KFDX-TV
Encyclopedia
KFDX, virtual channel
3, is the NBC
affiliated television station located in Wichita Falls, Texas
. It also serves Lawton, Oklahoma
. Its transmitter is located at the studio in Wichita Falls
. The KFDX antenna is 1047 feet (319 m) tall.
In addition to over-the-air reception on digital channel 28, KFDX is also carried by more than 60 cable TV systems in Texas and Oklahoma and UHF translators at Quanah, Texas
and Altus, Oklahoma
.
KFDX-TV also runs a weather channel on Time Warner cable channel 17. The programming, selected by the on-duty meteorologist, switches between two different radar sources and a temperature and forecast display.
For many years Warren Silver, who originally joined KFDX when it signed on 1953, served as the station's chief weathercaster and announcer, as well as the original host of the station's longtime early morning farm and ranch broadcast, RFD-3. Silver became the station's general manager from 1971 to 1988. After his retirement, Silver continued as a contributor to the station until his death in 2001 with weekly reports on senior citizens' issues during Newscenter 3's 6 p.m. broadcast entitled "The Silver Report".
Another longtime KFDX weathercaster who appeared on Channel 3's newscast from 1954 to 1971 was dubbed "Tom Crane the Weathervane". Crane was later the vice-president of City National Bank in Wichita Falls bank and operated local advertising agency Crane & Company from 1980 until his death July 6, 2009.
KFDX Chief Meteorologist Skip McBride, a retired airman who has worked at KFDX since January 1983, is the area's longest running weathercaster in local television still on the air today. Among station on-air staff still at KFDX, McBride's tenure of more than 35 years has only been surpassed by Joe Brown, who has continually served as anchor of RFD-3 since the early 1960s.
Don Alexander, leader of rock-and-roll band "Alexander & the Greats" and composer of the 1964 hit single "Hot Dang Mustang," came to KFDX in the late 1950s. For several years he hosted an afternoon children's program, Stage Coach Three. As "Pinto Bean," he donned cowboy garb to host afternoon western and horror movies. Alexander later served as anchorman and occasional news director at KFDX from 1963 to 1980.
Nat Fleming, a local country and western band leader, hosted his own afternoon variety program The Nat Fleming Show on Channel 3 from its inception in 1953 until the early 1960s. Fleming was also the longtime owner of a Wichita Falls western wear store, The Cow Lot, which closed its doors in 2006. In his TV ads Fleming was most popular for the tagline "You can tell by looking if it came from the Cow Lot."
The current Channel 3 logo has been in use since the mid-1990s, both with and without the NBC Peacock. Several other Channel 3 logos have been used by KFDX throughout the station's history, most notably a Roman numeral 3 or "III" from 1967 to 1978 which was spelled out with the call sign KFDX capitalized and the letters TV in small lettering ahead of the numerals as "KFDX-tv III." During the Roman numeral era, Channel 3 programs were spelled out according to that logo including TV-III News, RFD-III, Matinee III, TV-III Golden Movies, News III and Newscenter III (became Newscenter 3 with 1978 logo change).
News programming on weekdays includes KFDX 3 News Today at 5:30 a.m., KFDX 3 News at Noon at 12 p.m., KFDX 3 News at 5 at 5 p.m., KFDX 3 News at 6 at 6 p.m. and KFDX 3 News at 10 at 10 p.m. On weekends, KFDX 3 News is broadcast at 6 p.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 p.m. both nights.
KFDX produces 22 hours of news programming a week.
For the May 2009 ratings period, KFDX ranked second for the morning time period, according to Nielsen Media Research. KFDX ties for first at 5 p.m. and ranks second at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
For the November 2008 rating period, KFDX's weekend evening newscasts were beaten out by KAUZ.
NOTE: The noon newscast was also called the Noon Report for many years until 1980s in conjunction with the main newscast title. The 10 p.m. broadcast also had an exclusive title of Newscenter 3 Nightcast during the 1980s and 1990s.
Weather team
Sports team
Reporters
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
3, is the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliated television station located in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. It also serves Lawton, Oklahoma
Lawton, Oklahoma
The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Its transmitter is located at the studio in Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. The KFDX antenna is 1047 feet (319 m) tall.
In addition to over-the-air reception on digital channel 28, KFDX is also carried by more than 60 cable TV systems in Texas and Oklahoma and UHF translators at Quanah, Texas
Quanah, Texas
Quanah is a city in and the county seat of Hardeman County, Texas, United States, northwest of Fort Worth, and a few miles from the Oklahoma-Texas state line...
and Altus, Oklahoma
Altus, Oklahoma
Altus is a city in Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,813 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County....
.
KFDX-TV also runs a weather channel on Time Warner cable channel 17. The programming, selected by the on-duty meteorologist, switches between two different radar sources and a temperature and forecast display.
KFDX-DT
KFDX-DT broadcasts on digital channel 28.| Virtual channel |
Physical channel |
Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 28.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
KFDX-DT | main KFDX / NBC HD programming |
| 3.2 | 28.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | KJBO-LP KJBO-LP KJBO-LP "My TV KJBO" is the low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate located in Wichita Falls, Texas. The station broadcasts on channel 35 and does not have a digital signal of its own; however, there is a standard-definition digital signal that's transmitted on a subchannel of KFDX-TV... |
Simulcast; MyNetworkTV and syndicated programming |
History
KFDX-TV Channel 3 went on the air on April 12, 1953 as the third television station to serve the North Texas/Southern Oklahoma region. The station was originally owned by Wichitex Radio and Television under the direction of Darrold Cannan,Sr. and Howard Fry, which also owned KFDX Radio, an AM station with a frequency of 990 that went on the air in 1947. In addition to being a founder and general manager, Fry was best known by children in Texoma for his Uncle Howdy's House Party on both radio and television. In 1955, Wichitex sold the radio station, which continues to operate to this day, to concentrate on the television portion of the business until the firm sold KFDX-TV 3 to Clay Communications of Texas in 1971.For many years Warren Silver, who originally joined KFDX when it signed on 1953, served as the station's chief weathercaster and announcer, as well as the original host of the station's longtime early morning farm and ranch broadcast, RFD-3. Silver became the station's general manager from 1971 to 1988. After his retirement, Silver continued as a contributor to the station until his death in 2001 with weekly reports on senior citizens' issues during Newscenter 3's 6 p.m. broadcast entitled "The Silver Report".
Another longtime KFDX weathercaster who appeared on Channel 3's newscast from 1954 to 1971 was dubbed "Tom Crane the Weathervane". Crane was later the vice-president of City National Bank in Wichita Falls bank and operated local advertising agency Crane & Company from 1980 until his death July 6, 2009.
KFDX Chief Meteorologist Skip McBride, a retired airman who has worked at KFDX since January 1983, is the area's longest running weathercaster in local television still on the air today. Among station on-air staff still at KFDX, McBride's tenure of more than 35 years has only been surpassed by Joe Brown, who has continually served as anchor of RFD-3 since the early 1960s.
Don Alexander, leader of rock-and-roll band "Alexander & the Greats" and composer of the 1964 hit single "Hot Dang Mustang," came to KFDX in the late 1950s. For several years he hosted an afternoon children's program, Stage Coach Three. As "Pinto Bean," he donned cowboy garb to host afternoon western and horror movies. Alexander later served as anchorman and occasional news director at KFDX from 1963 to 1980.
Nat Fleming, a local country and western band leader, hosted his own afternoon variety program The Nat Fleming Show on Channel 3 from its inception in 1953 until the early 1960s. Fleming was also the longtime owner of a Wichita Falls western wear store, The Cow Lot, which closed its doors in 2006. In his TV ads Fleming was most popular for the tagline "You can tell by looking if it came from the Cow Lot."
The current Channel 3 logo has been in use since the mid-1990s, both with and without the NBC Peacock. Several other Channel 3 logos have been used by KFDX throughout the station's history, most notably a Roman numeral 3 or "III" from 1967 to 1978 which was spelled out with the call sign KFDX capitalized and the letters TV in small lettering ahead of the numerals as "KFDX-tv III." During the Roman numeral era, Channel 3 programs were spelled out according to that logo including TV-III News, RFD-III, Matinee III, TV-III Golden Movies, News III and Newscenter III (became Newscenter 3 with 1978 logo change).
Newscasts and local programming
The long-running agriculture/public affairs program RFD-3 airs at 5:00 a.m. weekdays and 6:30 am Saturdays, and has been a staple of area television for decades. It is hosted by Joe Brown, the station's farm director and also farm editor of the Wichita Falls Times Record News.News programming on weekdays includes KFDX 3 News Today at 5:30 a.m., KFDX 3 News at Noon at 12 p.m., KFDX 3 News at 5 at 5 p.m., KFDX 3 News at 6 at 6 p.m. and KFDX 3 News at 10 at 10 p.m. On weekends, KFDX 3 News is broadcast at 6 p.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 p.m. both nights.
KFDX produces 22 hours of news programming a week.
Ratings
KAUZ and KFDX primarily compete for the Texas audience, while KSWO has a stronghold on the Oklahoma market.For the May 2009 ratings period, KFDX ranked second for the morning time period, according to Nielsen Media Research. KFDX ties for first at 5 p.m. and ranks second at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
For the November 2008 rating period, KFDX's weekend evening newscasts were beaten out by KAUZ.
Newscast titles
- Your Esso Reporter (1953-1956)
- KFDX-TV News (1956-1959)
- Channel 3 News (1959-1964)
- TV-3 News (1964-1967)
- TV-III News (1967-1976)
- News III: 6 O'Clock Report/10 O'Clock Report (1976-1977)
- NewsCenter III (1977-1978)
- NewsCenter 3 (1978-2006)
- KFDX 3 News (2006-present)
NOTE: The noon newscast was also called the Noon Report for many years until 1980s in conjunction with the main newscast title. The 10 p.m. broadcast also had an exclusive title of Newscenter 3 Nightcast during the 1980s and 1990s.
Station slogans
- Texoma's TV-3, in Living Color (1965-1967)
- Texoma's Television is KFDX, TV-III (1967-1970)
- TV-III News, Watch Us First (1970-1972)
- Count on the TV-III News - Always One Step Ahead (1972-1975)
- If It's News, It's On TV-III News (1975-1976)
- It's Happening on TV-III (1976-1977)
- Get the Picture on NewsCenter III (1977-1978)
- NewsCenter 3, The Team That Really Knows News (1978-1979)
- 3 People Do It Better (1979-1980)
- The Best of the 3 (1980-1982)
- NewsCenter 3, Texoma's #1 News Team (1980-1981)
- The Difference Between Fact and Fiction is NewsCenter 3 (1981-1982)
- We're TV-3, Just Watch Us Now! (1982-1983; local version of NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
campaign) - We're TV-3, Texoma's Very Own (1983-1986)
- TV-3 There, Be There (1983-1984; local version of NBC campaign)
- TV-3, Let's All Be There! (1984-1986; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come Home To TV-3! (1986-1987; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- If It Happens In Texoma, It Happens On NewsCenter 3 (1986-1988)
- Come on Home To TV-3 (1987-1988; local version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come Home To The Best, Only on TV-3! (1988-1990; local version of NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
campaign) - TV-3, The Place To Be (1990-1991; local version of NBC campaign)
- Texoma's 24-Hour News Team24 Hour News SourceThe 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...
(1989-present; news slogan) - The Spirit of Texoma (1991-present, primary slogan; used in an image campaign using "This is Your News" by Frank Gari)
Current on-air staff (as of December 9, 2009)
Anchors- Joe Brown - "RFD-3" anchor
- Gwyn Bevel - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Doug Bilyeu - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Mechell Dixon - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10 p.m.; also reporter
- Ryan Robertson - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10 p.m.; also reporter
- Darrell Franklin - weeknights at 9 p.m. (on KJTL); also KFDX reporter
- Ann Arnold - KFDX 3 News Today
- Greg Parker - KFDX 3 News Today
Weather team
- Skip McBride - Chief Meteorologist; seen weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Bryan Rupp - Meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
- Kevin Puricelli - Meteorologist; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10 p.m.
- David Morris - fill-in meteorologist
Sports team
- Tobin McDuff - Sports Director; seen weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
- Orlando Sanchez - Sports Anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10 p.m.
- Ben Coker - fill-in sports anchor
Reporters
- Katie Crosbie - general assignment reporter
- Melissa Foy - general assignment reporter
- Jessica Holley - general assignment reporter
Former on-air staff
- Heidi CollinsHeidi CollinsHeidi Collins is an American correspondent and anchor for KMSP-TV Fox 9 News in Minneapolis – Saint Paul. She formerly worked for CNN.-Life and career:...
- anchor/reporter - Megan HendersonMegan HendersonMegan Henderson is a journalist and weekday morning anchor of the 4:30am to 7am KTLA News in Los Angeles. Prior to joining KTLA in March 2009, Henderson hosted the #1 rated morning show Good Day at the Fox affiliate KDFW in Dallas and Fox's Good Day Utah at KSTU in Salt Lake City...
- news anchor/reporter (currently anchoring at KTLA in Los Angeles, CA) - Frances RiveraFrances RiveraFrances Rivera is a Filipino-American journalist and television news anchor. For ten years, until August 2011, she had been a television reporter and anchor for Boston's NBC affiliate WHDH. As of August 2011, she is a Morning News anchor for WPIX in New York City.- Early life and career :Rivera...
- news anchor/reporter (currently anchoring at WHDH in Boston, MA) - Steve Nielsen - weekday mornings and noon (currently reporting at WPRI in Providence, RI)
- Victoria Snee - formerly of KDAFKDAFKDAF, virtual channel 33 , is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas. The station's transmitter is...
and KDMX Dallas