KPIX-TV
Encyclopedia
KPIX-TV is the CBS
owned and operated television station
in San Francisco, California
. Through its parent company CBS Corporation
, KPIX is co-owned with The CW affiliate KBCW-TV (Channel 44).
The station transmits from the Sutro Tower
and its signal covers the San Francisco Bay Area
. Known on the air as CBS 5 Bay Area, KPIX is home to one of the higher rated newscasts among CBS-owned stations. On January 28, 2008, KPIX started to broadcast local news in HD, becoming the third station in the Bay area to do so, after KGO-TV
and KTVU
. KPIX was also one of two Group W
stations that became a CBS O&O, but had already been affiliated with CBS, the other being KDKA-TV
in Pittsburgh.
In the few areas of the western United States where viewers cannot receive CBS programs over-the-air, KPIX is available to Dish Network
customers as part of All American Direct's distant network package.
. Initially, KPIX transmitted from a tower on top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. It later moved to a shared transmitter tower with KGO-TV
on Mount Sutro
and then to the Sutro Tower
in 1973. KPIX's first studio was in the attic of the Mark Hopkins (just above the "Top of the Mark.")
KPIX immediately joined CBS due to a deal KSFO's owners had worked out with CBS a year earlier. KSFO was CBS radio's Bay Area affiliate from 1937 to 1941, when Associated Broadcasters backed out of a deal for CBS to buy the station. When KSFO was still affiliated with CBS, it was originally slated to move to 740 AM, the dial spot of KQW in San Jose
. That frequency was the last 50,000-watt frequency available in the Bay Area, and KSFO was to raise its power to 50,000 watts after moving to 740. However, after KSFO parted ways with CBS, CBS moved its Bay Area affiliation to KQW and wasn't about to give up the obvious advantage of owning the last available 50,000-watt station in the Bay Area. After lengthy Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) hearings, KSFO won the 740 frequency, but later decided to stay at 560 and concentrate its efforts on building a television station. It traded the 740 frequency to CBS in return for getting the CBS television affiliation for the Bay Area. KQW remained at 740 and CBS changed its call sign to KCBS
.
The station also carried programming from the now-defunct DuMont Television Network
until that network folded in 1956. It even carried a few NBC programs until KRON-TV
signed on in 1949, and programs from the short-lived Paramount Television Network
, among them Frosty Frolics, Time For Beany, Cowboy G-Men, and Bandstand Revue.
When KPIX's first competitor, KGO-TV
, signed on in May 1949, KPIX produced programs to welcome it to the Bay Area. KPIX cameras were used on the first episode of the CBS News
program See It Now
on November 18, 1951, which opened with the first live simultaneous coast-to-coast TV transmission from both the East Coast (the Brooklyn Bridge
and New York Harbor
) and the West Coast (KPIX-produced images of the Golden Gate Bridge
and San Francisco Bay
), under the narration of Edward R. Murrow
. Under its first general manager, Phil Lasky, KPIX gained an early reputation for news coverage, being noted for originating national CBS coverage of the Japanese Peace Conference
of 1951 (the event which "officially" brought an end to World War II, similar to the function that the Treaty of Versailles
served for World War I), held in San Francisco (for which Lasky was commended by then-CBS News president Sig Mickelson), as well as local news coverage of the 1953 crash of an Australian airliner
while on approach to San Francisco International Airport
, and a powder explosion a few weeks afterward at an explosives plant in suburban Hercules
. In sports programming, KPIX originated the annual college football East-West Shrine Game
for DuMont, and was the flagship station of the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League
until 1954.
In 1952 KPIX and KSFO moved into a new building at 2655 Van Ness Avenue, with KPIX staying there until about 1979, when it relocated to a 1920s era warehouse building on the corner of Battery and Broadway streets (refurbished by the architecture firm Gensler
), where KPIX remains to this day. (KSFO moved to studios in the Fairmont Hotel
, across the hall from the Tonga Room
, later in the 1950s.) The building on Van Ness Avenue was the first building in San Francisco specifically built for television (it was demolished in 2006 to make way for a condominium
complex). Westinghouse Electric Corporation bought KPIX in 1954 and ran it as part of Group W
, its broadcasting unit. During Westinghouse's ownership, KPIX was their only television station on the West Coast. In early 1996, Westinghouse merged with CBS, making KPIX a CBS O&O station and bringing it into common ownership with KCBS radio. Until this happened, KPIX had been CBS's longest-tenured affiliate; the distinction now goes to WUSA
in Washington, DC.
In May 2006 KPIX moved its San Jose news bureau
to the Fairmont Tower at 50 W. San Fernando Street. This was the original site of Charles Herrold
's experimental broadcasts which were the precursor of KCBS. Although CBS was not aware of the significance of the San Fernando St. address when the move was planned, it quickly recognized and embraced its significance when informed, giving long-overdue credit to one of the inventors of radio broadcasting during the bureau's opening celebration.
is used to display KPIX-TV's virtual channel
as 5 on digital television receivers.
. Evening Magazine began on KPIX-TV in August 1976, and within a year, the concept expanded to the other Group W stations. By Fall 1978, the Evening Magazine format was syndicated to non-Group W markets across the country as PM Magazine
. The entire Evening/PM Magazine format was cancelled by the late 1980s. KPIX resurrected Evening Magazine in 1998. In 2005, Evening Magazine was retitled Eye On The Bay, to focus further on the San Francisco Bay Area. KBCW also aired Evening Magazine and Eye on the Bay in the early 2000s as reruns of the previous night's episode. Eye on the Bay will air its final new episodes in May 2012.
For most of the time before Westinghouse bought CBS, KPIX was CBS' largest affiliate. Despite this, until at least 1994 it was standard KPIX practice to pre-empt The Price Is Right
, as well as other CBS morning daytime programs (for example, the first season of Tattletales
was pre-empted for reruns of Perry Mason
). Despite the pre-emptions, CBS was mostly satisfied with KPIX as it was among its highest rated affiliates in the country. In 1995, when CBS signed a long term deal with every Westinghouse station (just before the two companies merged), KPIX began broadcasting the entire CBS schedule in pattern with no preemptions, as per the affiliation agreement between Westinghouse and CBS.
For a time from 1992 to 1998, KPIX ran CBS primetime programming an hour earlier than typical for the Pacific Time Zone (i.e. from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), a practice which KOVR
, its sister station in Sacramento
, continues to this day.
for a few years, and CBS had to schedule the popular game show on other Bay Area independent stations such as KOFY. At one point, a more celebrity-driven "People Are Talking in the Afternoon" aired with a small house band. Prior to the "People are Talking" franchise, Ann Fraser hosted "The Morning Show," essentially a 30 minute version of "People Are Talking." "The Morning Show" replaced "The Kathryn Crosby Show," hosted by Bing Crosby's wife, Kathryn. This was also a 30 minute show.
baseball team (at times pre-empting or delaying CBS network shows for the live broadcasts) before the A's broadcasts moved in the early 1990s to then-NBC affiliate KRON. KPIX was also the television home of the Golden State Warriors
basketball team during the 1990s. KPIX-TV was also the exclusive home of the Bay to Breakers
before it moved to KRON
.
From 1962-93, KPIX was the local carrier of most San Francisco 49ers
games, as part of the NFL on CBS
which covered the entire pre-merger
league until 1970, and the National Football Conference
from 1970-93. Two of the 49ers' Super Bowl
victories aired locally on KPIX: Super Bowl XV
and Super Bowl XXIV
. KPIX lost the 49ers to KTVU
in 1994 (a year after fan favorite Joe Montana
was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs
) when the NFC package moved to Fox
. However, in 1998, the American Football Conference
package moved to CBS from NBC
, and KPIX has aired Oakland Raiders
games since. KPIX will still air the 49ers if they host an AFC team in the afternoon, which under NFL broadcast rules, forces the Raiders to play on national TV, or have a bye week.
. The "captain" sometimes drew pictures to illustrate his stories. He was actually a talented artist named Peter Abenheim. Abenheim authored a book, published in 1959 by Nourse Publishing of San Carlos, California
, Captain Impossible at Sea. Abenheim wrote the screenplay for a 1962 science fiction
film, This Is Not a Test
(also released as Atomic War Bride). He was born in England on January 26, 1912. He came to San Francisco in 1932 and attended the California School of Fine Arts. He worked as an educational filmmaker. He died in San Francisco on May 2, 1988.
native Dick Stewart (born 1927) hosted a weekday variety program at KPIX. Due to the popularity of the film Gidget
in 1959, the station decided to run a "Miss Gidget" contest on Dick Stewart's television program. The contest was won by Barbara Bouchet
, who would become one of the "Regulars" on the Dance Party. She would later go on to be a famous star
in her own right.
From 1959 to 1963, KPIX presented Dance Party, hosted by Stewart. The program invited local teenagers to come and dance to recorded music in the KPIX studios. Besides playing current recordings, Stewart sometimes welcomed popular recording stars to the program. Following the custom of American Bandstand
, the singers would lip-synch to their recordings.
Stewart also hosted a number of "High School Salute" programs on Saturdays that spotlighted area high schools with interviews with students and faculty, as well as filmed segments from each school.
(1952–2009), As The World Turns
(1956–2010), The Young and The Restless
(1973–present), The Bold And The Beautiful (1987–present).
Other soaps shown on KPIX throughout the years include Search For Tomorrow
(1951–82, when it moved to NBC), Love Of Life
(1951–80), The Secret Storm
(1954–74, though KPIX dropped it in September 1973), The Brighter Day
(1954–62), The Edge of Night (1956–75, when it jumped to ABC), Love Is A Many Splendored Thing (1967–73), Where The Heart Is
(1969–73), and Capitol
(1982–87).
format adopted by sister station KYW-TV
in Philadelphia. KGO-TV
also uses a similar type format, but KPIX had the Eyewitness News name first; KGO adopted its version from WABC-TV
in New York City. For most of the last 30 years, KPIX has been runner-up to KGO.
As mentioned above, KPIX was a pioneer in local television news coverage in the Bay Area. Like most television stations, it presented a 15-minute evening news program until 1963, when the networks began expanding their evening newscasts to 30 minutes. One of KPIX's innovating program directors, Ray Hubbard, created "The Noon News." The anchors were John Weston, "Channel 5's Guy on the Go," and Wanda Ramey, "Channel 5's Gal on the Go." Ramey was one of the first women news anchors in the country. In 1966, KPIX hired the first African-American TV news reporters in the San Francisco market: Ben Williams, who had been the first Black reporter for the San Francisco Examiner a few years earlier, and Belva Davis, the first female African-American reporter on the West Coast.
The station also launched a 10:00 p.m. hour-long newscast in the 1990s when they experimented with moving the prime time
programming block back one hour. Then-NBC affiliate KRON
also experimented with a 7:00-10:00 prime-time block and news at 10:00P, but their newscast was only 30 minutes and they quickly reverted back to the standard 8:00-11:00 primetime block after only a year. KPIX did not revert to 8:00-11:00 prime time programming until 1998 after making no dent in KTVU
's 10:00 pm news ratings, which has dominated the time slot for years in the Bay Area.
KPIX was also home to 30 Minutes Bay Area, a 30 minute news magazine created by 60 Minutes
creator Don Hewitt
after he retired from the national show. The "30 Minutes" concept was originally planned to air on many CBS O&O stations, but KPIX was the only station to implement the concept. 30 Minutes Bay Area was discontinued in early 2007, however, it continues to air as a special as of 2010.
KPIX also was one of the first local TV stations in the United States to provide full time environment reporting in its newscasts. CBS5's "The Greenbeat" (2007–2010), featuring reporter Jeffrey Schaub, offered viewers reports on sustainability, green technology and earth awareness issues.
Wendy Tokuda, who co-anchored "Eyewitness News" with Dave McElhatton from 1978 to 1992, recently returned to KPIX; as of 2007, Wendy anchors CBS 5 Eyewitness News at 5 with Allen Martin. In 1992, Wendy left KPIX to anchor evening newscasts on KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. In 1997, she returned to the Bay Area, and for the past decade, Wendy appeared on KRON 4 as evening anchor and reporter for her "Students Rising Above" student scholarship program that she founded in 1998. Wendy continues to work on her "Students Rising Above" program and airs her stories on KPIX newscasts.
In 2007 KPIX began broadcasting "Eye on the Bay" in High Definition
. On January 28, 2008, KPIX began broadcasting its newscasts in 1080i high definition (behind KTVU and KGO), becoming the third station in the Bay Area to broadcast news and weather in HD, but most of the field cameras were still in 4:3 aspect ratio at that time of the switch. In mid-September 2010, KPIX started using HD cameras for its field reports, however, not all video footage(s) are shot in HD. KPIX utilizes a "Hi-Def Doppler" radar system during weather segments, which is positioned on Mount Vaca.
On March 3, 2008, KPIX launched a nightly 10 p.m. newscast on KBCW. It is broadcast in high definition. http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/02/23/daily.1/
In mid-September 2010, KPIX introduced new graphics for its newscasts, which currently mirrors that of many of its sister-stations including WCBS
and KCBS
. KPIX currently uses "The Enforcer" music package, the basic theme of which has been used on many of CBS's O&O stations since the mid-1970s, when it was introduced by WBBM-TV
. The station previously used several variants of the "Battery" theme for its newscasts for over a decade before the current change. In addition, the KPIX and KCBS radio
websites merged along with the new website entitled "CBS San Francisco," which is similar to the revamp of most CBS O&Os. As of January 2011, KPIX airs a weekday morning newscast at 4:30 a.m.
CBS 5 Pinpoint Weather Team
Sports team
Reporters
Local program hosts
KPIX's distinctive "5" logo dates from the days as a Westinghouse station, when the "Group W
font" was standard on KPIX and its sister stations after about 1965. When Westinghouse merged with CBS, most of the former Group W stations eventually retired the font.
KPIX and its sister station, Baltimore's WJZ-TV
(an ABC
affiliate during its pre-merger Group W history) would become the only two CBS-owned television stations to continue using this logo font. KPIX was the only CBS-owned station on the West Coast
to not follow the CBS Mandate for years after the merger, referencing itself as KPIX-TV Channel 5.
Finally in 2005, KPIX fell in line with the mandate and called itself CBS 5, later CBS 5 Bay Area (although some references to "CBS 5" were heard in commercials as early as 2003). But it was briefly branded simply as KPIX 5 between 1993 and 1996, even dropping the Eyewitness News name and called itself KPIX 5 News at the same time before reverting.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
owned and operated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Through its parent company CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
, KPIX is co-owned with The CW affiliate KBCW-TV (Channel 44).
The station transmits from the Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower is a three-pronged antenna tower near Clarendon Heights in San Francisco, California. Rising from a hill between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro, it is a prominent part of the city skyline and a landmark for city residents and visitors...
and its signal covers the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Known on the air as CBS 5 Bay Area, KPIX is home to one of the higher rated newscasts among CBS-owned stations. On January 28, 2008, KPIX started to broadcast local news in HD, becoming the third station in the Bay area to do so, after KGO-TV
KGO-TV
KGO-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, based in San Francisco, California...
and KTVU
KTVU
KTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
. KPIX was also one of two Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
stations that became a CBS O&O, but had already been affiliated with CBS, the other being KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
in Pittsburgh.
In the few areas of the western United States where viewers cannot receive CBS programs over-the-air, KPIX is available to Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
customers as part of All American Direct's distant network package.
History
KPIX signed on December 22, 1948. It was the nation's 49th television station, as well as the first in northern California. It was owned by the Associated Broadcasters, owners of KSFO AM 560KSFO (AM)
KSFO is a conservative talk radio station in San Francisco, California, USA, broadcasting on 560 kHz AM. It is owned by Cumulus Media.The content of the KSFO's talk programming is solidly conservative, which is in stark contrast to the rather liberal San Francisco area, with show hosts such as Rush...
. Initially, KPIX transmitted from a tower on top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. It later moved to a shared transmitter tower with KGO-TV
KGO-TV
KGO-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, based in San Francisco, California...
on Mount Sutro
Mount Sutro
Mount Sutro is a hill in San Francisco, California. Most of Mount Sutro remains private property owned by the University of California, San Francisco , but a parcel, including the summit, has been set aside as the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve and is open to the public. It is one of San...
and then to the Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower is a three-pronged antenna tower near Clarendon Heights in San Francisco, California. Rising from a hill between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro, it is a prominent part of the city skyline and a landmark for city residents and visitors...
in 1973. KPIX's first studio was in the attic of the Mark Hopkins (just above the "Top of the Mark.")
KPIX immediately joined CBS due to a deal KSFO's owners had worked out with CBS a year earlier. KSFO was CBS radio's Bay Area affiliate from 1937 to 1941, when Associated Broadcasters backed out of a deal for CBS to buy the station. When KSFO was still affiliated with CBS, it was originally slated to move to 740 AM, the dial spot of KQW in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. That frequency was the last 50,000-watt frequency available in the Bay Area, and KSFO was to raise its power to 50,000 watts after moving to 740. However, after KSFO parted ways with CBS, CBS moved its Bay Area affiliation to KQW and wasn't about to give up the obvious advantage of owning the last available 50,000-watt station in the Bay Area. After lengthy Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) hearings, KSFO won the 740 frequency, but later decided to stay at 560 and concentrate its efforts on building a television station. It traded the 740 frequency to CBS in return for getting the CBS television affiliation for the Bay Area. KQW remained at 740 and CBS changed its call sign to KCBS
KCBS (AM)
KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
.
The station also carried programming from the now-defunct DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
until that network folded in 1956. It even carried a few NBC programs until KRON-TV
KRON-TV
KRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
signed on in 1949, and programs from the short-lived Paramount Television Network
Paramount Television Network
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s...
, among them Frosty Frolics, Time For Beany, Cowboy G-Men, and Bandstand Revue.
When KPIX's first competitor, KGO-TV
KGO-TV
KGO-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, based in San Francisco, California...
, signed on in May 1949, KPIX produced programs to welcome it to the Bay Area. KPIX cameras were used on the first episode of the CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
program See It Now
See It Now
See It Now is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, Murrow being the host of the show. From 1952 to 1957, See It Now won four Emmy Awards and was nominated three times...
on November 18, 1951, which opened with the first live simultaneous coast-to-coast TV transmission from both the East Coast (the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
and New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
) and the West Coast (KPIX-produced images of the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
and San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
), under the narration of Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
. Under its first general manager, Phil Lasky, KPIX gained an early reputation for news coverage, being noted for originating national CBS coverage of the Japanese Peace Conference
Treaty of San Francisco
The Treaty of Peace with Japan , between Japan and part of the Allied Powers, was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California...
of 1951 (the event which "officially" brought an end to World War II, similar to the function that the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
served for World War I), held in San Francisco (for which Lasky was commended by then-CBS News president Sig Mickelson), as well as local news coverage of the 1953 crash of an Australian airliner
BCPA Flight 304
British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Flight 304/44 was a Douglas DC-6 named Resolution and registered VH-BPE, on a flight from Sydney, Australia, to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, with scheduled stops at Nadi , Canton Island, Honolulu and San Francisco...
while on approach to San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
, and a powder explosion a few weeks afterward at an explosives plant in suburban Hercules
Hercules, California
Hercules is a city in western Contra Costa County, California. Situated along the coast of San Pablo Bay, it is located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about northeast of San Francisco. The city has a 2010 population of 24,060 according to the U.S...
. In sports programming, KPIX originated the annual college football East-West Shrine Game
East-West Shrine Game
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...
for DuMont, and was the flagship station of the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
until 1954.
In 1952 KPIX and KSFO moved into a new building at 2655 Van Ness Avenue, with KPIX staying there until about 1979, when it relocated to a 1920s era warehouse building on the corner of Battery and Broadway streets (refurbished by the architecture firm Gensler
Gensler
Gensler is an American design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1965 by Art Gensler, Drue Gensler, and James Follett, and originally focused on corporate interiors...
), where KPIX remains to this day. (KSFO moved to studios in the Fairmont Hotel
The Fairmont San Francisco
The Fairmont San Francisco is a luxury hotel at 950 Mason Street, atop Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel was named after mining magnate and U.S. Senator James Graham Fair , by his daughters Theresa Fair Oelrichs and Virginia Fair Vanderbilt who built the hotel in his honor. The hotel...
, across the hall from the Tonga Room
Tonga Room
The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar is a restaurant and tiki bar in the Fairmont San Francisco hotel in San Francisco, California. Named after the South Pacific nation of Tonga, this dining and entertainment venue opened in 1945....
, later in the 1950s.) The building on Van Ness Avenue was the first building in San Francisco specifically built for television (it was demolished in 2006 to make way for a condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
complex). Westinghouse Electric Corporation bought KPIX in 1954 and ran it as part of Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
, its broadcasting unit. During Westinghouse's ownership, KPIX was their only television station on the West Coast. In early 1996, Westinghouse merged with CBS, making KPIX a CBS O&O station and bringing it into common ownership with KCBS radio. Until this happened, KPIX had been CBS's longest-tenured affiliate; the distinction now goes to WUSA
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
in Washington, DC.
In May 2006 KPIX moved its San Jose news bureau
News bureau
A News bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate geographic location or scope of coverage: a ‘Tokyo bureau’ refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; foreign bureau is a generic term for a news office set up...
to the Fairmont Tower at 50 W. San Fernando Street. This was the original site of Charles Herrold
Charles Herrold
Charles David 'Doc' Herrold, was an American radio broadcasting pioneer who in 1909 created the world's second radio station....
's experimental broadcasts which were the precursor of KCBS. Although CBS was not aware of the significance of the San Fernando St. address when the move was planned, it quickly recognized and embraced its significance when informed, giving long-overdue credit to one of the inventors of radio broadcasting during the bureau's opening celebration.
Eyewitness Blues
Some personalities from KPIX, as well as KCBS radio, consists of mainly reporters and anchors from the two stations that would comprise the band named Eyewitness Blues. The band consists of Greg Brady (guitar), Keith Moon (Drums), Chris Detrick (Guitar), and Doug Sovern (bass). The band debuted in 2006.Digital television
KPIX-TV shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009 as part of the DTV transition, it remained on channel 29 PSIPProgram and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
is used to display KPIX-TV's virtual channel
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....
as 5 on digital television receivers.
Entertainment
KPIX was the station that came up with the concept for a local entertainment and lifestyles program, Evening MagazineEvening Magazine
Evening Magazine is the name of various news and entertainment style local television shows in different markets.-The original concept:...
. Evening Magazine began on KPIX-TV in August 1976, and within a year, the concept expanded to the other Group W stations. By Fall 1978, the Evening Magazine format was syndicated to non-Group W markets across the country as PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
. The entire Evening/PM Magazine format was cancelled by the late 1980s. KPIX resurrected Evening Magazine in 1998. In 2005, Evening Magazine was retitled Eye On The Bay, to focus further on the San Francisco Bay Area. KBCW also aired Evening Magazine and Eye on the Bay in the early 2000s as reruns of the previous night's episode. Eye on the Bay will air its final new episodes in May 2012.
For most of the time before Westinghouse bought CBS, KPIX was CBS' largest affiliate. Despite this, until at least 1994 it was standard KPIX practice to pre-empt The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
, as well as other CBS morning daytime programs (for example, the first season of Tattletales
Tattletales
Tattletales is a game show which first aired on the CBS daytime schedule on February 18, 1974. It was hosted by Bert Convy, with several announcers, including Jack Clark, Gene Wood, Johnny Olson and John Harlan, providing the voiceover at various times...
was pre-empted for reruns of Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
). Despite the pre-emptions, CBS was mostly satisfied with KPIX as it was among its highest rated affiliates in the country. In 1995, when CBS signed a long term deal with every Westinghouse station (just before the two companies merged), KPIX began broadcasting the entire CBS schedule in pattern with no preemptions, as per the affiliation agreement between Westinghouse and CBS.
For a time from 1992 to 1998, KPIX ran CBS primetime programming an hour earlier than typical for the Pacific Time Zone (i.e. from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), a practice which KOVR
KOVR
KOVR, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated station of the CBS Television Network located in Sacramento, California and licensed to Stockton. KOVR-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KMAX-TV in West Sacramento, California, and its transmitter is located in Walnut Grove,...
, its sister station in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, continues to this day.
Talk shows
KPIX was also known for the locally produced morning talk show, People are Talking, which began in 1978 with Ann Fraser and Ross MacGowan, and ran until 1991 (the other Group W stations also used the People are Talking format during these years). On KPIX, this show pre-empted The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
for a few years, and CBS had to schedule the popular game show on other Bay Area independent stations such as KOFY. At one point, a more celebrity-driven "People Are Talking in the Afternoon" aired with a small house band. Prior to the "People are Talking" franchise, Ann Fraser hosted "The Morning Show," essentially a 30 minute version of "People Are Talking." "The Morning Show" replaced "The Kathryn Crosby Show," hosted by Bing Crosby's wife, Kathryn. This was also a 30 minute show.
Sports
During the 1980s, KPIX was the flagship station for the Oakland A'sOakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
baseball team (at times pre-empting or delaying CBS network shows for the live broadcasts) before the A's broadcasts moved in the early 1990s to then-NBC affiliate KRON. KPIX was also the television home of the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball team during the 1990s. KPIX-TV was also the exclusive home of the Bay to Breakers
Bay to Breakers
The Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace which takes place in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May. The name reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarcadero and runs west through the city to finish at the Great...
before it moved to KRON
KRON-TV
KRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
.
From 1962-93, KPIX was the local carrier of most San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
games, as part of the NFL on CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
which covered the entire pre-merger
AFL-NFL Merger
The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
league until 1970, and the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
from 1970-93. Two of the 49ers' Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
victories aired locally on KPIX: Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1980 regular season...
and Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game played on January 28, 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1989 regular season...
. KPIX lost the 49ers to KTVU
KTVU
KTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
in 1994 (a year after fan favorite Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
) when the NFC package moved to Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
. However, in 1998, the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
package moved to CBS from NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
, and KPIX has aired Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
games since. KPIX will still air the 49ers if they host an AFC team in the afternoon, which under NFL broadcast rules, forces the Raiders to play on national TV, or have a bye week.
Captain Fortune
During the 1950s, KPIX produced a local children's program, Captain Fortune, on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings. In addition to a number of live segments with an in-studio children's audience, the program featured the pioneering animated television episodes of Crusader RabbitCrusader Rabbit
Crusader Rabbit is the first animated series produced specifically for television. The concept was test marketed in 1948, while the initial episode - Crusader vs. the State of Texas - aired on KNBH in Los Angeles, California on August 1, 1950....
. The "captain" sometimes drew pictures to illustrate his stories. He was actually a talented artist named Peter Abenheim. Abenheim authored a book, published in 1959 by Nourse Publishing of San Carlos, California
San Carlos, California
San Carlos is a city in San Mateo County, California, USA on the San Francisco Peninsula, about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. It is an affluent small residential suburb located between Belmont to the north and Redwood City to the south. San Carlos' ZIP code is 94070, and it is within...
, Captain Impossible at Sea. Abenheim wrote the screenplay for a 1962 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film, This Is Not a Test
This is Not a Test (1962 film)
This Is Not a Test is an American motion picture released in 1962. Produced at the height of the Cold War, the film was one of a number of productions of the late-1950s and early-1960s based upon the premise of the outbreak of nuclear war.-Plot:...
(also released as Atomic War Bride). He was born in England on January 26, 1912. He came to San Francisco in 1932 and attended the California School of Fine Arts. He worked as an educational filmmaker. He died in San Francisco on May 2, 1988.
Dick Stewart
From 1956 to 1959, Davenport, IowaDavenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
native Dick Stewart (born 1927) hosted a weekday variety program at KPIX. Due to the popularity of the film Gidget
Gidget (film)
Gidget is a 1959 Columbia Pictures CinemaScope feature film. It stars Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren in a story about a teenager's initiation into the California surf culture and her affiliated romance with a young surfer. The screenplay was written by Gabrielle Upton, a nom de plume...
in 1959, the station decided to run a "Miss Gidget" contest on Dick Stewart's television program. The contest was won by Barbara Bouchet
Barbara Bouchet
Barbara Bouchet, is a German-American actress and entrepreneur.She has acted in more than 80 films and television episodes and founded a production company that has produced fitness videos and books as well as owning a fitness studio...
, who would become one of the "Regulars" on the Dance Party. She would later go on to be a famous star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
in her own right.
From 1959 to 1963, KPIX presented Dance Party, hosted by Stewart. The program invited local teenagers to come and dance to recorded music in the KPIX studios. Besides playing current recordings, Stewart sometimes welcomed popular recording stars to the program. Following the custom of American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, the singers would lip-synch to their recordings.
Stewart also hosted a number of "High School Salute" programs on Saturdays that spotlighted area high schools with interviews with students and faculty, as well as filmed segments from each school.
Daytime Dramas
From its early days, KPIX carried the CBS soap operas, including The Guiding LightGuiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
(1952–2009), As The World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
(1956–2010), The Young and The Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
(1973–present), The Bold And The Beautiful (1987–present).
Other soaps shown on KPIX throughout the years include Search For Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
(1951–82, when it moved to NBC), Love Of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
(1951–80), The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
(1954–74, though KPIX dropped it in September 1973), The Brighter Day
The Brighter Day
The Brighter Day is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954 to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954-1956...
(1954–62), The Edge of Night (1956–75, when it jumped to ABC), Love Is A Many Splendored Thing (1967–73), Where The Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1969 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is an American soap opera telecast on the CBS television network from September 8, 1969 to March 23, 1973. Created by Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest, the program ran for 25 minutes, the remaining five minutes of its timeslot ceded to a CBS news break.Scofield and DePriest...
(1969–73), and Capitol
Capitol (TV series)
Capitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1,270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C....
(1982–87).
Court Dramas
In 1987-1988, KPIX ran a 90-minute block of court dramas from 4:30 to 6 p.m.: Superior Court, People's Court and The Judge. KPIX print ads stated, "It's a crime not to watch!" Late in the 2000s decade, KPIX ran Judge Judy at 7:30 p.m.Newscasts
KPIX uses the Eyewitness NewsEyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
format adopted by sister station KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
in Philadelphia. KGO-TV
KGO-TV
KGO-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, based in San Francisco, California...
also uses a similar type format, but KPIX had the Eyewitness News name first; KGO adopted its version from WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York City. For most of the last 30 years, KPIX has been runner-up to KGO.
As mentioned above, KPIX was a pioneer in local television news coverage in the Bay Area. Like most television stations, it presented a 15-minute evening news program until 1963, when the networks began expanding their evening newscasts to 30 minutes. One of KPIX's innovating program directors, Ray Hubbard, created "The Noon News." The anchors were John Weston, "Channel 5's Guy on the Go," and Wanda Ramey, "Channel 5's Gal on the Go." Ramey was one of the first women news anchors in the country. In 1966, KPIX hired the first African-American TV news reporters in the San Francisco market: Ben Williams, who had been the first Black reporter for the San Francisco Examiner a few years earlier, and Belva Davis, the first female African-American reporter on the West Coast.
The station also launched a 10:00 p.m. hour-long newscast in the 1990s when they experimented with moving the prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
programming block back one hour. Then-NBC affiliate KRON
KRON-TV
KRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
also experimented with a 7:00-10:00 prime-time block and news at 10:00P, but their newscast was only 30 minutes and they quickly reverted back to the standard 8:00-11:00 primetime block after only a year. KPIX did not revert to 8:00-11:00 prime time programming until 1998 after making no dent in KTVU
KTVU
KTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
's 10:00 pm news ratings, which has dominated the time slot for years in the Bay Area.
KPIX was also home to 30 Minutes Bay Area, a 30 minute news magazine created by 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
creator Don Hewitt
Don Hewitt
Donald Shepard "Don" Hewitt was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating 60 Minutes, the CBS television news magazine, in 1968, which at the time of his death, was the longest-running prime-time broadcast on American television...
after he retired from the national show. The "30 Minutes" concept was originally planned to air on many CBS O&O stations, but KPIX was the only station to implement the concept. 30 Minutes Bay Area was discontinued in early 2007, however, it continues to air as a special as of 2010.
KPIX also was one of the first local TV stations in the United States to provide full time environment reporting in its newscasts. CBS5's "The Greenbeat" (2007–2010), featuring reporter Jeffrey Schaub, offered viewers reports on sustainability, green technology and earth awareness issues.
Wendy Tokuda, who co-anchored "Eyewitness News" with Dave McElhatton from 1978 to 1992, recently returned to KPIX; as of 2007, Wendy anchors CBS 5 Eyewitness News at 5 with Allen Martin. In 1992, Wendy left KPIX to anchor evening newscasts on KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. In 1997, she returned to the Bay Area, and for the past decade, Wendy appeared on KRON 4 as evening anchor and reporter for her "Students Rising Above" student scholarship program that she founded in 1998. Wendy continues to work on her "Students Rising Above" program and airs her stories on KPIX newscasts.
In 2007 KPIX began broadcasting "Eye on the Bay" in High Definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. On January 28, 2008, KPIX began broadcasting its newscasts in 1080i high definition (behind KTVU and KGO), becoming the third station in the Bay Area to broadcast news and weather in HD, but most of the field cameras were still in 4:3 aspect ratio at that time of the switch. In mid-September 2010, KPIX started using HD cameras for its field reports, however, not all video footage(s) are shot in HD. KPIX utilizes a "Hi-Def Doppler" radar system during weather segments, which is positioned on Mount Vaca.
On March 3, 2008, KPIX launched a nightly 10 p.m. newscast on KBCW. It is broadcast in high definition. http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/02/23/daily.1/
In mid-September 2010, KPIX introduced new graphics for its newscasts, which currently mirrors that of many of its sister-stations including WCBS
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
and KCBS
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
. KPIX currently uses "The Enforcer" music package, the basic theme of which has been used on many of CBS's O&O stations since the mid-1970s, when it was introduced by WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...
. The station previously used several variants of the "Battery" theme for its newscasts for over a decade before the current change. In addition, the KPIX and KCBS radio
KCBS (AM)
KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
websites merged along with the new website entitled "CBS San Francisco," which is similar to the revamp of most CBS O&Os. As of January 2011, KPIX airs a weekday morning newscast at 4:30 a.m.
Newscast titles
- The Noon News (1950s)
- Shell News (1950s)
- William Winter & The News (1950s)
- Channel 5 Eyewitness News (1965–1994, 1995–2003)
- KPIX 5 News (1994–1995)
- CBS 5 Eyewitness News (2003–present)
Station slogans
- We Light Up the Bay (1977–1982)
- The Best Place for News in The Best Place on Earth (1994–1998)
- Everywhere in the Best Place on Earth (1998–2001)
- Everywhere (2001–2005)
- Always Worth Your Time (2005–2009)
- Stay Connected (2009–present)
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Ken Bastida - weeknights at 10 (on KBCW) and 11 p.m.; "Good Question" reporter and fill in anchor
- Elizabeth Cook - weeknights at 4:30 and 5 pm; general assignment reporter and fill in anchor
- Dana King - weeknights at 6, 10 (on KBCW) and 11 p.m.
- Grace Lee - weekday mornings "CBS 5 Early Edition" and noon
- Anne Makovec - weekend mornings - "CBS 5 Weekend Early Edition"; general assignment reporter and fill in anchor
- Frank Mallicoat - weekday mornings "CBS 5 Early Edition" and noon
- Allen Martin - weeknights at 5 and 6; "Closer Look" reporter
- Phil Matier - weekend mornings - "CBS 5 Weekend Early Edition"; political commentator and general assignment reporter
- Ann Notarangelo - weekends at 5:30, 6:30, 10 (on KBCW) and 11 p.m.; general assignment reporter
- Dennis O'Donnell - weekdays at 4:30 p.m., also sports director; weeknights at 6, 10 (on KBCW) and 11; host of "Game Day!" and host 49ers games on CBS5
CBS 5 Pinpoint Weather Team
- Roberta Gonzales - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 4:30, 5, 6, 10 (on KBCW) and 11 p.m.
- Lawrence Karnow - meteorologist - weekday mornings "CBS 5 Early Edition" and noon; occasional fill in
- Jim Bernard - AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
(Seal of Approval) - weekend evenings and weekday fill in - Kristy Siefkan - weekend mornings; weekday fill in and general assignment reporter
Sports team
- Dennis O'Donnell - sports director; weeknights at 6, 10 (on KBCW) and 11; host of "Game Day!" and host 49ers games on CBS5
- Kim Coyle - weekend sports anchor at 6, 10 (on KBCW) and 11, and Saturdays at 6:30 p.m.; weekday fill in and 49ers games reporter
- Gary Gelfand - sports anchor; fill-in, also sports reporter
Reporters
- Christin Ayers - general assignment reporter
- Ken Bastida - "Good Question" reporter; anchor,weeknights at 10 (KBCW) and 11pm
- Jason Brooks - KCBS Moneywatch reporter; business reporter weekday mornings "CBS 5 Early Edition"-appears around 6:45 and noon
- Elizabeth Cook - weeknights at 5pm; fill in anchor and general assignment reporter
- Sharon Chin - general assignment reporter and "Bay Area Jefferson Awards" reporter
- Stephanie Chuang - general assignment reporter
- Brian CooleyBrian CooleyBrian Cooley is an Editor at large for CNET and their senior pundit, seen frequently on CNN, ABC News, CNBC as well on the TV screens in most major tech retailers around the U.S...
- CNet correspondent - appears weekday mornings, "CBS 5 Early Edition" occasionally - Gil Diaz - general assignment reporter
- Kiet Do - general assignment reporter
- Gianna Franco - fill-in traffic reporter and producer; traffic reporter for radio station KCBS weekends, weekday traffic reporter at 4:30 p.m.
- Juliette Goodrich - general assignment reporter; fill in anchor
- Anser Hassan - general assignment reporter
- Kate Kelly - feature reporter and "Bay Area Jefferson Awards" host
- Lisa Kim - general assignment reporter and fill in
- Don Knapp - general assignment reporter
- Robert Lyles - general assignment reporter and fill in anchor; fill in meteorologist
- Anne Makovec - general assignment reporter; weekend morning anchor, "CBS 5 Weekend Early Edition"
- Allen Martin - "Closer Look" reporter; weeknights at 5 and 6pm and fill in anchor
- Phil Matier - political commentator and general assignment reporter; weekend morning anchor
- Liam Mayclem - "Eye on the Bay" Co host and producer; entertainment reporter-appears Thursday Mornings on "CBS 5 Early Edition"
- Dr. Kim Mulvihill - medical reporter
- Hank Plante - special contributor reporter (retired in 2008)
- Len Ramirez - general assignment reporter
- Mark Sayre - general assignment reporter
- Kristy Siefkan - general assignment reporter; weekend evening meteorologist and fill in
- Mike Sugerman - general assignment reporter
- Wendy Tokuda - "Students Rising Above" reporter
- Joe Tuman - CBS 5 Political Analyst
- Joe Vazquez - general assignment reporter
- Julie Watts - Consumer Watch reporter; fill in meteorologist and fill in anchor
- Elizabeth Wenger - weekday morning traffic reporter; general assignment reporter; fill in anchor
- Linda Yee - general assignment reporter
Local program hosts
- Brian Hackney - Eye on the Bay Co-host and producer; also weather fill-in anchor
- Liam Mayclem - Eye on the Bay Co-host and producer; also appears Thursday mornings on "CBS 5 Early Edition" with 'Liam's List" - a weekend guide to entertainment around the Bay Area.
- Thuy Vu - Eye on the Bay Co-host and producer.
- Dave Stoelk - Eye on the Bay correspondent
Notable past on-air staff
- Peter Abenheim - host of Captain Fortune, 1950s; artist and educational filmmaker (1912–1988)
- Jim AvilaJim AvilaJim Avila is an American television journalist, currently the Senior Law and Justice Correspondent for ABC News. Jim graduated from Glenbard East High School with the name of Jim Simon. Before joining ABC, he was a correspondent for NBC News...
- weekend anchor/San Jose Bureau chief (1976–1980, now at ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
) - Renel Brooks-MoonRenel Brooks-MoonRenel Brooks-Moon is the public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants, as well as a local radio personality. She is known for her booming voice and ability to announce each Giants player with a unique spin on their name....
- entertainment reporter (2003–2006) - Christine CraftChristine CraftChristine Craft is an attorney, radio talk show host and former television news anchor. She became known in the broadcast industry in the 1980s for her age and sexual discrimination lawsuit against a television station that had demoted her from news anchor to reporter.- Early life :Craft was born...
- anchor/reporter (1975–1977, now a radio host at KGO in San Francisco) - Dan FoutsDan FoutsDaniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
- sports anchor (1994–1997, now at NFL NetworkNFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
) - Bambi FranciscoBambi FranciscoBambi Francisco is founder and CEO of Vator.tv - one of the largest social networks dedicated to high-tech entrepreneurs, and VatorNews - the largest video network focused on entrepreneurship and innovation....
- technology reporter (1999–2003) - Wayne FreedmanWayne FreedmanWayne Freedman is a feature reporter for KGO-TV; the ABC owned television station in San Francisco, California.Freedman's education included Chaminade High School near his hometown of Woodland Hills, California. Freedman showed an interest in reporting at an early age, and became published with a...
- reporter (1989–1991, now at KGO-TVKGO-TVKGO-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, based in San Francisco, California...
) - Cynthia GouwCynthia GouwCynthia Gouw is a American TV news anchor and host, an actress and model.-Television:As a TV journalist, Gouw is a 3-time Emmy Award winning reporter....
- reporter - Emil GuillermoEmil GuillermoEmil Guillermo is a print and broadcast journalist, commentator and humorist. He writes a column, "Emil Amok," for AsianWeek- the most widely read and largest circulating Asian American newsweekly in the U.S....
- reporter (1977–1980) - Harold GreeneHarold GreeneHarold Greene is a former award-winning journalist, best known for working at KCAL 9 News and CBS 2 News in Los Angeles. Before joining the CBS duopoly, Greene enjoyed a long television news career, mostly in Southern California....
- Anchor (1977) moved to KABC then KCBS-TVKCBS-TVKCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
/KCAL-TVKCAL-TVKCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
Los Angeles, now retired. - Tracy HumphreyTracy HumphreyTracy Humphrey was a weather anchor for KPIX in San Francisco. She reported the weather for the weekday edition of CBS 5 Eyewitness News from 5-7 and Noon. Tracy joined the station in December, 2007. Prior to KPIX, Humphrey worked for 4 years at WNYW Fox 5 in New York City as the weekend weather...
- morning and noon meteorologist (2007–2011) - Jonathan KarshJonathan KarshJonathan Karsh is the winner of the Audience Award and Best Director Award from the 2003 Sundance Film Festival for his directorial debut - the highly acclaimed documentary "My Flesh and Blood" that aired on HBO in 2004...
- Evening Magazine host/contributor (1998–2001, now a filmmaker http://www.docurama.com/filmmakerdetail.html?filmmakerid=82)also on CBS's Kid Nation) - Ron MagersRon MagersRon Magers is a weeknight anchor for WLS-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago, the city's number one station. He currently co-anchors the top-rated 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. broadcasts with Cheryl Burton and Kathy Brock, respectively...
- anchor/reporter (1968–1974), now at WLS-TV Chicago. - Dave McElhattonDave McElhattonDave McElhatton was a former evening news anchor for several decades in San Francisco, California, in the United States. He was in the first class of inductees to the Bay AreaHall of Fame...
- longtime anchor (1976–2000; deceased August 23, 2010) - Lee MendelsonLee MendelsonLee Mendelson is an American television producer. He is best known as the executive producer of the many Peanuts animated specials....
- producer; better known for work on PeanutsPeanutsPeanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
TV specials - Simon Perez - reporter/fill-in anchor 2002-2011
- Wanda RameyWanda RameyWanda Ramey was a pioneering American television news reporter. She was married to Richard Queirolo and assumed his name, but continued to use her maiden name in her professional life.-Early life and education:Ramey was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, to parents Hiram and May Ramey...
- noon co-anchor/reporter; first female anchor in western U.S. (1957–1967; deceased, August 15, 2009 at age 85) - Trish ReganTrish ReganTrish Ann Regan is an American television host, Emmy nominated investigative journalist, financial expert and author...
- reporter; fill-in "Early Edition" anchor (2002–2003); CBS News (2003–2007); CNBC/NBC News (2007-March 2011); ABC News (2011–Present) - Mike RoweMike RoweMike Rowe may refer to:*Michael Rowe, television writer for Futurama*Mike Rowe , host of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs* Mike Rowe , retired Canadian professional ice hockey player...
- Evening Magazine co-host (2001–2005; now host of Discovery Channel's Dirty JobsDirty JobsDirty Jobs is a program on the Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the typical employees. The show premiered with two pilot episodes in November 2003...
' and announcer of ABC World News with Diane Sawyer) - Nancy SnydermanNancy SnydermanNancy L. Snyderman, MD is an American physician and broadcast journalist. Since 2006, she has been the chief medical editor for NBC News, and frequently appears on NBC's Today and MSNBC to discuss medicine-related issues...
- medical reporter (1988-2004, now at MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
) - Drew SoicherDrew SoicherDrew Soicher , the evening sports reporter for KUSA-TV, joined KUSA in January 2000. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has a bobblehead doll museum in his basement. In fact, he owns more than 500 of the spring-loaded figures. He also coaches The Mighty Bobbleheads Little League baseball team. ...
- sports anchor (1997-1999, now at KUSA-TVKUSA-TVKUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
in Denver) - Brian SussmanBrian SussmanBrian Sussman is an American Emmy Award-winning television journalist and conservative talk radio host in the San Francisco Bay area. He currently hosts the Morning Show on radio station KSFO.- Personal background :...
- meteorologist (1989-2000) - Kaity TongKaity TongKaity Tong is a Chinese-born American broadcast journalist who has been a television news anchor in New York City since 1981.Born in Qingdao in the Peoples Republic of China to George and Anita Tong, Tong came to the United States with her family at age four. Growing up in Washington D.C., Tong was...
- reporter (1976-1979, now at WPIX-TV in New York) - Wayne WalkerWayne WalkerWayne Harrison Walker is a former professional football player and sports broadcaster. He played in the NFL for fifteen seasons, from 1958-72 for the Detroit Lions. A starter throughout his career, #55 played in 200 regular season games as a 6'2", 225 lb...
- sports anchor (1974-1994) - Ben WilliamsBen WilliamsBenjamin Philip "Ben" Williams is an English Footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Colchester United. He started his career as a Manchester United trainee, where he made a few pre-season appearances and was on the bench for a couple of games during Fabian Barthez injuries...
- anchor/reporter (1966-1991) - Colleen WilliamsColleen WilliamsColleen Williams is a news anchor of KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles, currently serving on the 5 and 11 p.m. weekday broadcasts. She also reports on occasion for NBC News and MSNBC. Williams is one of the most-recognized anchors in the Los Angeles area, the second-largest media market in the United...
- anchor/reporter (1981-1983, now at KNBCKNBCKNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson...
in Los Angeles) - Jan YanehiroJan Yanehiro-Personal life:She earned a journalism degree from California State University, Fresno in 1970.She is the Director of Multimedia Communications at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.-Television career:...
- Evening Magazine co-host (1976–1989)
KPIX branding
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
font" was standard on KPIX and its sister stations after about 1965. When Westinghouse merged with CBS, most of the former Group W stations eventually retired the font.
KPIX and its sister station, Baltimore's WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV, channel 13, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Baltimore, Maryland. WJZ-TV's studios and offices are located on Television Hill in the Woodberry section of Baltimore, adjacent to the transmission tower it shares with four other Baltimore...
(an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate during its pre-merger Group W history) would become the only two CBS-owned television stations to continue using this logo font. KPIX was the only CBS-owned station on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
to not follow the CBS Mandate for years after the merger, referencing itself as KPIX-TV Channel 5.
Finally in 2005, KPIX fell in line with the mandate and called itself CBS 5, later CBS 5 Bay Area (although some references to "CBS 5" were heard in commercials as early as 2003). But it was briefly branded simply as KPIX 5 between 1993 and 1996, even dropping the Eyewitness News name and called itself KPIX 5 News at the same time before reverting.