, channel 5, is a television station in
Los Angeles, California . Owned by the
Tribune Company , KTLA is an affiliate of the
CW television network. KTLA's studios are on
Sunset Boulevard in
Hollywood , and its transmitter is located atop
Mount Wilson . The station's signal covers the
Southern California region, and KTLA is also available as a regional
Superstation via cable and satellite in the United States and
Canada . KTLA was the first commercially licensed television station in the western United States, having began operations in 1947.
KCBS-TV in Los Angeles originated in 1931 as W6XAO under an experimental license. It was commercially licensed in 1948.
From January 1995 to September 2006, KTLA had been an affiliate of the
WB television network. Prior to 1995, KTLA was one of the leading
Independent stations in the country.
Originally owned by
Paramount Pictures subsidiary Television Productions, Inc., and located on the Paramount studio lot, the station was licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission in 1939 as experimental station , on channel 4, but did not go on the air until
September 1942 .
Klaus Landsberg , already an accomplished television pioneer at the age of 26, was the original station manager and engineer. On
January 22 ,
1947 , it was licensed for commercial broadcast as '''KTLA''' on channel 5, becoming the first commercial television station to broadcast west of the
Mississippi River . Estimates of television sets in the Los Angeles area at the time ranged from 350 to 600.
Bob Hope served as the
Emcee for KTLA's inaugural broadcast, which was broadcast that evening from a garage on the Paramount Studios lot. The program, titled as the "Western Premiere of Commercial Television", featured appearances from many Hollywood luminaries. Hope delivered what was perhaps the most famous line of the evening when, at the program's start, he identified the new station as ''"KTL"'', mistakenly omitting the ''"A"'' at the end of the call sign.
KTLA originally carried programming from Paramount's partner,
DuMont , but discontinued the practice after the 1947-48 season. Despite this, the FCC still considered KTLA and sister station, WBKB (now
WBBM-TV ) in
Chicago to be DuMont
Owned-and-operated Stations because Paramount held a minority stake in DuMont. As a result, the agency would not allow DuMont to buy additional VHF stations -- a problem that would later play a large role in the failure of the DuMont network, whose programming was splintered among other Los Angeles stations until the network's demise in 1956. In 1958, KTLA moved to the Paramount Sunset Studios on
Sunset Boulevard in
Hollywood , now the Warner Sunset Studios.
In 1964, KTLA was purchased by actor and singer
Gene Autry and merged with his other radio properties (including Los Angeles'
KMPC ) into an umbrella company, Golden West Broadcasters. From 1964 to 1995, the station was the broadcast TV home of the
Los Angeles/California Angels baseball team, which was also owned by Autry. KTLA carried selected
Los Angeles Lakers games from the early-to-mid 1970s. During the 1970s, KTLA became one of the nation's first superstations, and was eventually carried on cable systems across much of the country west of the Mississippi.
In the 1960s and 1970s, KTLA ran a mix of
Syndicated westerns, drama shows, first-run
Talk Show s, movies, and pro sports. It also launched a 10 p.m. newscast in the 1960s, the simply-titled (now ''KTLA Prime News''). In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the station added syndicated
Sitcom reruns into the mix.
KTLA continued with this format into the 1980s. In 1982, Golden West sold KTLA to investment firm
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for
$ 245 million. In 1985, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts sold KTLA to
Tribune Broadcasting . Under Tribune, KTLA continued to acquire high rated off-network sitcoms as well as talk shows. In
July 1991 , KTLA added the first live, local morning newscast, the , to compete with major network morning shows. At first, the ''KTLA Morning News'' suffered from low ratings. However, the ability to cover breaking news live (as opposed to the network morning programs, which were aired on a three-hour tape delay) attracted more viewers to channel 5. As time went on, the ''KTLA Morning News'' has enjoyed great ratings success, generally ranking number one in its main 7-9 a.m. time period. The program's success spawned rival
KTTV to launch its own local morning program, ''
Good Day L.A. '', in 1993.
In March 1991, KTLA was the first station to air the infamous video of the
Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police. From 1994 to 1995, the station aired gavel to gavel coverage of the
O.J. Simpson Trial anchored by
Marta Waller .
In January 1995, KTLA became a charter affiliate of the
WB Television Network , in which KTLA's parent company Tribune held a 25 percent ownership stake. That fall, KTLA added afternoon
Cartoons from ''
Kids' WB '', entering the children's television business for the first time in many years. KTLA also broadcasts the annual
Tournament Of Roses Parade from
Pasadena as well. The station has aired the Rose Parade since 1948, and while other local stations also broadcast the parade over the years, KTLA remains the sole English-language outlet in the Los Angeles area to continuously broadcast the event. The station has also returned as host broadcaster of the Hollywood Christmas Parade (which is
Syndicated to all Tribune-owned stations).
Tribune purchased the
Times-Mirror Company , parent company of the ''
Los Angeles Times '', in 2000, bringing the ''Times'' into common ownership with channel 5. Ironically, the ''Times'' had been the original owner of Los Angeles'
Fox station, KTTV.
The station launched a new branding campaign in January 2005, which omitted all references to its channel 5 position (Although when rebranding as a CW affiliate, the channel 5 reference would return). It adopted a new logo, and became known on the air as ''KTLA The WB: Where L.A. Lives.'' The new look also featured a brand new black and orange color scheme for news broadcasts and other functions of the network.
On
January 24 ,
2006 , the
Warner Bros. Television unit of
Time Warner and
CBS announced it would be merging the operations of its WB and
UPN networks into a joint-venture, the
CW Television Network . KTLA became the Los Angeles affiliate of the new network. The channel station rebranded itself as "KTLA 5 The CW" on
September 18 ,
2006 .
Today, KTLA is a typical CW affiliate running the usual blend of syndicated shows such as first-run talk and reality shows, off-network sitcoms and dramas, cartoons from
Kids' WB , first-run prime time programming from the CW, early morning and 10 p.m. newscasts, and sports. KTLA is the over-the-air home of the
Los Angeles Clippers ; the station carried Clippers games from 1985 to 1991, and picked them up again in 2002 and was also the TV home of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1993 to 2001. Although not as wide-spread in national carriage as its Chicago sister station,
WGN-TV , KTLA is available via satellite as a superstation, through out North America on
Ku-band ,
C-band , and
Dish Network systems, as well as on cable systems in selected cities throughout the Southwestern part of the
United States and in
Canada nationwide.
KTLA offers around 30 hours per week of local news, and its 10 p.m. newscast was the most-watched for decades until KTTV took the top spot consistently since 2000 . The ''KTLA Morning Show'' is the number two-rated local morning show, behind ''Good Day L.A.''
KTLA's facility is also home to Tribune Studios, where shows like ''
Family Feud '' (current version), ''
Greed '',
Fox's ''Celebrity Boxing'' specials, ''
WKRP In Cincinnati '', ''
Judge Judy '', ''
Name That Tune '' (
Tom Kennedy and
Jim Lange versions), ''
The Newlywed Game '', and ''
Judge Joe Brown '' have been produced over the years. With this location, KTLA and
PBS member station
KCET are currently the only Los Angeles area broadcasters based in Hollywood.
On
January 13 ,
2007 , KTLA began broadcasting its newscasts in
High Definition , becoming the second Los Angeles television station to do so.
On January 22, 2007, KTLA celebrated its 60th anniversary of continuous broadcasting in Los Angeles. Two days later, on
January 24 , 2007, KTLA was given a star on the
Hollywood Walk Of Fame , becoming the first television station or network to receive such an honor. In addition to the station itself, six other individuals associated with the station -- former owner Gene Autry, reporters
Stan Chambers and
Larry McCormick , news anchors
Hal Fishman and
George Putnam , and KTLA founder Klaus Landsberg -- have received stars on the Walk of Fame.
Several of KTLA's well-known evening news anchors include Hal Fishman, Larry McCormick, and George Putnam. Its veteran field reporters have included Stan Chambers (who has been with the station since its inception in 1947) and Warren Wilson.
Stu Nahan and Ed Arnold (who now anchors
KOCE-TV 's ''Real Orange'') were formerly the sports anchors. Accompanying his news anchoring career, McCormick also hosted KTLA's own public affairs production called , which featured stories on the entrepreneurial successes of ethnic minorities.
For many years channel 5's news operations were considered the benchmark of Los Angeles television. It's evening news program was often serious and no-nonsense in nature and has received many awards and distinctions. However, KTLA's newscasts have become more tabloid-based in nature in recent years, perhaps to compete with KTTV. Both stations have rivaled each other in ratings for many years. As part of the change, KTLA has placed more emphasis in entertainment news, and has featured personalities including
Mindy Burbano Stearns , Zorianna Kitt, and recently Ross King as entertainment reporters.
In 2004, KTLA debuted a reality show segment on its morning news titled "The Audition", in which several actors and actresses competed for a role as weathercaster on the ''News at Ten''. Ross King was the winner in the first installment, and Jessica Holmes, of
Nickelodeon fame, won in the second and is now their morning traffic reporter. Although KTLA does not cover police pursuits like other stations, they have put more emphasis in local crime stories, as opposed to politics, health, and other serious news. As part of the 2005 graphics change, KTLA's graphics were significantly modernized, and a new, futuristic-looking set was constructed for their newscasts.
On
May 29 ,
2006 , the ''KTLA Morning News'' became the . On
August 7 of the same year, KTLA extended their ''Morning Show'' news broadcast by an hour, creating five straight hours of news between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m.
KTLA has also created
Synergy between Tribune Company entities. For example, entertainment reporter Sam Rubin is often seen on WGN-TV in Chicago. Ron Olsen also frequently reports on upcoming stories in the ''Los Angeles Times'' from the paper's headquarters in
Downtown Los Angeles .
During the 1970s, KTLA operated a well-equipped helicopter known as the "Telecopter" for its news operations (having debuted in 1958); the Telecopter was the most advanced airborne television broadcast device of its time, but was ultimately sold to another Los Angeles station,
KNBC , which flew the Telecopter with pilot Francis Gary Powers and cameraman George Spears until its fatal crash on
August 1 ,
1977 .
On . Amezcua had been filling-in on ''KTLA Prime News'' in the weeks following longtime anchor Hal Fishman's death. (
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- In 2004, Zorianna Kit, an entertainment writer for '' People '' and '' The Hollywood Reporter '', was installed as an on-air reporter despite her having no television news experience. (Her only previous television experience was as a panelist on the short-lived ''Movie Club with John Ridley ''). Kit then raised ethical questions in January 2005 when she was critical of the appointment of Brad Grey to head Paramount Pictures on the air. She did not tell viewers that her husband, producer Bo Zenga , had sued Grey over profits from the film '' Scary Movie ''. The '' Los Angeles Times '' reported the issue and in mid-January, Kit apologized on-air; Kit left KTLA in July 2005. (" {Link without Title} )
- In January 2006, KTLA management came under fire for changing the hosts for the station's annual broadcast of the Tournament Of Roses Parade . Stephanie Edwards , who emceed the parade for nearly three decades with Bob Eubanks , was moved out of the booth and became a street reporter. She was replaced by Michaela Pereira in the booth. The move was widely seen as insensitive and created a storm of controversy, including a scathing column by Patt Morrison in the ''Los Angeles Times'', which, like KTLA, is owned by the Tribune Company. This situation was made worse by the fact that it was raining that day, and Edwards was forced to stay out in the rain. In 2007, Pereira fully replaced Edwards.
- Another ethical issue bubbled up in late February 2006 when the '' Pasadena Star-News '' reported that the three KTLA personalities — Carlos Amezcua, Sam Rubin and Michaela Pereira — accepted free rooms at the recently renovated Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena. The station was broadcasting an entire "Morning News" from Pasadena, although the hotel was not specifically mentioned. Still, it was widely seen as a significant ethical lapse, one that violated Tribune Company guidelines.
- In a 2007 MSNBC.com investigation into partisan journalists and newspersons who donate to political parties and causes, KTLA news writer Diana Chi was found to have donated to the Republican National Committee 19 times between 2002-2006.
;Anchors
- Frank Buckley - ''KTLA Morning Show'' and ''KTLA Prime News'', weekends
- Cher Calvin - ''KTLA Morning News First/Early Editon''
- Leila Feinstein - ''KTLA Prime News'', weeknights
- Michaela Pereira - ''KTLA Morning Show''
- Emmett Miller - ''KTLA Morning News First/Early Edition''
- Lu Parker - ''KTLA Morning News First/Early Edition''
;Weather
;Sports
- Damon Andrews - evening sports anchor/sports director/host of ''Sports Plus''
;Reporters
(a partial listing)
(D) - deceased
- ''Channel 5 News at Ten'' (1960s-1997)
- ''KTLA News @ Ten'' (1997-2005)
- ''KTLA News'' (1990s)
- ''KTLA Prime News'' (2005-present)
- ''KTLA Morning News'' (1991-2006) (Still used on the 5am-7am portion of the news)
- ''KTLA Morning Show'' (2006-present, used for the 7am-10am portion of the news)
- ''The Channel 5 Movie Theatre'' (1969-1997)
- ''The Big Picture'' (1997-1999)
- ''The Family Film Festival'' (1976-1991)
- ''The Weekend Film Festival'' (1991-1997)
- ''The KTLA Weekend Film Festival'' (1997-present)
- ''The Channel 5 Saturday Movie Theatre'' (1986-1994)
- ''Movie for A Saturday/Sunday Evening'' (1977-1997)
- ''The KTLA Saturday Night Movie'' (1997-2005)
- ''The KTLA Saturday Night Screening Room'' (2002-present)
- ''The KTLA Saturday Cinema Showcase'' (2002-present)
- ''The KTLA WB Sunday Night Movie'' (1997-2002)
- ''Movies 'Til Dawn'' (1969-2002)
- ''Channel 5 Movie Special'' (1979-1997)
- ''The Number One Prime Time News Hour'' (1970s)
- ''KTLA 5, LA's WB'' (1994-2004)
- ''KTLA, the WB, Where L.A. Lives'' (2005-2006)
- ''KTLA, the CW, Where L.A. Lives'' (2006-present)
KTLA is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
KTLA gained a bit of notoriety among fans of the television show on
November 30 ,
1991 with the airing of their mockery of the movie '''War of the Colossal Beast'''. In the movie, there are scenes of a KTLA news anchor predicting where the title character Glen Manning will end up next. That anchor is the real KTLA reporter Stan Chambers, with the station since the beginning and still reporting daily from the field
As Of 2006 . The anchor ends up pronouncing the station's call letters as "KIT-lah". In a skit segment later in the show,
Joel Robinson , portrayed by
Joel Hodgson , mocks the anchor's "KTLA Predicts" style of newsreading. The phrase "KTLA Predicts" became a catchphrase among fans of the show.
During the 1950s, while Paramount owned the station, that company was also producing
Popeye cartoons. In one episode, Popeye's nephews turn on their television to "Chanel Number 5" (not the perfume, but Channel 5 – KTLA).
