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KBTV NBC 4 - Beaumont

C

coolcat713

Guest
Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
I was just curious why they switched call laters from KJAC to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to Beaumont. I suppose this happened in the mid nineties.

I noticed there is now a KJAC in Denver, which is a Jack formatted station on the FM Dial.
 
> Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port
> Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
> I was just curious why they switched call laters from KJAC
> to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to
> Beaumont. I suppose this happened in the mid nineties.
>
> I noticed there is now a KJAC in Denver, which is a Jack
> formatted station on the FM Dial.
>
And the KBTV calls used to belong to the original Ch. 8 here in Dallas when it was a DuMont station.
 
> > Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port
> > Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
> > I was just curious why they switched call laters from KJAC
>
> > to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to
> > Beaumont. I suppose this happened in the mid nineties.
> >
> > I noticed there is now a KJAC in Denver, which is a Jack
> > formatted station on the FM Dial.
> >
> And the KBTV calls used to belong to the original Ch. 8 here
> in Dallas when it was a DuMont station.

The switch to KBTV (supposedly for "Beaumont TV") came in 1999. Channel 4 signed on in 1957 with the call letters KPAC-TV, which stood for Port Arthur College. (Actually, I never understood the connection with the college, since they didn't own it.) The calls were changed to KJAC-TV within a couple of years.

http://216.87.159.39/history/tour_open.htm
 
>> And the KBTV calls used to belong to the original Ch. 8 here
> in Dallas when it was a DuMont station.

The KBTV calls were also on Channel 9 in Denver for many years before flipping to KUSA.
 
> > > Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port
> > > Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
> > > I was just curious why they switched call laters from
> KJAC
> >
> > > to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to
> > > Beaumont. I suppose this happened in the mid nineties.
> > >
> > > I noticed there is now a KJAC in Denver, which is a Jack
>
> > > formatted station on the FM Dial.
> > >
> > And the KBTV calls used to belong to the original Ch. 8
> here
> > in Dallas when it was a DuMont station.
>
> The switch to KBTV (supposedly for "Beaumont TV") came in
> 1999. Channel 4 signed on in 1957 with the call letters
> KPAC-TV, which stood for Port Arthur College. (Actually, I
> never understood the connection with the college, since they
> didn't own it.) The calls were changed to KJAC-TV within a
> couple of years.
>
> http://216.87.159.39/history/tour_open.htm
>
thanks for the info. I noticed KBMT Channel 12 still has no website.. How odd is that?
 
> thanks for the info. I noticed KBMT Channel 12 still has no
> website.. How odd is that?

Seems to be a McKinnon thing... their sister stations KUSI San Diego and KIII Corpus Christi only have one page of contact information on their websites; nothing else.<P ID="signature">______________
Derek
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.tvvancouver.cjb.net>TV.Vancouver</a>: Covering TV stations in Vancouver, BC</P>
 
> > > Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port
> > > Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
> > > I was just curious why they switched call laters from
> KJAC
> >
> > > to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to
> > > Beaumont. I suppose this happened in the mid nineties.
> > >
> > > I noticed there is now a KJAC in Denver, which is a Jack
>
> > > formatted station on the FM Dial.
> > >
> > And the KBTV calls used to belong to the original Ch. 8
> here
> > in Dallas when it was a DuMont station.
>
> The switch to KBTV (supposedly for "Beaumont TV") came in
> 1999. Channel 4 signed on in 1957 with the call letters
> KPAC-TV, which stood for Port Arthur College. (Actually, I
> never understood the connection with the college, since they
> didn't own it.) The calls were changed to KJAC-TV within a
> couple of years.
>
> http://216.87.159.39/history/tour_open.htm

The change occured when Nexstar purchased the station from the previous owners (this was around the same time they bought up a lot of stations in Texas). They built a new studio inside the Parkdale Mall in Beaumont and renamed the station.

For all intents in purposes, its still crap run on a low-budget and forever in the shadow (along with KBMT-12) of KFDM-6, the CBS station.
 
> > thanks for the info. I noticed KBMT Channel 12 still has
> no
> > website.. How odd is that?
>
> Seems to be a McKinnon thing... their sister stations KUSI
> San Diego and KIII Corpus Christi only have one page of
> contact information on their websites; nothing else.
>
I have a question regarding Channel 6 that I've wanted to know
the answer to since I lived in Texas: What is the significance
of the call letters KFD (fill in the fourth letter)? There's
KFDM/6, and also KFDX/3 Wichita Falls and KFDA/10 Amarillo.
Were these stations owned by the same company at one time?
 
> > > Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port
> > > Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
> > > I was just curious why they switched call laters from
> KJAC
> >
> > > to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to

> The switch to KBTV (supposedly for "Beaumont TV") came in
> 1999. Channel 4 signed on in 1957 with the call letters
> KPAC-TV, which stood for Port Arthur College. (Actually, I
> never understood the connection with the college, since they
> didn't own it.) The calls were changed to KJAC-TV within a
> couple of years.

IIRC, KPAC TV stood for P----- Amusement Company (not sure what the P stood for; Port arthur or something else) and it did have NO connection to PA college or KPAC AM/FM which WERE operated by the College until Clear Channel bought them in the 70s (but we sure got a lot of calls at KPAC AM.....asking about a tennis broadcast??? :) In the 70s, the TV owners changed its name to Jefferson Amusement Company and hence the call change to KJAC....

When Nexstar bought the station, it decided most of the money in the market was is in Beaumont (have you been through Port Arthur downtown, etc in the last 10 years?? WHEW!)......Hence the change of the call to KBTV and the move of the "studios" to Beaumont's Parkdale Mall....though its COL IS still Port Arthur and they maintain an office there (and the STL is still from there to the tower IIRC...I'll check with the Engineers next week on the studio feed..I do know they have some Sat dishes at the mall location now)
 
> thanks for the info. I noticed KBMT Channel 12 still has no
> website.. How odd is that?

McKinnon (sp?) owns it...need we say more???
They may lose their DTV allocation because they do want to stay on 12 with DTV but they have NOT built out the DTV50 with a HP station yet (LP on the STL tower at the studios! doesnt even cover BMT!)....The tower supposively cannot handle the DTV build....so its either new antenna or take NTSC 12 off the air and put DTV12 on the air...but unless they get off the STA they have with full power DTV, they may get screwed....(which would not bother the folks at 6, Im sure!)
 
> IIRC, KPAC TV stood for P----- Amusement Company (not sure
> what the P stood for; Port arthur or something else)... In the 70s, the
> TV owners changed its name to Jefferson Amusement Company
> and hence the call change to KJAC....
>
I think the call change to KJAC was earlier than that -- I have a SE Texas TV Guide from 1970, which Identified ch.4 as KJAC.
 
> > IIRC, KPAC TV stood for P----- Amusement Company (not sure
>
> > what the P stood for; Port arthur or something else)... In
> the 70s, the
> > TV owners changed its name to Jefferson Amusement Company
> > and hence the call change to KJAC....
> >
> I think the call change to KJAC was earlier than that -- I
> have a SE Texas TV Guide from 1970, which Identified ch.4 as
> KJAC.

It was before 1975; may have been 69 or 70...but Im not sure.....I will check on it....
 
Re: Sharing call letters

> Does anybody remember when Channel 4 was KJAC in Port
> Arthur? It was an NBC affilate back then as well.
> I was just curious why they switched call laters from KJAC
> to KBTV and moved their studios from Port Arthur to
> Beaumont. I suppose this happened in the mid nineties.
>
> I noticed there is now a KJAC in Denver, which is a Jack
> formatted station on the FM Dial.
>

Apparently, AMs, FMs and TV stations can separately use identical call letters even if there is no connection with ownership. I'm sure there's a restriction from doing this in the same market, tho. Austin or Houston had (has?) a KXAS-FM (at least during the 1980s) while co-existing with non-relative KXAS-TV/Fort Worth.
 
Re: Sharing call letters

> Apparently, AMs, FMs and TV stations can separately use
> identical call letters even if there is no connection with
> ownership. I'm sure there's a restriction from doing this
> in the same market, tho. Austin or Houston had (has?) a
> KXAS-FM (at least during the 1980s) while co-existing with
> non-relative KXAS-TV/Fort Worth.
>

That was KILT-FM in Houston, around '84 or so. The call letter change lasted less than a year.
 
Re: Sharing call letters

> > Apparently, AMs, FMs and TV stations can separately use
> > identical call letters even if there is no connection with
>
> > ownership. I'm sure there's a restriction from doing this
>
> > in the same market, tho. Austin or Houston had (has?) a
> > KXAS-FM (at least during the 1980s) while co-existing with
>
> > non-relative KXAS-TV/Fort Worth.
> >
>
> That was KILT-FM in Houston, around '84 or so. The call
> letter change lasted less than a year.
>

A-ha! Wow, I'd better study up on my Houston radio if my knowledge base is twenty years out of date. So how's KSRR/"97 Rocks" doing? And 79-Q? And KLOL? That Moby is a funny guy. hee-hee.
 
Re: Sharing call letters

> > > Apparently, AMs, FMs and TV stations can separately use
> > > identical call letters even if there is no connection
> with
> >
> > > ownership. I'm sure there's a restriction from doing
> this
> >
> > > in the same market, tho. Austin or Houston had (has?) a
>
> > > KXAS-FM (at least during the 1980s) while co-existing
> with
> >
> > > non-relative KXAS-TV/Fort Worth.
> > >
> >
> > That was KILT-FM in Houston, around '84 or so. The call
> > letter change lasted less than a year.

It used to be that the AM, FM and/or TV stations had to be co-owned in order to share the same calls. That's one of the reasons stations changed calls with new ownership.

But, that restriction has since been lifted, and now stations on different bands can continue to share the same calls even if they're sold to different owners, as long as all parties agree to it. I think it had some thing to do with Chicago's WMAQ in the late 80s, someone else can elaborate on it.

Case in point: Seattle, where KIRO AM, FM and TV all used to be co-owned. They've since all gone to different owners, but still share the same calls.<P ID="signature">______________
Derek
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.tvvancouver.cjb.net>TV.Vancouver</a>: Covering TV stations in Vancouver, BC</P>
 
> > > thanks for the info. I noticed KBMT Channel 12 still
> has
> > no
> > > website.. How odd is that?
> >
> > Seems to be a McKinnon thing... their sister stations KUSI
>
> > San Diego and KIII Corpus Christi only have one page of
> > contact information on their websites; nothing else.
> >
> I have a question regarding Channel 6 that I've wanted to
> know
> the answer to since I lived in Texas: What is the
> significance
> of the call letters KFD (fill in the fourth letter)?
> There's
> KFDM/6, and also KFDX/3 Wichita Falls and KFDA/10 Amarillo.
> Were these stations owned by the same company at one time?
>

Also, the McKinnon stations aren't on satellite - 3 is missing from Corpus on DirecTV (Dish is passing over markets where they can't get all 4 major nets), 51 isn't on either, Beaumont hasn't made the radar yet for satellite...

KFDM were the call letters assigned by the FCC to the original radio station back in 1924 (guessing KFDA & KFDX were in the same situation). Based on a contest, KFDM stood for "Kall For Dependable Magnolene" (Magnolene, the main product from the MobilOil Refinery, that originally held the Radio License.

Ironically, KFDM is now owned by Freedom Broadcasting... Kind of appropriate!

Jim
 
> IIRC, KPAC TV stood for P----- Amusement Company (not sure
> what the P stood for; Port arthur or something else) and it
> did have NO connection to PA college or KPAC AM/FM which
> WERE operated by the College until Clear Channel bought them
> in the 70s (but we sure got a lot of calls at KPAC
> AM.....asking about a tennis broadcast??? :) In the 70s, the
> TV owners changed its name to Jefferson Amusement Company
> and hence the call change to KJAC....

I'll have to disagree about this one. I'm going by my own recollection, and I recall seeing ID's which showed buildings at Port Arthur College on KPAC-TV prior to 1960. Their website confirms that connection and the fact that the call letters were changed to KJAC a couple of years after they signed on in 1957.

This is the history section of the KBTV website I mentioned earlier: http://216.87.159.39/history/tour_open.htm
 
> > > > thanks for the info. I noticed KBMT Channel 12 still
> > has
> > > no
> > > > website.. How odd is that?
> > >
> > > Seems to be a McKinnon thing... their sister stations
> KUSI
> >
> > > San Diego and KIII Corpus Christi only have one page of
> > > contact information on their websites; nothing else.
> > >
> > I have a question regarding Channel 6 that I've wanted to
> > know
> > the answer to since I lived in Texas: What is the
> > significance
> > of the call letters KFD (fill in the fourth letter)?
> > There's
> > KFDM/6, and also KFDX/3 Wichita Falls and KFDA/10
> Amarillo.
> > Were these stations owned by the same company at one time?
>
> >
>
> Also, the McKinnon stations aren't on satellite - 3 is
> missing from Corpus on DirecTV (Dish is passing over markets
> where they can't get all 4 major nets), 51 isn't on either,
> Beaumont hasn't made the radar yet for satellite...
>
> KFDM were the call letters assigned by the FCC to the
> original radio station back in 1924 (guessing KFDA & KFDX
> were in the same situation). Based on a contest, KFDM stood
> for "Kall For Dependable Magnolene" (Magnolene, the main
> product from the MobilOil Refinery, that originally held the
> Radio License.
>
> Ironically, KFDM is now owned by Freedom Broadcasting...
> Kind of appropriate!
>
> Jim
>
Here's a link to KFDM radio history on the KLVI site.

http://www.klvi.com/history_radio.html

Magnolia was a good sized regional player in the petroleum business; it became a part of the Standard Oil group in the 30s and merged with Socony Mobil in 1959 to form Mobil. It had the wherewithal to own other radio stations, i.e., in Amarillo and Wichita Falls, but I don't know if it ever did. According to this site, they had long since divested KFDM radio before the TV station came on the air. Was there a KFDA radio in Amarillo and a KFDX in Wichita Falls?

Magnolia's corporate headquarters was in Dallas and their symbol was Pegasus, the flying horse from Greek mythology. The Magnolia building in downtown Dallas had that magnificent 3 dimensional Pegasus on top of it, revolving; I understand it's been restored but I haven't been that way in a long, long time.

Some Magnolia stations had a very large 3 dimensional Pegasus rotating on a very large pole in the driveway, an awesome site to a child like me at that time, but most only had 2 dimensional representations.
 
Re: Sharing call letters

>
> Case in point: Seattle, where KIRO AM, FM and TV all used to
> be co-owned. They've since all gone to different owners, but
> still share the same calls.
>
Yeah, I noticed that in Seattle. It was really strange when I visited a few years ago and KIRO AM had KING 5 Meteorologists doing the weather.

What an advertising coup for KING 5!
 
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