tv . 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 . december 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message kcra tv sacramento stockton modesto california united states city sacramento california branding kcra 3 general kcra 3 news newscasts slogan where the news comes first channels digital 35 uhf virtual 3 psip affiliations .1 nbc .2 metv owner hearst television hearst stations inc. first air date september 3 1955 ; 61 years ago 1955 09 03 call letters meaning misspelled call letters for original radio sister ; intended to be krca or sacramento sister station s kqca former channel number s analog 3 vhf 1955 2009 transmitter power 100 kw height 462 m facility id 33875 transmitter coordinates 38 14 49.4 n 121 30 6 w 38.247056 n 121.50167 w 38.247056 ; 121.50167 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.kcra.com kcra tv virtual channel 3 uhf digital channel 35 is an nbc affiliated television station located in sacramento california united states . the station is owned by the hearst television subsidiary of the hearst corporation as part of a duopoly with mynetworktv affiliate kqca channel 58 . the two stations share studio facilities and offices located at 3 television circle in downtown sacramento kcra s transmitter is located in walnut grove . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.1.1 kcra 3.2 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 references 6 external links history edit the station first signed on the air on september 3 1955 . it was founded by the central valley broadcasting company a partnership of the kelly and hansen families of sacramento . central valley broadcasting also owned kcra radio 1320 am now kifm and 96.1 fm now kymx ; the am station s call letters were intended to be krca but the middle two letters were erroneously transposed by a typist at the federal communications commission when that station s original license was drafted in 1945 and was never corrected . by the time kcra tv went on the air the krca tv call letters had already been taken the previous year by nbc s owned and operated television station in los angeles originally knbh now knbc . kcra tv inherited the nbc affiliation from kccc tv channel 40 channel now occupied by ktxl which became the sacramento market s first television station when it signed on in september 1953 which had also carried affiliations with abc cbs and dumont until other stations debuted in the market . however it in turn also received the affiliation as a result of kcra am s decade long affiliation with the nbc red network . in 1959 under the direction of then chief engineer william herbert hartman construction began on a new 1 549 foot transmission tower near walnut grove to transmit the signals of kcra tv kxtv and kovr ; the tower was completed in 1961 . upon the death of kcra co founder ewing c. kelly in 1960 son bob kelly who was kcra s station manager commercial manager and film buyer became president of kcra inc. while son jon kelly who served as its local sales manager was named general manager . in january 1962 kcra tv began transmitting its signal from the walnut grove tower which became the tallest structure in the state . in april of that year the fcc approved the sale of the hansen brothers 50 % share of the kcra stations to bob jon and their mother nina kelly ; the company then changed its name to kelly broadcasting company . in september 1968 kcra fm s call letters were changed to kctc . the radio stations were sold to the tribune company in september 1977 with the sale being finalized in july 1978 ; kcra am changed its calls to kgnr in august of that year . in 1965 the station began using color film for use in its newscasts . a station press release at that time claimed that kcra was the first station in sacramento with videotape the first nbc affiliate with network color programming and the first station to utilize color film slide and videotape footage . starting in 1975 it began using remote cameras for live news reports . the station eventually began using helicopters and satellite remotes for newsgathering . on september 10 1966 bob wilkins began hosting a saturday night horror movie showcase called seven arts theatre ; wilkins later moved his show to ktxl and then to ktvu in oakland in the 1970s . kcra kqca studios at 3 television circle . harry geise was hired by kcra as its main weatherman in the mid 1960s . while he used information coming out of a weather bureau in suitland maryland ; his forecasts were accurate enough that almost every farmer in the sacramento valley listened to his forecasts . through his weathercasts he taught viewers about weather from upper level devils to looking out the window . on the scantest of data weather bureaus out the window smell in the air and nut gatherers but prior to satellite doppler weather radar space weather home weather stations and little local information giese could look globally and give weather forecasts as far out as six weeks or six months . by the mid 1970s kcra established news bureaus throughout the state began producing its own public affairs programming and initiated a consumer affairs division to answer the needs of concerned consumers . kcra s live copter 3 at executive airport . from 1991 to 1993 kcra later to be joined by kron tv and kpix in san francisco participated in an experiment in which primetime programming would air one hour earlier from 7 to 10 p.m. mirroring typical network scheduling in the central mountain and hawaii time zones instead of the standard 8 to 11 p.m. slot for pacific time zone stations . the early prime idea led to only a slight decrease in kcra s ratings and its 10 p.m. newscast remained the highest rated late local news program on the west coast . a station survey showed that 63 % of viewers thought a 10 p.m. newscast was a good idea . however pressure from nbc who threatened to yank the station s affiliation forced kcra to end the practice and revert to the time zone s standard primetime scheduling announcing its demise a week after kron tv discontinued the experiment . 1 kovr channel 13 would itself switch to an early primetime schedule two years later after switching to cbs . like other local stations kcra developed an in house production facility with local children s programming newsmagazines and talk shows . by the beginning of the 21st century kcra became the first station in the sacramento market to broadcast programming in high definition . kelly broadcasting continued to own and operate kcra tv until january 1999 when it was purchased by hearst argyle television which was renamed hearst television in 2009 . 2 kcra satellite truck at the 2006 california international marathon . in early 2004 kcra opened an exhibit the kcra 3 experience at the arden fair mall allowing visitors to see a kcra newscast be produced live . kcra s noon newscast was broadcast from the complex until late 2008 when production of the program was moved back to the 3 television circle studios . 3 digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 4 3.1 1080i 16 9 kcra tv main kcra tv programming nbc 3.2 480i me tv metv kcra 3.2 edit in early 2005 kcra debuted a localized version of nbc weather plus on digital subchannel 3.2 . after nbc weather plus shut down in november 2008 following nbcuniversal s purchase of the weather channel the subchannel continued to use the weather plus branding as part of the successor nbc plus automated weather service until late 2008 . on august 2 2010 digital subchannel 3.2 was reformatted as moretv sacramento a locally programmed channel that featured second runs of syndicated programs seen locally on kcra and sister station kqca ; the moretv branding had previously been used by tampa sister station wmor tv and kcwe in kansas city during the early and mid 2000s . the channel ran a mix sitcoms such as roseanne the cosby show and that 70s show dramas law & order special victims unit and talk shows maury jerry springer and the dr. oz show . it also aired select kcra newscasts including rebroadcasts kcra s 6 p.m. newscast at 7 p.m. and kcra s 10 p.m. and kqca s 11 p.m. newscasts at midnight ; as well as a simulcast of kcra s noon newscast . until october 15 2010 kcra continued to run weather plus programming during the early morning hours 5 salinas sister station ksbw also carried a primetime syndicated programming lineup branded as ksbw primeplus on its second digital subchannel from around the same time as the moretv launch until february 1 2011 . on july 24 2012 hearst television renewed its affiliation agreement with metv to maintain existing affiliations with eight hearst owned stations currently carrying the digital multicast network through 2015 . as part of the renewal hearst also signed agreements to add the network as digital subchannels of kcra and four other hearst stations in boston baltimore oklahoma city and greensboro . 6 digital subchannel 3.2 assumed the metv affiliation on september 3 2012 replacing the moretv format . 7 analog to digital conversion edit kcra tv shut down its analog signal over vhf channel 3 on june 12 2009 as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television . 8 the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 35 9 using psip to display kcra tv s virtual channel as 3 on digital television receivers . programming edit over the years kcra has preempted some nbc programming notably the soap opera another world . that show would air on the station for a brief time when but was preempted again due to low ratings this was the case with cbs station kovr channel 13 which did not run guiding light due to poor ratings and had not aired at all in the market since kxtv channel 10 dropped it in the early 1990s when it was a cbs affiliate . given its format as a news intensive station kcra also preempted the weekend edition of today and the saturday morning t nbc lineup during the 1990s to run a weekend morning newscast . it also aired a 4 30 p.m. newscast pushing days of our lives s start time back a half hour earlier than the typical practice ; that newscast ended after the station began airing the oprah winfrey show ; in september 2002 ; days now airs the network recommended 1 p.m. timeslot on weekdays . however despite nbc s historically low tolerance towards program preemptions the network has been more than satisfied with kcra given its near total ratings dominance in the sacramento market . currently kcra airs the third hour of today on a one hour delay due to live with kelly and michael airing in the 9 a.m. timeslot until 1999 the show aired on kovr even back in its days as an abc station ; the fourth hour airs after last call with carson daly at 2 05 a.m. when nbc rebroadcasts the fourth hour nationally as part of its late night schedule ; sister stations ksbw tv in salinas california wxii tv in greensboro north carolina wbal tv in baltimore and wyff in greenville south carolina also opt to delay the fourth hour of today