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Former call signs | KVDO-TV (1954−1957) |
Former channel numbers | Analog: 3 (VHF, 1964–2009) |
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Call sign meaning | III =Roman numeral 3 |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10188 |
| ERP | 160kW |
| HAAT | 269 m (883 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 27°39′31″N97°36′5″W / 27.65861°N 97.60139°W /27.65861; -97.60139 |
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| Website | www |
KIII (channel 3) is atelevision station inCorpus Christi, Texas, United States, affiliated withABC and owned byTegna Inc. The station's studios are located on South Padre Island Drive (SH 358) in Corpus Christi, and its transmitter is located nearRobstown, Texas.
The station was originally launched on June 20, 1954, as KVDO-TV, broadcasting on channel 22 as the Corpus Christi market's first television station.[3] Owned by Coastal Bend Television, KVDO was a primary affiliate of theDuMont network,[4] but carried secondary affiliations withNBC untilKRIS-TV took the air in May 1956,CBS untilKZTV signed on in September 1956,[5] and ABC.[6] It was one of several television stations across the United States that took part in a 1956 lawsuit to preventVHF stations from being added in their markets, on the grounds that UHF stations in that era typically suffered financially or even went out of business entirely if they had any VHF competition.[7] The lawsuit was unsuccessful, however, and KRIS and KZTV were both on air as VHF stations by fall 1956.[4] Around the same time as the VHF stations were launched, as well, the DuMont network collapsed.
KVDO carried on as anindependent station and was sold to H. J. Schmidt's South Texas Telecasting Company in April 1957.[8] It temporarily suspended broadcast operations in August pending what was announced at the time as a reorganization of its studio layout,[9][10] but a federal tax lien was filed against the station by theBureau of Internal Revenue in September.[11] In October the station received FCC approval to stay off the air until January 1958,[12] but by November 1957, the former KVDO studio building (minus equipment) had been sold to KRIS-TV,[13] and the station did not relaunch. Coastal Bend Television, which had built the station, continued to face legal actions over debts incurred in constructing channel 22; in 1959,RCA won a $67,000 judgment against the former owners for equipment payments on which it had defaulted.[14]
Following the demise of the original KVDO-TV, South Texas Telecasting petitioned theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) to add a third VHF allocation on channel 3 at Corpus Christi due to KVDO's failure as a UHF station. Other cities also wanted the channel 3 allocation; however, following a lot of struggle, channel 3 was ultimately allocated to Corpus Christi, and hearings to award the channel began in 1961.[15] South Texas Telecasting was one of three applicants for the channel, alongside Nueces Telecasting and theCorpus Christi Caller-Times,[16] but theCaller-Times withdrew its application in 1962 after its owner,Harte-Hanks Newspapers, acquired theSan Antonio Express-News.[17]
South Texas Telecasting was awarded channel 3 in December 1962,[18] but Nueces Telecasting then filed a protest alleging that awarding the channel to South Texas Telecasting would violate the FCC's regulations onconcentration of media ownership.[19] Nueces withdrew its petition in June 1963 after South Texas Telecasting agreed to pay the company $40,000.[20]
The station relaunched on May 4, 1964, as KIII,[21] a full ABC affiliate.[22]
South Texas Telecasting, which had by this time addedClinton D. McKinnon as its major stockholder and executive vice president but still retained most of its original board of directors, later evolved intoMcKinnon Broadcasting, who remained the station's owners until 2010.
In 1969, KIII started a satellite inVictoria, Texas, KXIX (channel 19), to bring ABC programming to that area.[23] In 1976, KXIX was sold to local ownership. It now operates asFox affiliateKVCT.
On April 29, 2010, it was announced that KIII would be acquired by London Broadcasting Company.[24] The sale was closed on August 31.[25] On September 18, 2011, KIII began broadcasting newscasts inhigh definition.
On May 14, 2014, theGannett Company announced that it would acquire KIII and five other LBC stations for $215 million. Gannett's CEOGracia Martore touted that the acquisition would give the company a presence in several fast-growing markets, and opportunities for local advertisers to leverage its digital marketing platform.[26] The company also owns fellow Texas ABC affiliatesWFAA andKVUE, which it had acquired in its purchase ofBelo Corporation. The sale was completed on July 8.[27] 13 months later, on June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. KIII was retained by the latter company, namedTegna.[28]
KIII carries the entire ABC schedule, with a half-hourdelay on Friday late-night programming during theUIL/TAPPShigh school football season for an extended newscast with Friday night highlights.
In 2004, KIII, along with sister stationKBMT, was one of the 65 ABC affiliated stations who preempted an uninterruptedVeterans Day broadcast of the 1998 movieSaving Private Ryan.[29]
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KIII currently airs21+1⁄2 hours of local news programming each week (with3+1⁄2 hours each weekday and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station also produces its own high school football highlight show when in season; the program airs on Fridays immediately after the 10 p.m. newscast. The station has been rated #1 consistently, beating its nearest competitor, KRIS, by a significant margin.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
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| 3.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KIII-HD | ABC |
| 3.2 | 480i | MeTV | MeTV | |
| 3.3 | 4:3 | Quest | Quest | |
| 3.4 | 16:9 | Cozi | Cozi TV | |
| 3.5 | Crime | True Crime Network | ||
| 3.6 | NEST | The Nest | ||
| 3.7 | ShopLC | Shop LC | ||
| 3.8 | 4:3 | GetTV | Get | |
| 3.9 | QVC | QVC |
KIII shut down its analog signal, overVHF channel 3, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 8, usingvirtual channel 3.[31]
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