KALB-TV

KALB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Louisiana that is licensed to Alexandria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter southeast of Forest Hill. It can also be seen on Suddenlink channel 5 and in high definition on digital channel 730. Owned by Gray Television, KALB has studios on Washington Street in Downtown Alexandria. Syndicated programming on the station includes: Wheel of Fortune, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy! Jeopardy!], and Ellen''. It operates the area's CBS affiliate on a second digital subchannel that uses the NALB-TV call sign in a fictional manner. Known on-air as CBS 2 Alexandria, this is also offered on Suddenlink channel 2 (hence the branding) and in high definition on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on KALB-DT2 includes: My Name Is Earl, Extra, Access Hollywood, and Judge Alex. There is no separate website for the CBS station. KALB is among a handful of stations in the country which broadcasts its main channel and at least one of its subchannels in high definition. In this case, both its main channel and its second subchannel are transmitted in 1080i.''

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History
KALB began its broadcasting on September 29, 1954 with NBC's airing of the 1954 World Series. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 5. The station has been an affiliate with the network from the very first day although it also carried programs from CBS and ABC until 1957 plus DuMont until that network folded in 1955. In 1957, the station was bought by Red River Valley Broadcasting that was owned by Shreveport businessman T.B. Lanford. Park Communications purchased KALB in 1993 and merged with Media General in 1997. It began broadcasting in stereo in 1988. The station launched its digital signal in 2002.

On October 29, 2007, Media General announced that it was exploring the sale of KALB. On March 14, 2008, the company reached an agreement to sell the station and sister WMBB in Panama City, Florida to Hoak Media Corporation. The deal was closed on July 16. On February 17, 2009, KALB turned off its analog feed on channel 5 and now only operates in digital on channel 35. However, through PSIP, digital tuners show the virtual channel as their former analog channel. After the conversion to digital, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) coverage maps now show that many parishes can no longer receive the signal. Many customers cannot get the station in the daytime and have dropouts. Originally, it broadcast a digital signal from a transmitter at its facilities in Downtown Alexandria.

KALB is one of the country's most dominant stations in part because it was the only commercial station in town until KLAX-TV signed-on in 1983. Alexandria is sandwiched between Monroe/El Dorado to the north, Baton Rouge to the east, Shreveport to the west, and Lafayette/Lake Charles to the south. This created a large "doughnut" in Central Louisiana where there could be only one VHF license. When cable arrived in the market in the 1970s, companies supplemented the area with stations from those cities. Before CBS began broadcasting on KALB-DT2, viewers watched CBS on cable from KLFY-TV in Lafayette, KNOE-TV in Monroe, or WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge.

Digital televison
KALB's digital signal is multiplexed.

Digital channels

News operation
KALB operates a relatively large news department for a station in its area. This results in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for such a small market. It has always been a ratings juggernaut in Central Louisiana largely because it had the market to itself until KLAX arrived in 1983. It has led that station by a wide margin. KALB-DT2 airs a live newscast called CBS 2 News at 5:30 on weeknights. As a result, the CBS Evening News is aired at 6 unlike most CBS affiliates in the Central Time Zone. It does not simulcast any broadcasts from the main channel. KALB operates its own weather radar, known as "Sky Warn 5 Live Doppler", on the south side of Alexandria International Airport. There is a live video feed of this on its website.

Newscast titles

 * Your Esso Reporter (1954–1961)
 * The Central Louisiana Report (1961–1966)
 * The Sixth Hour Report / The Eleventh Hour Report (1966–1971)
 * TV-5 News (1971–1978)
 * Region 5 News (1978–1980s)
 * NewsCentral 5 (1980s–1997)
 * NewsChannel 5 (1997–present)

Station slogans

 * "TV-5, We're Central Louisiana's Station" (early 1970s)
 * "Turn to TV-5" (mid 1970s)
 * "Central Louisiana's #1 News Team" (late 1970s-early 1990s)
 * "TV-5, Proud As A Peacock!" (1979-1981; local version of NBC campaign)
 * "Channel 5, Let's All Be There!" (1984-1986, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
 * "Come Home to Channel 5" (1986-1987, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
 * "KALB, The Place to Be!" (1990-1992, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
 * "The Leader" (early 1990s)
 * "On Your Side" (mid 1990s-2011)
 * "Your Local Station (2011-present)

News team
Anchors StormTeam 5 Meteorologists Sports Reporters
 * Mark Hamblen - weekday mornings and noon
 * Dale Hoffman - weeknights and reporter
 * Joy Howe - weeknights and reporter
 * Sherman Desselle - weekends and reporter
 * Tom Konvicka - Chief seen weeknights
 * Kari Hall - weekday mornings and noon
 * Sara Black - weekends
 * Sharief Ishaq - Director seen weeknights at 6 and 10
 * Elizabeth Hill - weekends and sports reporter
 * Art Ginsburg - "Mr. Food" segment producer
 * Bryant Ferguson - photojournalist
 * Chris Blalock - photographer
 * Joel Massey