| Fresno, California | |
|---|---|
| Branding | CBS 47 (general) CBS 47 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | On Your Side (primary) Only CBS 47 (secondary) |
| Channels | Digital: 34 (UHF) Virtual: 47 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 47.1 CBS 47.2 Untamed Sports TV |
| Translators | K07HA Camp Nelson |
| Affiliations | CBS (1953-1956 and 1985-present) |
| Owner | High Plains Broadcasting, Inc. (operated by Newport Television) (High Plains Broadcasting License Company LLC) |
| First air date | September 20, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | Grow, Protect, Enjoy (Fresno's slogan) |
| Former callsigns | KJEO (1953-2000) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 47 (UHF, 1953-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (secondary 1953-1956, primary 1956-1985) |
| Transmitter power | 185 kW |
| Height | 577 m |
| Facility ID | 56034 |
| Website | www.cbs47.tv/ |
KGPE, virtual channel 47, is the CBS affiliated television station for the Fresno, California market. KGPE's digital signal is on UHF channel 34 from Auberry, California. It's currently owned by High Plains Broadcasting and operated by Newport Television, LLC.
Contents |
The station's digital signal on UHF 34, is multiplexed. After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion to take place on June 12, 2009, KGPE remained on its pre-transition channel number, 34. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display KGPE's virtual channel as 47.
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | main KGPE programming / CBS |
| 47.2 | 480i | 4:3 | The Country Network |
The station first signed on air in 1953 as KJEO, Fresno's second television station. It was originally a CBS affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. When KFRE-TV (channel 12, now KFSN-TV on channel 30) signed on in 1956, it took the CBS affiliation due to KFRE-AM's long affiliation with CBS Radio. On September 8, 1985, KFSN's owner, Capital Cities Communications merged with ABC. KFSN-TV became an ABC owned and operated station, sending the CBS affiliation back to KJEO.
Fisher Broadcasting merged with KJEO's previous owner, Retlaw Broadcasting (a company owned by relatives of Walt Disney), in 1998, then proceeded to sell the station to The Ackerley Group in 2000. Under Ackerley, the station changed its call letters to KGPE on September 14, 2000, and revamped its news operation as News 47.
Clear Channel Communications merged with Ackerley in 2001. The purchase was approved in 2002, and Clear Channel became KGPE's new owner. Under Clear Channel, KGPE re-branded as CBS 47 On Your Side in October 2004.
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to Newport Television, a broadcast holding company controlled by the private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. That sale was finalized on March 14, 2008[1]
In mid-May 2008, Newport Television agreed to sell the license assets of KGPE and five other stations to High Plains Broadcasting, Inc. because of an ownership conflict (Providence Equity Partners also holds a 19 percent ownership stake in the Spanish-language network Univision, the owner of KFTV and Telefutura station KTFF-TV).[2] The sale closed on September 15, 2008[3]; Newport continues to operate KGPE under a shared services agreement.[2] This gave KGPE its sixth owner in 10 years.
KGPE's secondary digital channel, Channel 47.2, has gone from broadcasting Untamed Sport to being the local home for The Country Network.
KJEO had lagged behind its competitors in the ratings for much of its history. The station tried to address that issue in the summer of 1995 by adopting a more interactive format for its newscasts. Pre-recorded segments of viewer reactions to particular news stories were shown throughout the broadcasts, and viewers were also invited to e-mail or call in (via voicemail) their comments to be featured on air, as part of a feature called "Your Turn". In addition, the "Your Turn" branding was extended to a weekly, half hour program with topical features and news of the week in this interactive format. The newscasts were renamed from 47 Eyewitness News to 47 On Your Side to match the new format. This new approach did not help with the station's ratings, and it was abandoned in 1996, although the "On Your Side" branding remained. It has been one of CBS's weakest affiliates since the 1985 switch. In stark contrast, KFRE/KFSN dominated the ratings while it was affiliated with CBS before its owner purchased ABC.
In 1997, the station became the first in the Fresno area to operate a news helicopter. Known as "Eagle 47", the chopper was named after its exclusive sponsor, Table Mountain Casino, which uses an "Eagle" for its logo. "Eagle" refers to one of the restaurants inside the Casino called Eagles Landing Spot. After the Ackerley Group took over the station in 2000, Eagle 47 was grounded for good.
As of November 8, 2010, KGPE is currently one of two stations without high definition newscasts (KSEE is the other). In addition, KGPE is the only station that still presents its local newscasts in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition (since KSEE has recently upgraded to 16:9 enhanced widescreen newscasts).
Anchors
Pinpoint 47 Weather Team
Sports team
Reporters
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||