KEYT-TV

KEYT-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo, California areas. Licensed to Santa Barbara, California the station broadcasts ondigital UHF channel 27 and uses VHF channel 3 as its virtual channel. KEYT's transmitter is located on top of Broadcast Peak, located between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez, California in the Santa Ynez Mountains. KEYT is owned and operated by Smith Media, LLC. KEYT's studios are located at 730 Miramonte Dr. on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara. KEYT operates the area's MyNetwork TV affiliate on its DT2 digital subchannel, branded asMyRTV. MyRTV clears the entire MyNetwork TV programming schedule and airs programming from Retro Television Network, as well as a few syndicated shows.

History
During the 1950s, the station ran programming from all four TV networks: ABC, CBS, DuMont, and NBC [1]. KEYT operates morning, afternoon, and evening newscasts. KEYT channel 3 has identified itself as KEY News since the 1980s. In the ratings game, KEYT is number one in ratings for late news.[citation needed]

Between KEYT's launch of its HDTV signal on March 2007 and September 2007, KEYT-HD was initially unavailable to cable subscribers in the Central Coast, due to a contract dispute with the local cable companies. KEYT has since reached an agreement with Cox Communications in Santa Barbara, Comcast in Santa Maria, and as of late October 2007, with Charter Cable in San Luis Obispo to carry its HDTV signal.

As of October 18, 2010, none of the stations, including KEYT, currently broadcast local news in either high definition or widescreen standard definition.

KEYT signs-off every Friday and Saturday Nights from 2-6 AM.[2]

Programming
KEYT completed its transition to digital on February 17, 2009[3] The station's digital channel is multiplexed. MyNetworkTV / Retro Television Network programming is carried as digital subchannel 3.2.

KEYT picked up the MyNetworkTV affilitaton on June 2006 and initially showed only MyNetworkTV programming, and a test pattern the rest of the time.[4] By Fall 2007, the station had managed to obtain syndication broadcast rights to Family Guy and South Park, and officially launched its DT2 subchannel branded as "MyNetworkTV Central Coast" on October 2007, replacing Los Angeles-based MyNetworkTV affiliate KCOP channel 13 on allCentral Coast cable systems.

The channel initially simulcast the SD version of KEYT outside of MyNetwork TV programming. As of October 30, 2007, it has picked up the Retro Television Network affiliation and broadcasts RTV programming outside of MyNetwork TV.[5] It has subsequently changed its branding to "My RTN" to coincide with the new affiliation, later changing to "My RTV" after RTN changed its acronym to RTV.

Anchors

 * Ryan Carmel - weekday mornings & weather anchor
 * Beth Farnsworth - weekday mornings
 * Joe Gehl - weeknights at 5pm; also reporter
 * Tracy Lehr - weekend anchor and Ventura County Bureau Chief
 * Paula Lopez - weeknights at 6 and 11pm
 * CJ Ward - weeknights at 6 and 11pm

Reporters

 * Rachel Acenas - general assignment reporter
 * Martha Bull - general assignment reporter
 * Ben Howell - general assignment reporter
 * John Palminteri - senior reporter
 * Lauren Pozen- general assignment reporter

Weather

 * Alan Rose - Chief meteorologist seen weeknights at 5, 6 and 11pm
 * Shawn Quien - weekend evenings

Sports

 * Mike Klan - sports director, weeknights at 6 and 11pm
 * Mike DeFina - weekend sports anchor/reporter

Notable former staff

 * Rosemary Orozco, (Former anchor/traffic/weather 2002-2007 Now at KTXL FOX40 in Sacramento, CA. and lottery announcer for the CA Lottery)
 * Giselle Fernández (Reporter circa 1983)
 * Bob Burton (6, 11 PM anchor 1996-2002)
 * Debby Davison (5, 6 PM anchor 1990-2006 now retired)
 * Christine Craft(Reporter and anchor in 1970's)
 * Laura Evans (Morning/Midday anchor 1995-1999; now at WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C.)
 * Jennifer Bjorklund, (weekend anchor 1994-1997, now at KNBC in Los Angeles)
 * Bill Huddy (Anchor, 1953-1978)
 * Tess Rafols Morning/Midday anchor (1999-2001, now at KTVK in Phoenix, AZ)
 * Edie Lambert, (Anchor/ Reporter (Now at KCRA-TV in Sacramento)
 * Dan Elliott, (Sports Anchor/ Fill-in Anchor, Now at KXTV in Sacramento)
 * Paul Vercammen (5, 11 PM anchor 2003-2006)
 * Noelle Walker (Weekend Anchor 1996-1998, now at KNTV in San Jose/San Francisco)
 * Michelle Franzen (Reporter/ Fill-in Anchor 1993-1994)
 * Kate Wentzel (Chief Meteorologist 2004-2006 now at WPBF in West Palm Beach, FL)
 * Gil Reyes (Ventura County reporter)
 * Sharon Katsuda
 * Sandy Castelblanco (Later anchor at KNTV (2000-2006))
 * Arti Nehru (reporter)(Now at KPSP, Palm Springs)
 * Carrie Criado
 * Dax Gulje (Technology Trends expert 2004-2008)
 * Dan Mitchinson (Morning weather anchor 1995-2001)
 * Steve Stewart (Weeknight weather anchor 1995-2004)
 * Gerry Fall (Sports Director 1998-2009)

Newscast titles

 * The Bill Huddy Report (19??–1970s)
 * Key News (1970s–2013)
 * NewsChannel 3 (2013–present)

Station slogans

 * Television in the Key, Key Three (early 1970s)
 * It's Three in the Key (mid 1970s)
 * Turn to 3 (late 1970s)
 * We`re The One You Can Turn To, TV-3 (1978-1979; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * TV-3 Action News, The News People (1979-1981)
 * The Best View in The Tri-Counties (early 1980s)
 * You and Me and TV-3 (1980-1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Now is The Time, TV-3 is the Place (1981-1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Come on Along with TV-3 (1982-1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * That Special Feeling on TV-3 (1983-1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * We`re With You on Channel 3 (1984-1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * You`ll Love It on Channel 3 (1985-1986; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Together on Channel 3 (1986-1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Something`s Happening on Channel 3
 * Tri-Counties is Watching Channel 3
 * If It`s The Tri-Counties, It Must Be Channel 3 (1992-1993; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Where The News Comes First (1997-present)
 * Your News, Your Team (2006-present)

Rebroadcast stations
KEYT also operates two translators to extend its coverage area. It operates a repeater station in San Luis Obispo, K57BC, on channel 57, and KSBB-LP, a Class A television station, in downtown Santa Barbara, on UHF channel 17. KSBB-LP is located at KEYT's studios and broadcasts a directional signal to downtown Santa Barbara, serving areas shielded from the main channel 3 signal by the Santa Ynez Mountains. The station initially rebroadcast KKFX-CA from its sign-on until July 1, 2006, when KKFX-CA terminated the agreement for the station to rebroadcast its programming. The station has since been a repeater station for KEYT.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">KSBB-LP has a construction permit to operate digitally on channel 17<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[6], while K57BC has a construction permit to operate digitally on channel 31.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[7] No word on when they will operate their digital signals.