KTEN-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Oklahoma and North Texas that is licensed to Ada, Oklahoma. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter north of Milburn, Oklahoma along OK 7. Owned by the Lockwood Broadcast Group, the station has studios on High Point Circle in Denison, Texas. KTEN-DT2 airs CW programming as "Texoma CW" in SDTV and SDTV Widescreen. KTEN-DT3 airs ABC programming as "ABC Texoma". Syndicated programming from KTEN include: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Dr. Oz Show, and The World's Funniest Moments.
 
| |
| Sherman & Denison, Texas and Ada & Ardmore, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| Branding | KTEN (general)
KTEN News (newscasts) (pronounced as "K-Ten") Texoma CW (on DT2) ABC Texoma (on DT3) |
| Channels | Digital: 26 (UHF)
Virtual: 10 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 10.1 - NBC |
| Owner | Lockwood Broadcasting Group
(Channel 49 Acquisition Corporation) |
| First air date | June 1, 1954 |
| Call letters' meaning | Channel TEN
(former analog channel assignment) |
| Former channel number(s) | 10 (VHF analog, 1954-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (1954-1998)
Fox (secondary, 1994-1998) weather radar (on DT3 2006-2010) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 426 m |
| Facility ID | 35666 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°21′32.8″N 96°33′32.7″W(Between Milburn, Oklahomaand Wapanucka, Oklahoma) |
| Website | www.kten.com |
Digital programming
KTEN's signal is multiplexed. It operates the area's CW affiliate on a second digital subchannel. Known on-air as Texoma CW and part of The CW Plus, this can also be seen on CableOnechannel 6 in Oklahoma and CableOne channel 9 in Texas. On May 9, 2010, the station converted its third digital subchannel from a doppler radar image to a channel that operates as the area's ABC affiliate which is known on-air as ABC Texoma.
| Channel | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | KTEN-DT1 | Main KTEN-TV programming / NBC (HD) |
| 10.2 | KTEN-DT2 | Main CW Texoma Programming / The CW (HD) |
| 10.3 | KTEN-DT3 | Main ABC Texoma Programming / ABC (HD) |
History
KTEN signed on-the-air in 1954 as the first local television station to serve Texoma. This station, which in recent years has been the area's exclusive NBC affiliate, served as the area's ABC affiliate. This was very unusual for such a small market as ABC was not on par with NBC andCBS at the time. It also carried a secondary NBC affiliation. During the late 1950s, it was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. [1] By the mid-1970s as arch-rival KXII (which operated from studios in Ardmore, Oklahoma and Sherman, Texas) was switching its primary network affiliation from NBC to CBS, KTEN began adding a larger proportion of NBC programming to its schedule. This included both in daytime and prime time even to the point of broadcasting both network's evening newscasts (ABC's at 5 p.m. and NBC's at 5:30) in the hour preceding the local newscast at 6 p.m. from 1974 to 1980. The station even got national attention in 1983 when on NBC's Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Doc Severinsen (sitting in for Carson's sidekick Ed McMahon) welcomed KTEN as the newest station to broadcast The Tonight Show. This move was made after KXII, by this time down to just two NBC programs in its schedule, had switched to CBS's late night schedule in a move that eventually led that station toward an exclusive CBS affiliation starting with the 1985-86 season.
By that time, KTEN was on its way to becoming a primary NBC affiliate but still carried a large proportion of ABC's schedule, incorporating both networks' promotional campaigns. Although KTEN's program schedule appeared to be headed toward an exclusive NBC affiliation by the early-to-mid 1990s, another network move was made along the way. In 1994, KTEN added Fox as another secondary affiliation just after that network had won the rights to broadcast NFL football previously seen on CBS (KXII-TV) for many years. The station was in bankruptcy at the time and gained additional network compensation (cash payments) from Fox. It also allowed KTEN the unique ability to show every singleDallas Cowboys game that was not on cable. However, the downside was that the station was becoming even more of a hybrid with three network affiliations (NBC, ABC, and Fox) and even more confusing to viewers.
By 1998, KTEN was out of bankruptcy and the new owners dropped the secondary affiliations with ABC and Fox to make it the area's exclusive NBC affiliate. KTEN was originally based in Ada and is still licensed to that city though the main studios have been located in Denison since 1986. Although this station and arch-rival KXII had theoretically been direct competitors for many years, the 75 mile difference in location between the two stations' transmitters created unequal over-the-air reception conditions with KTEN's picture fair to poor in locations close to KXII's transmitter such as Ardmore, Madill, and Durant as well as almost non-existent in some adjoining areas of Texas. Meanwhile, KXII's over-the-air reception in Ada and surrounding areas was poor due to the northern fringe location of that station's coverage. To become more equally competitive reception-wise, KTEN moved its transmitter from Ada to Milburn in 1984 to provide better over-the-air reception to far Southern Oklahoma near the Red River and to reach across the river to the Sherman/Denison area and adjoining areas of North Texas including Gainesville, Bonham, and Paris.
In Fall 2006, its second digital subchannel began airing programming from The CW. KTEN also carries a third digital subchannel which has been broadcasting audio from the National Weather Service while displaying various weather maps of parts of Oklahoma and Texas using four of the nearest weather radars. These radars overlap the Sherman/Ada/Lake Texoma area which KTEN meteorologists use in their forecast presentations. The station does not have access to any radars that are nearer to the location of its studios. Although it airs The CW on a digital subchannel and KXII broadcasts Fox and MyNetworkTV on both of its digital subchannels, the Ada/Sherman television market lacked a local ABC affiliate until May 9, 2010, when KTEN brought local ABC programming back to Texoma on its third digital subchannel calledABC Texoma. [2] Prior to that time, ABC programming to the area had been sourced from WFAA in Dallas-Ft. Worth and KOCO inOklahoma City depending on the geographic location in the DMA.
News operation
In the mid-1980s, KTEN took advantage of new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules about translators providing localized content. It opened a small bureau and studio for its Paris translator K08KK and began producing a brief news and weather program that would air during the 10 p.m. news. This was discontinued after a few years due to a lack of advertiser support. In 1985, KTEN added a second studio facility on Merrick Drive in Ardmore, and the following year, opened a third studio in the Katy Depot in Downtown Denison that would also become the station's main studio complex. In 2002, KTEN moved its main studio from the Katy Depot to a new location on U.S. 75 in Denison. The station's operations also include the secondary studio in Ardmore and a sales office in its former home city of Ada.
KTEN currently produces 23.5 hours of local news a week (4.5 hours on weekdays and a half-hour each on weekends). Its weekday morning show, KTEN News Today, airs from 5 to 7 with an hour-long midday newscast airing at 11 a.m. that is streamed live on its website and is simulcast on KTEN-DT3. Nightly news broadcasts air at 5, 6, and 10 (the latter of the three is the only newscast airing on weekends, and the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts are simulcast on KTEN-DT3). KTEN began producing a half-hour prime time broadcasts at 9 for its CW subchannelon October 25, 2006 known as Texoma CW News At 9. Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Central Time Zone, that channel also airs the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz on weekdays from 5 to 8 a.m. KTEN-DT3 airs live newscasts in the event a sporting event or other special programming delays the broadcast of the main channel's newscasts. The news will then also be taped and rebroadcast on KTEN after the event. With the addition of ABC on KTEN-DT3, there will be at least two more local newscasts branded as ABC Texoma News which will require adding additional personnel.
News/station presentation
Newscast titles
- TV-10 News (1963-1974)
- Area 10 News (1974-1979)
- The News on 10 (1979-1984)
- News 10 (1984-1985)
- NewsCenter 10 (1985-1990)
- KTEN News (1990-present)[3]
Station slogans
|
|
News team
Anchors
- Lisanne Anderson - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.; also managing editor and executive producer
- Sterling Riggs - weekdays at 4 (on KTEN-DT3), weeknights at 5, 9 (on KTEN-DT2) and 10 p.m.
- Meredith Saldana- weekday mornings and midday.
- Mason Christensen- weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.
Sky Alert 10 Weather Team
- Alan Mitchell (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
- Cathy Evans - weekday mornings and midday.
- Stephen Nehrenz- weekdays at 4 p.m. and weekends
Reporters
- Kris Betts - general assignment reporter; also ABC Texoma producer
- Jen French - Denison Newsroom reporter
- Deeda Payton - Denison Newsroom reporter
Photographer
- Dave Potter - chief photographer
- Jim Croce - chief broadcast operator
Former on-air staff
| Name: | Before KTEN: | Presition(s) Held: | Span: | Now At: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitney R. Allen | Weekday Morning News Anchor, Evanston Today Live Anchor | WREX | ||
| Vanessa Bolano | WFOR-TV; WSVN | Reporter/Producer, Denison Newsroom | 2007-2009 | WGNO |
| Steve Carano | ?? - ?? | KOCO-TV | ||
| Collin Daly | Meteorologist, KTEN News at 10 - Weekend Edition & School Visit Coordinator | 2006 - 2009 | ||
| Rich Segal | Chief meterologist and news director/anchor | 1991 - 1994 | News 8 Austin | |
| Brandon Dunn | ?? - 2009 | KTAL-TV | ||
| Randy Garsee | Weekday Evening News Anchor | ?? - 2009 | ||
| Marc Istook | Weekend Sports Anchor, 6 & 10 News Anchor, Sports Director | 1999 - 2001 | TV Guide Network | |
| Cyndi Kahlbaum | Weekday Morning Meteorologist | 2007-2009 | WREX | |
| Jocelyn Lockwood | News Anchor/Executive Producer, KTEN News Weekdays at 5, 6, & 10 and Texoma CW News Weekdays at 9 | 2005 - 2009 | WGNO | |
| Scott Sams | WFAA | news anchor | ?? - 2009 | KTVT |
| Joe Walker | Weekend Sports Anchor, Denison Newsroom | 2006-2008 |
Logos
References
- ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films", Boxoffice: 13, November 10, 1956
- ^ http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2010/04/06/daily.12/
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOz8EUL0nlw
External links
- KTEN-TV on the English Wikipedia
- KTEN.com - Official KTEN-TV Website
- TexomaCW.com - Official CW Texoma Website
- ABCTexoma.com - Official ABC Texoma Website