KJCT
 | |
| Grand Junction, Colorado | |
|---|---|
| Branding | KJCT 8 |
| Slogan | Where The News Comes First |
| Channels |
Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 8 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
8.1 ABC 8.2 Telemundo 8.3 The CW |
| Translators | K28AD 28 (UHF), Montrose |
| Affiliations | American Broadcasting Company |
| Owner |
Excalibur Broadcasting, LLC (operated through a SSA by Gray Television) (Excalibur Grand Junction, LLC) |
| First air date | October 22, 1979 |
| Call letters' meaning | Grand JunCTion |
| Sister station(s) | KKCO, KKTV |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 8 (VHF, 1979-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 9.7 kW |
| Height | 892 m |
| Facility ID | 52593 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°2′54.8″N 108°15′7.6″W / 39.048556°N 108.252111°W |
| Website | www.kjct8.com |
KJCT is the ABC-affiliated television station for Colorado's Western Slope region that is licensed to Grand Junction. It broadcasts a high-definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 (or virtual channel 8.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter at the Mesa Point Electronics Site on the Grand Mesa (southeast of Interstate 70). The station can also be seen on Bresnan Communications and iO Digital Cable channel 10. There is a high definition feed offered on Bresnan Communications digital channel 710 and iO Digital Cable channel 510.
Owned by Excalibur Broadcasting, the station is operated by Gray Television through a shared services agreement, making it a sister station to NBC affiliate, KKCO. [1] KJCT operates studios on Foresight Circle in northern Grand Junction. Syndicated programming on this station includes Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, The Doctors, The Dr. Oz Show and Judge Judy among others. Its signal is relayed on low-powered K28AD in Montrose, which has operated from Storm King Mountain since it launched in September 1982, along with 13 analog and eight digital translators across central and northwestern Colorado.
Digital channels
| Channel | PSIP short name | Aspect | Video | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | KJCT-DT | 720p | 16:9 | Main KJCT programming / ABC |
| 8.2 | KJCT-TM | 480i | 4:3 | Telemundo |
| 8.3 | KJCT-CW | CW 13 |
History
KJCT signed on the air on October 22, 1979 as the first television station in Western Colorado since KREX-TV in 1954. It was owned by the Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company as a semi-satellite of KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs; as a result, it immediately took ABC away from KREX. The station had full production facilities in Grand Junction; however, much of the programming was fed via hundreds of miles of microwave links from KRDO. In the late 1990s, KJCT chief engineer Roger Hightower modernized KJCT into one of the first true digital facilities in Colorado, and severed the electronic umbilical cord with KRDO.
KJCT was the first Western Colorado television station with modern electronic news gathering technology. "8 Live," the stations' first live microwave newsvan, came into service in 1984.
In 2006, News-Press & Gazette Company announced the purchase of KJCT along with KRDO-TV and KRDO-AM from Pikes Peak Broadcasting.[2]
In late 2008, KJCT's third digital subcarrier became western Colorado's affiliate for The CW. However, despite The CW being available locally, Denver's KWGN-TV, which has been on cable for decades in Grand Junction, is still available through two low-powered repeaters in the area.
On August 2, 2013, News Press & Gazette announced the sale of KJCT's license assets to Excalibur Broadcasting and its non-license assets to Gray Television; Excalibur is owned by former Gray executive, Don Ray. Gray will operate the station through joint sales and shared services agreements, making KJCT a sister station to KKCO.[3][4] The sale was completed on October 31. [5] This was NPG's first broadcast divestiture since selling its five stations to New Vision Television in 1993.
News operation
On May 22, 2009, KJCT became the first station in Grand Junction to launch local news in high definition.[6] The station debuted a new set in May 2011, to coincide with a new graphics package. In July 2011, KJCT overtook its competitors to become the top rated station in the coveted 25-54 demographic in all weekday newscasts. As of Fall 2013, KJCT no longer shows weekend newscasts, becoming the first station in the market to reduce it's weekly news operation from 7 days a week to just 5 days.
News/station presentation
Newscast titles
- News 8 (late 1980s-2008)
- KJCT News 8 (2008–present)
Station slogans
- "Western Colorado's News Source" (1990–2003)
- "Where The News Comes First" (2003–present)
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.News team[7]
Anchors
- Spencer Washburn - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Jennelle Ericson - weekday mornings (5-7 a.m.)
First Warn 8 Weather
- Dann Cianca - meteorologist; weekday mornings (5-7 a.m.)
Sports team
Reporters
- Jessica McCoy general assignment reporter
Photographers
- Chris Schumann - Chief Photographer
Notable former on-air staff
- John Gurtler - sports anchor (now serves as the play-by-play voice of the Buffalo Bandits)[8]
- Michelle Tuzee - anchor/reporter (now at KABC-TV in Los Angeles)[9]
References
- ↑
- ↑ NPG to buy two broadcast TV affiliates, radio station
- ↑ "News-Press & Gazette Gets $12M For KJCT". TVNewsCheck. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ↑ Harden, Mark (August 2, 2013). "Grand Junction TV station KJCT to be sold". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ↑ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101572917&formid=314&fac_num=52593
- ↑ KJCT now broadcasting in high definition
- ↑ Inside KJCT / News Team
- ↑ "John Gurtler". Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ↑ "Michelle Tuzee biography". KABC-TV. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
External links
- Official site
- CW13 official page
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KJCT
- Query the FCC's TV station database for K28AD
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KJCT-TV
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