KUSI-TV
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| KUSI-TV | |
|---|---|
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| San Diego, California | |
| Branding | KUSI (General) KUSI News (News) |
| Slogan | More Local News. |
| Channels | 51 (UHF) analog, 18 (UHF) digital |
| Affiliations | Independent |
| Owner | McKinnon Broadcasting Of Texas |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Call letters meaning | U.S. International (former name for Alliant International University) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1982-1995) UPN (1995-1998) Independent (1999-present) |
| Transmitter Power | 2820 kW/584 m (analog) 355 kW/576 m (digital) |
| Website | www.kusi.com |
KUSI-TV (Channel 51) is an independent television station based in San Diego, California. The station is owned and operated by McKinnon Broadcasting of Texas. Unlike most other independent television stations, KUSI allocates a significant portion of its broadcast day to news programming, although the station does offer syndicated programming such as Live with Regis and Kelly, The Jerry Springer Show, Judge Judy, Judge Alex, Extra, and Montel Williams, among others.
KUSI is available on cable channel 9 on both of San Diego's area cable systems, Time Warner and Cox. The station is also available on its customary Channel 51 position on both of DirecTV's and Dish Network's Local Channels packages.
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[edit] History
KUSI signed on in September 1982 as a general entertainment independent station, airing children's shows, situation comedies, older theaterical and made-for-TV movies, dramas, and sports. For much of the 1980s and 1990s until 2003, KUSI was the over-the-air television home of the San Diego Padres baseball team.
In early 1994, the premiere and expansion of the station's morning newscast had relegated children's programming to the afternoons; by 1995 those shows were scattered to other local outlets and replaced with more court, talk, and reality shows added to KUSI's schedule, mirroring that of Los Angeles' KCAL-TV. Per the branding by station ownership, the station states they have "More Local News" as they statistically have more local news content then other fellow San Diego stations.
The station tried unsuccessfully to wrestle the Fox affiliation away from XETV-TV (Channel 6) in November 1995, after the Fox network first picked up the broadcast rights to the National Football League in 1994, as cited in the United States Court of Appeals (Channel 51, Inc. vs. Fox Television Stations). In that case, KUSI filed an appeal against the Federal Communications Commission in granting Fox a permit to broadcast live sports on the Mexican-licensed signal of XETV. In FCC regulations, stations not licensed to the United States were not allowed to air live sporting events without licensing approval. The permit was granted to Fox on behalf of XETV, and the case was settled on March 26, 1996. However, until XETV started its news operations more than a year later, KUSI provided news-gathering resources to Fox's news and sports divisions for the San Diego market.
KUSI then took on the UPN affiliation in 1995, until it dropped the affiliation in 1998 due to low ratings. Many San Diegans without cable (Los Angeles's KCOP-TV was piped in to the area cable systems) nor a strong antenna (facing Los Angeles) could not pick up UPN programming for more than a year until XHUPN (Channel 49) went on the air.
In the fall of 2007, KUSI was planning to open new state-of-the-art streetside studios in downtown San Diego. However, the building that was supposed to house their new studio was sold. At this present time, KUSI will remain at their Kearny Mesa studios.
[edit] News Operations
KUSI became a serious player in the local television news race when they introduced a 10 p.m. newscast in September of 1990. Originally anchored by veterans Roger Grimsby and George Reading, it was San Diego's first new local newscast since XETV's previous effort ended in 1972, when XETV lost its ABC affiliation to then-KCST. Currently the evening anchor team comprises of mostly longtime veterans of local San Diego television news, including Michael Tuck (formerly of KFMB and KGTV), Kimberly Hunt (formerly of KGTV, she also co-produces the newscasts), and Paul Bloom (several stints at KNSD). Longtime Chicago weatherman and Weather Channel founder John Coleman is the station's chief meteorologist.
In January of 1994, joining the growing number of other local stations nationwide, a morning newscast was added, originally anchored by Laura Buxton and Tom Blair (later replaced by Stan Miller). The show, now known as Good Morning San Diego, gradually phased out the aforementioned children's programming that aired during that period and currently is seen for four hours every day including weekend editions.
KUSI also provides news updates for XX Sports Radio. Ironically, the owners of both stations are close friends, and Hunt is married to XX personality Billy Ray Smith.
[edit] Newscasts
Weekdays
- Good Morning San Diego: First Edition - 5:00-7:00 a.m.
- Good Morning San Diego 7:00-9:00 a.m.
- Inside San Diego - 10:00-11:00 a.m.
- KUSI NEWS at SIX - 6:00-6:30 p.m.
- KUSI NEWS at 6:30PM - 6:30-7:00 p.m.
- KUSI NEWS at TEN - 10:00-11:00 p.m.
- KUSI NEWS at ELEVEN - 11:00-11:35 p.m.
Weekends
- Good Morning San Diego: Weekend - 6:00-10:00 a.m.
- KUSI NEWS at SIX - 6:00-7:00 p.m.
- KUSI NEWS at TEN - 10:00-11:00 p.m.
- KUSI NEWS at ELEVEN - 11:00-11:30 p.m.
[edit] Evening News Anchor Team
- Paul Bloom - 11 p.m. weeknights
- John Coleman - weeknight weather
- Kimberly Hunt - 6, 6:30, 10 & 11 p.m. weeknights
- Paul Rudy - weekday sports (also hosts The Prep Pigskin report)
- Dave Scott - weekend weather (also feature reporter)
- Charlotte Starck - weekends
- Michael Tuck - 6, 6:30 and 10 p.m. weeknights
- Leonard Villareal - weekends
- Rick Willis - weekend sports
[edit] Good Morning San Diego Team
- Kristen Cusato - weekend anchor
- David Davis - weekend anchor
- Renee Kohn - meteorologist
- Phil Konstantin - traffic
- Rod Luck - feature reporter
- Sandra Maas - weekday news anchor (also host of Inside San Diego)
- Bridget Naso - weekday anchor
- Dan Plante - weekday anchor
[edit] Reporters
- Doug Curlee
- Sasha Foo
- Ed Lenderman
- Lena' Lewis (also frequent fill-in weekday anchor)
- John Soderman
- Michael Turko - investigative/consumer
[edit] The Prep Pigskin Report
One of the station's most popular locally-produced shows is The Prep Pigskin Report, which has been awarded the local Emmy award. The show, which airs Friday nights at 11 p.m. during the football season, features videotaped highlights from nearly every high school football game in San Diego County played that evening, or in some cases on Thursday.
The Team
- Paul Rudy - host
- Stephanie Kelly
- Lena' Lewis - City Game of the Week reporter
- John Shacklett
- John Soderman - South Bay corrsepondent
- Lucia Stone
- Rick Willis - chief correspondent
[edit] Local Programs
- Inside San Diego - hosted by Sandra Maas, weekdays 10:00-11:00 a.m.
- The Prep Pigskin Report - Fridays 11:00-11:30 p.m. during fall months
- San Diego People - featuring the main KUSI anchors, Sundays 10:00-10:30 a.m.
[edit] Additional Personnel
- Station General Manager: Mike McKinnon
- News Director: Craig Hume
[edit] Logos and promos
 KUSI The Jeffersons Promo - mid 80s |
 KUSI Sanford and Son Promo - mid 80s |
 KUSI TV Guide ad for The Outer Limits |
 KUSI Logo from the mid 80s |
 Current KUSI Logo |
[edit] External links
- KUSI Homepage
- Good Morning San Diego - Officer Phil's Page
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KUSI-TV
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(including Tijuana channels aimed at the San Diego audience) |
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| Mexican broadcast television in the San Diego/Tijuana market (aimed mainly at the Tijuana audience) |
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| Local cable television channels | ||
| See also Broadcast television in the Los Angeles, Yuma / El Centro and Ensenada markets | ||
| Independent Television Stations in the state of California | |
|---|---|
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KBTV-CA 8 (Sacramento) - KCAL 9 (Los Angeles) - KSCI 18 (Long Beach) - KBBV-CA 19 (Bakersfield) - KBWB 20 (San Francisco) - KWHY 22 (Los Angeles) - KBSV 23 (Ceres) - KVMD 23 (Twentynine Palms) - KTSF 26 (San Francisco) - KNLA-LP 27 (Los Angeles) - KMTP 32 (San Francisco) - KICU 36 (San Jose) - KCNS 38 (San Francisco) - KBOP-CA 43 (San Diego) - KXLA 44 (Rancho Palos Verdes) - KFTY 50 (Santa Rosa) - KUSI 51 (San Diego) - KDOC 56 (Anaheim) - KJLA 57 (Ventura) - KRCA 62 (Riverside) - KBEH 63 (Oxnard) |
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| See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, Telefutura, Telemundo, Univision, Other Spanish Network, Religious, Home Shopping and Other stations in California | |
