branding kalb newschannel 5 cbs 2 on dt2 slogan your local station cbs 2 and you on dt2 channels digital 35 uhf virtual 5 psip subchannels 5.1 nbc 5.2 cbs 5.3 the cw owner gray television gray television licensee llc first air date september 29 1954 call letters meaning know alexandria louisana better former channel number s 5 vhf analog 1954 2009 former affiliations dumont 1954 1955 abc 1954 1982 cbs 1954 1957 all secondary transmitter power 820 kw height 481 m facility id 51598 transmitter coordinates 31 2 15.6 n 92 29 45.3 w 31.037667 n 92.495917 w 31.037667 ; 92.495917 website kalb.com kalb tv is the nbc affiliated television station for central louisiana licensed to alexandria . it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on uhf channel 35 virtual channel 5.1 via psip from a transmitter in forest hill . the station can also be seen on suddenlink channel 5 and in high definition on digital channel 730 . its subchannel on 5.2 is named cbs 2 for its cable slot on suddenlink analog channel 2 ; it also airs on that system in high definition on digital channel 715 . owned by gray television kalb maintains studios on washington street in downtown alexandria . syndicated programming on the station includes wheel of fortune jeopardy the ellen degeneres show and the rachael ray show among others . kalb signal over the air can also be seen in most of the lake charles and lafayette markets . contents 1 digital channels 2 history 2.1 upcoming cw affiliation 3 news operation 4 see also 5 references 6 external links digital channels edit channel video aspect psip short name programming 1 5.1 1080i 16 9 kalbnbc main kalb tv programming nbc 5.2 720p kalbcbs kalb dt2 cbs 5.3 480i kalbcw the cw history edit kalb began broadcasting on september 29 1954 with nbc s airing of the 1954 world series . it aired an analog signal on vhf channel 5 . the station has been an affiliate with the network from the very first day although it also carried programs from cbs and dumont until that network folded in 1955 . in 1957 the station was bought by shreveport businessman t. b. lanford and his company red river valley broadcasting . kalb also aired programming from abc such as happy days on a secondary basis until the early 1980s shortly before rival station and future abc affiliate klax signed on . 1 kalb began broadcasting in stereo in 1988 . park communications purchased kalb in 1993 and merged with media general in 1997 . kalb began calling itself newschannel 5 when it came under media general ownership . the station launched its digital signal in 2002 . regnal wallace the late public relations director of the louisiana farm bureau federation who created the television series this week in louisiana agriculture was from 1962 to 1969 a sportscaster at kalb . 2 for more than two decades ethma odum who hosted her own the ethma odum show weekdays on kalb was the most recognized regional television personality in central louisiana . she sometimes interviewed area politicians as well as actors and other celebrities passing through alexandria . she often invited local singing groups to perform on the show . her annual letters to santa program and her reading of charles tazewell s the littlest angel were particularly popular . various episodes had odum milking a cow visiting a shooting range or interviewing a clown . 3 mainly however odum geared the program to the homemaker . on closing each broadcast she urged her viewers to obtain vital cancer screenings . widely recognized from her lifetime of broadcasting odum retired from the station in 2002 . she also did occasional special reports for the evening newscast . 4 from 1960 to 1966 leverne perry 1932 2016 hosted kalb s leverne perry and the little wranglers . he organized the horses and handicaps program and was active in area rodeo events . he owned an alexandria shoe store was an elected member and former president of the rapides parish police jury and in 1987 became the executive director of the louisiana quarter horse breeders association . 5 former logo in 2008 2014 on october 29 2007 media general announced it was exploring the sale of kalb . on march 14 2008 the company reached an agreement to sell the station and sister outlet wmbb in panama city florida to hoak media . the deal was closed on july 16 . kalb continued to use elements of its media general era presentation while owned by hoak media keeping the news theme until 2011 and versions of the arc logo until 2014 kalb made slight modifications to its logo and news theme in july 2012 upon launching its newscasts in high definition . on february 17 2009 it turned off its analog signal on channel 5 and now only operates in digital on channel 35 . however through psip digital tuners show the virtual channel as the former analog channel . originally kalb aired a digital signal from a transmitter at its facilities in downtown alexandria . kalb is one of the country s most dominant stations in part because it was the only commercial station in town until klax tv signed on in 1983 . alexandria is sandwiched between monroe el dorado to the north baton rouge to the east shreveport to the west and lafayette lake charles to the south . this created a large doughnut in central louisiana where there could be only one vhf license . when cable arrived in the market in the 1970s companies supplemented the area with stations from those cities . before cbs began broadcasting on kalb dt2 viewers watched cbs on cable from klfy tv in lafayette knoe tv in monroe or wafb tv in baton rouge . on november 20 2013 hoak announced the sale of most of its stations including kalb tv to gray television . 6 the sale was completed on june 13 . at the end of 2014 the station adopted its current logo and news theme ; aside from continuing to refer to itself as newschannel 5 kalb s on air look no longer included elements from the era of media general ownership . 7 upcoming cw affiliation edit on december 15 2015 gray television came to terms on an extension of their existing cw stations and subchannels throughout their chain ; the press release announcing the extension also revealed gray also agreed to place the cw on a new third digital subchannel of kalb tv in the fall of 2016 . this will see current local cw affiliate kbca channel 41 lose their affiliation at that time to kalb dt3 after their existing agreement expires . 8 9 news operation edit kalb operates a relatively large news department compared with other big three affiliates in markets of its size . this results in a higher quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for such a small market . it is one of the country s most dominant stations largely because it had the area more or less to itself until klax launched in 1983 . the jambalaya morning newscast was expanded to a two hour broadcast in january 2012 . unlike some nbc affiliates in the central time zone there is no early evening local newscast on sundays . on weeknights kalb dt2 airs cbs 2 news at 6 30pm with the cbs evening news airing at 6 00pm . this is unlike most affiliates in the central time zone which normally air the broadcast at 5 30pm . the morning news weather updates and weekend newscasts are simulcast on both cbs 2 and news channel 5 . the weekend broadcasts are co branded with the title weekend edition . during weather forecast segments kalb features a live noaa national weather service weather radar feed from a site on the west side of alexandria international airport . on air this is known as sky warn 5 live doppler . additionally kalb has a partnership with radio maria am 580 kjmj in alexandria to simulcast its newscasts during severe weather or other emergencies . kalb s meteorologists also provide daily weather updates for radio maria and its network of stations . the station also produces numerous live and recorded locally originated programs such as live coverage of the komen alexandria race for the cure and live political debates during election season . each hurricane season the station s team of meteorologists produces a 30 minute hurricane special called surviving the storm . on thanksgiving a giving thanks special airs and 30 minute spirit of the season specials air at various times during the holiday season . other specialty programming includes specials that include what s right about cenla which features a look at positive people and organizations in the community the young achiever spotlight showcases outstanding kids and teens in the central louisiana region and weekend drive takes a look at family friendly travel destinations within a day s drive of the central louisiana area . these programs are hosted by news channel 5 personalities . news channel 5 s junior edition is a feature in the weekend newscast which is hosted by area school children and includes news about area schools and community events . these specialty programs are all produced locally by kalb tv . the station also airs a weekly feature program spotlighting the unique places and faces of the region called down home louisiana hosted by mark klein . the 5th quarter show is hosted by sports director anchor mo carter and sports anchor reporter chris bailey . it includes football highlights and scores from schools throughout central louisiana . the 5th quarter airs from 10 05pm 10 35pm on friday nights during high school football season . citation needed see also edit channel 5 virtual tv stations in the united states channel 35 digital tv stations in the united states references edit http www.rabbitears.info market.php request station search & callsign kalb station greg hilburn april 15 2016 . la . s original voice of agriculture dies . the monroe news star . retrieved may 10 2016 . ethma odum collection . northwestern state university in natchitoches louisiana . retrieved june 2 2014 . ethma ewing odum march 22 2009 . alexandria town talk . retrieved june 2 2014 . leverne perry . the alexandria town talk . retrieved march 29 2016 . gray buying hoak prime stations for 342.5 m . tvnewscheck . november 20 2013 . retrieved november 20 2013 . gray closes hoak deal ; completes refinancing . rbr.com retrieved 13 june 2014 . kuperberg jonathan 15 december 2015 . gray tv the cw ink affiliate agreement extension add 4 new stations . broadcasting & cable . retrieved 16 december 2015 . gray renews expands cw affiliations . tvnewscheck . december 15 2015 . retrieved december 15 2015 . external links edit kalb.com official website query the fcc s tv station database for kalb tv v t e broadcast television in central louisiana including alexandria stations k02qb ind kalb 5.1 nbc 5.2 cbs 5.3 cw knts lp 17 ind klpa 25 pbs lpb klax 31.1 abc 31.2 kwce lp metv k38nr 38.1 punch tv 38.2 queue network 38.3 blank 38.4 blank kbca 41.1 h & i. 41.2 antenna tv 41.3 h & i wntz 48.1 fox mntv 48.2 bounce tv 48.3 escape 48.4 laff distant stations knoe 8.1 cbs 8.2 abc 8.3 the cw klfy 10.1 cbs kard 14.1 fox 14.2 bounce defunct kcdh lp 4 fn k38eg insp see also baton rouge tv lafayette tv shreveport tv lake charles tv east texas tv beaumont tv monroe tv jackson tv southeast ark la tex tv v t e nbc network affiliates in the state of louisiana kalb 5 alexandria ktal 6 shreveport wdsu 6 new orleans kplc 7 lake charles ktve 10 monroe el dorado