KOAM-TV

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KOAM-TV
KOAM-TV Logo.png
Pittsburg, Kansas/Joplin, Missouri
United States
CityPittsburg, Kansas
BrandingKOAM-TV (general)
KOAM News Now (newscasts)
SloganThe Four States' Most Watched News
ChannelsDigital: 7 (VHF)
Virtual: 7 (PSIP)
Affiliations7.1: CBS
7.2: Fox
7.3: MeTV
7.4: Heroes & Icons
OwnerMorgan Murphy Media
(QueenB Television of Kansas/Missouri, LLC)
First air dateDecember 13, 1953 (65 years ago) (1953-12-13)
Call letters' meaningKansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri
Sister station(s)KFJX
Former channel number(s)Analog:
7 (VHF, 1953–2009)
Digital:
13 (VHF, 2001–2009)
Former affiliationsPrimary:
NBC (1953–1982)
Secondary:
ABC (1953–1967)
CBS (1953–1954)
DuMont (1953–1955)
Transmitter power14.8 kW
Height335.8 m (1,102 ft)
Facility ID58552
Transmitter coordinates37°13′15″N 94°42′26″W / 37.22083°N 94.70722°W / 37.22083; -94.70722
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
Websitewww.koamnewsnow.com

KOAM-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 7, is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Pittsburg, Kansas, United States and also serving Joplin, Missouri. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media, which also operates dual Fox/CW+ affiliate KFJX (channel 14, also licensed to Pittsburg) under joint sales and shared services agreements with owner SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The two stations share studios and transmitter facilities on US 69 south of Pittsburg, with a secondary studio and news bureau on South Range Line Road in Joplin.

On cable, KOAM is available on Mediacom channel 4 and on Suddenlink channel 2[1][2], and on channel 7 on other cable systems in the area.

History[edit]

KOAM-TV first signed on at 5:22 p.m. on December 13, 1953 under the ownership of MidContinent Broadcasting Company, a joint venture of The Joplin Globe newspaper and E. Victor Baxter and Lester Cox, owners of KOAM radio (860 AM, the current KKOW), with Baxter and Cox holding controlling interest. The Globe would eventually sell its minority stake in the station to Baxter and Cox.

KOAM-TV launched as a primary affiliate of NBC, owing to KOAM radio's long affiliation with NBC Radio, though it also had secondary affiliations with CBS (until KSWM-TV launched in 1954), DuMont (until that network's 1955 closure) and ABC (until January 1968, when KODE became a full-time ABC affiliate and KUHI-TV signed on with CBS). On September 5, 1982, KOAM swapped affiliations with KTVJ (the former KUHI-TV) and became a CBS affiliate.

KOAM's digital signal on channel 13 signed on in 2001 and remained there until KOAM turned off its analog signal at 12:38 a.m. February 17, 2009 (following The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson), at which time KOAM ceased analog broadcasting and its digital broadcast returned to channel 7. Sister station KFJX, the market's Fox affiliate, moved onto KOAM's former digital channel 13 (KFJX continued to broadcast on analog channel 14 until May 2009 when a line of severe thunderstorms damaged the broadcast tower, forcing the removal of the antenna). KFJX's signal is simulcast in high definition on KOAM's digital subchannel 7.2.

Wheel of Fortune currently airs on KOAM. Jeopardy!, however, airs on KODE (at 4 p.m.) and KSNF (at 5 p.m.), making Joplin–Pittsburg one of only a few markets where the programs are carried on separate stations (normally, both shows air on the same channel back-to-back).

In June 2010, the DirecTV satellite system added Joplin locals to its channel line-up. Initially, KOAM and sister station KFJX refused to allow DirecTV to carry their stations. In February 2012, KOAM and KFJX began airing on DirecTV.

Digital channels[edit]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming [3]
7.1 1080i 16:9 KOAM-DT Main KOAM-TV programming / CBS
7.2 720p KFJX Simulcast of KFJX / Fox
7.3 480i MeTV
7.4 Heroes & Icons

News operation[edit]

KOAM presently broadcasts 21½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday, one hour on Saturdays and a half-hour on Sundays).

Notable former on-air staff[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://tvschedule.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?method=decideFwdForLineup&zipcode=64801&setMyPreference=false&lineupId=MO61705:X
  2. ^ http://tvschedule.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?method=decideFwdForLineup&zipcode=64801&setMyPreference=false&lineupId=MO24438:X
  3. ^ http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KOAM#station
  4. ^ Krishnadev Calamur (2015-06-18). "It's Official: Brian Williams Out As 'NBC Nightly News' Anchor : The Two-Way". NPR. Retrieved 2015-07-13.

External links[edit]