KCOP-TV: Difference between revisions

{{redirect|My 13|the former MyNetworkTV affiliate operating on channel 49 in San Diego that used the My 13 branding|XHDTV-TDT}}

{{Infobox television station

| callsign = KCOP-TV

| coordinates = {{coord|34|13|29|N|118|3|51|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}

| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]

}}

 

 

===From UPN onto MNTV ===

 

On January 24, 2006, the [[Warner Bros.]] unit of [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] and [[CBS Corporation]] announced that the two companies would shut down UPN and [[The WB]] and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called [[The CW]].<ref>[https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/ 'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September], [[CNNMoney.com]], January 24, 2006.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/24cnd-network.html?bl UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 24, 2006.</ref> KTLA, which had been the [[media market|market]]'s WB affiliate since the network's January 1995 launch, became The CW's Los Angeles affiliate as part of a 10-year affiliation deal between the new network and KTLA's owner, [[Tribune Broadcasting]].

 

===Sports coverage===

 

Like many local stations in the earlier years of television, KCOP hosted its own weekly ''Studio Wrestling'' show for many years during the 1970s. Stars such as [[Freddie Blassie]], [[John Tolos]], [[Rocky Johnson]], [[André the Giant]] and [[Ed Farhat|The Sheik]] headlined the shows, with longtime local announcer [[Dick Lane (TV announcer)|Dick Lane]] behind the microphone calling the action.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling/tolos.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719111429/http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling/tolos.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |title=SLAM! Sports – Wrestling |publisher=Slam.canoe.ca |date=December 4, 1999 |access-date=July 12, 2013}}</ref> In later years, pro wrestling returned to KCOP by way of the [[World Wrestling Entertainment]] program ''[[Smackdown]]'', which aired on the station from 1999 to 2006 (as a UPN affiliate) and again from 2008 to 2010 (as a MyNetworkTV affiliate). In the past, Channel 13 also aired other wrestling programs, including [[World Class Championship Wrestling]] and the [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]]. Channel 13 also televised live boxing matches, originating from the [[Grand Olympic Auditorium]] in [[downtown Los Angeles]], on and off from the late 1960s until as recently as the mid-1990s, with legendary Los Angeles sportscaster [[Jim Healy (sports commentator)|Jim Healy]] calling the action in the early years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Beyrooty |first=John |url=http://static.espn.go.com/boxing/a/2003/0115/1493186.html |title=ESPN.com – BOXING – The Olympic Auditorium: Still Standing |publisher=[[ESPN]] |access-date=July 12, 2013}}</ref>

From 2005 to 2007, KCOP carried [[St. Louis Rams]] preseason games produced by now-former corporate siblings [[Fox Sports Midwest]] and [[KTVI]]. Back in the 1950s during the team's early years in Los Angeles, the station broadcast many Rams regular season games before NFL games became more exclusive to the major broadcast networks (such as [[NFL on CBS|CBS]], [[NFL on NBC|NBC]] and DuMont). However, in July 2008, the NFL's broadcast committee decided to no longer allow teams to broadcast preseason games beyond even their secondary markets. This was done more so to protect the league's broadcast partners, including KCBS-TV and KTLA, the respective local broadcasters of [[San Diego Chargers]] and [[Oakland Raiders]] preseason games.<ref>[http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2008/07/20080714/This-Weeks-News/NFL-Cancels-Rams-Preseason-TV-In-LA.aspx NFL cancels Rams’ preseason TV in L.A.], ''Sports Business Journal'', July 14, 2008.</ref>

 

 

On April 8, 2011, KCOP televised its first Clippers game since 1996 (a road game versus the [[Dallas Mavericks]]), as a last-minute scheduling addition to the team's television schedule. During the 2011–12 season, also as a last-minute addition, the station televised two Clipper games; a road contest versus the [[Denver Nuggets]] on April 18, and game six of their playoff series versus the [[Memphis Grizzlies]] on May 11.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsportswest.com/04/27/12/Lakers-Clippers-playoff-schedules/landing.html?blockID=718204 |title=Lakers, Clippers playoff schedules |publisher=Foxsportswest.com |date=April 27, 2012 |access-date=July 12, 2013}}</ref>

 

 

 

===News operation===

For many years, KCOP aired a prime time newscast at 10 p.m., as well as a weekday afternoon newscast at 2 p.m. during the late 1970s and early 1980s. During the 1980s, the station paired its local 10 p.m. program with the syndicated ''[[Independent Network News (US)|Independent Network News]]'' (which was produced by [[New York City]]'s [[WPIX]]). Channel 13's news programs generally were the lowest-rated evening newscasts of the seven VHF television stations in the Los Angeles market. The newscast's length varied from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the station's budget. An ambitious attempt to relaunch KCOP's news operation came in January 1993, when the 10 p.m. newscast was renamed ''Real News'' and introduced a new format that featured anchors moving around the station's newsroom (similar to the format pioneered by [[CITY-TV]] in Toronto), in-depth reports, and [[newsmagazine]] elements.<ref name=v-kcoprealnews>{{cite news|last=Benson|first=Jim|title=KCOP's 'Real News' breaks with tradition|url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/news/kcop-s-real-news-breaks-with-tradition-102971/|access-date=June 30, 2013|newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 13, 1993}}</ref><ref name=lat-kcoprealnews>{{cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Steve|title=Get 'Real': High-Tech News on 13|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-16-ca-1227-story.html|access-date=June 30, 2013|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 16, 1993}}</ref> However, the new format, which accompanied technological improvements and an expansion of the news staff,<ref name=v-kcoprealnews/><ref name=lat-kcoprealnews/> did not pay off in the ratings, and ''Real News'' was scaled back to a half-hour on weeknights in May 1994, with the anchors now seated at a desk, with weekend newscasts being cut entirely.<ref name=v-kcoprealnewscuts>{{cite news|last=Benson|first=Jim|title=KCOP halves 'Real News'|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/news/kcop-halves-real-news-120306/|access-date=June 30, 2013|newspaper=Variety|date=April 19, 1994}}</ref><ref name=lat-kcoprealnewscuts>{{cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Steve|title=Channel 13 Struggles to Redo the News|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-07-ca-35690-story.html|access-date=June 30, 2013|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 7, 1994}}</ref> Shortly after this, the newscast was rebranded as ''UPN News 13''. For a brief period of time during the late 1990s, KCOP tried airing a half-hour newscast at 3:30&nbsp;p.m. weekdays, later airing it at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. weeknights. However, when the station was purchased by Fox and its operations were merged with KTTV, channel 13's newscast was moved to 11 p.m. to avoid direct competition with channel 11 (which runs an hour-long 10 p.m. newscast), and trimmed it from an hour in length down to 30 minutes. The station's news production and resources also began to be handled by KTTV.

 

{{Fox (company)}}

{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}

 

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