KTAL-TV

KTAL-TV, virtual channel 6, is the NBC television affiliate serving the Shreveport, Louisiana/Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas market. It is licensed to the Texas side of Texarkana and is the only station in its market licensed outside of Louisiana. Its main studio is located in Shreveport with a satellite studio in Texarkana. KTAL-TV broadcasts its digital signal on channel 15, which redirects to its former analog channel 6 via PSIP. KTAL is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting. Its transmitter is located in Vivian, Louisiana, north of Shreveport.

History
KTAL was launched on August 16, 1953, as KCMC-TV by Clyde E. Palmer (1876–1957), owner of the Texarkana Gazette and several other newspapers and radio stations across Arkansas and Texas. It took its call letters from KCMC radio (AM 740 and FM 98.1, now KTAL-FM). The station originally carried programming from CBS with some selections also from ABC and the defunct Dumont network. In May 1954, the station's power output was expanded from 25,000 to 100,000 watts.[1]

However, in 1960, CBS announced that it was dropping its affiliation with KCMC-TV because the signal of KSLA-TV in Shreveport decently covered Texarkana. This would have forced KCMC-TV to fall back on its secondary affiliation with the then-weak ABC or go independent—neither of which was a viable option for such a small market. By this time, the Palmer properties had been taken over by Palmer's son-in-law, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Hussman,_Sr. Walter E. Hussman, Sr.] He persuaded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collapse Texarkana and Shreveport into a single television market. Hussman then built a new tower in Vivian—the second-tallest in the South at the time. In late 1960, the call letters changed to the current "KTAL-TV" and it became the NBC affiliate for the enlarged Shreveport/Texarkana market. Shreveport's original NBC affiliate, KTBS-TV, switched to ABC. The call letters not only stand for Channel 6's three-state service area, but also refer to the tower, which brought its signal into parts of four states. For many years, the station was known as "K-Tal." In 1961, KTAL moved most of its operations to a new studio in Shreveport. KTAL is the only station in the market with a newsroom bureau and studios in Texarkana as well.

Palmer Newspapers was renamed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEHCO_Media,_Inc. WEHCO Media, Inc.] in 1973. The company is now run by Hussman's son, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Hussman,_Jr. Walter E. Hussman, Jr.].

In 1975, the FCC ruled that WEHCO couldn't own both KTAL-TV and the Texarkana Gazette, but it won an appellate court decision in 1979 that said the FCC had misinterpreted its own rules. In July 2000, WEHCO sold the station to Nexstar. The station rebranded from "NewsChannel 6" to "KTAL: The News Station" in 2006, dropping its channel number, as have several of Nexstar's stations. In 2009, the station once again rebranded from "KTAL: The News Station" to the current "NBC 6 News"; thus, reincorporating its original analog (now virtual) channel number into its branding after a three-year hiatus.

Digital television
KTAL's digital signal is NOT multiplexed.

Digital channel

Programming
Syndicated programming on KTAL includes Rachael Ray, The 700 Club, Judge Judy, and Wheel of Fortune.

News operation
KTAL went to partial widescreen news on October 27, 2010. Partial being the entire screen is filled.

Newscast titles

 * Newscope (1960s– 1976)
 * Area 6 News (1976–1980s)
 * NewsCenter 6 (1980s–2001)
 * NewsChannel 6 (2001–2006)
 * KTAL News (2006–2009)
 * NBC 6 News (2009–present)

Station slogans

 * The Ones to Watch (1984-1991)
 * The Ark-La-Tex's Trusted News Team (1988-1996)
 * NBC for the Ark-La-Tex (1996–2001)
 * The News Station (2001–2009)
 * Making A Difference (2008–2009)
 * Your Weather Authority (weather) (2009–present)
 * Local News That Matters (primary) (2012-present)

Newscast music

 * WTLV 1972 News Theme by unknkown composer (1972-1974)
 * NBC TV-Radio Newspulse by Fred Weinberg Productions, Inc. (1974-1978)
 * KTAL 1978 News Theme by unknown composer (1978-1983)
 * Red Rain by Peter Gabriel (1983-1986)
 * KTAL Custom News Theme by unknown composer (1988-1997)
 * The Mission from NBC Nightly News by John Williams (1986-1988)
 * NBC: The Place To Be by unknown composer (1991-1996)
 * Newsworthy by Digital Juice (1997-2001)
 * Image News by Frank Gari (2001-2006)
 * The NBC Collection by Frank Gari (2006-2010)
 * The Rock by Stephen Arnold Music (2010-2012)
 * Evolution by Stephen Arnold Music (2012-2018)
 * Inergy by Stephen Arnold Music (2018-present)

Current on-air staff (as of July 2010)
Anchors NBC 6 Weather Authority Sports team Reporters
 * Michelle White - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Nick LaFave- weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Marquel Sennet- weekends at 5, 6 and 10pm
 * Jenna Zibton - weekday mornings NBC 6 News Today; also reporter
 * Todd Warren (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Patrick Dennis - Meteorologist; weekday mornings "NBC 6 News Today"
 * Josh Marcisz- Meteorologist; Saturdays at 6, Sunday at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.
 * Brandon Dunn - Sports Director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Gavin Moberg - Sports Anchor; Saturdays at 6 and weekends at 10 p.m.
 * Kerry Charles - general assignment reporter
 * Brian Kushida - Texarkana Bureau reporter
 * ShaVon Herndon- general assignment reporter
 * Marquel Sennet- general assignment reporter

Former on-air staff

 * Jennifer Andrews (now at WJCL)
 * Michelle White-Latiffe
 * Brandon Dunn
 * Gavin Moberg
 * Patrick Dennis (now at KTBS-TV)
 * Nick LaFave
 * Marquel Sennett
 * Joe Arena (now at WIVB-TV)
 * Sherrie Banner
 * Erica Bennett
 * Mario Boone - Texarkana reporter (now at WVLT-TV)
 * Rick Boone - anchor (now at KTXL-TV)
 * Reeser Bowden - later wrestling announcer
 * Kirk Eggleston - general assignment reporter
 * Tim Fletcher - sports anchor (now at KTBS-TV)
 * Sammy Anthony Fulco (ca. 1927-2010) - announcer; later helped to establish KDOG-TV26 in Houston[2]
 * Dale Hoffman - anchor (now at KALB-TV)
 * Karen Hopkins - reporter (now at WVEC-TV)
 * Jessica James - anchor/reporter (now at KBTX-TV)
 * Lane Luckie - reporter
 * Chip McAfee - meteorologist
 * Amber Miller - general assignment reporter
 * Darrell Rebouche
 * Michele Sampson
 * Sherri Talley - anchor (now at KTBS-TV)
 * Ron Young - meteorologist (now at KSLA-TV)
 * Heidi York - anchor
 * Alexis Wiley - reporter/Troubleshooter (now at WSYX-TV)

Cable carriage
KTAL is seen on cable in Shreveport via Comcast. The station is also carried on 85+ other cable systems in the Ark-La-Tex region. In 2005, Texarkana's Cable One and Bossier City's Cox Communications pulled KTAL's signal over compensation disputes. In accordance with FCC regulation, KTAL and its owner Nexstar tried to make an agreement with both cable systems to continue carrying KTAL's programming. The disagreement began with KTAL/Nexstar requesting 10 cents per subscriber for KTAL to be carried on CableOne and Cox. The basic argument was that satellite providers pay for the right to rebroadcast local affiliates' signals, and that cable operators should, as well. Due to the dispute, Cox and CableOne eventually dropped KTAL-TV from their systems. However, viewers in areas served by CableOne and Cox could still watch the station over-the-air or by Satellite from Dish Network and on DirecTV.

KTAL has since returned to CableOne and Cox, after reaching confidential agreements with both companies. Cox in Bossier City has since been replaced by Suddenlink Communications.