KPLC

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KPLC

Lake Charles/Lafayette, Louisiana
Branding	KPLC 7News
Slogan	7 at Your Service
Channels	7 (VHF) analog, 8 (HDTV, VHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC NBC Weather Plus (DT2)
Owner	Raycom Media
Founded	1954
Call letters meaning	Keeping the People of Lake Charles
Website	KPLCTV.com

KPLC is an NBC affiliate licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana; also serving Lafayette, Louisiana, broadcasting on analog channel 7. It is owned by Raycom Media, with transmitter facilities located in Fenton, Louisiana.

1 History of KPLC
2 KPLC 7 News Team
3 Newscasts
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] History of KPLC

KPLC-TV began broadcasting in the summer of 1954. Owner T.B. Lanford of Shreveport had previously signed on KPLC-AM radio and was eager to expand into television.

The station was later purchased by a St. Louis group headed by investor Elliot Stien. He visited KPLC frequently along with his friend, St. Louis Cardinal baseball legend Stan Musial.

In 1970, G. Russell Chambers purchased KPLC-TV from the St. Louis group and dramatically increased the station's coverage by adding a 1,500 foot tower, providing a quality signal for the NBC affiliate as far north as Leesville, as far east as Lafayette and to the Gulf of Mexico. FCC regulations required that the radio stations be sold. Perry Sanders purchased the AM/FM combo and changed its call letters to KLCL.

In 1986, Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Liberty Life Insurance Company, took over. KPLC was one of the first television stations in the U.S. to launch its own website in the 1990s.

In 2004, KPLC began broadcasting in digital as well as analog with the launch of KPLC (DT). Later in the year the station launched its first local 24-hour weather channel, "KPLC WeatherPlus." Simultaneously, the station launched a service specifically for cellphones and PDA's, "7 On Your Cell."

In January 2006, Liberty and KPLC were purchased by Raycom Media, which also owns two other Louisiana television stations, KSLA in Shreveport and WAFB in Baton Rouge.

KPLC is consistently one of the nation's most watched television stations, ranking among the top 5 Nielsen-rated stations nationally throughout the year.

[edit] KPLC 7 News Team

Cynthia Arceneaux (5pm, 6pm & Nightcast news anchor)
Curtis Atkinson, Jr (7 Storm Team Chief Meteorologist)
Vince Atkinson (Nightcast General Assignment Reporter
John Bridges (Sunrise news anchor, Louisiana Traveler)
Marty Briggs (6pm & Nightcast news anchor, previous Sports Director)
Pam Dixon (Noon news anchor, Education Reporter)
Britney Glaser (Assignment Reporter & Newscast Producer)
Mike Griffin (7 Storm Team Meteorologist, Sunrise & Midday)
Wade Hampton (7 Storm Team Meteorologist)
Rhonda Kitchens (weekend news anchor & Assignment Reporter, former associate producer on Sunrise)
Garrett Lumpkin (Sports Anchor & Reporter)
Laila Morcos (Sunrise news anchor)
Jordan Sandler (news & sports reporter)
Theresa Schmidt (general news & environment reporter)

[edit] Newscasts

KPLC 7 News Sunrise (5:00am-7:00am with news & weather updates during Today)
KPLC 7 News Midday (11:30am-12:00pm)
KPLC 7 News @ Noon (12:00pm-12:30pm)
KPLC 7 News Live @ 5 (5:00pm-5:30pm)
- anchored by Cynthia Arceneaux with Chief Meteorologist Curtis Atkinson
KPLC 7 News @ 6 (6:00pm-6:30pm)
- Monday-Friday: anchored by Cynthia Arceneaux & Marty Briggs with Chief Meteorologist Curtis Atkinson
KPLC 7 News Nightcast (10:00pm-10:35pm)
- Monday-Friday: same as 6pm newscast

[edit] Trivia

In March 2004 while installing a new transmission tower in high winds, the old transmission tower fell, causing a service disruption lasting about two weeks to over-the-air viewers in Southwest Louisiana. Service to cable customers was not interrupted due to the station's signal being delivered by fiber lines. A lower-power temporary tower was erected on top the station's broadcast studios a couple of days after the tower fell, allowing viewers within a few miles of the station to again receive the signal over-the-air.

During Hurricane Rita, which struck in September 2005, the station delivered around-the-clock news from a temporary, makeshift studio in a safer location than its normal studios in downtown Lake Charles.

[edit] External links

Broadcast television in the Lake Charles market (Nielsen DMA #175)
KATC 3 (ABC) - KPLC 7 (NBC) - KLFY 10 (CBS) - KFAM-LP 14 (Ind) - KLTL 18 (PBS/LPB) - KVHP 29 (FOX)
Local digital television channels
KUIL 30.2 (FOX)
Local cable television channels WBLC (The CW Plus)

Broadcast television in the Lafayette, LA market (Nielsen DMA #124)
KATC 3 (ABC) - KPLC 7 (NBC) (NBC Weather Plus on DT2, the Tube on DT3) - KLFY 10 (CBS) - KADN 15 (FOX) - KLFT-CA 21 (TSC) - KDCG-CA 22 (America One/TSC) - KLPB 24 (PBS/LPB) - KAJN-LP 40 / KAGN-LP 31 (Ind) - KLWB 50 (The CW) - KLAF-LP 62 (MNTV)
Stations from neighboring markets available on cable television WBRZ 2 (ABC, Baton Rouge) - WAFB 9 (CBS, Baton Rouge) - WVLA 33 (NBC, Baton Rouge)
Local cable television channels
Cox 4 - Acadiana Open Channel
See also: Broadcast television stations in the Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Alexandria, and New Orleans, Louisiana Markets

NBC Network Affiliates in the state of Louisiana

KALB 5 (Alexandria) - KTAL 6 (Shreveport) - WDSU 6 (New Orleans) - KPLC 7 (Lake Charles) - WVLA 33 (Baton Rouge)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, PBS, and Other Stations in Louisiana