KCBS-TV
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KCBS-TV (Channel 2, "CBS 2") is the West Coast flagship station of the CBS television network. The station is seen via satellite through Dish Network and DirecTV.
Technical Information
- Frequency: Channel 2
- Name: CBS 2
- Radius: 85 miles (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties)
- Slogan:
- Start of Operation: May 6, 1948 as KTSL-TV.
- Transmitter Location: Los Angeles, California (34° 13' 55.00" N Latitude, 118° 4' 18.00" W Longitude)
- Transmitter Power: 36.3 kW
History
KCBS-TV is the second oldest commercially-licensed television station in Southern California, behind KTLA Channel 5. It began its operations as an experimental station under the call sign W6XAO, and then became KTSL on May 6, 1948. It was affiliated with the old DuMont Television Network (current Fox television O&O KTTV was Los Angeles' original CBS station).
On January 1, 1951, CBS gave up its 50% stake in KTTV (Los Angeles Times owned the other half) and purchased KTSL. CBS programming moved to Channel 2. In November of 1951, KTSL changed its call letters to KNXT, to coincide with co-owned CBS radio station, KNX-AM 1070.
In 1960, Channel 2 created the nation's first one-hour local newscast, "The Big News," which featured the late Jerry Dunphy, one of Southern California's most beloved news icons (along with legendary weatherman Bill Keene and sportscaster Gil Stratton. This helped make Channel 2 the number-one news station in Los Angeles, much like its sister stations, WBBM-TV in Chicago and WCBS-TV in New York City. Eventually, KNXT expanded to two-and-a-half hours of live local news. However, in the mid 1970s, rival KABC-TV began gaining ratings at KNXT's expense. The station fired Dunphy (who was quickly hired by KABC) and adopted a format similar to KABC's Eyewitness News, but the ratings plummeted and have never recovered.
On April 2, 1984, at noon, KNXT changed its call letters to the present KCBS-TV. The station, much like many others in the 1990s, adopted the "CBS2" moniker for its on-air image. In 2002, KCBS-TV became sister stations with KCAL after the latter was purchased by Viacom.
The station's longtime home on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, CBS Columbia Square will be vacated, and Viacom has plans to relocate its Los Angeles television stations to a new office complex on the site of its CBS Studio Center in Studio City in 2006, located 5 miles away in the San Fernando Valley. Groundbreaking of the new KCAL/KCBS-TV studios took place on June 17, 2005.
Former callsigns
- 1948–1951: KTSL
- 1951–1984: KNXT
- 1984–present: KCBS-TV
Personalities
The station's former anchors include Connie Chung and Maury Povich. Jerry Dunphy was once an anchor at KCBS and KCAL, both Viacom Stations in Los Angeles.