verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message for other uses see kcbs . kcbs tv los angeles california united states branding cbs 2 general 1 cbs 2 news newscasts slogan only cbs 2 general we ve got you covered morning newscasts expect more newscasts always on newscasts channels digital 43 uhf virtual 2 psip translators see article affiliations .1 cbs o & o .2 decades owner cbs corporation cbs broadcasting inc. 1 founded june 1931 as experimental station w6xao first air date may 6 1948 ; 68 years ago 1948 05 06 call letters meaning k columbia broadcasting system former legal name of cbs sister station s kamp fm kcal tv kcbs fm knx kroq fm krth & ktwv former callsigns ktsl 1948 1951 knxt 1951 1984 former channel number s analog 1 vhf 1938 1945 2 vhf 1945 2009 digital 60 uhf 1998 2009 former affiliations dumont 1948 1951 transmitter power 540 kw height 950.9 metres 3 120 feet facility id 9628 transmitter coordinates 34 13 55 n 118 4 21 w 34.23194 n 118.07250 w 34.23194 ; 118.07250 coordinates 34 13 55 n 118 4 21 w 34.23194 n 118.07250 w 34.23194 ; 118.07250 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website losangeles.cbslocal.com kcbs tv channel 2 is a cbs owned and operated television station located in los angeles california usa . kcbs tv is owned by the cbs television stations subsidiary of cbs corporation and operates as part of a television duopoly with independent station kcal tv channel 9 . the two stations share offices and studio facilities inside cbs studio center in the studio city section of los angeles and kcbs tv s transmitter is located atop mount wilson . in the few areas of the western united states where a cbs station is not receivable over the air kcbs tv is available on satellite television through directv . contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1.2 cbs acquisition 1.3 as kcbs tv 1.4 newscentral era 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 rebroadcasters 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit early years edit kcbs tv is one of the oldest television stations in the world . it was signed on by don lee broadcasting which owned a chain of radio stations on the pacific coast and was first licensed by the federal radio commission forerunner of the federal communications commission as experimental television station w6xao in june 1931 . the station went on the air on december 23 1931 and by march 1933 was broadcasting programming one hour each day only on monday through saturdays . the station used a mechanical camera which broadcast only film footage in an 80 line image but demonstrated all electronic receivers as early as 1932 . it went off the air in 1935 and then reappeared using an improved mechanical camera producing a 300 line image for a month long demonstration in june 1936 . by august 1937 w6xao had programming on the air six days each week . live programming started in april 1938 . by 1939 with the image improved to 441 lines an optimistic estimate of the station s viewership was 1 500 people in a few hundred homes . many of the receiver sets were built by television hobbyists though commercially made sets were available in los angeles . the station s six day weekly schedule consisted of live talent four nights and film two nights . by 1942 there were an estimated 400 500 television sets in the los angeles area with don lee broadcasting placing television receivers at the following public places wilshire brown derby kiefer s pine knot drive in vine st. brown derby griffith planetarium miramar hotel santa monica hollywood roosevelt hotel and the town house on wilshire blvd. 2 during world war ii programming was reduced to three hours every other monday . the station s frequency was switched from channel 1 to channel 2 in 1945 when the fcc decided to reserve channel 1 for low wattage community television stations . the station was granted a commercial license the second in california behind ktla as ktsl on may 6 1948 and was named for thomas s. lee the son of don lee . the station became affiliated with the dumont television network later that year . 3 ktsl also launched peter potter s jukebox jury that year a musical quiz series that began to be broadcast nationally during the 1953 1954 season on abc . many later well known entertainers appeared on the program to judge the latest releases from the recording companies . 4 cbs acquisition edit starting in 1949 the cbs television network had been affiliated with kttv channel 11 a station in which the network held a 49 % minority ownership stake . don lee s broadcasting interests were placed for sale in 1950 following the death of thomas s. lee . general tire and rubber agreed to purchase all of don lee s stations the centerpiece being khj radio but chose to spin off ktsl to cbs . 5 susbsquently cbs sold its share in kttv to the station s majority partner the los angeles times and all cbs programming moved to ktsl on january 1 1951 . 6 on october 28 1951 ktsl changed its callsign to knxt to coincide with cbs los angeles radio outlet knx 1070 am . the station also moved its transmitter from mount lee where it had been based since its experimental days to mount wilson . 7 in 1961 knxt created one of the nation s first newshours . it began with 45 minutes of local news the big news which featured jerry dunphy one of southern california s most beloved news icons along with legendary weatherman bill keene and sportscaster gil stratton . it aired from 6 30 p.m. to 7 15 p.m. weeknights leading into the 15 minute long cbs evening news which completed the newshour . also featured were special assignment reporter maury green and human predicament essayist ralph story . the team and format helped make knxt the top rated news station in los angeles . at times a quarter of los angeles television sets were tuned to the big news the highest ratings ever for a television newscast in the area . the station eventually added reporters such as howard gingold and saul halpert among others and added news bureaus in sacramento san francisco and orange county each with full time correspondents and camera crews . the big news expanded to a full hour in september 1963 leading into the new half hour long cbs evening news . 8 color broadcasts of the big news began in august 1966 . 9 eventually knxt expanded to 2 hours of local news programming as well as a late night newscast . knbc channel 4 went head to head with knxt with viewers during the 1960s . however in the mid 1970s rival kabc tv channel 7 began gaining ground in the local news ratings at knxt s expense . in 1975 knxt fired dunphy who was quickly hired by kabc and adopted a format similar to kabc tv s eyewitness news with its happy talk between anchors . however the change went nowhere . just as most of its fellow cbs owned stations were dominating their cities ratings knxt rapidly fell into last place . for most of the period from 1975 to 2006 knxt kcbs tv was not a major competitor in the los angeles television ratings among the area s local television newscasts . the exceptions were a brief surge to first place in the early 1980s and another in the mid 1990s . in 1956 cbs began broadcasting nfl games and with it the los angeles rams had their games aired on channel 2 . this alliance would continue through the 1993 season when fox took over the rights to broadcast nfc games which led to kttv being the new home station for one season in 1994 before the rams moved to st. louis . with the rams return to los angeles in 2016 channel 2 will air games in which the rams play host to an afc opponent and any thursday night or cross flexed games aired by cbs . it will also air all rams preseason games . 10 as kcbs tv edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message on april 2 1984 at 12 00 am knxt changed its call letters to the present kcbs tv . in 1997 it adopted the cbs2 moniker for its on air image following the lead of its sister stations in chicago and new york city . for a time during the 1980s and 1990s knxt kcbs tv had several locally produced programs such as 2 on the town a local show similar to evening magazine and kabc tv s eye on l.a. and kidquiz a saturday morning children s game show hosted by longtime weathercaster maclovio perez for a time in the mid 2000s its sister station kcal tv had broadcast a show called 9 on the town . during the period channel 2 had frequently changed formats to styles that often became unsuccessful and even controversial . in september 1986 channel 2 implemented a news wheel format with each half hour of news devoted to certain topics and themes for example there was entertainment and lifestyle news early on and harder news stories later in the program ; this format was heavily panned by critics and audiences alike and was dropped after only a month . citation needed the late 1980s and early 1990s brought to kcbs the action news format in which the station s newscast adopted a tabloid style format ; the format grated on the news staff which circulated a memo that resulted in the firing of news director john lippmann in 1993 . lippmann was heavily criticized by many who and reportedly had many confrontations with news staff notably a shoving match between him and anchor michael tuck . citation needed the station s ratings quickly declined . cbs management highly embarrassed at kcbs tv subpar performance responded by bringing in bill applegate as general manager . applegate had previously served as general manager at chicago sister station wbbm tv and was employed at that station as a reporter in the early 1970s . while applegate had been criticized for making wbbm tv s newscasts flashier than they had been previously he set about toning down the format of kcbs tv s newscasts . one of his strategies involved bringing in popular anchors and reporters from other los angeles area stations including jerry dunphy who returned to channel 2 two decades after his earlier firing from the station dunphy went on to anchor at kabc tv and kcal tv both of whom achieved high ratings for their newscasts during each of dunphy s stints . also joining alongside dunphy were colleagues ann martin dr. george fischbeck paul dandridge and mark coogan from kabc tv and larry carroll who worked with dunphy at kabc and kcal ; knbc s linda alvarez also joined the team . the station s ratings improved but applegate eventually became a casualty of cbs merger with the westinghouse electric corporation in 1996 ; applegate had bickered with westinghouse over the station s syndicated programming not long after he had arrived . citation needed westinghouse executives never forgot this and applegate was one of the first executives to be let