KMAX-TV (Channel 31, digital 21) is the CBS Corporation's CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. In May 2005, the station merged its operations with the local CBS station, KOVR (Channel 13), which the CBS Corp. just recently purchased -- making both the only English network O&O's in the market. It is known on the air as "CW 31, Cable 12".

[edit] History

KMAX originally went on the air as KMUV-TV on October 5, 1974, and was owned by legendary television producer, Norman Lear. It was programmed as an all-movie channel, to counter-program against the other established area stations, particularly then-independent (and current Fox station) KTXL (Channel 40). However on May 1, 1976, KMUV abandoned its all-movie format and became a Spanish-language station with some English-language Religious Programming such as The PTL Club with Jim Bakker. On April 2, 1981, Koplar Broadcasting (which owned and founded current St. Louis CW station KPLR-TV) purchased the station and on April 6, 1981 transformed it into an English-language/general entertainment/independent station to compete directly with KTXL and its slogan was We Deliver!!. The station's call letters were changed to KRBK. (As a side note, Koplar's new sign-on in Missouri, channel 49, licensed to Osage Beach, has adopted the KRBK call letters.)

KMAX logo from 1998-2002 after call letter and affiliation change

Pappas Telecasting of California bought KRBK in 1994, and on January 11, 1995, changed its call letters to KPWB & moniker to WB 31 to reflect its new affiliation to the then-new WB network, which started in January 1995. Viacom's Paramount Stations Group bought Channel 31 in January 1998, and changed its calls once again on January 5, 1998, to the present KMAX-TV. PSG also switched its network affiliation from The WB to UPN, sending WB programming to former UPN affiliate KSCH (now KQCA). (KPWB landed on a WB affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa, coincidentally owned by Pappas to this day.) Viacom later bought CBS, and the television stations division, with CBS and UPN O&O's, became known as Viacom Television Stations Group, or VTSG. Now it is called CBS Television Stations Group, or CBSTSG.

Channel 31 was the flagship television home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings from 1988-1989 until the middle of the 2002-03 season, when the team's owners, the Maloof family, terminated the station's contract due to the station selling ads featuring the team, without the Kings' permission.

KMAX remains the local over-the-air affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. It was also the Oakland Athletics' affiliate before that team moved all its telecasts to the non-broadcast Comcast SportsNet California in 2009. KMAX is also home to Good Day Sacramento, the area's second highest rated morning news program (local or network), behind the Today Show on NBC.

In May 2005, KOVR-TV became KMAX's sister station when Viacom bought it from the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station is now owned by CBS Corporation, due to the split of Viacom into two separate entities (one which retained the Viacom name). And KMAX will broadcast CBS programs when KOVR cannot such as in a news-related emergency. KMAX's news operations merged with KOVR's under the duopoly,with KOVR anchors and reporters sometimes appearing on KMAX and vice versa. After KOVR was picked up by the new ownership, KMAX moved from its original studios off Highway 160 in Sacramento to KOVR's in West Sacramento.

[edit] From UPN to The CW

On January 24, 2006, it was announced that KMAX will become an affiliate of The CW Network, which is a merger of UPN and The WB. The changeover happened in September 2006. A month before the launch of The CW, the station replaced the UPN graphics (UPN31) with the new CW graphics (CW31) to coincide with its debut. And the Kids WB (now The CW4Kids) lineup returned to channel 31 upon the new affiliation; it airs Saturdays on a three hour tape delay (10 AM to 3 PM unlike 7 AM to Noon) to accommodate the weekend version of Good Day Sacramento.

The KMAX-TV news van covering an event at KGBY.

It was announced on January 11th, 2008 via a viewer blog that CW31 will launch a primetime newscast featuring CBS13 news personalities. The show will not be a repeat of Good Evening, Sacramento which aired in 2003, but instead will be a full newscast either before or after the CBS13 News at 10PM. However, owing to cutbacks ordered by CBS corporate management, plans for this broadcast were shelved in late summer 2008.

As of June 1 2009, Good Day Sacramento is now in high definition.

[edit] Sacramento CBS Cluster

While KOVR and KMAX are housed in West Sacramento, the CBS Radio cluster consisting of radio stations KHTK and KNCI are housed at studios on Madison Avenue in Sacramento while KSFM, KYMX and KZZO are housed at a location in Sacramento's Arden District.

[edit] News Team

[edit] Anchors

• Marianne McClary, Morning Anchor Monday-Friday 6am-10am (1995)
• Nick Toma, Morning Anchor Monday-Friday 5am-8am (1998)
• Mark S. Allen, Entertainment Anchor/Reporter Monday-Friday 6am-10am(1996)
• Stefanie Cruz, Newsroom Anchor Monday-Friday 5am-10am (2004)
• Chris Burrous, Newsroom Anchor Monday-Friday 5am-10am (2005)
• Cody Stark, Anchor/Reporter/Weather 5am-10am Monday-Friday (Weather) Weekend 6am-10am (Anchor/Reporter/Weather) (2004)
• Julissa Ortiz, Morning Anchor Monday-Friday 5am/9am (2006)

[edit] Reporters

• Kelly Chapman, Weekend Reporter (2006)
• Alan Sanchez, "Alan the intern" Weekends (2006)
• Lori Wallace, Weekend Reporter (2007)

[edit] Traffic Team

• Tina Macuha, Traffic Anchor/Reporter Monday-Friday 5am-10am (1995)
• Courtney Dempsey, Traffic Reporter Monday-Friday 5am-10am (1995)

[edit] Spanish Language Interpreters

• Martha Garcia, Spanish Language Interpreter
• Xavier Altimiras Lupon, Spanish Language Interpreter
• Andres Marquez, Spanish Language Interpreter
• Flavio Soria, Spanish Language Interpreter

[edit] Past Newscasts

• 31 News: 1980s-1995
• 31 Action News: 1996-1998
• UPN 31 Action News: 1998-2000
• Good Evening Sacramento: 2003-2004

[edit] Former Newscasters

• Kari Alexander (as anchor/reporter)
• Naj Alikhan (2004-2007 as weekday morning reporter)
• John Alston (1996-1998 as evening anchor)
• Karen Borta (early 1990s, now anchor at KTVT)
• Doug Brauner (1995-2007 as weekday morning reporter, now senior reporter with "DRIVE" formerly on ESPN-Now airing on The Discovery Network)
• Taryn Winter Brill (2006-2008 as weekend morning anchor/weekday reporter, now at ABC's Good Morning America)
• William Carpenter (1985-1987 as reporter/morning anchor)
• Tom Curran (1990s anchor, now at WTVT)
• Christine Craft (1985-1990, known for her lawsuit against previous employer Metromedia)
• Carlos Delgado (1998 as reporter, now reporter at XETV, and Media Relations Officer at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego)
• Abbott Dutton (1996-2006 as co-anchor, now at a Bay Area radio station as a state reporter in Sacramento)
• Bob Dyk (mid 1980s, then at WGAN, deceased March 22, 2008)
• Mae Fesai (2004-2006, now at KCRA)
• Rich Gould (1985-1987, now sports director at KPLR-TV)
• Heather Hudgens (2001-2006 as reporter, former traffic reporter at KPIX)
• Sharon Ito (1990s, now at KXTV)
• Kandice Kelly (2000-2004 as weekday morning reporter)
• Reggie Kumar (2007-2008 as reporter)
• Kristina Lee (2007-2008 as reporter)
• Tom Loffman (1999-2006 as weekday morning meteorologist), now runs Loffman Realty and Property Management with wife Debbie. Maintains a number of web sites including "http://www.sac.tomweather.com" Tom Loffman's Sacramento Weather Web Site.
• Jonathan Masaki (2000-2004 as weekday morning reporter, now freelancing photojournalist at KXTV)
• Kym McNicholas (2004-2005, now Comcast SportsNet racing reporter)
• Cristina Mendonsa (news writer, now anchor at KXTV)
• Melinda Meza (2003-2006 as reporter)
• Grant Napear (1987-1995, now at KHTK and is also the play-by-play announcer for the Sacramento Kings)
• Stew Oleson (1995-1998 as weekday morning anchor)
• Gabe Petti (1995-1999 as weather forecaster, now chief weather forecaster at KTVO)
• Frank Simpson (1988-1990 as reporter, 1991-1998 as evening anchor)
• Lloyd Lindsay Young (1996-2000, now at KERO-TV and KGO-AM)

[edit] HD & Digital Television

KMAX-TV's morning news show, Good Day Sacramento, is now produced and broadcast in high definition. Only In-Studio cameras are HD at this time. This is the same for sister station CBS 13's news programs. KMAX-HD also has The CW Television Network programming in HD when available. Stylized pillarboxing is used when non-HD feeds are used during Good Day Sacramento.

[edit] External links

• Good Day Sacramento
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KMAX-TV
  • Query the FCC's TV station database for KDSL-CA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KMAX-TV