KBTX-TV

BTX-TV 3 is the CBS television network affiliate located in Bryan/College Station, Texas, and has the only television news organization based in the Brazos Valley. It airs on digital UHF Channel 50 and is owned by Gray Television. It is a sister station to KWTX-TV in Waco. Its transmitter is located in Carlos, Texas.

In its own market, KBTX broadcasts on cable systems -- including on Suddenlink channel 5 -- and on DirecTV and Dish Network.

KBTX also offers The CW programming on its digital feed. Prior to the September 2006 merger of The WB and UPN, KBTX offered UPNprogramming on digital. The CW Texas is a joint effort between KBTX and KWTX.

KBTX-TV falls under the "KBTX Media" banner, which also includes CW Texas, KBTX.com and MobileKBTX.com.

History
KBTX was the first television station in the Brazos Valley. It has broadcasted from the same building on East 29th Street in Bryan since it went on the air on May 22, 1957, though that building has been added on to multiple times. Originally airing both CBS and ABC programming, KBTX became an exclusive CBS affiliate in 1984.

On October 14, 1983, KBTX flipped the switch on a new transmitter in the Grimes County community of Carlos. The 1,700-foot tower nearly doubled the number of homes the station reached.

Perhaps the most noteworthy coverage from KBTX was on November 18, 1999. Early that morning, the Aggie Bonfire stack collapsed, killing 12 and injuring 27. The station provided non-stop coverage of the event, and served as a major source of information locally and nationally in the hours that followed.

KBTX began celebrating its 50th anniversary in May 2007. Many former on-air staff returned for the celebration, including some who guest-anchored newscasts.[1]

In accordance with the original February 2009 date mandated by the federal government, KBTX permanently shut down its analog signal effective January 20, 2009 as it made the transition to digital television.[2]

On February 28, 2009, KBTX began broadcasting at full power digital from the enhanced Carlos tower, again expanding its signal dramatically.[3] The station had been broadcasting on low power digital between its analog signal shutdown and the full power activation, in addition to being carried on cable systems and DirecTV.

KBTX and KWTX experimented with a jointly-run noon show in early 2009. News stories for both viewing areas were read from KWTX's Waco studios for the first half of the show, with KBTX running live weather and additional local content from its studios for the remainder of the show airing in the Brazos Valley. KWTX aired its own live weather and content in its part of the market during that time. However, in late March 2009, the two stations returned to running their own, separate shows, with KBTX citing "an overwhelming request from viewers for the show to be based out of the Twin Cities again." [4]

In 2009, KBTX reached agreements with the nation's two major satellite providers. For years, Dish Network had refused to offer KBTX to the Bryan/College Station area, instead just carrying KWTX. However, in 2009, Dish relented<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[5], and on April 23 of that year, KBTX was made available in the Waco/Temple/Bryan market area.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[6] In May 2009, after years of carrying KBTX to the market, DirecTV announced it would be dropping KBTX from its service. DirecTV and KBTX were said to be bombarded with calls from frustrated customers, this as negotiations were said to be underway to keep KBTX on DirecTV. In June 2009, an agreement was reached to keep the station available to customers of the satellite provider.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[7]

Operations
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Though identifying as a station in its own right, KBTX is technically considered a semi-satellite of KWTX. It has most of its internal operations run alongside KWTX, and clears all of KWTX's syndicated programming (although it has some shows not seen on KWTX).

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">It is the only station airing a full schedule of live, local news for the Bryan/College Station side of the Waco/Temple/Bryan market, airing five newscasts each weekday from its studios in Bryan, along with weekend newscasts.

Coverage area
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">KBTX serves Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Milam, Montgomery, Robertson, Walker and Washington counties, some of which are also in the Houston market, but receive KBTX. Texas A&M University, Sam Houston State University and Blinn College are in its coverage area.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">With its full power digital signal transmitting at the maximum power allowed by law as of early 2009, the KBTX signal also reaches Houston county in the Tyler/Longview market; Trinity,San Jacinto, Austin, Harris and Waller counties in the Houston market; and Lee County in the Austin market. The News 3 Weather team monitors those counties and provides forecasts and updates, including during severe weather events.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">KBTX is part of a rare American television market, the Waco/Temple/Bryan Designated Market Area.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[8] Only a handful of DMAs in the country have multiple stations under the same network affiliation serving viewers (KBTX serving the Bryan/College Station area, KWTX serving the Waco/Temple/Killeen area), even though in this case, both stations are associated with each other.

Current on-air staff
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Anchors


 * Steve Fullhart - Brazos Valley This Morning
 * Crystal Galny - News 3 at Noon
 * John Gilbert - News 3 at 6, "10 at Ten"
 * Barbara Smith - Brazos Valley This Morning
 * Meredith Stancik - News 3 at 5, News 3 at 6 and 10 at Ten

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Reporters


 * Karla Castillo
 * Clay Falls
 * Shane McAuliffe
 * Nicole Morten
 * Michael Oder
 * Stephanie Palmer
 * Kristen Ross
 * Alex Villarreal

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Hosts


 * Brenda Sims - Names and Faces segment
 * Tom Turbiville - Voices of Veterans segment

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Weather team


 * Ashley Batey - Meteorologist, Weekends
 * Mark Edwards - Fill in Weather Anchor
 * Bob French - Chief Meteorologist, News 3 at 5, News 3 at 6 and 10 at Ten
 * Shel Winkley - Meteorologist, Brazos Valley This Morning and News 3 at Noon

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Sports team


 * Darryl Bruffett - Sports Director, News 3 at 5, News 3 at 6 and 10 at Ten
 * Cody Coil - Weekend Sports Anchor
 * John Wilson - Sports Reporter

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">As of December 2010<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[9]

More information

 * Darryl Bruffett has been on the air at KBTX longer than any current host. He made his debut in 1987, and has been sports director since 1990.
 * John Gilbert spent eight years as a main anchor at Waco-based KCEN -- which airs in Bryan/College Station -- before joining KBTX in the same capacity.
 * Crystal Galny and Stephanie Palmer grew up in KBTX's viewing area. Galny is a Bryan native. Palmer is from Huntsville.
 * 7 members of the News 3 team are listed as having attended Texas A&M University (Ashley Batey, Bob French, Galny, Gilbert, Palmer, Barbara Smith, Shel Winkley).
 * Three other on-air staff are graduates of another area school, Sam Houston State University (Bruffett, Michael Oder, John Wilson)
 * Of those who list the college they graduated from, only Karla Castillo and Steve Fullhart received degrees from outside of Texas. Castillo graduated from San Jose State University. Fullhart is an Indiana University alum.
 * Shane McAuliffe and Meredith Stancik are married to each other.
 * McAuliffe, Stancik, Wilson and Cody Coil worked at KRBC-TV in Abilene prior to arriving at KBTX.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">From information at the station's website<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[10]

Former on-air staff

 * Jim Baronet
 * Roger Barry - TXCN
 * Polly Bell
 * Jon Boaz - Former General Sales Manager and 5 PM, Morning Show Anchor; deceased<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[11]
 * Jeff Braun
 * Joe Brown
 * Josh Byerly - Public Affairs Officer for NASA
 * Jennifer Cavazos
 * Laura Cornett
 * Tony Cornett
 * Cree Craig
 * Ron Crozier - Twin City Mission, Bryan, TX
 * Rick Davenport - Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M
 * Shannon Dillon
 * Aaron Drawhorn - KLAS, Las Vegas, NV
 * Mike Fleming - Sports Anchor 1973-1979, Retired 3M Corp., Still doing freelance radio, Bryan-College Station, TX
 * Casey Flinn - Bryan High Media Tech/Volleyball Coach
 * Mike George - Still at KBTX as News Director (Former Anchor/Reporter)
 * Krystle (Kaliszewski) Gutierrez - KDFW, Dallas, TX
 * Charlie Haldeman - News Director, KPLC-TV Lake Charles, LA
 * Tamron Hall - MSNBC
 * Rodney Harris - WGCL, Atlanta, GA
 * Toni Harrison
 * Johanna Henry
 * Travis Herzog - KTRK, Houston, TX
 * Chip Howard - KZNE (radio), College Station, TX
 * Matt Iazzetti
 * Conley Isom - KXXV/KRHD, Waco, TX
 * Carmen Izzo
 * Jessica James
 * Jeff Jamison - KTVT, Dallas, TX
 * Carly Kennelly - KOIN, Portland, OR
 * Bruce Kates
 * Lisa Keyes
 * Troy Kimmel - KEYE, Austin, TX
 * Kandace Krueger
 * Lindsay Liepman - WINK, Ft. Myers, FL
 * Jenni Lee - KTBC, Austin, TX
 * Blake Mathews
 * Jeff McShan - KHOU, Houston, TX
 * Joe McGinty
 * Shane Motley
 * Chace Murphy - WTAW (radio), College Station, TX
 * Amanda (Humes) O'Neal
 * John Oakey - KETV, Omaha, NE
 * Kimberly Olsen
 * Dwayne Parsons
 * Michelle Peltier
 * Pachatta Pope - KSAN, San Angelo, TX
 * David Reed - KXII, Sherman, TX
 * Halie Richardson - KETK, Tyler, TX
 * Steve Ring - WRBL, Columbus, GA
 * Russ Roberts
 * Mike Rockwood - WALA, Mobile, AL
 * Mark Schnyder- KMOV, St. Louis (married to Teresa Woodard)
 * Derek Shore - KFOX, El Paso, TX
 * Orelon Sidney - Former CNN Meteorologist
 * Ashlea Sigman
 * Dave Taylor - Attorney
 * Aaron Tuttle
 * Eric Watson - Texas A&M
 * Sherry Williams - KHOU, Houston, TX
 * Aimee Wilmoth
 * Teresa Woodard- KTVI, St. Louis (married to Mark Schnyder)
 * Mike Wright - Still at KBTX as General Manager (Former Morning Show Anchor)

Awards
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">KBTX earned 19 honors from Texas Associated Press Broadcasters in its 2009-2010 awards, as announced in March 2010.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[12]. Nine of those 19 were first place awards:


 * News Anchor: Meredith Stancik
 * Investigative Reporting: Ashlea Sigman, Lee Carpio & Andy Conner: "Broken Promises"
 * Photojournalism - Station
 * Photojournalism - Individual: Andy Conner
 * Deadline Editing: Jordan Meserole, "Band Legend Remembered"
 * Feature Editing: Steve Fullhart, "Olsen Trial Preview"
 * Interview: Steve Fullhart & Barbara Smith, "Red Light Camera Forum"
 * Online/Special Content: Steve Fullhart, "Olsen Trial Blog"
 * Morning Newscast: Brazos Valley This Morning

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Only two other stations in the state earned more honors in the 2009-2010 awards than KBTX. News 3 also finished third in the entire state in first place wins.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">In the previous year's TAPB awards, KBTX won 13 honors (four First Places, three Second Places, six Honorable Mentions), as announced in February 2009<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[13]. Again, News 3 was among the most honored stations in the state.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">KBTX competes in Division 3, which includes the next biggest Texas markets after the four major metro areas (Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[14]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">KBTX also won an AP award for "Best Spot News Reporting" for its coverage of the Aggie Bonfire collapse in 1999.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[15]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">"Aggie Game Day," News 3 Sports' pregame show before Texas A&M home football games, is a multi-time recipient of honors from the national Telly Awards for outstanding local programming.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[16]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Also awarded a Telly was News 3's special, All the Best: 10 Years of the George Bush Presidential Library, which aired the day before the grand reopening of the 41st president's library and museum on the Texas A&M campus. The main exhibit of the museum was closed for months during an $8.5 million renovation that coincided with the facility's anniversary.

Newscast titles

 * TX News (1957-1975; local news aired separately from KWTX, while sports, world news and weather aired on KBTX and KWTX)
 * Dimension 3 News (1975-c. 1982)
 * 3 News (1982-1992; also known as "Channel 3 News")
 * NewsScene 3
 * NewsStar 3 (1992-2004)
 * News 3 (2004-present)

Station slogans

 * Dimension 3 News: All the News in 3 Dimensions (1975-1982)
 * Count on the Channel 3 News (mid 1980s)
 * Your 24 Hour News Source (early 1990s)
 * This is Your News (1996-2004)
 * Live and Local (1996-2006)
 * The News Leader (2006-2008)
 * The People You Know. The News You Trust. (2008-present)