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| Alexandria, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Branding | ABC 31 KLAX-TV
ABC 31 News |
| Slogan | Covering Central Louisiana |
| Channels | Digital: 31 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 31.1 ABC |
| Owner | Pollack/Belz Broadcasting Company, LLC |
| First air date | March 3, 1983 |
| Sister station(s) | KWCE-LP, KIEM-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | 31 (UHF analog, 1983-2009)
32 (UHF analog, 2003) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1983-1985)
UPN (secondary, 1995-1997) |
| Transmitter power | 200 kW |
| Height | 333 m |
| Facility ID | 52907 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°33′54″N 92°33′0″W / 31.565°N 92.55°W / 31.565; -92.55 |
| Website | klax-tv.com |
[edit] History[]
Previous logo.KLAX was launched on March 3, 1983 originally as an Independent station. Two years later, it became the area's ABC affiliate with Monday Night Football serving as its first network program. Prior to then, area cable companies had piped in either WBRZ-TV from Baton Rouge, KTBS-TV in Shreveport, KATC from Lafayette, or KBMT in Beaumont, Texas. KLAX became one of two default ABC affiliates for the Monroe area (along with KTBS) in 1994 after that city's former ABC affiliate, KARD, became a Fox affiliate. This situation continued until 1998 when KAQY signed-on and took the ABC affiliation.
During this time due to the SyndEx rules, programming that aired on other stations in Monroe was replaced by CNN Headline News. KLAX also had a secondary affiliation with UPN from 1995 until 1998 when sister station KWCE-LP signed-on. Unlike all other local stations in the market, KLAX does not broadcast high definition programming. This makes the channel one of the few ABC affiliates in the United State that continues to broadcast in standard definition. KLAX's sister station, KIEM, is the only NBC affiliate in California to air programming in SD format. This is a generous term when applied to KLAX. Its picture broadcasts are of a lower quality than most other standard definition channels. Its audio is often tinny as if being aired from a barrel.
[edit] Newscasts[]
KLAX began a local news department in the 1980s, and right from the start, trailed long-dominant NBC affiliate KALB-TV by a significant margin. The operation was shut down in 2001 because it could not compete with that channel and gain consistent viewership. In 2008, a second attempt at a news department was established in partnership with the Independent News Network. Although weeknight 6 and 10 o'clock broadcasts originate from facilities on Tremount Avenue in Davenport, Iowa, there are contributions from local news reporters.
[edit] Newscast titles[]
- 31 News (1980s-early 1990s)
- KLAX-TV 31 News (early 1990s-1996)
- 31 Action News (1996-2001)
- ABC 31 News (2008-present)
[edit] News team[]
- Cacky Catlett - weeknight news anchor and producer
- Pat Walker (NWA Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist seen weeknights
- Jeremy Moss - Sports Director seen weeknights and "Athlete of the Week" segment producer
- Frances Yeager - community events reporter
- Babs Zimmerman - news reporter
- Jerry Havens - news reporter