this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article has an unclear citation style . the references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation footnoting or external linking . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message ksbw salinas monterey california united states branding ksbw or ksbw 8 general action news 8 newscasts central coast abc on dt2 slogan coverage you can count on news primary slogan channels digital 8 vhf virtual 8 psip subchannels 8.1 nbc 8.2 abc 8.3 estrella tv affiliations nbc secondary through 1969 owner hearst television inc. hearst stations inc. first air date september 11 1953 ; 63 years ago 1953 09 11 call letters meaning salad bowl of the world salinas nickname former callsigns ksbw tv 1953 1987 kmby tv 1953 1955 ; time sharing partner former channel number s analog 8 vhf 1953 2009 digital 10 vhf 2002 2009 former affiliations all secondary dumont 1953 1955 abc 1953 1960 cbs 1953 1969 transmitter power 20 6 kw height 760 metres 2 493 feet facility id 19653 transmitter coordinates 36 45 21.9 n 121 30 9.4 w 36.756083 n 121.502611 w 36.756083 ; 121.502611 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.ksbw.com ksbw is a television station in the united states and is the primary nbc affiliate for the monterey salinas santa cruz california market . licensed to the city of salinas the station is owned by hearst television . ksbw has its studios on john street along highway 68 in downtown salinas which is mentioned occasionally during commercial breaks and newscasts . its news programs are entitled action news 8 . its transmitter is located on fremont peak in the gabilan mountains above san juan bautista california over 3 100 feet above sea level . the call letters ksbw stand for salad bowl of the world citation needed which is the nickname of the city of salinas . citation needed contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1.2 partnership with ksby 1.3 ownership change 1.4 weather plus and central coast abc 2 syndicated shows and programming 3 locally produced programs 3.1 feedback at five 3.2 lifeline tv 3.3 editorial 3.3.1 controversy 3.4 share your holiday 4 digital television 4.1 digital channels 4.2 analog to digital conversion 4.3 coverage area 5 news operation 5.1 format change 5.2 widescreen and high definition 5.3 promotions and slogans 5.4 sports 5.4.1 high school playbook 5.5 notable former on air staff 6 references 7 external links history edit early years edit ksbw began broadcasting on september 11 1953 . it shared the channel 8 frequency with kmby tv of monterey until the two stations merged in 1955 under ksbw s license and call letters . originally it was affiliated with all four major networks nbc abc cbs and dumont dumont folded in 1955 . abc disappeared from ksbw s programming schedule when san jose s then independent kntv decided to concentrate on the monterey salinas market in 1960 . for the next nine years ksbw was forced to shoehorn nbc and cbs onto its schedule . this was unusual for a two station market especially one of monterey s size ; in most such markets abc was relegated to secondary status on the cbs and nbc affiliates . when kmst tv now kion tv signed on as a full time cbs affiliate in 1969 ksbw became an exclusive nbc affiliate . partnership with ksby edit in 1957 ksbw s original owners bought kvec tv in san luis obispo california and changed the calls to ksby . for the next 22 years ksby simulcasted ksbw except for producing its own local newscasts and covering cbs programming in san luis obispo kcoy provided cbs programming from adjacent santa maria requiring ksby to drop the feed from salinas when ksbw was carrying a cbs network program . the simulcasting ended when blair broadcasting bought the two stations and ksby became an nbc affiliate on its own . on november 12 1986 blair broadcasting sold most of its english language stations to gillett communications which would later acquire most of storer broadcasting s stations . 1 ownership change edit in 1987 ksbw built a 1500 foot tall tower atop mount madonna in the santa cruz mountains in anticipation of viewers from afar particularly the south bay area at san jose . however ksbw was not very successful in reaching this audience as many san jose viewers were more interested in san francisco s tv stations . so in the year 2000 ksbw abandoned this tall tower in favor of their original broadcasting point at fremont peak . ksbw currently broadcasts atop a 400 foot tower on fremont peak . the tall mount madonna tower still stands today and is visible from many locations in the south bay . this tower is currently leased to etheric networks by its current owner the mount madonna tower association and is mainly used for long range wireless internet today . gillett holdings a subsidiary of vail associates at that time would own just the two stations along with nearby station ksby two ski resorts and a packing company . gillett would later file for bankruptcy on august 17 1992 after the ski area and its media company was due to emerge from bankruptcy . 2 after gillett restructured into sci tv it put ksbw and ksby on the market . however a buyer for both stations wasn t found until after sci sold most of its stations to new world communications in 1993 ; the following year ksbw and ksby were sold to ep communications a company co owned by elisabeth murdoch daughter of news corporation chairman and ceo rupert murdoch . in 1995 smith broadcasting and sjl communications teamed up to purchase the ep stations with ksbw going to smith broadcasting and ksby going to sjl because smith broadcasting has already owned keyt . at the time the fcc did not allow common ownership of two stations in the same market . what was then called hearst argyle television bought ksbw along with wptz in plattsburgh new york and its semi satellite wnne in white river junction vermont from sunrise television at that time a subsidiary of smith broadcasting in 1998 swapping wdtn in dayton ohio and the license for wnac tv in providence rhode island to sunrise in the process . weather plus and central coast abc edit main article ksbw dt2 in early 2005 ksbw debuted its localized version of nbc weather plus branded as ksbw weather plus . its only local preemption was their debut of their 10pm newscasts at that time . ksbw first offered weather plus on its digital channel on ksbw dt2 as well as on comcast cable . nbc s national weather plus operations were shut down on december 1 2008 after the network s parent company nbcuniversal purchased the weather channel . however ksbw remained one of the few to continue the use of the l bar weather plus . additionally although ksbw anchors dan green and or erin clark claims that its 10 p.m. newscasts are offered on its website in addition to its second digital subchannel and comcast it also ran ksbw weather plus on its website . 3 ksbw prime plus debuted on august 3 2010 although it is broadcast monday through friday nights . 4 along with the 10pm newscast it ran ksbw weather plus would still retain its branding during the time that prime plus is not on the air . 5 the subchannel used the moretv concept previously used by its sister station in tampa wmor tv . between july 2000 and april 2011 the monterey area was without an abc affiliate after kntv disaffiliated with the network . viewers who wanted to view abc programming had to rely mainly on abc 7 a localized version of san francisco s kgo tv for abc programming which was exclusively cable and satellite only . with ksbw keeping its nbc affiliation the station announced in december 2010 that they will add abc affiliation as well . ksbw began a test of its subchannel on april 1 2011 . the subchannel officially launched on april 18 2011 ahead of nbc affiliate walb in albany georgia who launched their abc affiliation on their second digital subchannel on april 27 as walb was originally scheduled to launch on january 1 2011 . with the launch of the abc affiliation ksbw dt2 becomes the third station to serve monterey bay as an abc affiliate and the first abc affiliate based from within the immediate region . syndicated shows and programming edit ksbw s logo with nbc branding ; used only during nbc and syndicated programming on its main channel occasionally referred to as the big 8 8.1 . the updated logo uses a television shaped box . in march 2010 ksbw started broadcasting non network syndicated programming in hd although a limited amount of syndicated programming was in hd . that changed on april 6 2011 when ksbw added more non network programming in hd along with selected local promos using elements from nbc . with a dual affiliation the station airs cross promos to promote newscasts and abc programming over on its second digital subchannel . ksbw is also the first station in the market to have its syndicated logo bug on the bottom right hand corner of the screen since june 2010 . with oprah bidding farewell to viewers after the 2010 11 season the station announced that ellen will fill the 4 p.m. slot starting in fall 2011 with anderson cooper to fill in the 10 a.m. slot . 6 currently ksbw airs rachael ray steve harvey ellen jeopardy and wheel of fortune among others . locally produced programs edit feedback at five edit theresa wright once hosted a public affairs show called feedback at five 7 which is a weekend discussion show interviewing with selected interviewee . in most cases most of the interviews are informational and educational to the viewer . feedback at five like sunday s 6pm newscasts are subject to preemption due to special programming . feedback at 5 was cancelled on july 13 2014 when theresa wright left ksbw . lifeline tv edit ksbw also broadcasts lifeline tv which is a local program produced by the salinas valley memorial hospital and hosted by former ksbw anchor kate callaghan . callaghan previously anchored ksbw s morning newscasts until her departure from the station in 2008 . it is a program that addresses health issues and occasional questions being answered . it also follows the team of trained doctors and physicians there and keeps viewers informed of their progress . this program generally airs before weekend editions of nbc nightly news 8 however it can be delayed or preempted due to special programs . editorial edit ksbw produces a three minute editorial session since 1999 called ksbw editorial which is broadcast after friday s 6pm newscast weekend newscasts and monday morning newscast . it is hosted by ksbw president and general manager joseph w. heston . the format of the editorial is primarily a commentary by heston and occasional viewer s comments . the commentary may also provide information on upcoming events by the station itself . with the addition of central coast abc ksbw also simulcasts the editorial on both stations though as in the case of all newscasts it can be subjected to preemption or delay on either channel under network obligations . controversy edit in february 2009 ksbw was involved