station manager and revised the schedule with a variety of syndicated programs and old network reruns as well as hosting some broadcasts himself. A bankruptcy judge then forced KTVW to cease operations on December 12, 1974.
As KCPQ [edit]
The station's remaining assets were bought in bankruptcy court bidding by the Clover Park School District in Lakewood, for $378,000. Clover Park outbid Trinity Broadcasting Network and a local group to win the station. The call letters were changed to KCPQ, replacing Clover Park's UHF channel 56 transmitter which had operated under the name KPEC-TV, and the station went back on the air, carrying secondary PBS and educational programs. The Channel 56 license would return to the air in 2000 as KWDK.
By 1980, the Seattle-Tacoma market was strong enough that it could now sustain another VHF commercial television station. Sacramento, California-based Kelly Broadcasting, owners of KCRA-TV in its home city, purchased KCPQ from the Clover Park School District for $6.25 million, outbidding a Tucson, Ariz., company that had initially stepped up to buy the station. The station went silent temporarily on February 28, 1980, during the ownership change. KCPQ's transmitter was relocated to Gold Mountain, a peak west of Bremerton. While this greatly increased the station's footprint across western Washington, it resulted in a somewhat weaker signal in the northern and eastern portions of the market.
When the station relaunched on November 4, 1980, KCPQ adopted its now-familiar Q13 branding (although for the first several months on the air, it was referred to as "The NEW 13"), as well as another slogan: "The Northwest's Movie Channel". Channel 13 ran movies during middays, late nights and weekends, and chose to counter-program the networks during primetime with uncut versions of films. The station also ran CBS and NBC shows that KIRO-TV and KING-TV respectively pre-empted, including CBS Late Night and NBC's Saturday morning cartoons. For a short time after the relaunch, the station had an afternoon children's program, "Captain Sea-Tac", featuring a friendly boat captain who appeared to be in his 30s or so. But eventually, other than Saturdays, KCPQ did not run children's programming during the week. The station also didn't carry many off-network sitcoms, choosing instead to air first-run syndicated talk and game shows, off-network dramas, and some early morning religious programs. KCPQ also carried college sports for the majority of the 1980s and early 1990s, in particular Pacific-10 Conference football and basketball, and college football bowl games. The station held contracts with the University of Washington and Washington State University to televise football and basketball coaches shows during this period.
In 1986, KCPQ became one of the first affiliates of the Fox Broadcasting Company. In 1987, with the children's television business growing, KCPQ began running cartoons weekday mornings from 7 to 9 a.m., and afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m. Channel 13 added sitcoms as well, and continued airing first-run syndicated shows and movies. As the Fox network's viewership and ratings strengthened in the 1990s, KCPQ gained prominence as a major broadcaster in the local Seattle market.
Under Kelly Broadcasting's ownership, KCPQ relocated its studio to Seattle in 1997 (moving to the shores of Lake Union in what was then the second fully digital television studio facility on the west coast).
KCPQ came in danger of losing its Fox affiliation in February 1997, when Fox Television Stations was reported to be in negotiations to acquire then-UPN affiliate KIRO-TV from Belo Corporation (the current owners of NBC affiliate KING-TV, whose acquisition necessitated KIRO's sale) to make KIRO the market's Fox station.[1] Fox was reportedly dissatisfied with KCPQ, as it was described by one observer as being "recalcitrant."[2] At the time, KCPQ was one of the few large-market Fox stations without a news department. However, KIRO was ultimately sold to Cox Broadcasting,[3] and KCPQ retains its Fox affiliation to this day.
The Tribune Company acquired KCPQ in August 1998, as part of Kelly Broadcasting's exit from the television business. The deal was structured as a three-way transaction, in which Kelly sold the station to the Meredith Corporation, which then swapped it to Tribune for its WGNX in Atlanta.[4] Following the purchase of channel 13, Tribune merged KCPQ's operations with those of KTWB-TV (channel 22, now KZJO), which Tribune had acquired earlier in 1998. The two stations became co-owned in 1999, after the FCC approved same-market duopolies.
In January 2007 KCPQ made headlines when, during a satellite interview with the station's morning show, Paula Abdul, who was promoting American Idol, began to sway in her chair and slur her speech. Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interview, which she was also doing with other Fox affiliates.[5] It was revealed on the Bravo show Hey Paula, which had followed Abdul with a video camera prior to the interviews, that Abdul had not been sleeping, perhaps suffering from some mild form of insomnia.
Since the Seattle Seahawks moved to the NFC from the AFC in 2002, KCPQ has aired the majority of Seahawks regular season games (through the NFL on Fox). During the summer of 2012, KCPQ became the official Seahawks station, and now also airs Seahawks pre-season in August (with replays of games on KZJO the following day). Sister station KMYQ (later KZJO) aired Monday Night Football from 2006 (the MNF broadcast switch from ABC to ESPN) to 2012 when the official Seahawks station switched to KCPQ from KING-TV, resulting in the MNF broadcast switching to KING-TV's sister station KONG (TV), plus the NFL Network Thursday Night Football broadcast.
Digital television [edit]
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KCPQ | Main KCPQ programming / Fox |
| 13.2 | 480i | 4:3 | KCPQ-SD | (silent) |
KCPQ's signal is also retransmitted on KZJO-DT2 to serve antenna viewers better in the northern and eastern portion of the market. Its resolution is reduced to 480i widescreen.
KCPQ became digital only and shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 as mandated by the FCC,[6] moving its digital broadcasts to its former analog channel number, 13.[7][8]
The stations digital signal is multiplexed. KCPQ previously carried AccuWeather on 13.2, branded as Q13 FOX First Forecast. As of June 2012, KCPQ is not broadcasting content on 13.2.
News operation [edit]
KCPQ once ran several news updates between movies during the early 1980s, and briefly ran a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast in the middle of the decade. This operation couldn't compete with the more established 10 p.m. news on then-independent KSTW, and was eventually canceled. In June 1997, KCPQ announced a news share agreement that would have had CBS affiliate KIRO-TV produce a 10 p.m. newscast for the station; this came at the same time that KIRO was preparing to switch affiliations with KSTW, with KIRO becoming a CBS affiliate once again and KSTW becoming a UPN affiliate. This newscast, however, did not come to fruition.[9][10] The current news operation began on January 18, 1998, when it launched a new 35-minute 10 p.m. newscast, which initially ran only on Sunday through Thursday nights.[11]
Channel 13 also launched a morning newscast on January 17, 2000; the newscast originally ran for three hours before expanding to its current 5½ hour length.[12] On March 31, 2008, the station launched a 9 p.m. newscast on KMYQ, now KZJO.[13] In April 2009, KCPQ became the second station in Seattle to broadcast news in widescreen standard definition. As of 2010, KCPQ is the fourth Seattle station to broadcast news in high definition. In June 2011, KCPQ added a 5 p.m. newscast, making it the last Tribune-owned Fox station to debut an early evening newscast. It also airs a local version of America's Most Wanted called Washington's Most Wanted, hosted by weeknight anchor David Rose. On March 26, 2012, KCPQ debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast that competes with ABC affiliate KOMO-TV's own hour-long newscast in that timeslot.
News/station presentation [edit]
Newscast titles [edit]
- Q13 Reports (1998–2000)
- Q13 News (2000–2003)
- Mornings on Q (morning newscast; 2000–2006)
- Q13 Fox News (2003–present)[14]
Station slogans [edit]
- "The Northwest('s Own) Movie Channel" (1980–1987)
- "Puget Sound Television" (1980–1987)
- "The Northwest's Own Fox Station" (1988-1994)
- "At Ten It’s News, At Eleven It’s History" (1999-2000)
- "Right on Q" (2006–2009)
- "Now. Next." (2009–2011)
- "Watch and See the Difference" (2011–2013)
- "Right There with You" (2013–present)
News team [edit]
Current on-air staff[15] [edit]
- Anchors
- Kaci Aitchison - weekday mornings (6:00-10:00 a.m.); also reporter
- Brien Blakely - weekday mornings (4:30-6:00 a.m.)
- Hana Kim - Fridays at 4:00 and 5:00 and Fridays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
- John Hopperstad - Saturdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
- Marni Hughes - Mondays-Thursdays at 4:00 and 5:00 and Sundays-Thursdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.
- Matt Lorch - Weekdays at 4:00 and 5:00 and Fridays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.
- Kelly O'Connell - weekday mornings (4:30-6:00 a.m.)
- David Rose - Sundays-Thursdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.
- Bill Wixey - weekday mornings (6:00-10:00 a.m.)
- Q13 FOX First Forecast Team
- Walter Kelley (AMS Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; Mondays-Thursdays at 4:00 and 5:00 and Sundays-Thursdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.
- Tim Joyce - meteorologist; weekday mornings (4:00-6:00 a.m.)
- Parella Lewis - weather anchor; Fridays at 4:00 and 5:00 and Fridays and Saturdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.
- M.J. McDermott - meteorologist; weekday mornings (6:00-10:00 a.m.)
- Sports team
- Aaron Levine - sports anchor; Mondays-Thursdays at 5:00 and Sundays-Thursdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.; also sports reporter
- Michelle Ludtka - sports anchor; Fridays at 5:00 and Fridays and Saturdays at 9:00 (KZJO) and 10:00 p.m.; also sports reporter
- Erin Mayovsky - freelance sports reporter; also fill-in weather anchor
- Reporters
- Kate Burgess - general assignment reporter
- C.R. Douglas - political reporter
- Adam Gehrke - weekday morning traffic reporter (4:00-10:00 a.m.)
- Parella Lewis - "Washington's Most Wanted" reporter; also fill-in anchor
- James Lynch - general assignment reporter
- Dana Rebik - general assignment reporter
- Jeff Van Sant - general assignment reporter
- Tom Yaswinski - general assignment reporter
- Steve Kiggins - general assignment reporter
Former on-air staff [edit]
- Christine Chen - launch anchor for Mornings Live on Q (rebranded Q13 Fox News This Morning), and later Q13 Fox News @ 10
- Ron Corning - anchor (later worked at ABC News, syndicated news program The Daily Buzz, and WNYW in New York City, now at WFAA-TV in Dallas)
- Stanley Kramer - movie host (1980s)
- Don Poier - sports play-by-play (1980s; later voice of Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies of NBA; deceased)
- Maria Arcega-Dunn - anchor (2008 - 2012)
Repeaters [edit]
All repeaters are owned by KCPQ and are within the Seattle-Tacoma market, unless specified. City Grade Service for Seatttle & Tacoma for viewers blocked by the main channel 13 signal from Gold Mountain in Bremerton.
| Callsign | Channel | City of license |
|---|---|---|
| KCPQ (digital) | 22 (UHF) | Seattle |
| K07ZC-D | 7 (VHF) | Ellensburg[16] (part of the Yakima / Tri-Cities Market) |
| K14BF-D | 14 (UHF) | Wenatchee (owned by a third-party) |
| K25CG | 25 (UHF) | Aberdeen |
| K28KJ-D | 28 (UHF) | Chelan[17] |
| K42CM | 42 (UHF) | Centralia/Chehalis |
References [edit]
- ^ Taylor, Chuck (February 5, 1997). "Three-Network Switch Possible For Seattle TV". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ Taylor, Chuck (February 3, 1997). "Fox trading for KIRO-TV; network will swap Phoenix, Austin stations for Seattle". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 30, 2013. (preview of subscription content)
- ^ Taylor, Chuck (February 21, 1997). "Deals Shuffle 3 TV Stations -- KIRO, KSTW To Get New Owners, Networks; KING Still NBC". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ "3-Way Accord For TV Stations". The New York Times. August 25, 1998. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ "Singer Paula Abdul cancels interviews after video". Reuters. January 12, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
- ^ Peninsuladailynews.com-
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds". FCC CDBS Database. May 24, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
- ^ "DTV Transition Status Report". FCC CDBS Database. February 19, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
- ^ KCPQ May Air KIRO News Seattle Times, June 14, 1997.
- ^ Issues Snag KIRO, KCPQ News Pact, Seattle Times, June 25, 1997.
- ^ KCPQ-TV Adds A 10 P.M. News Show, Seattle Times, January 9, 1998.
- ^ Hip and lively, KCPQ's new morning show is local and Perky, Seattle Times, January 18, 2000.
- ^ Malone, Michael (March 19, 2008). "KMYQ Seattle Adds 9 p.m. News". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
- ^ KCPQ 10PM News Open 2010
- ^ News Team, Q13Fox.com.
- ^ http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=K07ZC-D#station
- ^ http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=K28KJ-D#station
External links [edit]
- Official website for KCPQ "Q13 Fox"
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KCPQ
- Query TV Fool's coverage map for KCPQ
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCPQ-TV
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