branding ktbs 3 general ktbs 3 news newscasts slogan on your side general news when you need it ; first in news first in hd news local lives here 6 p.m. newscast the calm during the storm weather channels digital 28 uhf virtual 3 psip affiliations abc owner ktbs llc wray family first air date september 3 1955 call letters meaning tri state broadcasting system sister station s kpxj former channel number s analog 3 vhf 1955 2009 former affiliations primary nbc 1955 1960 secondary abc 1955 1960 transmitter power 1 000 kw height 563 m facility id 35652 transmitter coordinates 32 41 7.6 n 93 56 0.8 w 32.685444 n 93.933556 w 32.685444 ; 93.933556 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.ktbs.com ktbs tv virtual channel 3 uhf digital channel 28 is an abc affiliated television station located in shreveport louisiana united states . the station is locally owned by the wray family under the licensee ktbs llc as part of a duopoly with cw affiliate kpxj channel 21 . the two stations share studio facilities located on east kings highway on the eastern side of shreveport ; ktbs s transmitter is located near mooringsport southeast of caddo lake . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 programming 4 news operation 4.1 notable current on air staff 4.2 notable former on air staff 5 out of market cable coverage 6 trivia 7 references 8 external links history edit this section needs expansion with further information on the history of ktbs tv . you can help by adding to it . december 2011 the station began operations on september 3 1955 ; 1 it has been owned by the wray family since its sign on and was originally owned alongside ktbs radio 710 am now keel . the wrays also owned several other radio stations in louisiana texas and arkansas these stations were known as the tri state broadcasting system from which the station s call letters are taken . the radio stations were sold off in the late 1950s but the wrays who are also the owners of a car dealership franchise in shreveport have retained channel 3 to this day . a plaque with the 1996 2005 version of the station logo outside the ktbs studios on east kings highway . the station originally operated as a primary nbc affiliate although it shared abc programming with ksla tv channel 12 . in 1960 shreveport and texarkana texas were collapsed into a single television market . texarkana based ktal tv channel 6 took over the nbc affiliation for the enlarged market leaving ktbs as louisiana s second full time abc affiliate after wvue tv in new orleans which became a full time abc station in 1957 ; it is now a fox affiliate . over the years ktbs has become one of the strongest abc affiliates in the country . in an era where most major network stations are owned by large media companies ktbs is one of the few major network affiliates that remains locally owned to this day . in 2003 paxson communications now ion media networks sold pax tv owned and operated station kpxj channel 21 to the wray family creating the market s first and only legal television duopoly the shreveport texarkana market has only eight full power television stations the minimum allowed to create a duopoly under federal communications commission rules ; ktbs had already handled advertising sales for kpxj and rebroadcast its evening newscasts on that station prior to the purchase ; after the purchase was finalized the wrays converted kpxj into the market s upn affiliate . in december 2012 ktbs became ensnared over the controversial firing of meteorologist rhonda lee . the station claims that she and another newscaster were fired for violating the station s policy on responding to facebook comments while supporters of lee claim that she was fired for her decision to respond to a racist and sexist comment . 2 3 digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 4 3.1 720p 16 9 ktbs hd main ktbs tv programming abc 3.2 480i 16 9 ktbs wx the local accuweather channel 3.3 16 9 ktbs 24 ktbs 24 hour news channel on its second digital subchannel ktbs runs a 24 hour weather service affiliated with the local accuweather channel . on its third digital subchannel ktbs operates ktbs 24 hour news a 24 hour news channel that airs rebroadcasts and live simulcasts of the station s newscasts along with the three hours of e i programming required by the fcc . it is also offered on comcast digital channel 201 . analog to digital conversion edit ktbs tv discontinued regular programming on its analog signal over vhf channel 3 on june 12 2009 the official date in which full power television stations in the united states transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate . the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 28 5 using psip to display the station s virtual channel as its former vhf analog channel 3 . programming edit syndicated programming featured on ktbs tv includes live with kelly inside edition jeopardy entertainment tonight dr. phil extra steve harvey and access hollywood . for many years one of the most watched sunday programs on ktbs has been the first word broadcasts of the morning worship services at the large first baptist church of bossier city . the program began in june 1983 . 6 ktbs was the market s broadcaster of the louisiana lottery s televised drawings from the lottery s inception in 1993 until april 2009 when ktal acquired the rights . ktbs re acquired the rights to the drawings in 2012 . the drawings now air on sister station kpxj at 9 59pm with a replay during ktbs 3 news at 10 00 . news operation edit ktbs tv presently broadcasts 34 hours of locally produced newscasts each week with 5 hours on weekdays three hours on saturdays and 3 hours on sundays ; in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming it is the highest local newscast output among all broadcast television stations in the ark la tex market . in addition ktbs produces an additional 9 hours of newscasts each week for sister station kpxj in the form of hour long weekday morning and nightly 9 p.m. newscasts . in total ktbs produces 44 hours of local newscasts each week between the two stations . in addition to the station s main studios on kings highway ktbs operates a news bureau located on jefferson avenue in texarkana arkansas . during the weeknight 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts the station airs news segments featuring stories from the east texas area . during the may 2008 ratings period ktbs s newscasts placed number one in several time periods . in 2003 following the wray family s purchase of kpxj ktbs began producing a nightly half hour 9 p.m. newscast which has since been expanded to one hour on that station ; the broadcast utilizes the same format as the 10 p.m. newscast on ktbs . in 2005 ktbs began producing an hour long weekday morning newscast for kpxj which was moved to 9 a.m. in 2013 . prior to the purchase as a pax tv station kpxj had aired rebroadcasts of ktbs s 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts . on october 15 2008 ktbs began broadcasting its newscasts in 16 9 widescreen standard definition . on june 28 2010 ktbs expanded its 6 p.m. newscast to one hour becoming the first station in the market to carry an hour long 6 p.m. newscast cbs affiliate ksla began broadcasting an hour long 6 p.m. newscast a short time later ; as a result ktal is the only big three affiliate in the market to carry syndicated programming during the 6 30 half hour . in july 2010 ktbs expanded the weekend edition of its 10 p.m. newscast to one hour again ksla quickly followed suit with an hour long newscast at 10 p.m. on weekends . on august 30 2010 ktbs expanded its weekday morning newscasts to 2 hours by moving its start time to 4 30 a.m. one of the few stations in a non top 50 nielsen market to begin their weekday morning newscast at 4 30 . on october 14 2010 beginning with the station s 5 p.m. newscast ktbs became the first television station in the shreveport texarkana market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition rival ksla began producing its news programming in high definition the next morning . on august 22 2016 ktbs began producing the market s first 4pm newscast airing on kpxj . notable current on air staff edit bob griffin weekend mornings on first news 5 30 7 00 saturdays and 8 00 9 30 a.m. sundays ; also griffin s ark la tex feature reporter ; former long term sports editor at ksla tv notable former on air staff edit liz swaine reporter 1981 1998 ; executive assistant to the mayor of shreveport 1998 2006 ; candidate for mayor of shreveport 2006 ; executive director of the downtown development authority dda of shreveport 2010 present out of market cable coverage edit ktbs is carried on various cable providers outside of the shreveport texarkana market . the station is carried as far as longview texas to the west mount pleasant texas to the northwest el dorado arkansas to the northeast jonesboro louisiana to the southeast and carthage texas to the southwest . the station became one of two de facto abc affiliates alongside klax tv in alexandria for the monroe el dorado market after that market s abc affiliate kard tv became a fox in april 1994 ; the market would not receive an abc affiliate of its own again until kaqy signed on the air in 1998 . trivia edit a clip from ktbs newscast was featured in the movie meet joe black . references edit minden press september 1 1955 p. 15 fired for defending her hairstyle on facebook ; ex ktbs meteorologist rhonda lee other people are given platforms i was given a pink slip . cnn . december 12 2012 . wilson julee december 11 2012 . tv station responds to the firing of rhonda lee . huffington post . rabbitears tv query for ktbs dtv tentative channel designations for the first and second rounds pdf . retrieved 2012 03 24 . the first word with dr. fred lowery . oneplace.com . archived from the original on november 30 2011 . retrieved june 16 2012 . external links edit ktbs.com ktbs kpxj tv official website query the fcc s tv station database for ktbs tv v t e television stations in the ark la tex region shreveport texarkana reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television local stations ktbs 3 3.1 abc 3.2 wx 3.3 news ktal 6 6.1 nbc 6.2 laff ketg 9 pbs aetn ksla 12 12.1 cbs 12.2 grit 12.3 bounce tv kpxj 21 21.1 the cw 21.2 metv 21.3 movies 21.4 antenna tv k23hy d 23 pbs oeta klts 24 pbs lpb k31ho d 30.1 punch tv kmss 33 33.1 fox kado cd 40 jtv k42fe d 3abn kshv tv 45 45.1 mntv 45.2 escape ktss 50 ind. ion k54cb ind. w59go tbn adjacent locals dallas fort worth kdfw 4.1 fox kxas tv 5.1 nbc 5.2 cozi tv wfaa 8.1 abc 8.2 wx 8.3 justice kera tv 13.1 pbs 13.2 world 13.3 create monroe el dorado knoe tv 8.1 cbs 8.2 abc 8.3 the cw ktve 10.1 nbc 10.2 fox 10.3 laff 10.4 escape kard 14.1 fox 14.2 bounce tv 14.3 grit alexandria kalb tv 5.1 nbc 5.2 cbs 5.3 cw knts lp 17