KAIT

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

For the telescope known as KAIT, see Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope. For the village on New Ireland, see Kait, Papua New Guinea.
KAIT
KAIT logo.svg
Jonesboro, Arkansas
United States
BrandingRegion 8 (general)
Region 8 NBC (on DT2)
KAIT CW (on DT3)
Region 8 News
SloganWe Are Region 8! (general)
Dare to Defy (on DT3)
ChannelsDigital: 8 (VHF)
Virtual: 8 (PSIP)
Affiliations
OwnerGray Television
(Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
First air dateJuly 15, 1963 (56 years ago) (1963-07-15)
Call letters' meaningArkansas
Independent
Television
(AIT also sounds like eight)
Sister station(s)WMC-TV, KFVS-TV
Former channel number(s)Analog:
8 (VHF, 1963–2009)
Digital:
9 (VHF, 2003–2009)
Former affiliationsIndependent (1963–1965)
Transmitter power28.2 kW
Height531 m (1,742 ft)
Facility ID13988
Transmitter coordinates35°53′22″N 90°56′7.5″W / 35.88944°N 90.935417°W / 35.88944; -90.935417
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
Websitewww.kait8.com
"KAIT CW" (DT3)

KAIT, virtual and VHF digital channel 8, is an ABC/NBC/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States, serving Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri. The station is owned by Gray Television. KAIT's studios are located on County Road 766 in Jonesboro, and its transmitter is located in Egypt, Arkansas.

History[edit]

KAIT first signed on July 15, 1963 as an independent station, a venture of Fort Smith businessman George Hernreich. It has been affiliated with ABC since 1965.

Most television markets in the country received at least two VHF commercial channels. However, the Jonesboro market could only receive one VHF license because it was sandwiched between Springfield (channels 3 and 10) to the west, Memphis (channels 3, 5, 10, and 13) to the east, Cape Girardeau (channels 3, 6, 8, and 12) to the north, and Little Rock (channels 2, 4, 7, and 11) to the south. KAIT was fortunate to receive this license, and as a result became the only television station to serve Jonesboro until KTEJ signed on the air in May 1976.

The Hernreich family sold the station to Channel Communications in 1984. That company, in turn, sold KAIT to Cosmos Broadcasting, the broadcasting arm of South Carolina-based insurer Liberty Corporation, in 1986. Liberty exited the insurance business in 2000, bringing the Cosmos stations directly under the Liberty banner. Previous owner Raycom Media obtained the station in 2005 through its purchase of Liberty.[1] For many years, KAIT also operated a low-powered translator station K11JW operating on Channel 11 in nearby Blytheville, Arkansas.[2]

KATV (channel 7) and KARK (channel 4) and the signals of other Little Rock area VHF stations adequately covered parts of the KAIT viewing area before the digital transition. Several cable systems in the KAIT viewing area, including Jonesboro and Blytheville, have carried KATV for decades. In compliance with syndex and must-carry regulations, some systems may black out KATV and KARK when either station airs the same program as KAIT, usually during the daytime and primetime hours, except for breaking news, weather bulletins, and regularly-scheduled newscasts. Other cable systems in parts of the KAIT viewing area that are within in the Little Rock television market that also carry KATV, such as in Searcy and Heber Springs, carry both stations without restrictions.

KAIT has been digital-only since June 12, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 9 to channel 8 for post-transition operations.[3]

KAIT began carrying NBC programming on its second digital subchannel on January 26, 2015.[4] On September 1, 2018, a 16:9 widescreen standard definition feed (branded as "KAIT CW") of The CW's national CW Plus service was added to subchannel 8.3, succeeding cable-only "KJOS" as the CW Plus affiliate for the Jonesboro market.

Sale to Gray Television[edit]

On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based Gray Television announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including KAIT, and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion – in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom – will result in Gray's entry into Arkansas with KAIT.[5][6][7][8] The sale was approved on December 20,[9] and was completed on January 2, 2019.[10][11]

Digital channels[edit]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[12]
8.1 720p 16:9 KAIT-AB Main KAIT programming / ABC
8.2 KAIT-NB NBC
8.3 480i KAIT CW KAIT CW

Programming[edit]

Main channel[edit]

In addition to the ABC network schedule, syndicated programming on KAIT includes Wheel of Fortune, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and Judge Judy, among others.[13][14]

KAIT-DT2[edit]

In addition to the NBC network schedule, syndicated programming on KAIT-DT2 includes Jeopardy!, Dr. Phil, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, and Right This Minute, among others.[15] Over the air, KAIT-DT2 broadcasts a 720p high definition signal (downconverted from the native 1080i resolution of the NBC network) on virtual and VHF channel 8.2; however, a direct-to-cable full 1080i high definition feed of this subchannel is available on select cable providers.[16]

KAIT-DT3[edit]

On July 25, 2018, KAIT announced it would be bringing The CW programming (via their national CW+ service) into the Jonesboro market through a third subchannel, starting on September 1, 2018;[17] CW programming had previously been seen on cable systems under the false call sign "KJOS". Over the air, KAIT-DT3 broadcasts a 16:9 widescreen standard definition digital signal on virtual and VHF channel 8.3; however, a direct-to-cable 720p high definition feed of this subchannel is available on select cable providers.[16]

News operation[edit]

KAIT presently broadcasts 24½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4½ hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays).

In addition to reporting on local news stories, members of KAIT's reporting staff are also employed as photojournalists for the station. On October 15, 2007 beginning with the 5 p.m. newscast, KAIT's local newscasts were rebranded, replacing the former K8 News branding with Region 8 News, a branding the station had used during much of the 1980s. The station's longtime slogan "Good Neighbors You Can Turn To" (also "Your Good Neighbor Station") was also replaced with a new slogan ("Always Tracking. Always Watching. Always On.")

On September 16, 2011, KAIT announced that upgrade its newscasts to high definition, and broadcast from a new set; the following night, fellow ABC affiliate KATV in Little Rock started broadcasting its local newscasts in HD. On October 17, 2011 beginning with its 11 a.m. newscast, KAIT became the fourth station in Arkansas (the first in Jonesboro) to broadcast its local newscast in high definition.

Although not owned by the same company, KAIT frequently forms a partnership with the Jonesboro Radio Group for community projects and promotions. The three Jonesboro Radio Group stations involved in the partnership are KEGI 100.5 FM, KDXY 104.9 FM and KJBX 106.3 FM. An audio simulcast of KAIT's 6 p.m. newscast airs Monday-Friday evenings on KJBX.

Notable former on-air staff[edit]

Out-of-market coverage[edit]

KAIT's home market only comprises Craighead, Clay, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, and Sharp counties in Arkansas. With KAIT's 28,200 watts worth of effective radiated power, KAIT's signal can extend into nearby portions of all neighboring markets (e.g. the Memphis, Little Rock, Springfield, MO, and Cape Girardeau, MO–Paducah, KY markets). Even after the digital transition of 2009, KAIT's over-the-air signal can still be picked up as far south as Forrest City, as far north as Hendrickson, Missouri, as far west as Mountain View and as far east as Tiptonville, Tennessee and Caruthersville, Missouri. Some of the northern suburbs of Memphis can also pick up at least a grade B signal.[19][20]

KAIT was dropped from New Wave Communications in Southeast Missouri, in favor of in-market ABC affiliate WSIL and NBC affiliate WPSD on December 31, 2017.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1] Archived November 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ http://oldtvguides.com/all_thumbs/08-kait%20%20%20jonesboro,%20ar%20%20%20316%20mi.html
  3. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  4. ^ "Jonesboro Gets New Fox TV Affiliate - Talk Business & Politics". Talk Business & Politics. June 7, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION". Raycom Media (Press release). June 25, 2018.
  6. ^ Miller, Mark K. (June 25, 2018). "Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  7. ^ John Eggerton (June 25, 2018). "Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
  8. ^ Dade Hayes (June 25, 2018). "Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  9. ^ "FCC OK with Gray/Raycom Merger", Broadcasting & Cable, December 20, 2018, Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "Gray Closes On $3.6 Billion Raycom Merger". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "Gray Completes Acquisition of Raycom Media and Related Transactions", Gray Television, January 2, 2019, Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  12. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KAIT
  13. ^ KAITDT (KAIT-DT) TV Listings, TV Shows, and Schedule - Zap2It
  14. ^ KAIT-TV Programming Info from TitanTV
  15. ^ KAITDT2 (KAIT-DT2) TV Listings, TV Shows, and Schedule - Zap2It
  16. ^ a b "Northeast Arkansas/Southeast Missouri Cable TV Channel Lineup". Ritter Communications. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  17. ^ "KAIT launching new CW affiliate in Region 8". KAIT. July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  18. ^ Troy Diggs (April 25, 2007), KAIT - Midday Promo - 2000, retrieved October 12, 2017
  19. ^ Coverage Maps for the Jonesboro, Arkansas media market. Federal Communications Commission (2009).
  20. ^ KAIT Contour Map
  21. ^ New Wave Communications Programming Changes for the New Year

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KAIT&oldid=905881648"