KOCO-TV

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KOCO-TV
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Branding	KOCO-TV 5/Eyewitness News 5
Slogan	Live. Local. Latebreaking.
Channels	5 (VHF) analog, 7 (VHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Hearst-Argyle Television
Founded	July 2, 1954
Call letters meaning	K Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Former callsigns	KGEO (1954-1958)
Former affiliations	None
Website	www.koco.com

KOCO-TV, commonly referred to as "KOCO 5" or "Eyewitness News 5" is the ABC affiliate in the Oklahoma City television market. The station is owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., but uses "Ohio/Oklahoma Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc." as their end tag during their newscasts.

The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 5, and its digital signal on VHF channel 7. On cable, KOCO-TV can be seen on channel 8 on Cox Oklahoma City and on channel 5 on other Cox systems in Central Oklahoma. The station is also available to DirecTV and Dish Network customers within the Oklahoma City market.

KOCO-TV also serves as one of three default ABC affiliates for the Sherman-Ada market (the other two are KTUL-TV in Tulsa and WFAA-TV in Dallas) since that market currently lacks a ABC affiliate of its own, as the market's former ABC affiliate KTEN became an NBC affiliate in 1998.

The station's Eyewitness News 5 broadcasts are currently the top-rated programs (per Nielsen Media Research) at both 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. KOCO also features the market's highest-rated daytime programming and, as of November 2006, the most-watched network newscast in ABC's World News with Charles Gibson.

KOCO has the fastest revolving weather radar in the area, Advantage Doppler HD, and employs the largest fleet of live trucks in the state of Oklahoma.

Contents 1 History 2 Eyewitness News 3 5 Alive 4 Newscasts 4.1 Weekdays 4.2 Saturday 4.3 Sunday 5 Personalities 5.1 Current On-Air Talent 5.2 Former On-Air Talent 6 News/Station Presentation 6.1 Newscast Titles 6.2 Station Slogans 7 Trivia 8 Logo Gallery 9 Office location 10 External links

[edit] History

The station signed on July 2, 1954 as KGEO, based in Enid, and had been the only full-power VHF station in north-central Oklahoma. Its transmitter and studio location were moved to Oklahoma City in 1958, becoming the third VHF television station to sign on in the Oklahoma City market, behind KFOR and KWTV. KOCO's original Oklahoma City studio was located at NW 63rd and Portland Avenue but moved to its present location near the transmitter site on East Britton Road in the early 1980s.

Prior to the move from Enid to Oklahoma City, ABC network programming was seen in Oklahoma City on KTVQ Channel 25 starting in 1953 until it went dark in 1956, signing on the air again as the present-day KOKH-TV in 1959.

KOCO's move from Enid to Oklahoma City in 1958 was similar to that of Tulsa's ABC affiliate, KTUL-TV Channel 8, which the previous year had moved to Oklahoma's second largest city after originating in Muskogee, Oklahoma under the callsign KTVX.

In January 1997, Gannett swapped KOCO-TV, along with WLWT in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Argyle Television in exchange for WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan and WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York. Argyle merged with Hearst Broadcasting in August of that year, creating Hearst-Argyle Television.

[edit] Eyewitness News

KOCO 5 has used the Eyewitness News brand on two separate occasions during its history, 1974-1977 and from 1998-present. The first period was during a time when the format was very popular in TV markets throughout the nation. Local CBS affiliate KWTV 9 had previously used the Eyewitness News moniker from 1966 to 1971 but dropped it when the newscast was renamed Newsroom 9. Despite the use of the Eyewitness News concept and name, KOCO remained for many years a distant third place in local news ratings against dominant NBC affiliate WKY-TV Channel 4 (later KTVY and now KFOR-TV) and KWTV. KOCO aired its evening newscast at 5:30 p.m. rather than the 6 p.m. time slot used by KTVY and KWTV until the early 1980s when it introduced an early evening newscast at 5 p.m. and a 6 p.m. broadcast with ABC's World News Tonight in the 5:30 p.m. timeslot. All three programs were top-rated in the market in November 2006.

[edit] 5 Alive

In 1977 KOCO's parent company, Combined Communications, did a makeover of the station's image by adopting the "5 Alive" branding that was introduced at other Combined-owned stations. Although a number of Combined stations that adopted the practice of using the word "Alive" as part of their monikers ended the practice after Gannett purchased Combined in 1979, KOCO continued promoting itself as "5 Alive" until 1994. During the "5 Alive" era, KOCO's local newscasts were branded as "5 Alive NewsCenter" or "5 Alive News", and, thanks to Gannett's resources and investment in the station which included a new studio facility in the early 1980s along with news helicopters, KOCO improved its fortunes in local news ratings in the Oklahoma City market from 1980 to 1982 when the station briefly overtook KWTV for second place and even battled longtime powerhouse KTVY for first place. By 1983, KOCO settled into a solid second place as KWTV rose from a distant third all the way to first place, displacing KTVY from the top spot it held for decades. By the late 1980s, KOCO dropped back to third place, where it lingered for years.

In 1994 KOCO dropped the "5 Alive" branding in use since 1977 and the newscast was renamed "5 News." In 1998 after the station was purchased by current owner Hearst-Argyle Television, the newscast was renamed "Eyewitness News 5" - a moniker previously used during the mid-1970s. In recent years, the station boosted its commitment to news and weather coverage, adding newscasts and positioning itself as "live, local, latebreaking." The efforts helped propel the station's 5:00 newscast into first place in the market in 2004. In November 2006, KOCO also registered its first-ever outright win at 6:00 p.m.

[edit] Newscasts

[edit] Weekdays

• Eyewitness News 5 in the Morning: 5 - 7 AM
  • anchored by John Flick and Tierney Cook with Rusty McCranie on weather
• Eyewitness News 5 @ Noon: 12 - 12:30 PM
  • anchored by John Flick or Tierney Cook with Rusty McCranie on weather
• Eyewitness News 5 @ 5: 5 - 5:30 PM
  • anchored by Tyler Suiters and Jessica Schambach with Rick Mitchell on weather
• Eyewitness News 5 @ 6: 6 - 6:30 PM
  • anchored by Tyler Suiters and Maggie Carlo with Rick Mitchell on weather and Mark Rodgers with sports
• Eyewitness News 5 @ 10: 10 - 10:35 PM
  • anchored by Tyler Suiters and Jessica Schambach with Rick Mitchell on weather and Mark Rodgers with sports

[edit] Saturday

• Eyewitness News 5 Saturday Morning: 10 AM - 12 PM
  • anchored by Kimberly Lohman with Steve Carano on weather

(During college football season, ABC Sports coverage may shorten newscast to one hour from 10 - 11 AM)

• Eyewitness News 5 @ 6: 6 - 6:30 PM
  • anchored by Kate Godwin with Aaron Tuttle on weather and Chris Callahan with sports

(During college football season, ABC Sports coverage may cause newscast to be pre-empted or abbreviated)

• Eyewitness News 5 @ 10: 10 - 10:35 PM
  • anchored by Kate Godwin with Aaron Tuttle on weather and Chris Callahan with sports

[edit] Sunday

• Eyewitness News 5 Sunday Morning: 7 - 9 AM
  • anchored by Mark Opgrande with Steve Carano on weather
• Eyewitness News 5 @ 5:30: 5 - 5:30 PM
  • anchored by Maggie Carlo with Aaron Tuttle on weather and Chris Callahan with sports
• Eyewitness News 5 @ 10: 10 - 11:05 PM
  • anchored by Tyler Suiters, Jessica Schambach and Maggie Carlo with Aaron Tuttle on weather and Chris Callahan with sports

[edit] Personalities

[edit] Current On-Air Talent

EYEWITNESS NEWS 5 ANCHORS

• Maggie Carlo, 6PM Co-Anchor (Weeknights)/10PM Anchor (Sunday)/Fill-in Anchor/Reporter
• Tierney Cook, Morning Anchor/Fill-in 12PM Anchor/Reporter
• John Flick, Morning and 12PM Anchor/Reporter
• Kate Godwin, Saturday Evening Anchor/Reporter
• Kimberly Lohman, Saturday Morning Anchor/Fill-in Anchor/Reporter
• Mark Opgrande, Sunday Morning Anchor/Reporter
• Jessica Schambach, 5PM Anchor (Weeknights)/10PM Anchor (Sunday-Friday)/Reporter
• Tyler Suiters, 5PM and 6PM Anchor (Weeknights)/10PM Anchor (Sunday-Friday)/Reporter

EYEWITNESS NEWS 5 REPORTERS

• Nicole Burgin, General Assignment Reporter
• Constance Jones, General Assignment Reporter
• Chris Lee, Photojournalist/Voice-Over Reporter
• Sophia Reza, General Assignment Reporter
• Adam Slinger, General Assignment Reporter
• Kevin Sims, General Assignment Reporter/Fill-in Anchor
• Jordan Williams, General Assignment Reporter

HEARST-ARGYLE WASHINGTON BUREAU

• Sally Kidd, General Assignment Reporter
• Laurie Kinney, General Assignment Reporter
• Traci Mitchell, General Assignment Reporter

FIRST ALERT WEATHER/FIRST ALERT STORM TEAM

• Rick Mitchell (AMS Certified), 5, 6 and 10PM Chief Meteorologist
• Steve Carano (AMS/NWA Certified), Weekend Morning Meteorologist/Fill-in Morning and Midday Meteorologist
• Rusty McCranie (AMS/NWA Certified), Weekday Morning and Noon Meteorologist/Fill-in Meteorologist
• Aaron Tuttle (AMS Certified), Weekend Evening Meteorologist/Fill-in Meteorologist
• Chris Lee, First Alert Storm Team Unit 2
• Mark Fryklund, First Alert Storm Team Unit 5
• Rob Hedrick, First Alert Storm Team Unit 11
• Jay Beauchamp, First Alert Storm Team Unit 13

SPORTS XTRA ANCHORS/REPORTERS

• Mark Rodgers, Sports Director/6PM and 10PM Sports Anchor/"Sunday Sports Xtra" Co-Host
• Chris Callahan, Weekend Sports Anchor/"Sunday Sports Xtra" Co-Host
• Mike Rigg, Sports Reporter/Fill-in Sports Anchor

[edit] Former On-Air Talent

• Terese Arena, Reporter (1976-1982)
• Cherokee Ballard, Weekend Anchor/Reporter (1985-2005; now at KFOR-TV)
• Gerry Bonds, "Oklahoma Pride" Feature Reporter (1989-1994; now at OETA)
• Fred Norman, chief meteorologist (1972-1983)
• Dean Blevins, Sports Anchor (1990-1993; now at KWTV)
• Jack Bowen, Anchor/Reporter (1976-1987 and 1990-1995)
• Jeff Castle, Meteorologist (1999-2002; now at WAFF-TV in Huntsville, AL)
• Mick Cornett, Sports Anchor/Morning News Anchor/Reporter (1981-1999; Now Mayor of Oklahoma City)
• Ross Dixon, meteorologist (1966-late 1980s; now at OETA)
• Paul Bouchereau,Meteorologist (1979-1981; Now at Feed The Children,Inc)
• Ed Doney, Reporter (1998-1999; now at KFOR-TV)
• Jennifer Eve, Anchor/Reporter (1980s-2001)
• Jane Jayroe, Anchor/Reporter (1977-1992)
• Sean Kimerling, Weekend Sports Anchor/Sports Reporter (1994-1997; deceased)
• Mike Morgan, Chief Meteorologist (1989-1992; Now at KFOR-TV)
• Tom MacNamara, Anchor/Reporter (?-1992)
• Mark Ockerbloom, Sports Anchor/Reporter (1994-2000; now at WFXT in Boston)
• Jerry Park, Sports anchor (1974-1999; now at KOKC Radio)
• Jon Slater, Meteorologist (1992-1994; now at KOKI-TV in Tulsa)
• Ron Stahl, Reporter (1980-late 1990s; now reporter on "Discover Oklahoma")
• Dean Swanson, Anchor (1973-1977)
• Merrill Teller, meteorologist (late 1970s; now at KWCH-TV in Wichita)
• Ron Terrell, Sports Director (2001-2003; now at KOKI-TV in Tulsa)
• Cindy Wall-Morrison, Anchor (1989-1996; now at KTUL-TV in Tulsa)
• Terri Watkins, Reporter (1982-2006)

[edit] News/Station Presentation

[edit] Newscast Titles

• Channel 5 Eyewitness News (1974-1977; Eyewitness News branding also used by KWTV)
• 5 Alive NewsCenter (1977-1987)
• 5 Alive News (1987-1994)
• 5 News (1994-1998)
• Eyewitness News 5 (1998-present)

[edit] Station Slogans

• The One to Count On (1994-1998)
• Live. Local. Latebreaking. (1998-present)

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[edit] Trivia

• Weekday evening anchor and reporter Tyler Suiters and Saturday morning anchor and reporter Kimberly Lohman are married. Although they have been working at KOCO since 1998, it was only two years into their tenure at the station that they anchored a newscast together.
• KOCO-TV, which in November 2006 was designated the number one-rated ABC affiliate in the United States, is one of only two stations in the Oklahoma City market (#45, 2006-2007) to have the number one network station, owned-and-operated or affiliated, of the network they're affiliated with. The only other is KOCB-TV, which as a WB affiliate was the number one WB affiliate in the nation for the 2005-2006 season.
• KOCO-TV is one of a few ABC affiliates that does not air the entire ABC network's program schedule. The station preempts one hour of ABC Kids programming on Saturday mornings and has done so since the fall of 2006 (prior to this, said hour was shown six hours behind the network's recommended time slot of 11am). In addition, it is one of several ABC stations to air All My Children weekdays at 11AM, instead of the network's recommended time of 12PM, due to their midday newscast airing at that time slot, a program move similar to some other ABC affiliates whose programming is seen in some sections of Oklahoma such as KVII-TV, Amarillo, Texas and WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth.

[edit] Logo Gallery

Kinescope shot from 1960.

5Alive logo from 1990 as seen on newscast intro.

KOCO "Circle 5" logo from 1994 as seen on newscast intro.

Revision of "Circle 5" logo used since late 1994/1995.

[edit] Office location

KOCO's studios and transmitter are located at 1300 East Britton Road, approximately a two minute drive from the studios of KFOR-TV.

[edit] External links

• KOCO.com
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KOCO

Broadcast television in the Metropolitan Oklahoma City market  (Nielsen DMA #46)
KFOR 4 (NBC) - KOCO 5 (ABC) - KOHC 7 (AZA) - KWTV 9 (CBS) - KETA 13 / KWET 12 (PBS / OETA) - KTBO 14 (TBN) - KLHO 17 (LFN) - KUOT 19 (Almavision) - KTOU 21 (HSN) - KOKH 25 (Fox) - KGBN 27 (A1) - KTUZ 30 (TMD) - KWEM 31 (A1) - KXOK 32 (A1) - KOCB 34 (The CW) - KUOK 35 (UNI) - KCHM-LP 36 (UNI) - KOHC 38 (AZA) - KXOC 41 (A1) - KAUT 43 (MNTV) - KOCM 46 (DS) - KWDW-LP 48 (UNI) - KSBI 52 (Ind) - KOPX 62 (ION)
Local cable television channels City Channel 20 -  News Now 53