KMIZ is the ABC-affiliated television station for Mid-Missouri that is licensed toColumbia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter in Cedron near the Moniteau and Cooper County line. Owned by JW Broadcasting, the station is sister to low-powered Fox affiliate KQFX-LD, MyNetworkTV affiliate KZOU and a locally run 24-hour weather channel, ABC 17 Stormtrack 24/7. The four stations share studios on Business Loop 70 East in Columbia. Syndicatedprogramming on KMIZ includes: Two and a Half Men, The Office, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, Jeopardy!, Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy,Friends, King of the Hill and South Park.
| |
| Columbia / Jefferson City, Missouri | |
|---|---|
| Branding | ABC 17 (general)
ABC 17 News (newscasts) My ZOU (on DT3) |
| Channels | Digital: 17 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 17.1 ABC17.2 ABC 17 Stormtrack 24/7 |
| Affiliations | ABC (since 1986; also from 1971-1982) |
| Owner | JW Broadcasting, LLC |
| First air date | December 5, 1971 |
| Call letters' meaning | MIZzouri (also to complement sister station KZOU for MIZZOU) |
| Sister station(s) | KZOU-LP |
| Former callsigns | KCBJ-TV (1971-1985) |
| Former channel number(s) | 17 (UHF analog, 1971-2009)
22 (UHF digital) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1982-1985) |
| Transmitter power | 120 kW |
| Height | 348 m |
| Facility ID | 63164 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 38°46′32.1″N 92°33′24.8″W |
| Website | abc17news.com |
All four stations are available with an antenna and on all cable providers in Mid-Missouri. ABC 17, Fox 22 and MyZouTV are also available on Dish Network and DirecTV.
Digital television[]
The station's digital signal is multiplexed.
| Virtual
Channel |
Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.1 | 720p | 16:9 | ABC 17 (KMIZ) - ABC affiliate |
| 17.2 | 480i | 4:3 | ABC 17 Stormtrack 24/7 - 24-hour local weather |
| 17.3 | 480i | 4:3 | MyZouTV (KZOU) - MyNetworkTV affiliate |
Before KQFX Fox 22 was aired from its own transmitter in Mid-Missouri, it was found on digital channel 17-2 via PSIP at a standard definition of 480i; Stormtrack 24/7 was found on 17-4 via PSIP.
History[]
KMIZ's local version of "Americ'a Watching ABC" campaign in 1990
KMIZ began its broadcasting operation on December 5, 1971 as KCBJ-TV. It took ABC programming from NBC affiliate KOMU-TV and CBS affiliate KRCG. In 1982, KCBJ and KOMU swapped affiliations. ABC had become the nation's highest-rated network and had been looking to get its programming on higher-rated stations. It found the chance to align with long-dominant KOMU too much to resist. By 1985, however, NBC regained the ratings lead, and the two stations returned to their original networks on New Year's Day 1986. Along with the switch, channel 17 changed its call letters to the current KMIZ. In the late 1990s, Fox 11 (K02NQ in Columbia and K11TB in Jefferson City) was launched. It also operated cable-only WB 100+ affiliate "KJWB" (known on-air as "WB 5" from its cable channel location) from its launch in 1998 until 2002. In that year, KMIZ's parent company Benedek Broadcasting went bankrupt and was sold to Gray Television Group. KJWB was moved to KOMU by The WB, and KMIZ was divested to Chelsey Broadcasting, a division of Gray Television Group.
That company in turn sold the station to JW Broadcasting in May 2003. In late-2003, JW Broadcasting relaunched Fox on a new low-power analog signal (K38II) on channel 38 in Columbia and Jefferson City. The company also launched KZOU, a cable-only UPN affiliate in Mid-Missouri. Additionally, the station launched the country's first all local weather channel, known as Show-Me Weather. In 2006, UPN was merged with the WB network and KZOU was awarded the MyNetworkTV affiliation and became known as MyZou 32 (now MyZouTV). In 2007, Show-Me Weather was re-branded as ABC 17 Stormtrack 24/7, taking on an increased focus on local weather.
On June 12, 2009, analog transmissions ceased allover the United States and KMIZ became a strictly digital broadcaster. ABC 17 can be found on digital 17-1, ABC 17 Stormtrack 24/7 on digital 17-2 and MyZouTV on digital 17-3. JW Broadcasting LLC was also awarded a new digital transmission license for its FOX affiliate and FOX 22 on digital channel 22 was born.
News team[]
Anchors
- Lauren Gores - ABC 17 News This Morning (weekdays 5:00 am – 7:00 am)
- Stephanie Schaefer - ABC 17 News at 5:00 Anchor/Producer
- Ryan Tate - ABC 17 News at 5:00, 6:00, 9:00 & 10:00 Anchor
- Kristie Reeter- ABC 17 News at 6:00
- Meredith Hoenes - ABC 17 News at 6:30, 9:00 and 10:00 Anchor/Reporter
ABC 17 Stormtrack Meteorologists
- Sharon Ray (AMS Seal of Approval) - ABC 17 Stormtrack Chief Meteorologist (Sun - Thur)
- Jeff Huffman (NWA Seal of Approval) - ABC 17 Stormtrack Meteorologist (ABC 17 News This Morning)
- Justin Abraham - ABC 17 Stormtrack Forecaster (Fri- Sat Evenings)
ABC 17 Sports Team
- Tyler Fulghum - Sports Anchor/Reporter
- Martina Del Bonta - Sports Anchor
Reporters
- Kristie Reeter - General Assignment Reporter/Weekend Anchor
- Grant Bissell - General Assignment Reporter
- Brad Johnson - General Assignment Reporter
- Elise Menaker - General Assignment Reporter
- Calée Guidry - General Assignment Reporter
- Ron Widbin - Feature Reporter (Widbin's Way)
Former on-air staff[]
- Kevin Lewis- Sports Anchor/Reporter (now at KMSB-TV)
- Brynn Gingras - ABC 17 News at 9:00 on Fox 22 and ABC 17 News at 10:00 Anchor/Reporter
- Beau Baehman - Sports Director (now Director of Marketing and Communications at Columbia Orthopaedic Group)
- Trent Magill - Meteorologist (now at KMID in Midland, TX)
- John Bassford - Anchor (now Communications Coordinator at AmerenMissouri Callaway Plant)
- Teresa Snow, Anchor (now at KRCG-TV)
- Manuel Quinones, Reporter (now at Capitol News Connection in Washington, DC)
- Travis Ford, Meteorologist (now with the Missouri Attorney General's office)
- Savannah Guthrie, Weekend Anchor/Reporter (now at NBC News)
- George Brown, Anchor/Reporter (now at WREG-TV)
- Arica Robbins, Meteorologist (now at ONN and WBNS-TV)
- Shannon Kettler, Reporter (WCPO-TV)
- Dawn Kendrick, Anchor (now at WOIO-TV)
- Jacqueline Lapine, Reporter
- Kent Harell, News Director
- Vic Faust, Sports Director (now at WXYZ-TV)
- Greg Hunter, PM Magazine Co-host (now at CNN)
- Chris Gervino, Sports Director (now at KOMU)
- Daniel Grazier, Reporter (now a Marine Corps Officer)
- Jodie Shpritz, Reporter (now publicist at Res Publica Group)
- Bridget Blevins, Anchor/Reporter (now News Director at KQTV in St. Joseph, MO)
- John Fougere, Sports Anchor/Reporter (now spokesman for Mo. Attorney General Jay Nixon)
- Jason Simpson, Meteorologist (now at WBMA)
- Melissa Cuttone, Reporter (now at Fox Chicago)
- Henry Rothenberg, Meteorologist
- Ryan Yamamoto, Reporter (now at KXTV in Sacramento, CA
- Mark Welp, Weekend Anchor/Reporter (now at WHOI-TV)
- Rajah Maples, Anchor/Reporter (now at KHQA-TV)
- Lindsey Rendlen, Anchor/Reporter (now a law student, Saint Louis University School of Law)
- Grant Johnson, Meteorologist (now on KFOR-TV)
- Rob Verbe, Sports Anchor
- Randy Wright, Meteorologist then General Manager (now Executive Director of Multimedia Properties at University of Florida)
Station management[]
- Gene Steinberg - General Manager
- Jeff Page - General Sales Manager
- Curtis Varns - News Director
- Mark Kammerich - Creative Services Director/Commercial Production Manager
- Eric Jones - Chief Engineer
- Kathy Lynam - Business Manager
- Donna Farmer - Human Resources Director
- Cindy Clark - Traffic Manager
News/station presentation[]
Newscast titles[]
- KCBJ-TV News
- 17 Central News (?-1980s)
- NewsTeam 17 (1980s)
- KMIZ 17 News (1980s–1990s)
- Missouri 17 News (1990s–1997)
- ABC 17 News (1997–present)
Station slogans[]
- 17 There, Be There (1983–1984; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- We Light Up Your Life! (1984-1989)
- Something's Happening on 17 (1987–1990; local version of ABC ad campaign)
- The Ones to Watch (1989-1993)
- Missouri's Watching 17 (1990–1992; local version of ABC ad campaign)
- If It's Missouri, It Must Be 17 (1992–1993; local version of ABC ad campaign)
- Where the News Comes First (1993–2003 & April 2013-present)
- The Spirit of Missouri (2003–2005)
- Tracking. Always Alerting (ABC 17 Stormtrack slogan) (2008-March 2013)