KERO-TV

KERO-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on 21st Street in Downtown Bakersfield, and its transmitter is located atop Breckenridge Mountain.

KERO-TV operates digital translator KZKC-LD (channel 28), which allows homes with issues receiving KERO-TV's VHF signal or only a UHF antenna to receive KERO-TV in some form.

History

KERO-TV went on the air on September 26, 1953, on channel 10 as an NBC affiliate. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[1] It was locally owned by Kern County Broadcasters along with KERO radio (1230 AM, now KGEO). The two stations shared a studio in the lobby of the El Tejon Hotel, which was located at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and Chester Avenue. KERO-TV later moved to its current studios on 21st Street.

Programming

In 2004, KERO-TV, along with the other McGraw-Hill stations, claimed that they tried to preempt Saving Private Ryan, but out of desperation, aired the film.[14][15]

On September 8, 2014, the station dropped the Sony game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune due to Scripps' chain-wide effort to replace the shows in their markets with lower-cost local and chain-produced programming. The programs moved to KBAK, and were replaced with two Scripps-produced programs, newsmagazine The List and game show Let's Ask America (the latter being replaced with Inside Edition after its cancellation).

News operation

Former news anchor Burleigh Smith (died 1990) is considered by many to be the father of television news in Bakersfield. Smith produced and anchored at KERO from 1954 to 1960, and again from 1973 to 1990.

Other longtime KERO news personalities include Don Rodewald (who hosted the afternoon movie), George Day, and Sunny Scofield. MSNBC Live & Direct host Rita Cosby was a KERO reporter in the 1980s.

Lloyd Lindsay Young joined the station in 2005 as chief weathercaster. His trademark intro is "Hellooooo (insert city name)". He is also known for his outrageous weather pointers which are sent in by viewers; submissions have ranged from a mannequin leg to a dildo. On September 17, 2008, The Bakersfield Californian reported that Young departed KERO-TV after more than three years there. No reason was given, which followed the broadcasts of September 16, 2008. Rusty Shoop, who is known throughout Bakersfield, and was a former KERO weather anchor, replaced Young. Shoop earlier suffered a brain aneurysm and this was his first TV appearance since the illness. Shoop started on October 27, 2008. After being at KERO-TV for a year, Shoop retired from broadcasting on December 9, 2009, for medical reasons stemming from the brain aneurysm.[16] On January 18, 2010, Jack Church, who was chief meteorologist from 1999 to 2001, replaced Rusty Shoop and was the chief meteorologist from January 18, 2010, until May 5, 2011.

Notable former staff

Rita Cosby
Frank Gifford
Lynn Noel – public affairs director
Rusty Shoop – chief meteorologist (1984; 2008–2009)
Lloyd Lindsay Young – chief meteorologist (2005–2008)

Notable former staff

Rita Cosby
Frank Gifford
Lynn Noel – public affairs director
Rusty Shoop – chief meteorologist (1984; 2008–2009)
Lloyd Lindsay Young – chief meteorologist (2005–2008)

callsign	KERO-TV
branding	23 ABC
digital	10 (VHF)
virtual	23
translators	KZKC-LD 28 (UHF) Bakersfield (city)
affiliations	23.1: ABC for others, see
airdate	September 26, 1953
location	Bakersfield, California
country	United States
callsign meaning	Kern County Outlet
former channel numbers	Analog: 10 (VHF, 1953–1963), 23 (UHF, 1963–2009)
owner	E. W. Scripps Company
licensee	Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC
former affiliations	NBC (1953–1984) CBS (1984–1996)
erp	10.8 kW
haat	1107 m
facility id	40878
coordinates	35.45383°N, -118.59453°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	https://www.turnto23.com/

History

Programming

News operation

Notable former staff

Notable former staff

Technical information

Subchannels

Analog-to-digital conversion

See also

External links

References