WHAS-TV

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WHAS-TV
Louisville, Kentucky
Branding	WHAS 11
Slogan	Coverage You Can Count On
Channels	11 (VHF) analog, 55 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC (secondary 1950-61, sole affiliate since 1990)
Owner	Belo Corporation
Founded	March 27, 1950
Call letters meaning	We Have A Signal Also: We Have A Spirit
Former affiliations	CBS (1950-1990)
Transmitter Power	135.0 kW/390.0 m (analog) 46.1 kW/359.0 m (digital)
Website	www.whas11.com

WHAS-TV, "WHAS 11", is the ABC affiliated station in Louisville, Kentucky. Owned by Belo Corporation, the station's transmitter is located in Floyd County, Indiana, near the community of Floyds Knobs, at 38° 21' 23.00" N Latitude, 85° 50' 52.00" W Longitude.

Contents 1 History 2 Programming 2.1 Weekdays 2.2 Weekends 2.3 Reporters 3 Notable WHAS Alumni 4 Trivia 5 Owners 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

The station began broadcasting on March 27, 1950 on channel 9 as Kentucky's second television station. It was owned by the Bingham family, publishers of the Louisville Courier-Journal, along with WHAS-AM, Kentucky's first radio station. The station was a primary CBS affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. It swapped frequencies with WCPO-TV in Cincinnati on February 7, 1953, moving to its current location on channel 11. When WLKY-TV signed on in 1961, WHAS-TV became a sole CBS affiliate.

Family patriarch Barry Bingham, Sr. handed over control to his son, Barry, Jr. in 1971. A 15-year family dispute culminated in a decision to split up the family's media holdings. WHAS-TV was sold to the Providence Journal Company in 1986, while WHAS-AM went to Clear Channel Communications and the Courier-Journal went to Gannett. The Journal Company merged with Belo in 1997.

WHAS-TV swapped affiliations with WLKY in 1990 and became an ABC affiliate. This proved to be a terrible mistake, as WLKY made significant progress and has become a viable ratings competitor, and WHAS's outright dominance has diminished.

Not surprisingly for a station with roots in a newspaper, WHAS-TV has been an innovator in news coverage. It was the first Kentucky station to use newsreel film. The station annually broadcasts the WHAS Crusade for Children, a highly successful local telethon benefitting children's charities throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana.

On January 2, 2006, WHAS began producing a 10:00pm newscast on WBKI, and in the May 2006 ratings period, WHAS placed 4th at 11:00 behind Sex and the City re-runs on local Fox affiliate WDRB. WHAS-TV wins most of the other news face-offs in the Louisville market. In the February 2007 ratings period, the station was number one in the afternoon news block from 5:00-6:30, defeating WAVE and WLKY in those direct face-offs; however, WAVE and especially WLKY have been closing in on WHAS's once-dominant lead in that news block. Its noon newscast finished second to WLKY in another close battle. Its once-dominant morning newscast slipped to third, and its 11 p.m. newscast continued to trail those of both WLKY and WAVE. [1] The station was a dominant number one for over 25 years beginning in the late 1970s, but has recently slid as the local newscast wars have intensified.

As a CBS affiliate in the 1970s until 1991 its newscasts were titled "Action 11 News." It is during this time that WHAS-TV displaced long-time ratings winner WAVE-3. In 1991, their news branding was changed to "Kentuckiana's News Channel, WHAS-11." Most recently in the late 1990s, the station began using "WHAS 11 News" to brand their news product.

[edit] Programming

[edit] Weekdays

• Good Morning Kentuckiana - 5-7am
  • Andy Treinen
  • Renee Murphy
  • Jamie Martin - Weather
  • Scott Perry - Traffic

• WHAS 11 News at Noon - 12-1pm
  • Gary Rodemeier/Renee Murphy
  • Rachel Platt
  • Jamie Martin - Weather

• WHAS 11 News at 5 - 5-5:30pm
  • Gary Rodemeier
  • Melissa Swan
  • Ken Schulz - Weather

• WHAS 11 News at 5:30 - 5:30-6pm
  • Doug Proffitt
  • Rachel Platt
  • Ken Schulz - Weather

• WHAS 11 News at 6 - 6-6:30pm
  • Gary Rodemeier
  • Melissa Swan
  • Ken Schulz - Weather
  • Kyle Draper/Erik Waxler - Sports

• WHAS 11 News at 10 on The CW Louisville - 10-10:30pm
  • Doug Proffitt
  • Jean West
  • Ken Schulz - Weather
  • Kyle Draper/Erik Waxler - Sports

• WHAS 11 News at 11 - 11-11:35pm
  • Doug Proffitt
  • Jean West
  • Ken Schulz - Weather
  • Kyle Draper/Erik Waxler - Sports

[edit] Weekends

• Good Morning Kentuckiana - 6-9:30am Saturdays, 6-8am Sundays
  • Melanie Snow
  • Jeremy Kappell/Jamie Martin/Reed Yadon - Weather

• WHAS 11 News at 6, 6:30 - 6-6:30pm Saturdays, 6:30-7pm Sundays
  • Joe Arnold
  • Jeremy Kappell - Weather
  • Kyle Draper/Erik Waxler - Sports

• WHAS 11 News at 10 on The CW Louisville - 10-10:30pm
  • Joe Arnold
  • Jeremy Kappell - Weather
  • Kyle Draper/Erik Waxler - Sports

• WHAS 11 News at 11 - 11-11:35pm
  • Joe Arnold
  • Jeremy Kappell - Weather
  • Kyle Draper/Erik Waxler - Sports

[edit] Reporters

• Kirby Adams
• Sean Bartel
• Mark Hebert
• Jenny McLendon
• Chuck Olmstead
• Rebecca Rector
• Kerri Richardson
• Tim Seymour
• Melanie Snow

[edit] Notable WHAS Alumni

• Chuck Taylor, meteorologist (deceased)
• Jackie Hays, anchor (now at rival WAVE-TV)
• Jim Mitchell, anchor (Teaching in Arizona)
• Julie Pursley, reporter (now at WRTV Indianapolis)
• Monica Kaufmann, reporter (WSB-TV Atlanta main anchor)
• Milton Metz, host (retired)
• Phyllis Knight, reporter, host (retired)

[edit] Trivia

WHAS-TV originated the first television broadcast of the Kentucky Derby in 1952. When the Derby and the rest of the Triple Crown moved to ABC in 1986 (local affiliate WLKY-TV), Churchill Downs included a provision in the contract requiring ABC to allow WHAS to continue its annual Derby broadcasts in the Louisville market. The provision became moot when WHAS joined ABC several years later. However, after the Triple Crown races moved to NBC in the 1990s, WHAS-TV lost the rights to WAVE, the local NBC affiliate.

[edit] Owners

• 1950-1986: Bingham family
• 1986-1997: Providence Journal Company
• 1997-present: Belo Corporation

[edit] See also

• WHAS (AM)

[edit] External links

• WHAS 11 Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WHAS-TV
• WHAS Crusade for Children Website