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KBTX-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Bryan, Texas, United States, serving the Brazos Valley as an affiliate of CBS and The CW. Owned by Gray Media, the station maintains studios on East 29th Street in Bryan; its transmitter is located northwest of Anderson, Texas.
Although identifying as a separate station, KBTX-TV is considered a semi-satellite of KWTX-TV (channel 10) in Waco. KBTX-TV all network and syndicated programming provided by its parent station but airs separate commercial inserts, legal identifications, local newscasts and Sunday morning religious programs; the station also has its own website. KBTX-TV serves the eastern half of the Waco–Temple–Bryan media market while KWTX-TV serves the western portion. The two stations are counted as a single unit for Nielsen ratings purposes. Although KBTX-TV maintains its own facilities, master control and some internal operations are based at KWTX-TV's studios on American Plaza in Waco.
KBTX-TV is sister to Belton-licensed CW affiliate KNCT (channel 46), which shares studios with KWTX-TV.
KBTX-TV also offers CW programming on its second digital subchannel. Prior to the September 2006 merger of The WB and UPN, KBTX-TV offered UPN programming on digital. Following the merger, CW Texas was launched as a joint effort between KBTX-TV and KWTX-TV. On August 8, 2012, CW Texas became CW8 Aggieland, which carries programming from The CW as well as a variety of local sports offerings and many syndicated shows.
KBTX-TV falls under the "KBTX Media" banner, which also includes CW8 Aggieland and KBTX.com.
On October 14, 1983, KBTX opened a new transmitter in the Grimes County community of Carlos. The tower nearly doubled the number of homes the station reached.
Perhaps the most noteworthy coverage from KBTX was on November 18, 1999. Early that morning, the Aggie Bonfire stack collapsed, killing 12 and injuring 27. The station provided non-stop coverage of the event, and served as a major source of information locally and nationally in the hours that followed.
KBTX celebrated its 50th anniversary in May 2007. Many former on-air staff returned for the celebration, including some who guest-anchored newscasts. KBTX Media History KBTX.com, KBTX Media History
In accordance with the original February 2009 date mandated by the federal government, KBTX permanently shut down its analog signal on January 20, 2009, as it made the transition to digital television. KBTX Digital Transition Underway , Mike Wright, KBTX TV, January 20, 2009 On February 28, 2009, KBTX began broadcasting digitally at full power from the enhanced Carlos tower, again expanding its signal dramatically. KBTX Now Broadcasting at Full Power Digital , KBTX.com, February 28, 2009 The station had been broadcasting on low power digital between its analog signal shutdown and the full power activation, in addition to being carried on cable systems and DirecTV.
KBTX and KWTX experimented with a jointly-run noon newscast in early 2009. News stories for both viewing areas were read from the KWTX studios in Waco for the first half of the show, with KBTX running live weather and additional local content from its studios for the remainder of the show airing in the Brazos Valley. KWTX aired its own live weather and content in its part of the market during that time. However, in late March 2009, the two stations returned to running separate newscasts, with KBTX citing "an overwhelming request from viewers for the show to be based out of the Twin Cities again."[4] KBTX.com, "News 3 at Noon Returns to KBTX Studios in Bryan Monday" (March 20, 2009)
In 2009, KBTX reached agreements with Dish and DirecTV. For years, Dish Network had refused to offer KBTX to the Bryan–College Station area and had simply carried KWTX. However, in 2009, Dish relented. KBTX on Dish Network KBTX.com On April 23 of that year, KBTX was made available in the Waco–Temple–Bryan market area. In May 2009, after years of carrying KBTX to the market, DirecTV announced it would be dropping KBTX from its service. In June 2009, an agreement was reached to keep the station available to DirecTV customers. KBTX Responds to DirecTV Notice KBTX.com
On September 12, 2011, KBTX launched a 4 p.m. newscast, titled First News at Four, replacing The Oprah Winfrey Show alongside Inside Edition at 4:30.
On October 10, 2011, KBTX began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition, making it the first live and local broadcaster in the Brazos Valley with HD news.[7] KBTX.com, "KBTX Broadcasts News in High Definition" (October 10, 2011)
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With its digital signal transmitting at the maximum power allowed by law as of early 2009, the KBTX signal also reaches Houston County in the Tyler–Longview market; Trinity, San Jacinto, Austin, Harris and Waller counties in the Houston market; and Lee County in the Austin market. KBTX's weather team monitors those counties and provides forecasts and updates, including during severe weather events. High school sports teams in those counties will also often be covered in KBTX's sports segments.
For most of its first half-century on the air, KBTX was the only station airing a full schedule of locally-focused news for the eastern half of the market. The brief attempt to produce a single noon newscast for this vast market failed in 2009 in part because of overwhelming viewer demand.
KBTX previously served as the de facto CBS station in Houston County in the Tyler market until KYTX signed on in 2004.
KBTX is part of a rare American television market, the Waco–Temple–Bryan media market. Only a handful of DMAs in the country have multiple stations under the same network affiliation serving viewers (KBTX serving the Bryan–College Station area, KWTX serving the Waco–Temple–Killeen area), even though in this case, both stations are associated with each other.
KBTX also won an AP award for "Best Spot News Reporting" for its coverage of the Aggie Bonfire collapse in 1999. KBTX Media History KBTX.com, KBTX Media History
Aggie Game Day, News 3 Sports' pregame show before Texas A&M home football games, is a multi-time recipient of honors from the national Telly Awards for outstanding local programming. Aggie Game Day KBTX.com, Aggie Game Day Home Page All the Best: 10 Years of the George Bush Presidential Library, which aired the day before the grand reopening of the 41st president's library and museum on the Texas A&M campus received a Telly. The main exhibit of the museum was closed for months during an $8.5 million renovation that coincided with the facility's anniversary.
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