KGET-TV is a television station serving Bakersfield, California, owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group. It is an NBC affiliate, and transmits on UHF channel 25 (using its former analog channel 17 as its virtual channel via PSIP). KGET also has a digital-only/cable CW outlet called KWFB, one of the The CW Plus stations. It was originally part of The WB 100+ Station Group for the WB network when it was still in operation. The network ended in September 2006 along with UPN to form The CW and KWFB affiliated with the new network. The station's studios are located on L Street in downtown Bakersfield, and the transmitter site is west of Breckenridge Mountain.
 | |
| Bakersfield, California | |
|---|---|
| Branding | KGET-TV 17 (general)
17 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | In the Spirit of the Golden Empire |
| Channels | Digital: 25 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 17.1 NBC17.2 The CW
17.3 Telemundo |
| Owner | High Plains Broadcasting, Inc.
(operated by Newport Television) |
| First air date | November 8, 1959 |
| Call letters' meaning | KernGolden
Empire Television |
| Former callsigns | KLYD-TV (1959-1969)
KJTV (1969-1978) KPWR-TV (1978-1984) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog:
17 (UHF, 1959-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (1959-1974)CBS (1974-1984) |
| Transmitter power | 135 kW |
| Height | 405 m |
| Facility ID | 34459 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°26′17″N118°44′26.1″W |
| Website | |
History
Founded by businessman Ed Urner, channel 17 first broadcast on November 8, 1959 as KLYD, an ABC affiliate.[1] The station originally operated from studios located on Eye Street in Bakersfield. It was co-owned with KLYD-AM 1350 (now KLHC), and is one of very few TV stations to be started by a daytime-only radio station. The call letters changed to KJTV in 1969. In October of that year, The Dellars sold the station to Atlantic States Industries.[2] In 1974, KJTV swapped affiliations with KBAK-TV, becoming a CBS affiliate.
George N. Gillett Jr.'s Gillett Broadcasting bought the station from ASI Communications in 1978. The station's call letters changed again to KPWR-TV on September 27, 1978, when it increased its power to 5,000,000 watts. The Ackerley Group purchased the station in 1983. On February 1, 1984, the station changed its calls to the present day "KGET-TV", coinciding with an affiliation swap with KERO-TV to become Bakersfield's NBC affiliate a month later, an affiliation which continues to the present day. It was sold to Clear Channel Communications in 2001.
KGET stands for "Kern Golden Empire Television," a moniker coined by the station's longtime vice president and general manager, Ray Watson, who was elected to theKern County Board of Supervisors in 2002. The current KGET Manager is Derek Jeffery.
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to Newport Television, a broadcasting holding company controlled by Providence Equity Partners.[3] However, Providence Equity Partners owns a 19 percent share of the Spanish-language media company Univision, the owner ofMyNetworkTV affiliate KUVI-TV. In addition, with only five full-power stations, Bakersfield does not have enough to legally support a co-owned duopoly operation. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission granted conditional approval of the sale, provided that Providence Equity Partners divest either KGET or its stake in Univision as soon as the deal was finalized. That happened on March 14, 2008.
In May 2008, Newport Television agreed to sell KGET and five other stations to High Plains Broadcasting, Inc. due to the aforementioned ownership conflict.[4] The sale closed on September 15, 2008;[5] Newport continued to operate KGET under a shared services agreement.[4] Newport agreed to sell KGET and sister Telemundo affiliateKKEY-LP, as well as KGPE in Fresno, California, to Nexstar Broadcasting Group on November 5, 2012.[6] The FCC approved the sale on January 23, 2013; and the sale was completed on February 19.[7][8]
Syndicated Shows
Current syndicated programming includes The Insider, Rachel Ray, Dr. Phil, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace, Entertainment Tonight, and Access Hollywood.
News/station presentation
Newscast titles
- KLYD-TV News (1959–1964)
- Newsbeat 17 (1960s)
- The Six O'Clock Report/The Eleven O'Clock Report (1964–1970)
- TV-17 News (1970–1975)
- Newscene 17 (1975–1978)
- Channel 17 News (1978–1980)
- The NewsCenter (1981–1984)
- 17 NewsCenter (1984–1990s)
- Team 17 News (1990s–1999?)
- 17 News (1999?–present)
Station slogans
- Color 17, The Full Color Station (1960s)
- Let's Get Together on TV-17 (1970–1971; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- This is the Place to Be, on TV-17 (1971–1973; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- TV-17 is Your Place to Be (1973–1974)
- The Best is Right Here on 17/17 is Easy on the Eyes (1973-1974; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- See the Best...17 (1974–1975; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Catch the Brightest Stars on 17 (1975–1976; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- 17, We're the Hot Ones (1976-1977; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- There's Something in the Air, on 17 (1977–1978; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- 17, Turn Us On, We'll Turn You On (1978-1979; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- We're Looking Good, on 17 (1979–1980; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Looking Good Together, 17 (1980–1981; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Reach for the Stars on 17 (1981–1982; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Great Moments on 17 (1982–1983; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- We've Got the Touch, You and 17 (1983–1984; last localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- 17, Let's All Be There! (1984–1986; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come Home to 17 (1986–1987; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come on Home to 17 (1987–1988; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come Home To The Best, Only on 17 (1988–1990; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- 17, The Place To Be! (1990–1992; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Working in the Spirit of the Golden Empire (1991–present)
- It's A Whole New 17 (1992-1993; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- The Stars Are Back on 17 (1993-1994; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
KGET News Team
Current on-air staff
Anchors
- Maddie Janssen - weekday mornings 17 News at Sunrise and noon; also weeknight reporter
- Tami Mlcoch - weeknights at 5 and 11 p.m
- Rachelle Murcia - weeknights at 6 p.m.
- Jim Scott - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Kristin Price - weekends at 5 and 11 p.m.; also multimedia journalist
- Kiyoshi Tomono - weekday mornings 17 News at Sunrise
Weather team
- Alissa Carlson - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Kevin Charette - weather anchor; weekday mornings 17 News at Sunrise and noon
- Kurt Kelsey- meteorologist, weekends at 5 and 11 p.m.
Sports team
- Lina Washington - sports anchor, weekends at 5 and 11 p.m.; also multimedia journalist
Reporters
- Paul Harris - multimedia journalist
- Kristin Price - live reporter, weekday mornings on 17 News at Sunrise
- Katey Rusch - multimedia journalist
Notable former staff
- Alexia Kapaniaris - 6 PM / 11 PM anchor 2005-2006
- Alicia Acuna - 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor/reporter until 1995 (currently with Fox News Channel)
- Aaron Rothskoff - 5pm news producer 2003-2005
- Annette Clauson - 17 sunrise & midday producer until 1998
- Blake Chenault - weekend anchor 1992-1992 (now anchor at WAVE in Virginia Beach)
- Brad Hoffman - sportscaster / director 1999-2003
- Bob Dlugos - 5pm news producer 1998-2003 (currently with KSEE-TV in Fresno, CA)
- Brett Barnes - weekend sportscaster / reporter 2002-2004
- Carolyn Douglas - anchor / reporter 1985-1993 (currently with KING 5 Seattle)
- Charlotte Starck - sunrise/noon/6 PM /11 PM anchor-reporter 1997-2002 (currently with KING 5 / NWCN Seattle)
- Chelsea Wilhite - producer, 17 news at sunrise 1998-2001
- Chris Burrous - 5 PM / 11PM weekend / sunrise anchor/reporter/weathercaster 1999-2001, 2003–2005 (currently with KOVR / KMAX inSacramento)
- Chris Donohue - weathercaster until 1995
- Clint Olivier - reporter, 17 news at sunrise 2003-2005 (currently with KMPH)
- Doug Potter - producer 5pm news until 1998
- Drew Sugars - 5 PM / 11PM weekend anchor/reporter 1998-1999
- Elita Loresca - assignment editor 2001-2003 (currently weather anchor at KNBC in Los Angeles)
- Emily Valdez (Moore) - Reporter (currently at Fox 8 in Cleveland)
- Gaylen Young - sunrise-noon-6 PM-11 PM anchor/business reporter 1984-2007 (currently living in Salt Lake City, UT and running website: Bakersfield Business.com)
- George Lindsay Young - chief weathercaster 1987-1990, 1997–2004 (son of weathercaster Lloyd Lindsay Young) (left broadcasting to pursue a career in real estate. Currently in San Diego)
- Jack Bowe - news director 1990-2001
- Jeff Ricou producer 6&11pm newscasts 1997-2005/Weekend reporter 1999/Cable Cut-in anchor 1999-2001 (Now at KNBC-TV)
- Jennifer Musa - 5 PM / 11 PM weekend anchor-reporter 2006-2008 (currently with KSWB San Diego)
- Jennifer Ramp - 5 PM-11PM weekend then sunrise-noon anchor/reporter 1995-1997
- John Elliot sunrise-noon-5 PM- 6 PM- 11 PM weathercaster / anchor 1995-1999 (currently with WCBS New York)
- John Pilios - news director 2001–present
- Jystin Allen - weekend sportscaster/reporter 2000-2002
- with WTSP until mid 2009.
- Katie Price - weekend anchor 1991-1993 (now a teacher in Bakersfield)
- Keith Pate - weekend sportscaster/reporter 2004-2007
- Kevin Keeshan - nephew of Captain Kangaroo star Bob Keeshan (currently with KGO San Francisco as news director)
- Kit Olpin - reporter/anchor 1996-1999 (left broadcasting in 2004, currently pursuing career in hospitality & real estate in Salt Lake City)
- Kurt Rivera - sunrise anchor/reporter 1999-2003 (currently with KBAK andKBFX as anchor)
- Leslie Kirk - reporter 2002-2003
- Leticia Ordaz - reporter 2000-2002 (currently with KCRA Sacramento)
- Lori Wallace - weathercaster 2003-2004, 2005–2007 (currently with KMAX 31 CW Sacramento as Good Day Sacramento features reporter)
- Mai Do - anchor/reporter 1999-2005 (retired from broadcasting & living in Sacramento)
- Maryellen Ford - reporter 1996-1999 (wife of John Elliott)
- Maya Nishikawa - 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor/reporter until 1997
- Maya Sanchez - 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor/reporter 1998-2006
- Megan Trihey - 11pm news producer 2005-2007
- Mike Valpredo - weekend sportscaster/reporter 1999-2000
- Mike Trihey - assignment manager 2001–present
- Natalie Moultrie - noon-6 PM-11 PM anchor/reporter 1992-1998
- Natasha Stenbock - sunrise-noon weathercaster/reporter 2003-2005 (currently with KFMB San Diego)
- Nerissa Sugars - 5 PM / 11PM weekend anchor/reporter 1998-1999 (wife of Drew Sugars)
- Patricia Soto - anchor/reporter 1996-2000
- Quyen Chung - reporter 2004-2005
- Rebecca Klein - reporter 1997-1999 (retired from broadcasting and living in Baltimore, MD)
- Rick Griffith - 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor/reporter until 1998
- Ron Lewis - 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor/reporter 1992-2002 (retired from broadcasting and living in Colorado)
- Rusty Shoop - 5 PM-11 PM anchor until 1996 (retired from broadcasting and living in Bakersfield)
- Sandra Gonzalez - reporter/fill-in anchor 2002-2006
- currently with WVUE Fox New Orleans
- Shelle Jackson - 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor/reporter 1996-1998
- Sherry Hayamiya - reporter 2007-2008
- Spencer Washburn - weekend anchor/reporter 2003-2006
- Steve Talbot - sportscaster/director 1992-1998, news director 1972-1973
- Susie Frankeberger - noon-5 PM-6 PM then 5 PM-11 PM weekend anchor 1990-1998
- Katie Price - weekend/morning anchor/reporter 1988-1996 (currently broadcast consultant and program host for KGOV)
- Suzanne Marques - weekend anchor/reporter 2002-2003 (currently with KTTV Los Angeles)
- Tiffany McElroy - reporter 1998-1999
- Trisha Lewis - reporter 2004-2006 (currently with WTVJ Miami/Fort Lauderdale)
- Tom Helmer - weekend sportscaster/reporter 1997-1998
- Tricia Hua - reporter 2001-2004
- Vic Salazar - anchor/reporter (currently President/CEO of Vic Salazar Communications San Diego)
- Vivian Tucker - host/historical features reporter 1979-2007 (deceased)
References
- ^ "Central California Edition". mcsittel.com. Retrieved May 30, 2006.
- ^ "Central California Edition". geocities.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
- ^ Clear Channel Communications (2007-04-20). "Clear Channel Agrees to Sell Television Station Group to Providence Equity Partners". Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ a b "Newport stations drift to High Plains". Television Business Report. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ "Application Search Details". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2008-09-28.