KTSM-TV

KTSM-TV, also known as NewsChannel 9, is an NBC affiliated television station based in El Paso, Texas. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 9. KTSM-TV is currently owned by ComCorp of El Paso, Inc.

History
KTSM-TV signed on air on January 4, 1953 as the second oldest television station in the market, behind KDBC-TV. The station shares its call letters with its former sister AM and FM stations, which are now owned by Clear Channel Communications, separate from KTSM-TV. The "TSM" in the name stands for "Tri State Music", referring to KTSM-AM's original owner.[1]

KTSM claims to have the tallest VHF transmission tower in Texas. It is located at Ranger Peak, one of the peaks of the Franklin Mountains. It is 2,000 feet above downtown El Paso, and 5,990 feet above sea level.

KTSM was owned and operated for 60 years by Karl O. Wyler, a philanthropist and broadcast pioneer in El Paso. Mr. Wyler built the El Paso Aerial Tramway in the early 1960s to allow his staff to maintain the transmitters at Ranger Peak. The tramway was open to the public until the 1980s, when insurance laws in Texas prohibited its use by the general public. When Mr. Wyler died in 1990, he left controlling interest in Tri-State Broadcasting, Inc. (the radio and television stations) to the El Paso Community Foundation as a charitable gift.

In 1991, the Foundation hired Richard E. Pearson, a dynamic station manager at KVIA TV at the time, to run the operations. Under Mr. Pearson's leadership, the station flourished, and became a dominant force in the market, until the stations were sold to Communications Corporation of America (Comcorp El Paso, Inc.), the current owners, in 1998.

Among KTSM's most famous personalities was Ted Bender. Bender hosted numerous programs on KTSM including the El Paso version of Dialing for Dollars, in which he gave four viewers a chance to win money, and halfway through the calls, Bender (who was a city councilman) would interview a key figure in the El Paso community. The program aired for 25 minutes, which followed a 5-minute newscast on KTSM at 10 AM.

Bender also was the lead weatherman for KTSM from its inception until his retirement in 1991, using weather symbols that the National Weather Service utilizes on their weather charts.

Dialing for Dollars and daytime soaps pre-empted NBC's regular daytime staple of game shows, later airing in the afternoon hours. Sesame Street, which normally airs on PBS, aired on KTSM, due to the lack of a public television station in the El Paso area, from 1969 until KCOS opened in 1978, and may have aired other PBS programs, besides.

On August 3, 2008, during its 5:00 p.m. newscast, KTSM became the first station in El Paso to produce their news in high definition.

KTSM will affiliate with the Spanish-language network Estrella TV on a digital subchannel in 2009.[2] On August 31, 2009, KTSM launched Estrella TV.

On October 19, 2009 ComCorp, the parent company of KTSM, announced that KTSM will provide sales and other services for Titan Broadcast Management's KDBC under a new agreement. Comcorp El Paso, which owns and operates KTSM, will provide advertising, sales, administrative services and some news programming for KDBC,While TTBC will continue to manage KDBC and both stations will retain separate newscasts for now.[3]

KTSM-TV, XHIJ-TV and XHCJE-TV of Ciudad Juárez, and KTDO of Las Cruces share resources especially with violence in Juarez.

Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Analog shutdown
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">On June 12, 2009, at 12:30 P.M. MDT, KTSM-TV completed the analog television shutdown and digital conversion.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Digital_Switch_Complete_3-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[4] Additionally, KTSM moved its digital broadcast tier from 16 to its former analog channel number, 9.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Analog_to_Digital_4-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[5] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FCCForm387_5-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[6]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">on July 31, 2009 KTSM was given Special Temporary Authority by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to also operate on Digital Channel 16, because of reports of reception problems on digital channel 9. The station has since filed a petition to the FCC to remain on channel 16 permanently.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[7]

News team

 * Oralia Ortega - Main Anchor: NewsChannel 9 @ 5pm, 6pm, & 10pm
 * Dan O' Rourke - News Anchor: News Channel 9 @ 5pm, 6pm, & 10pm
 * Kai Porter - Morning news anchor: NewsChannel 9 Today
 * Adrienne Alvarez - General assignment reporting
 * Monique Griego - General assignment reporting
 * Phillip Mena -General assignment reporting
 * Anthony Garcia - General assignment reporting
 * Nichole Gomez - General assignment reporting
 * Stephania Jimenez - News Reporter NewsChannel 9
 * Alexa Helms - NewsChannel 9 CO-Reporter

Sports team

 * Fred Albers - Sports Director/anchor: NC9 @ 6pm & 10pm
 * Beau Bagley - Weekend sports anchor: NewsChannel 9 Weekends
 * Aaron Rich - Sports Reporter NewsChannel 9 Weekends

Weather team

 * Chuck DeBroder - Chief Meteorologist: NC9 First @ 5pm, 6pm & 10pm
 * Eric Reinholt - Meteorologist: NewsChannel 9 Today
 * Chip Maxham - Meteorologist : News Channel 9 Weekends

Newscast titles

 * El Paso Newsreel (1953–1959)
 * Bill Thomas and the News (1959–1966)
 * The Sixth Hour Report/The Eleventh Hour Report (1966–1972)
 * Channel 9 News (1972–1975, 1988–1993)
 * NewsCenter 9 (1975–1988)
 * 9 News (1993–1995)
 * TSM News (1995–1999)
 * NewsChannel 9 (1999–present)

Station slogans

 * El Paso's #1 News Team (1970s-1994)
 * Channel 9, Proud as a Peacock (1979–1981; local version of NBC campaign)
 * Channel 9 Is Where You Belong (early 1980s)
 * Channel 9, Our Pride Is Showing (1981–1982; local version of NBC campaign)
 * We're Channel 9, Just Watch Us Now (1982–1983; local version of NBC campaign)
 * Channel 9 There, Be There (1983–1984; local version of NBC campaign)
 * NewsCenter 9 Is Everywhere (mid 1980s)
 * Channel 9, Let's All Be There (1984–1986; local version of NBC campaign)
 * Come Home to Channel 9 (1986–87; local version of NBC campaign)
 * Come on Home to Channel 9 (1987–88; local version of NBC campaign)
 * Come Home To The Best, Only on Channel 9 (1988–1990; local version of NBC campaign)
 * Channel 9, The Place to Be! (1990–1991; local version of NBC campaign)
 * The Heart of West Texas, Southern New Mexico, and Northern Mexico (1990–1995)
 * Get Connected, Stay Connected (1995–2002)
 * First, Live, and Local (2002–present)

KTSM Music

 * Where You Belong By TM Productions (1980–1984)
 * KPRC Custom Packages By Toby Arnold & Associates (1988–1990)
 * USA News By 615 Music (1990–1997)
 * Advantage By Gari Communications (1997–2006)
 * The NBC Collection Includes : New Millenium [sic] V.1 And Flagship Gari Communications (2005–2009)
 * Extreme By Stephen Arnold Music (2009-Pres.)