| Abilene, Texas | |
|---|---|
| Branding | KTAB News |
| Slogan | Coverage You Can Count On |
| Channels | Digital: 24 (UHF) Virtual: 32 (PSIP) |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner | Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | October 6, 1979 |
| Call letters' meaning | Television ABilene or "Keeping Tab on Abilene and the Big country" |
| Sister station(s) | KRBC-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 32 (UHF, 1979-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW |
| Height | 258 m |
| Facility ID | 59988 |
| Website | KTAB/KRBC |
KTAB-TV is the CBS affiliate television station serving Abilene, Texas. It is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group and broadcasts on digital channel 24. KTAB is licensed in Abilene and broadcasts on a High Definition digital signal on UHF Channel 24.
Contents |
| Channel | Video | Format | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | Main KTAB programming / CBS HD |
Installation of full-power digital transmitters for both KTAB-DT and KRBC-DT was completed in October 2007. The transmitters are housed in a newly-constructed building at the KTAB tower site, adjacent to the current analog transmitter building on a mountaintop southeast of Potosi. Both stations share the same digital antenna on the KTAB tower. A new, digital 7 GHz microwave studio-transmitter link (STL), as well as master control update has allowed both stations to deliver the highest resolution High-Definition HDTV signals to the entire coverage area along with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Both CBS and NBC networks use the 1080i HDTV format.
In January 2008, both KTAB and KRBC-TV finally started the process of switching microwave equipment from 7 GHz to 2 GHz spectrum as part of the nationwide Sprint Nextel 2 GHz Relocation Project[1]. This project that is going on across the country, will convert all 7 GHz analog microwave equipment at the stations over to 2 GHz digital in the coming months in the Abilene television market. This project has been in the planning stages for the last two years. This project was completed in early 2009. On May 12, 2009 KTAB TV turned off its analog signal for the last time and has gone all digital.
KTAB began broadcasting on October 6, 1979 and transmits from a transmitter/tower facility located on a hilltop southeast of the city along Texas Highway 36 in neighboring Callahan County (about 15 miles from the studio). The tower structure is approximately 700 feet tall with an average height of about 950 feet above the city of Abilene. The station was founded by William "Bill" Terry (55% owner) and a large contingent of partners, investors, and department heads. Terry had worked for many years at established station KRBC-TV and was well-known in the Abilene area. A permit had been granted back in the sixties for a small signalled channel 32 station but it was never built. That permit for KWKC-TV was a sister to 1340 KWKC and its then FM and was owned by Steve Gose (Oil developer) of Wichita Falls, where he also owned KNTO.
KTAB was originally locally owned. Shamrock Broadcasting, Roy E. Disney's broadcasting company, bought the station in the late 1980s, then sold it to Shooting Star Broadcasting in 1997. Nexstar bought the station from Shooting Star Broadcasting in 1999.
In 2005 Nexstar Broadcasting completed consolidation of the KTAB operations into the older, yet much larger KRBC building at 4510 South 14th Street in Abilene. The original KTAB building was sold and has been converted into an office building. The computerized and automated master control facility not only operates KTAB and KRBC TV in Abilene, but also sister Nexstar/Mission stations KLST and KSAN in San Angelo. All syndicated programming and local commercial advertising for all four stations is delivered via Harris/Leitch Nexio servers with Avid/Sundance FastBreak automation providing all switching and playback operations.
The main bi-directional microwave relay system link connecting master control in Abilene with the KLST-KSAN studio and transmission facilities in San Angelo, 90 miles away, was destroyed when the KRBC tower near Tuscola collapsed on January 14, 2007. In December 2007 Nexstar Broadcasting set up a dual-path fiber-optic Suddenlink cable link to the San Angelo broadcast facility.
In May 2007, both KTAB and KRBC TV websites were combined into www.BigCountryHomepage.com. KTAB News Director Tom Vodak moved over to head the new website. Former KTAB Sports Director David Bacon, who had been an account executive for the station, moved over to replace Vodak as News Director.
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