Revealing Locker Room Video Costs Job

KEYE TV PUNTS PELIKAN



(Updated 9-12-09) The situation in the KEYE TV (CBS) sports department is about as muddled as this picture of Chris Pelikan. This little picture is the only image that I could find after he was scrubbed thoroughly from the “We Are Austin” web site, evidence that he is no longer the weekend sports anchor with the TV station.



Station management has not commented on the official reason for Pelikan's departure so far saying only that questions regarding him are a “personnel matter.”


Other sources, however, say that Pelikan was dismissed after airing some locker room video. He interviewed a Round Rock Express player Monday, September 7th. In the background for a split second viewers could see the naked rear-end of an athlete. A quick check of the Federal Communications Commission’s site revealed no complaints against the station in connection with the incident. KEYE TV has a zero-tolerance policy regarding such video.



Pelikan came to KEYE in February, 2008. Last year, he along with Sports Director Bob Ballou and producer Anthony Geronimo received honorable mention for “Best Sportscast” from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters. Pelikan came to Austin from the Fox affiliate in Saint Louis where he was a sports producer and reporter. He worked three years. Prior to that he was a sports reporter and anchor based in Dallas with Texas Cable News. Pelikan is a native of St. Louis. He graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 2000 with a dual degree in Broadcast and News-Editorial Journalism. His wife recently gave birth to a baby girl.


Pelikan’s departure leaves a gaping hole in the sports department. The position is not now posted on the KEYE web site. The opening could be filled by Anthony Geronimo, a one-man-band sports producer who has been working behind the scenes for a number of years, making the on-air staff look good. Geronimo’s blog appears on the station’s
www.weareaustin.com. He is shown wearing a suit and a big smile. Geronimo always wears the big smile but not the suit.


Otherwise, heading into football season with the second-ranked Horns ranked #2 nationally and lots of high school football, Sports Director Bob Ballou and Sports Photographer Pedro Garcia are going to be very busy.





© Jim McNabb, 2009

What Austin TV Station Has the Most News?

Stories Count


Joe Roddy, news director at KTBC TV in the late 1960s and early 1970s, always closed his newscast with the declaration, “That’s ALL the day’s news …” It was a signature sign-off for Mr. Roddy, but we all knew that it was not “all the day’s news.” It was the news KTBC (Then CBS AND ABC) chose to cover, and it was “all the day’s news” that would fit inside the news hole. A news hole then and now may be anywhere from eight- to 13 minutes, depending on several factors.

A snapshot content analysis of two days of newscasts in 2009 might have provided a clue to which Austin TV station is providing the available audience with the most news. This writer attempted to break down the 6 and 10 O’clock newscasts for Friday, August 28th and Monday, August 31st. While the analysis did provide some useful information, it’s really impossible to say which station has the most news.

There are at least a couple of ways of looking at it. One is “story count”. Some stations may simply have a few more stories on the air that another station. That newscast philosophy is fast-paced with a drumbeat in the background. Indeed, the banners for the stories may “fly” in with music and narration. Generally speaking, consultants favor this kind of show.

The other approach is more deliberate with a slower pace and a promise of in-depth coverage.

Austin stations seem to want to marry the two styles. Why? I think it is because the Austin audience demands news now, but the viewers here are educated and brainy. This audience doesn’t want to see some superficial fluff or flash and trash. These viewers want to see the “back story” too. Sometimes, however, there is no back story, or perhaps the wrong reporter was assigned to it.

This week I saw a live shot with a “package” (Video, interviews, and a reporter narration) that at once made me want to scream at the TV, run from the room, grab the remote, or watch in horror. The station sent the reporter back into a neighborhood where a serial rapist had been attacking women. A suspect was now under arrest. The reporter was looking for reactions. What did the station news managers expect the residents to say? “Gee, I’m sorry he was arrested?” Or, if they knew him, “He was a quiet man who kept to himself. The resulting story was vacuous at best, but it consumed 1-minute, 30-seconds and helped the producer fill up the show, but it wasted my time—Time that could have contained some real news perhaps. Those story choices are usually made early in the day. It is responsibility of the reporter, working with the assignments desk and show producers, to decide whether to continue with the story if the content doesn’t support the effort. Those decisions, those choices should be subject to change.

The producer is one of the variables making one newscast different from another. Give four different producers access to the same material on an ordinary day, they will likely come up with four very different newscasts. That’s good. It gives the viewers a choice. One producer may cram a show with a ton of stories, some only two-sentences long. Some stories will have video, some will not. Another producer may go for style points and fewer stories.

Another variable is the day of the week. I unfortunately picked a Friday for one of the days of the content analysis when much of the shows are given to sports. Also, 10 O’clock newscasts generally have more stories, if for no other reason, the shows may be a little longer. Finally, another variable is the commercial load. When business is good, the breaks are all money-making commercials which cannot be cut. When business isn’t so good, the breaks may include promotional spots. There have been a lot of promotional spots in the breaks lately. If there is so-called, honest-to-goodness “breaking news”, a producer may kill some of those promos to gain time for news.

Generally, the content analysis indicated that most Austin 30-minute newscasts consist of seven to eleven stories. There was one newscast with 17 stories. The station that consistently seemed to have the most stories was KEYE TV (CBS) with often eleven and 12 stories, not counting teases for weather or sports. KVUE TV (ABC) and KXAN (NBC) seemed to have eight or nine stories. All were pretty much the same. All stations made efforts at “enterprise” stories, stories that are generated by the newsroom staff, not from external sources.

Not counting “First Weather” or weather teases, the actual weathercast is generally around three minutes. Sports seems to get about two minutes on all the stations, except on Friday nights. Sports seems longer on KEYE because the sportscast contains a break.

So, if the content analysis indicates that story count and content are pretty much a wash, why is KVUE #1, why is KXAN #2 and so forth? It probably starts with story selection, as mentioned above, and it ends with execution. KVUE has fewer on-the-air errors and a strong editorial staff. KEYE has the anchor team with the most tenure in Judy Maggio, Ron Oliveira, and Troy Kimmel, but they have fewer reporters. Reporters equal content. KXAN’s anchors, Leslie Rhode, Robert Hadlock, Jim Spencer, and Roger Wallace have the second most tenure, and they too have a strong staff. KXAN’s Jim Swift has the most tenure in town. News 8 is consistent.

There are two answers. One is that there is some loyalty for each station. The other is the high number of people in Austin with “no preference”, many of whom haven’t been here for more than five years and don’t care which anchors have the most tenure. That’s why when KEYE brought back meteorologist Troy Kimmel this summer, they created a promotional spot showing all of Kimmel’s experience.

Of course, it’s pointless to attempt a comparison of 2009 TV news with the news Joe Roddy read. The industry and the ways we tell stories is far different now. Stations are quick to point out that there is always much more information on an important story on their web site. Maybe that is where we find “all the day’s news.”

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Too Much Crime Coverage by Austin TV?

Covering Cops

“Isn’t there more crime coverage in Austin now than before,” a friend asked me a few weeks ago. I too harbored the same suspicions. It seemed like the top of every TV newscast led with crime scene video, and mug shot, and more. The Austin American-Statesman’s page 2, B-section has a box filled with a digest of death and criminal deeds. I fear that we are desensitized by all the entertainment crime shows which come close to reality. Having covered cops, I watch few crime shows. I don’t need to watch when I’ve seen the real thing.

In this age of doing more with less, crime coverage is fast and easy, down and dirty. All of the available facts are fed to you. The video is often compelling. Fires also fit into this category. It is ironic; however, that the green reporters are given the cop shop/crime beat. “Covering crime should not be easy, rather it should be one of the most difficult stories we take on,” says Kevin Benz, News Director of News 8.

Covering cops and crime is fraught with danger. Yes, my life was threatened several times. Indeed, after an inmate in the Travis County Jail called me at home at 2 a.m. after I covered his murder arrest the previous day, I had my home address erased from the phone book. More, crime reporters need to know applicable laws and answers to numerous ethical questions.

It was this perceived increase in crime coverage that lead to my recent content analysis of Austin TV stations. Is it real or perceived? The snap-shot analysis was for the newscasts Friday, August 28th and Monday, August 31st looking only at the 6 and 10 O’clock newscasts. I cannot compare crime coverage to another bench mark. I can only draw conclusions from these two days newscasts. Of course, there isn’t major crime and/or catastrophe every day, thank goodness.

Crime or mayhem, such as an apartment fire led the newscasts seven times out of 17 newscasts viewed. Another story of that type was often the second story.

By far, the station with the most crime coverage was KXAN TV (NBC) with 23 stories, often with live shots or full stories with a reporter’s voice track along with sound and video, commonly called packages. Coming in second for crime coverage these days was KEYE (CBS) with 12. KVUE TV (ABC) had ten, and News 8 (Time-Warner) had only one. It is noteworthy that in Friday’s 6 O’clock KXAN’s David Scott covered a community meeting where residents were working to reduce crime. That did not count as a “crime” story per se.

So, if it seems to you that there is more crime coverage nowadays, you may be watching KXAN. They definitely had the most these two days. In the Friday, August 28th 10 O’clock, their first seven stories were about crime or fire—almost all of the first segment. There were only two short stories before the first break at 10:10 p.m. The first five stories were also about crime or catastrophe on KEYE. One KVUE the first three were about the three-alarm fire that evening or crime. All, of course, led with the three-alarmer. “Flamage” is always compelling video. Who will turn away from a raging fire?

Now, a little history:

When I came back to TV news in 1983, I wanted to cover politics, but Carole Kneeland was covering the Capitol for both WFAA and KVUE. So, I picked the copy shop, knowing one could always find a story there. In the mid-80s Austin had a record year for traffic fatalities and homicides. We decided not to air video of all of them, not wanting to have bodies on the air almost every night.

By 1989, I was at KXAN and Ms. Kneeland was now news director at KVUE and later vice president for news. She enacted a five-point policy on crime coverage that received national attention. KVUE news managers must measure coverage by the answers to five questions: Is the crime a threat to public safety? Is the crime a threat to children? Does the viewer need to take action? Will it have significant community impact? Does the story lend itself to a crime-fighting or prevention effort? Critics said that such a policy would filter the news. Kneeland, on the other hand, sought to move away from what she saw as gratuitous or sensational coverage that glorified the crooks instead of providing useful information to viewers.

Kneeland lost her battle with breast cancer at 50 in 1998. After Kneeland’s death, friends and husband Dave McNeely, created the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism to train news managers in ethics and leadership. News 8’s Kevin Benz is a trainer for the Carole Kneeland Project.

Benz broadened Kneeland’s crime questions to more than four pages of guidelines given to his staff. There is little wonder that News 8 had the least crime coverage in the content analysis. “Too often when it comes to crime coverage, newsrooms work on gut reaction. We tend to report first and discuss second,” Benz says. His guidelines require reporters to “dig deeper, ask more questions, and reflect on what we are saying to our viewers.

Current KVUE News Director Frank Volpicella also has a passion for the correct way to cover crime. “The Crime Project was a very noble initiative. It came about after careful consideration and concern that crime coverage was taking up too much of KVUE’s air time. I didn’t agree with the entire policy when I arrived at KVUE nine years ago. I still don’t,” Volpicella says. “While noble in creation, it also created a culture of laziness. If the story didn’t meet the guidelines, it likely was automatically dismissed. No one made a call. No one asked the tough questions. “

“The KVUE staff discusses crime coverage on a daily basis, like it does economic or education stories,” Volpicella continues. “If the crime is stranger-upon-stranger, or if it exposes a deep social ill, like domestic violence, then it will likely will get air time and reporter treatment. If it lacks those elements, it may be ignored completely, or reduced to a short word or video story of :15 seconds.

“KVUE is very sensitive to airing graphic images. We do not air video of covered or uncovered bodies. We don’t air body bags. We don’t show blood or gruesome images. While I don’t want to sanitize the news, I also don’t want to offend our viewers, or the victims of crime, either. Certainly there are exceptions to this rule. If the images are relevant to the story, we’ll take that into consideration. 9/11 for example.

Benz also has a list of disturbing things that will not be on News 8, but “if you feel a graphic image is critical to your story, it must be approved by a news manager.” News 8 was the only Austin TV news department that didn’t show the full, graphic police dash-cam video of the shooting of Nathaniel Sanders II. Benz says they decided to use it up to the second of the shooting and then they edited still frames to tell the story. He says he might have chosen different had the story been only for the late news, by News 8 airs in 24-hour cycles.

One time I covered the death of a toddler who drowned in a mop bucket while his mother was smoking crack on the front porch. As a part of my 10 O’clock package I used (with permission) a :19-second uncut clip of the medical examiner carrying something in a very small blanket to the truck. An appalled viewer called immediately after the story aired. “That was outrageous,” she screamed! “Yes, yes it was. That is precisely why I chose to use the video,” I answered. She understood.

This post cannot capture all of the elements of crime coverage. Books have been written on the subject. Further, I cannot include the comments from all news directors in town. I chose to talk with Volpicella and Benz because of their connections to Carole Kneeland and/or KVUE. Viewers can judge for themselves. Viewers have agency. They make decisions every day on whether they or their children should watch certain content.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Do Consultants Choose the News?

The Remote Decides

Do consultants using research choose the news? In response to my post “Where in the World is the News?” I asked why local TV producers for late evening newscasts don’t choose a compelling international story over some weak , “hyper-local”, time-filling nobody-cares story? Of course, as I expected, the voices of all-knowing “Anonymous” answered. (These are from anonymous people who have commented to

www.newsmcnabb.blogspot.com.)

The first Anonymous declared: “To answer your question of why? Research. Research shows when people turn to local news, they want local stories.” I know about research. The second “Anonymous” dismissed my assertion as “baseless”. Or, perhaps “Anonymous #2 is so driven by research that nothing else matters.

To both, I say if you had read the post closely, you would know that my premise flies in the face of current trends. As you’ll see later, I really don’t care what others say. So, let’s talk about research leading to these prevailing and, to my mind, wrong-headed trends in local news. Do I understand “hyper-local”? Hell, yes. What you’re reading is “hyper-local”, except according to Google Analytics, this post may be read worldwide! My primary audience, however, is Central Texas, but what I write may have application elsewhere. Anyhow, back to research.

The research starts with station management and news management meeting with well-paid consultants to decide what questions will be posed to a sample audience. Are they asking the right questions? Are they asking questions that are often asked in other cookie-cutter markets that produce predictable results? The Austin market is an anomaly—all experienced media consultants know that. Austin is more educated, more read, more Internet savvy, more wired, and younger than most. The questions must be well-crafted.

Now, let’s talk about the research in the field. They research is usually conducted by telephone calling from another city. Telephone random research is becoming more and more difficult because so many people don’t have a land line. They are cell phone-only users. Austin is #39 in a ranking of cell phone-only markets. Who has land lines? Who has only cell phones? Media research operations are beginning to use multi-platform media to gather data. Does that skew the findings? Perhaps. Probably.

When the pollster calls, the first chore is to determine whether the person answering the phone is a news consumer—do they watch, for instance, the 10 O’clock news. If they don’t, “Thank you and goodnight.” There is a problem here. In these days of decreasing HUTS (Households Using Television), we need to ask a few more questions trying to find out if they ever watched the late news. If they did watch the late news, why are they not watching the late news now? I’d love to see the verbatim answers to those questions. The actual notes are often more useful than the choices the respondent makes to “yes” and “no” questions.

Having identified news viewers, the pollster gets to the questions decided by management and the consultant. The glib answer that “When people turn to local news, they want local stories” isn’t enough. There is much more to research than that. It may be a consultant’s interpretation that concludes that “hyper-local” is the way to increase audience. It is interesting to me that “hyper-local” seems to be the mantra repeated in many markets. One size does not fit all.

Finally, it is part of the job of a journalist to tell the people/users/consumers/viewers/readers what they need, beyond what they want. The audience may not even know that they need information.

There used to be a sign above my desk for well more than a decade. “This is not Burger King. You can’t have it your way.” In jest the message then was meant for reporters. It can be applied to the audience as well. The audience should not choose the news either. That might be good for Google News, but not local TV or any journalist for that matter. For a news manager research results are useful in order to know what kind of stories the audience wants more of, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. The ultimate polling or research is the polling and research that is done every day—The Nielsen over-night ratings.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure that I’ll say it again: Content is king—local and otherwise. Give the audience compelling content—local, state, national, or international—people will watch in any market. If you show me a rewritten two-day-old local story with a banner still saying “Developing News” (as was the case during my recent content analysis), I’m grabbing the remote. I have agency. I may surf to another station, or I may turn the TV off. Gone.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

JB & Sandy Are the New KEYE TV Morning Show

Radio on TV

“As most of our viewers are aware, Austin has four great television news morning shows that are all essentially the same,” says Amy Villarreal, president and general manager of KEYE TV (CBS). So, KEYE is continuing to shake up its programming in rather innovative ways to attract an audience. Villarreal announced today (September 2, 2009) it has an agreement with Entercom Communications and KAMX-FM “Mix 94.7” to launch Austin’s first television broadcast of the “JB and Sandy in the Morning” radio show beginning October 5, 2009 at 6 a.m. on Channel 42. “Through KEYE’s unique partnership with Entercom, KAMX, and the JB and Sandy radio morning show, we will offer our early morning Central Texas viewers and advertisers an innovative, entertaining approach to morning television.”

JB & Sandy will be the same on TV as they are on the radio, according to a station publicist. “KEYE will be airing a format just like the current JB & Sandy show. We will air a repeat of the previous 6 a.m.-7 a.m. show from 5 a.m-6 a.m. with current traffic and weather and then live 6 a.m.-7 a.m. with current traffic and weather. Their show will continue to be streamed after we end on their website. We begin CBS’ Early Show at 7 a.m.” Expanding the show has been discussed.

“The great thing is that the team at KEYE told us, ‘We want your show, we want you to keep doing what you do,” says Sandy McIlree, the “Sandy” of “JB & Sandy” “What it does is allow us to do is do things that are more visual and that will let us be more creative. We will be striving for content that translates to both TV and Radio. I think everyone will be surprised how much really does translate to both.”

“We are very much looking forward to it,” McIIree continues. “It is a great opportunity to introduce a whole new audience to the radio show. It also will challenge us to think differently. It is very flattering that KEYE approached us to make this deal, they are excited that we are a local Austin show that talks about what is going on in Austin.”

So, say “Goodbye!” to the current morning broadcast. The KEYE TV morning show was already stripped of co-anchor Michelle Valles and reporter Bettie Cross to be on the fledgling 4 O’clock broadcast slated to debut later this month. That left veteran anchor Fred Cantu and meteorologist Kelly Sifka. When the new show with JB and Sandy starts, during the KEYE-TV television broadcasts, KEYE’s morning Slifka will provide live local weather and traffic updates from the KEYE-TV studios.

There is no mention of Fred Cantu in the KEYE release. Twitter and other live sources indicate that Cantu will continue at KEYE TV. “More great announcements will be released in the next week. Stay tuned,” said Villarreal when asked about Cantu’s future.” Speculation is that he may anchor the Spanish language news on KEYE TV 42.2 at 5 and 10 p.m. when it begins broadcasting Telemundo programming beginning next month. Cantu was working in Spanish language radio in Austin when he returned to The University of Texas at Austin to finish his degree. He did an internship at KVUE TV in the 1983 before landing a series of TV jobs. Cantu still maintains a comprehensive web site of Spanish language programming.

“JB and Sandy in the Morning” launched in January 1996. The show is built around morning team personalities JB and Sandy, sidekick Alex Franco (Digitz) and features Sara Osburn and Cassiday Proctor. JB and Sandy have a strong and loyal following in Austin with a blend of humor, reality, and listener involvement and interaction. It airs weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Mix 94.7 and worldwide at mix947.com.

“There are only a handful of radio personalities across the country that engage their listeners, serve their communities, and deliver superior advertiser results like JB and Sandy,” said Nancy Vaeth-DuBroff, vice-president and market manager for Entercom Austin. “Partnering with KEYE-TV and CBS will allow JB and Sandy to reach a larger audience, thus benefiting our valuable advertisers, listeners and viewers and the local Austin community.”

It won’t be quite like shock-Jock Don Imus, but it will be a first for Austin TV and Radio.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Where in the World is the News?

Hyper-Local Only?

I almost talked myself out of writing this post, given the current trends in TV news, but all that notwithstanding, I just cannot contain myself. So, I’ll fly in the face of current practices, and leave myself wide open to those who might criticize me as being “out of touch”. I’m in touch. I understand the directions local television news departments are taking, however I am compelled to put forth a different point of view. That’s what I do anyway.

So, I’ll preface my findings and remarks with these facts: I am a news addict. I follow stories online. I find the New York Times, Washington Post, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, The Charlotte Observer, “Slate”, and statesman.com in my inbox every morning. Reading them may lead me down other cyber-trails. I also still subscribe to the local, daily newspaper. You know, the kind that lands on your driveway in a plastic bag or a rubber band. Most of it is consumed with breakfast and coffee.

And, yes, I watch televised news. I have four TVs tuned to different channels starting at 5 O’clock daily. Soon, I’ll have to start watching at 4 p.m. Lately, I’ve been taking notes. I’d developed some theories about stations I was watching, and I wanted to substantiate or debunk them. So, as mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been doing content analysis of what I’m seeing. I was looking for one thing in particular, but the research revealed several things, one of them rather unexpected.

Now, I’m getting to the subject at hand. I understand why stations do not write world news/international news in their 6 O’clock newscasts. After all, news junkies like me would have just watched the network news at 5:30 p.m., if they were available to their TVs. More and more, many people are not able to see the network news, however, because they’re stuck on MOPAC or somewhere.

There is always cable news from several networks that may satisfy that urge to be part of the world, beyond Texas. What about those who do not have cable or satellite sources for news? Where will they get their TV news? Then, this concern crept inside the thought process. They are not getting balanced world news. If they have access to alternatives to locally produced news, they may be seeking sites on the Internet that reflect their point of view, solidifying their preconceived notions. They may be finding what they want on talk radio. It’s ubiquitous on the AM dial. HUTs (Households Using Television) are down. The supposition is that the audience is not available to television because the audience is someplace else finding national and international news or not.

Maybe this is why many have unfounded beliefs about the health care/health insurance reform now before Congress. Mainstream, local media is obsessed with being hyper-local, and they shy away from subject matter that require thought, focusing instead on all of the commotion at the town hall meetings. There have been a few brave reporters who have found ways to write interesting and accurate portrayals of a hot-button subject. This past week, Mary Ann Roser, American-Statesman health reporter, found ways to clear the air of some of the confusion. The health care/health insurance debate can be localized, yet few try even though that’s what people are talking about—One definition of news.

That lack of debate in local media disturbs me daily. What my research revealed however disturbs me even more: None. None of the local stations monitored included international or world news in their late newscasts. No one.

Today (September 1, 2009) I found that columnist George Will is ready to pull the plug on our involvement in the Afghanistan war. I read in with interest in the Washington Post his reasons for stepping away from that conflict , a bloody battlefield where we lost a record number of lives this past month. Will it be on the 10 O’clock news? I’d like to hear the words from George Will himself. I want to know more.

The Obama administration from the outset said that it would have dialogue with the world. If we the voters do not hear the details of that dialogue, how can we make decent decisions at the polls? Like it or not, we are more than Austinites, and Texans. We are Americans and citizens of the world. We need our news to reflect that. The Austin American-Statesman gives a nod to world news in the “A” section, but at least it is there in print hours after the actual event. I fail to understand why a strong international news story with compelling visuals is not better than some of the truly weak content found during my analysis. (Other specific findings in future posts.)

True, many stations cut CNN coverage out of their budgets in recent years, but network feeds and sometimes live pictures are available from the networks. Producers looking at lousy leads and weak content overall should consider broadening their horizons. There is a whole world of news out there.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Three Spanish Broadcasts in Austin by Late Fall

KEYE TV 42.2 to Become Telemundo


The first indication that KEYE TV (CBS) was planning Spanish Language programming and news was notices posted on the Texas Association of Broadcaster’s web site looking for an experienced Spanish-language reporter, producer, and meteorologist. I was told that the search had begun for employees for a possible broadcast, but contracts had not been signed.



This afternoon (Monday, August 31, 2009) Amy Villarreal, president and general manager of KEYE, made it official. October 1, 2009, Telemundo programming will be broadcast on KEYE TV.2. KEYE TV.2 is presently broadcasting the RTN network, reruns of old series. RTN will no longer be seen on KEYE.2 after September 30, 2009.



“Telemundo is a leading producer of high quality content for Hispanics in the United States and is recognized for its originally produced primetime novelas, news, and weekend primetime movie showcases, Villarreal says. KEYE-TV 42.2 will also carry o Telemundo Sports, including in-depth soccer coverage including Futbol Liga Mexicana on Futbol Estelar and Futbol Telemundo, as well as the most Mexican League Soccer broadcasts including, the home matches of Atlas, Tigres, Monterrey, U.N.A.M., Atlante and defending champion Toluca. The addition of the Telemundo programming underscores KEYE-TV’s commitment to the local market and the station’s strategies to increase viewership and expand and improve service for its advertisers, Villarreal said.



“Approximately 23 percent of viewers in Central Texas are Hispanic and this demographic continues to grow. KEYE-TV’s Telemundo programming will ensure that the market’s Spanish speaking audience is both entertained and informed. In addition to airing 125 hours of Telemundo programming weekly, KEYE –TV will produce two local newscasts in Spanish which will air weekdays at 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm,” Villarreal adds.



This announcement comes less than a week after KVUE TV announced that it would soon begin carrying programming from “Estrella” on KVUE.2, instead of the weather. KVUE does plan to produce local news, but not right away, according to Patti Smith, KVUE president and general manager.



Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network, is the essential entertainment, news, and sports source for Hispanics and a leading international player in the entertainment industry with presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. Broadcasting unique national and local programming for the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, Telemundo reaches 93% of U.S. Hispanic viewers in 210 markets through its 16 owned-and-operated stations, 45 broadcast affiliates, and 800 cable affiliates. Telemundo is wholly owned by NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.




Univision broadcasts Spanish programming and local news, weather, and sports on UHF channel 62 in Austin. It has made noticeable gains in ratings. So, for a short while longer, Univision will have the airwaves to itself. “Estralla” starts on KVUE.2 September 7, 2009, and Telemundo begins broadcasting on KEYE 2.0 October, 1, 2009.



© Jim McNabb, 2009>