KOAT-TV

KOAT-TV, channel 7, is an ABC network affiliated television station serving Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its transmitter is located on Sandia Crest, northeast of Albuquerque. Syndicated programming on KOAT includes: Entertainment Tonight, Oprah, Ellen, and Live with Regis and Kelly.

Digital television
KOAT is one of four ABC-affiliated Hearst stations that do not offer "The Local AccuWeather Channel"

KOAT-TV moved its digital signal to its old analog frequency, channel 7, when the analog to digital transition was completed on 6-12-09.

History
KOAT signed on September 28, 1953, less than a week before KGGM-TV (now KRQE). It was locally owned by AM Caldwell & Walter Stiles. The station signed on as an ABC affiliate. In 1957 KOAT was sold to Alvarado Television (the owner of KVOA in Tucson, Arizona),[1] and in 1962 both stations were sold to Steinman Stations, who owned WGAL in Lancaster and later bought WTEV in New Bedford/Providence.

Steinman sold both KOAT and KVOA to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer,_Inc. Pulitzer], the then-owner of KSD-TV (now KSDK) in St. Louis, in 1969.[2] This made KOAT Pulitzer's second television station acquisition outside of its home city of St. Louis; the KOAT acquisition was consummated a year after Pulitzer closed on its purchase of KVOA. A decade later, the other two Steinman stations were sold to Pulitzer as well, reuniting them with KOAT (KVOA was spun off in 1972).

In 1998, Pulitzer sold its entire broadcasting division, including KOAT and WGAL, to Hearst-Argyle. In mid-2009 the Hearst Corporation, already majority owner of what was Hearst-Argyle Television, bought out all of the then-publicly traded shares and changed the broadcasting group's name to Hearst Television.

KOAT uses a version of the Circle 7 logo used by many other ABC stations, both owned-and-operated stations and affiliates. The "Circle 7" logo has been used at KOAT since 1971 and the Action News title since 1974.[3]

Satellite stations
These stations rebroadcast KOAT's signal and add local content for other parts of the broadcast market: Notes: KOCT, formerly KAVE-TV and KVIO-TV, became part of the KOAT-TV operation in 1993 after previously serving as a satellite of El Paso ABC affiliate KVIA-TV Channel 7.[5] The Carlsbad station began in 1956 as KAVE-TV, a CBS/NTA Film Network[6] affiliate with studio and transmitter facilities on Church Street in Carlsbad. In 1966, when Roswell, New Mexico station KBIM-TV became the CBS affiliate for southeastern New Mexico, KAVE became a satellite station of then-ABC affiliate KMOM-TV Channel 9 in Monahans, Texas (now NBC affiliate KWES-TV, Midland-Odessa, Texas) and then of KVIA-TV in El Paso in 1976.
 * 1. No record of analog station on air; digital station was operating via Special Temporary Authorization but has gone silent. KOFT-DT's license was returned to the FCC on November 13, 2007 [4]
 * 2. The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says KOVT signed on September 9, while the Television and Cable Factbook says it signed on September 10.

In addition, there are several low-powered repeaters that carry KOAT's programming throughout New Mexico, northeastern Arizona and southern Colorado.

News operation
Ordinarily, KOAT produces just over four hours of local news each weekday, and 4½ hours each on Saturdays and Sundays. The station's newscasts, known as Action 7 News, have led the ratings in New Mexico for over 30 years. Weather forecaster Howard Morgan worked at KOAT for 28 years before retiring in 1999.

KOAT is also one of four ABC affiliates to have an hour-long 10 p.m. newscasts, along with KRGV-TV in Welsaco, Texas and KOAT's sister station, KITV in Honolulu, and WISN-TV in Milwaukee.

KOAT does not broadcast in high definition; however on June 13, 2010, the station began broadcasting its newscasts in 16:9 standard definition widescreen. The station plans to air its newscasts in high definition, but no date has been confirmed as to when. Rival KRQE (along with sister station KASA) is the only newscast in the Albuquerque market to broadcast in true high definition, while other rival KOB now also airs local news in 16:9 standard definition widescreen.

Newscast titles

 * TV-7 News (19??–19??)
 * Big 7 News (19??–1974)
 * TV-7 Action News (1974–1970s)
 * Action 7 News (1970s–2013)
 * KOAT Action 7 News (2013–present, variant of previous title)

Station slogans

 * Action News is Everywhere (1978)
 * Working Hard For You (1978)
 * New Mexico's News Leader (1989-1999)
 * The Area's #1 News Source (early 1990s)
 * 7 On Your Side (mid 1990s)
 * Coverage You Can Count On (1999–present)

Newscast music

 * KTXL 1974 News Theme by unknown composer (1974-19??)
 * Where You Belong by TM Productions (19??-19??)
 * Porgy and Bess: Introduction & Opening Scene I: by George Gershwin, arranged by Gershon Kingsley and Leonid Hambro
 * WLWT 1984 News Theme by unknown composer (1985?-1989)
 * Real News by Killer Tracks (1989-1994)
 * The One and Only by Gari Media Group (1994-1999)
 * Image News by Gari Media Group (1999-2004)
 * Hearst TV News Music Package: Coverage You Can Count On by Newsmusic Central (2004-2013)
 * Strive by Inthegroovemusic (2013-present)

Current on-air staff
Anchors First Alert Weather Team Sports team Reporters Hearst Television Washington Bureau
 * Royale Da - Saturdays at 6:00 and weekends at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m.; also weekday reporter
 * Doug Fernandez - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
 * Shelly Ribando - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
 * Marisa Maez - weekday mornings on More in the Morning (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
 * Tanya Mendis - weekend mornings on More in the Morning (6:00-9:00 a.m.); also weekday reporter
 * Joe Diaz (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
 * Eric Green (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) -  meteorologist; weekday mornings on   More in the Morning   (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
 * Byron Morton (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings on  More in the Morning (6:00-9:00 a.m.), Saturdays at 6:00 and weekends at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m.
 * TBD - sports director; weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
 * Orlando Sanchez - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6:00 and weekends at 5:00 and weekends at 10:00 p.m.
 * Angela Brauer - general assignment reporter
 * Melissa Colorado - general assignment reporter
 * Alana Grimstad - general assignment reporter
 * Aaron Hilf - general assignment reporter
 * Dr. Barry Ramo - Health Beat reporter
 * Regina Ruiz - general assignment reporter
 * Mike Springer - general assignment reporter
 * Laura Thoren - general assignment reporter
 * Anna Velasquez - general assignment reporter
 * Lauren Zakalik - general assignment reporter
 * Sasha Leninger - general assignment reporter
 * Sally Kidd - Washington Bureau correspondent
 * Laurie Kinney - Washington Bureau correspondent
 * Traci Mitchell - Washington Bureau correspondent

Former on-air staff

 * Bob Brown - sports director
 * Dominic Garcia - general assignment reporter
 * Cynthia Izaguirre - weeknight anchor (now with WFAA in Dallas/Ft. Worth)
 * Melissa Vega - "Target 7" consumer reporter
 * Dick Knipfing - 5 p.m. anchor (with KRQE from 2000-2014, now retired)
 * Dianne Anderson - weeknight anchor (with KRQE from 2006-2012)
 * Nelson Martinez - weeknight anchor (with KOB from 2004-2005, retired)
 * Howard Morgan - meterologist; weeknights at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m.
 * Jeff Siembieda - weeknight sports anchor
 * Johnny Morris - weekend anchor