KVII-TV

KVII-TV, better known as ABC7, is an ABC affiliated television station in Amarillo, Texas that also operates satellite KVIH-TV digital channel 12 in Clovis, New Mexico. It was owned by Stanley Marsh 3 from 1967 until he sold it to Atlanta-based, New Vision Group in 2002. In 2005, New Vision Group's parent company sold the station to Barrington Broadcasting for $22.5 million.

KVII-TV uses the "Circle 7 logo" shared with ABC's owned-and-operated stations (O&O) and many ABC affiliates with Channel 7 frequencies. The Circle 7 logo has been in use continuously at KVII-TV since 1968, when it was adopted by then-owner Marsh Media shortly after purchasing the station.

KVII and satellite station KVIH serve viewers across a four-state region including the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, eastern New Mexico and southwestern Kansas. The station is broadcast over-the-air and via cable carriage and several UHF translators. In addition to Amarillo and Clovis, cities served include Canyon, Dumas, Pampa, Borger, Hereford, Muleshoe, Dalhart, Clarendon and Childress, Texas; Clayton, Tucumcari, Logan, San Jon and Portales, NM; Guymon, Boise City and Beaver, Okla.; and Elkhart and Liberal, Kan. Syndicatedprogramming on KVII/KVIH includes: ''Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, The World's Funniest Moments, The Doctors, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live! with Kelly and Ryan,, and Person of Interest ''among others.

History
KVII signed on for the first time on December 21, 1957. This made Amarillo one of the smallest markets to have full service from all three networks.

KVII formerly operated another satellite, KVIJ-TV channel 8 in Sayre, Oklahoma, from 1976 to 1992. KVIJ ceased operations because most viewers in its area of western Oklahoma received their network programming via cable. This gave them access to stations from theOklahoma City or Wichita Falls-Lawton DMAs including ABC affiliates KOCO and KSWO-TV, respectively, and very few actually tuned in to KVIJ directly. The former studio and transmitter site of KVIJ now sit vacant northwest of Sayre at the intersection of state highways 6and 152, at 35°25′23.9″N 99°50′35.2″W. Channel 8 began operations in 1961 as CBS affiliate KSWB-TV (licensed to Elk City, Oklahoma; its call sign related to original owner South West Broadcasting), and changed its call letters to KFDO-TV in 1966 when it became a satellite of Amarillo's CBS affiliate, KFDA-TV (at that time, channel 8 moved to Sayre). In 1976, it was sold to Marsh.

Also in 1976, KFDA's then-satellite station in Clovis, KFDW channel 12, was sold to Mel Wheeler (manager and a part owner of KFDA's then-ownership). The station remained a satellite of KFDA until 1979, when the station was sold to McAlister TV in Lubbock, Texas, and began operating as an adjunct to ABC affiliate KAMC (channel 28) in Lubbock under the call sign of KMCC. After the death of Bill McAlister, KMCC was sold to Marsh in 1986 and became a KVII satellite, changing the call letters to KVIH in the process. [1]

From 1999 to 2006, KVII helped provide an Amarillo affiliate station of The WB Television Network. KVII promoted and sold advertising for the network, while Amarillo's cable television operator broadcast the station on a cable channel. On September 18, 2006, KVII's DT2 subchannel became the area's new affiliates of The CW Television Network.

By mid-October, the digital signal was fully operating, coinciding with the introduction of a viewer-interactive newscast, in which viewers can send e-mails with questions and concerns in regards to the stories and features in the newscasts.

The Pro News title has been used at KVII-TV continuously since Marsh Media purchased the station from John Walton in late 1967. For many years, the 10 p.m. edition of Pro News was a 45-minute broadcast, but has been truncated back to 35 minutes in recent years. Also, Pro News 7 broadcast a unique 12 noon newscast on Sundays during the 1970s and 1980s, along with the noon broadcast Monday through Friday.

In February 2011 KVII-TV launched the CW Amarillo News @ 9 on its subchannel digital 7.2. On April 6, 2015, KVII unveiled its new studio and discontinued its ProNews 7 title in favor of simply ABC7 News.

Current on-air staff
Anchors TBD - News Director


 * Madison Smith - weekday mornings on Daybreak & midday
 * David Bradley - weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
 * Judy Alley - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m
 * Matt Kinchla - weekend evenings (also weeknight reporter) see below

Reporters
 * Drew Powell - mulit-media journalist
 * David Furtado - multi-media journalist
 * Dalton Williams - multi-media journalist
 * Maria Serrano - multi-media journalist
 * Lamyiah Harvel - multi-media journalist

StormSearch 7 Meteorologists
 * TBA - chief meteorologist, weeknights at 6 & 10
 * TBA - weekday mornings on Daybreak and weekdays at midday
 * Corbin Voges - meteorologist; weekdays at 5 & weekends; also fill-in multi-media journalist

Sports team
 * Lee Baker - Sports Director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
 * D.J. Ezell - sports anchor; weekends

Former On-Air Personalities

 * Steve Pritchett - reporter/anchor/news-director (1980s-1990s)
 * James Paramore - reporter (1970s-1980s)
 * Chris Bell - reporter/anchor (1980s; then later at KCIT in the early 1990s)
 * Melissa Clearman - reporter/anchor (1980s)
 * Brett Shipp - reporter/anchor (1980s)
 * Kevin Lovell - reporter (1980s)
 * Pat Casey - reporter/anchor (1980s)
 * Pam Weeger - reporter/anchor (1980s)
 * Phil Roth - reporter (1980s)
 * David Chambliss - weather (1980s)
 * Mary Grady - reporter/anchor (1980's)
 * Katie Barbee - reporter/anchor (1980s)
 * Kevin Kennedy - reporter/anchor (1970s)
 * Mark Kline - reporter/anchor (1980s)
 * Dr. Paul Matney - weekend weather (1970s-1980s; then at KAMR-TV)
 * Robert Hinkle - reporter/anchor/assignments editor (1980s)


 * Brett Lee - reporter/anchor (1980s)


 * Kathy Cavanaugh - co-anchor (1980s)


 * Kim Lamb - reporter/weekend anchor (1980s)


 * Linda Steury - reporter (1980s)


 * John McKissick - co-anchor/news director (1970s-1990s)
 * Ian Patterson - Assistant Sports Director - (8/1980-2/1988)


 * Donna Cordova - anchor/reporter now weeknight anchor at KTXL Sacramento, CA
 * Bob Izzard - news director/anchor (1967-73)
 * Fred Norman - chief meteorologist (1968-70)
 * Jim Pratt - news anchor (1960s-1970s)
 * Tom Martin - news reporter (late 1960s-early 1970s)
 * Len Slesick - chief meteorologist (1970-95)
 * Bridgette Jacobs - anchor/reporter (1990s)
 * David Bernard - meteorologist (1993-97; now chief meteorologist at WVUE-DT in New Orleans, LA)
 * Jack Tompkins - farm director (1960s-1970s)
 * Redford Forrest - farm director (1970s)
 * Abby Aldrich - multi-media journalist
 * Woody Van Dyke - sports director (late 1960s-early 1970s)
 * Carrie Criado - anchor/reporter (1988-90)
 * Adria Iraheta - multi-media journalist (2014-2016; now at sister stations KFOX-TV/KDBC-TV in El Paso)
 * Jillian Idle - multi-media journalist (then reporter at WFTX in Fort Myers/Naples, FL)
 * Steven Graves - multi-media journalist (now reporter/MSJ at WVEC in the Hampton Roads, VA)
 * Jeannie Nguyen - multi-media journalist (now reporter at KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, NM)
 * David Grasso-Ortega - multi-media journalist
 * Kayla Conboy - multi-media journalist
 * Tatiana Toomer - multi-media journalist
 * Kendra Hall - multi-media journalist
 * Jessica Abuchaibe - anchor (now living in Hollywood, CA)
 * Jala Washington - multi-media journalist (now multi-media journalist at KFOX-TV in El Paso)
 * Marissa Lucero - multi-media journalist
 * Cara Correnti - anchor/reporter (now Cara Moore at WESH in Orlando, FL)
 * Steve Myers - anchor
 * Elizabeth Duncan - anchor
 * David Green - anchor
 * Ryan Hazelwood - news director (now at KOAA-TV in Colorado Springs, CO)
 * Nicole Hartford - daybreak meteorologist (now morning meteorologist at sister station KEYE-TV in Austin)
 * Larry Lemmons - anchor (now living in Lubbock, TX)
 * Julie Moore - anchor/reporter (1982-1986)
 * Carl Willis - anchor
 * Jay Ricci - long time anchor (now at Amarillo Globe-News)
 * Cheri Daniels - reporter
 * Terry Amburn - long time sports anchor (now deceased)
 * Debbie Davis - anchor
 * A.J. Swope - anchor (died in 2013 due to a car accident)
 * Leeann Kossey - daybreak anchor
 * Atina McCrary - anchor/reporter
 * Brian James - meteorologist (now weekend meteorologist at KXAS-TV in Fort Worth/Dallas)
 * Mitch Roberts - anchor (now sports director at KHBS/KHOG-TV in Fort Smith/Fayetteville, AR)
 * Wendi Finney - anchor
 * Laura Rice - reporter
 * Shannel Douglas - reporter (then at WBOC-TV in Salisbury, MD)
 * Shelly Sites - meteorologist/fill-in anchor
 * Angie Battin - daybreak anchor (now Angie Winn; then Early Show anchor at KFDA-TV, now anchor at KCBD in Lubbock, TX)
 * Meredith Keller - daybreak anchor (now reporter at sister station KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City)
 * Laura Reece - reporter
 * Holly Sulak - reporter
 * Ev Avara - reporter/midday anchor
 * Andrea Miller - midday anchor
 * Dave Harmon - midday meteorologist
 * Lindsey Stiner - anchor/reporter
 * Brad Sussman - meteorologist/reporter (now retired)
 * Kase Wilbanks - multi-media journalist (now weekend anchor/reporter at KCBD in nearby Lubbock, TX)
 * Jonathan Polasek - weekend sports anchor
 * Delaney Wearden - meteorologist (now meteorologist at WSLS-TV in Roanoke, VA)
 * Lia Kamana - multi-media journalist (now multi-media journalist at WEYI-TV/WSMH in Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, MI)
 * Morgan Burrell - mutli-media journalist (now multi-media journalist at WOAI-TV/KABB in San Antonio, TX)
 * Amanda Atwell - weekend sports anchor
 * Tiffany Lester - multi-media journalist/weekend anchor (now multi-media journalist at WHNT-TV in Huntsville/Decatur, AL)
 * Anthony Pittman - Daybreak anchor (fired in January 2020)
 * Ryan Coulter - weekend meteorologist (now meteorologist at WLOS in Asheville, NC)
 * Steve Kersh - chief meteorologist (1997-2020)
 * Alyssa Pawlak - meteorologist (2013-2020)
 * Lisa Schmidt - anchor
 * Niccole Caan - anchor (2017-2020, now investigative reporter at KENS-TV in San Antonio, TX)

Newscast titles

 * Pro News (1968–1996?)
 * Pro News 7 (1996?–2015)
 * ABC7 News (2015–present)

Station slogans

 * Let's Get Together on Channel 7 (1970-1971; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * Hello Texas Panhandle/ High Plains, Hello Channel 7 (1974-1975; localized version of ABC campaign)
 * Welcome To The Bright New World on Channel 7 (1975-1976; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * Let Us Be The One on Channel 7 (1976-1977; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * We`re The One You Can Turn To, Channel 7 (1978-1979; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * Still The One on Channel 7 (1979-1980; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * You and Me and Channel 7 (1980-1981; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * Now is the Time, Channel 7 is the Place (1981-1982; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * That Special Feeling on Channel 7 (1983-1984; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * We're With You on Channel 7 (1984-1985; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * You'll Love It on Channel 7 (1985-1986; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * Together on Channel 7 (1986-1987; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * The Panhandle Spirit (1987-present; uses variant Catch The Panhandle Spirit since 2009)


 * Something's Happening on Channel 7 (1987-1990; localized version of ABC campaign)


 * America's Watching Channel 7 (1990-1991; local version of ABC campaign)


 * If It's Channel 7, It Must Be ABC (1992-1993; localized version of ABC ad campaign)


 * Coverage You Can Count On (1996-2001)


 * Nobody Does It Like ProNews 7 (1996-1997, localized version of ABC ad campaign)


 * TV is Good, on ProNews 7 (1997-1998, localized version of ABC ad campaign)


 * We Love TV, on ProNews 7 (1998-1999, localized version of ABC ad campaign)