KRGV-TV


KRGV-TV, virtual channel 5, is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Weslaco, Texas, United States and serving the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan area. The station is owned by the Manship family of Baton Rouge, Louisiana through Mobile Video Tapes, Inc., which often does business as KRGV-TV Corporation. KRGV-TV's studios are located on East Expressway in Weslaco, and its transmitter is located in Santa Maria, Texas. On cable and satellite, the station is available on Charter Spectrum, DirecTV and Dish Network channel 5.

History

KRGV joined as a primary NBC affiliate in 1954, sharing ABC programming with KGBT-TV. The original owner of the station was O. L. Taylor, who, in 1956, sold half of the station's interest to future President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson's Texas Broadcasting Company. The Johnsons owned the station until 1961, until they sold to Kenco Enterprises. Mobile Video Tapes, which was formed by the Manship family, purchased the station from Kenco three years later. KRGV became a sole ABC affiliate in 1976, and one year later, sister station WBRZ in Baton Rouge followed suit. From 1976 to 1981, CBS affiliate KGBT would carry NBC programming on a secondary basis. NBC wouldn't return full time to the Rio Grande Valley until KVEO-TV signed on in 1981.
In 1995, KRGV added a secondary affiliation with UPN. The following year, UPN programming moved to KVEO.
On August 24, 2009, KRGV extended its 10 p.m. newscast by 30 minutes. KRGV was one of six ABC affiliates to have hour-long 10 p.m. newscasts, along with KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, KITV in Honolulu, WISN-TV in Milwaukee, WEAR-TV in Pensacola, Florida and KSTP-TV in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
On September 9, 2009, KRGV began broadcasting in HD, and that same year, the channel rebranded itself to Channel 5 News.
In September 2010, KRGV began expanded Channel 5 News This Morning by a half hour, pushing the start time to 4:30 a.m.
In April 2011, KRGV expanded their morning newscast to Saturdays at 8 a.m. and Sundays at 9 a.m.
In October 2012, KRGV redesigned its website and logo, eliminating the "KRGV" ribbon underneath the logo, and integrating the ABC logo in its full form.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP short nameProgramming
5.1720pKRGV HDMain KRGV-TV programming / ABC
5.2720pSomosInd. / Somos El Valle
5.3480iMeTVMeTV

KRGV's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.

Programming

Syndicated programming

In addition to the ABC network schedule, syndicated programming on KRGV-TV includes The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Wendy Williams Show, Access Hollywood, Family Feud and Inside Edition among others.

Local programming

Local programming aired by KRGV includes Dance with Sunshine and At Home with Ine.

Preemptions and delays

For many years, KRGV aired syndicated programming leading back into ABC's late night block and tape delayed the latter to accommodate whatever syndicated programming aired at that time. Married... with Children consistently aired at 10:30 following the newscast since it first began airing in syndication, while the rest of the late night schedule shifted around through the years. This caused the ABC program Nightline to air as late as an hour and a half after its network slot and Jimmy Kimmel Live! as many as two hours after its network slot in some years. By the 2010s, both Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel Live! air back to back as they do across many affiliates, but were tape-delayed 30 minutes in favor of an extension of the 10 p.m. news known as Channel 5 News at 10:30. Because of the delay, both Nightline and Kimmel were broadcast in standard definition. KRGV did not yet have the capability to record the two programs in HD for later rebroadcast. This all changed in 2009, when KRGV began recording network and syndicated programming in HD, enabling both Nightline and Kimmel to be seen in HD.
In January 2018, KRGV's contract with Tribune Broadcasting's Antenna TV ended, and the station moved its 10:30 p.m. newscast as part of its newly launched and locally programmed independent station known as "Somos El Valle", which includes a mix of Spanish and English content. This allowed the station to air Kimmel and Nightline at their regular time slots as scheduled by the network.
Because of the station's midday newscast which airs at noon, KRGV has aired Strahan, Sara and Keke on a day-behind basis.