KAKE

For other uses, see Kake.

KAKE-TV

Wichita, Kansas
City of license	Wichita
Branding	KAKEland (general) KAKE News (newscasts)
Slogan	Everywhere.
Channels	Digital: 10 (VHF)
Subchannels	(see article)
Translators	(see article)
Affiliations	ABC/Me-TV
Owner	Gray Television, Inc. (Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
First air date	October 19, 1954
Call letters' meaning	The word "cake" (sic)
Former callsigns	KAKE-TV (1954-2010)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 10 (VHF, 1954-2009) Digital: 21 (UHF, 1999-2009)
Former affiliations	NBC/ABC (1954-1955)
Transmitter power	56.5 kW Low-power translator 15 kW
Height	309.8 m
Facility ID	65522
Transmitter coordinates	37°46′52.9″N 97°31′9.1″W
Website	www.kake.com

KAKE, channel 10, is an ABC-affiliated television station based in Wichita, Kansas. The station is owned by Atlanta, Georgia-based Gray Television. KAKE is also the flagship station of the KAKEland Television Network, a statewide network of full-power stations, low-power stations, and translators relaying ABC network programming across central and western Kansas.

The station's studios are located on West Street in Wichita, and its transmitter is located near Colwich, Kansas. Its distinctive call sign is pronounced "cake", however the station has been branded as "KAKEland", after the aforementioned statewide relay network, since July 2011.

Digital television

Channel	Video	Aspect	Name	Programming
10.1	720p	16:9	KAKE-DT	Main KAKE programming / ABC
10.2	480i	4:3	KAKE-DT2	Me-TV

On February 17, 2009, KAKE turned off its analog signal on channel 10 and moved its digital signal from UHF channel 21 to its pre-transition analog channel assignment of VHF channel 10.

On September 8, 2012, Me-TV was added to subchannel 10.2.

KAKEland Television Network

To reach the 69-county audience of the Wichita/Hutchinson-Plus DMA, KAKE extends its over-the-air coverage area through a network of eight full-power, low-power, and translator stations encompassing the majority of Kansas, the KAKEland Television Network.

KUPK, in Garden City, houses the Western Kansas newsroom and studio, originating one segment of the nightly newscasts seen on KUPK and KLBY. The rest of the broadcast is live from the Wichita studio.

The KAKEland WeatherPlex, inside KAKE's Wichita studio, can provide live continuous severe weather coverage to any combination of its five broadcast zones.

1. KAKE and its DTV Replacement translator - South Central Kansas, including Wichita
2. KUPK - Southwest Kansas, including Dodge City and Garden City
3. KLBY - Northwest Kansas, including Goodland and Colby
4. KHDS - North Central Kansas, including Salina
5. KGBD-LD and its K25CV/K38GH translators - North Central Kansas, including Great Bend, Hays, and Russell

For example: If a tornado is in progress near Colby, live continuous coverage will be seen only on KLBY, while normal programming will appear on the rest of the network.

Full-power stations

These stations mostly rebroadcast KAKE. However, their full-power license allows them to broadcast different programming and commercial content, when desired.

Station	City of license	RF channel	Virtual channel	First air date	Call letters’ meaning	ERP (Digital)	HAAT (Digital)	Facility ID	Transmitter Coordinates
KUPK1 2	Garden City	13 (VHF)	13	October 28, 1964	KUP-KAKE "cupcake"	63kW	262.4m	65535	37°39′1″N 100°40′6″W
KLBY3 4 5	Colby	17 (UHF)	4	July 4, 1983	KoLBY "Colby"	625kW	223m	65523	39°15′9″N 101°21′9″W

Notes:

• 1. The call sign changed from KUPK-TV to KUPK on 13 July 2010.
• 2. KUPK-DT operated on channel 18 before 17 February 2009.
• 3. KLBY was an independent station from its 1984 sign-on until it was acquired by KAKE in 1987.
• 4. KLBY formerly operated analog channel 4 until 19 August 2008, becoming the first digital-only station in the KAKEland Television Network.
• 5. KLBY had the call letters KBOM in 1983.

"DTV Replacement" digital translator station

The FCC determined that after the digital transition some full-service stations would not be able to cover their pre-transition analog service areas. It created the “Replacement Digital Television Translator Service” to assist qualifying full-service stations. These are associated with, given the same call letters, cannot be transferred, and are renewed/assigned along with the station’s main license.

On February 9, 2010, KAKE filed an application to the FCC for a digital fill-in translator on its pre-transition digital allotment, UHF Channel 21. The translator serves the city of Wichita and the surrounding areas north and west of the city. Some viewers using indoor "set-top antennas", which by the nature of their compact design perform better with UHF signals, had difficulty receiving the station's digital signal after it "moved" to VHF channel 10. It started broadcasting March 4, 2010.

This station can ONLY rebroadcast KAKE, due to its translator classification.

Station	City of license	RF channel	Virtual channel	First air date	Call letters’ meaning	ERP (Digital)	HAAT (Digital)	Facility ID	Transmitter Coordinates
KAKE	Wichita	21 (UHF)	10	4 March 2010	sounds like "cake"	15kW	309.8m	65522	37°46′52.9″N 97°31′9.1″W

Analog low-power & translator stations

The following stations will perform a flash-cut when converting to digital. The translators on channels 70 to 83 moved in 1988 and many moved again on 15 August 2003.

Low-power stations

These stations mostly rebroadcast KAKE. However, their low-power license allows them to broadcast different programming and commercial content, when desired.

Station	City of license	Channel	Call letters’ meaning	ERP (Digital)	HAAT	Facility ID	Transmitter Coordinates
KHDS-LD6 7	Salina	51 (UHF)		15kW	87m	65527	38°50′27″N 97°40′8″W
KGBD-LD8 9	Great Bend	30 (UHF)	K-Great BenD "Great Bend"	15kW	104m	65534	38°24′22″N 98°43′20″W

Notes:

• 6. Call sign changed from K51GC to KHDS-LP on 13 July 2010, and to KHDS-LD on December 10, 2012.
• 7. Originally on channel 34 (K34AA), then 22 (K22CP); moved to channel 51 (K51GC) on 15 August 2003.
• 8. Call sign changed from K30GD to KGBD-LP on 13 July 2010, and to KGBD-LD on February 7, 2013.
• 9. Originally on channel 71 (K71BP); moved to channel 69 (K69DQ) in 1988, then to channel 30 (K30GD) on 15 August 2003.

KGBD-LD translator stations

These stations can only rebroadcast KGBD-LD, due to their translator classification.

Station	City of license	Channel	First air date	ERP (Analog)	HAAT (Analog)	Facility ID	Transmitter Coordinates
K25CV10	Hays	25 (UHF)	23 May 1988	8.9kW	72m	65533	38°54′54″N 99°19′40″W
K38GH11	Russell	38 (UHF)	12 January 1988	7.2kW	135m	65529	38°54′51″N 98°51′52″W

• 10. The Hays translator was K70FE channel 70 from the 1970s to 1988.
• 11. K38GH was K75CB from the 1970s to 1988, then K20BU channel 20 until 15 August 2003.

Channel 70+ translators no longer in service

• K70EN channel 70 Manhattan
• K71BO channel 71 Herington
• K75CH channel 75 Junction City

History

The station signed on the air on October 19, 1954. During its first year on the air, it was Wichita's NBC affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. It became a sole ABC affiliate in 1955 after KARD-TV (now KSNW) signed on.

In 1979, the station was sold to the Chronicle Publishing Company of San Francisco, California, run by the de Young family, who also owned KRON-TV in San Francisco and WOWT-TV in Omaha, Nebraska – KRON, a KRON translator, WOWT, and KAKE and its translators all have Facility IDs in the same range (assigned by the FCC around 1980). Chronicle then bought KLBY in 1987. KLBY had been a separate, independent station with its own programming inventory, but with Chronicle's purchase it was made a satellite of KAKE.

KAKE logo, used from 2007 to 2011.

In 1988, KAKE moved all of its translators on channels 70 to 83 (which were being phased out) down to other channel positions; in addition, a select few of the affected translators were simply closed. Chronicle owned the stations until 1999, when KAKE, its satellites, and WOWT were sold to LIN TV in the midst of the de Young family's liquidation of its media holdings. Almost as soon as the sale was finalized, LIN turned around and traded KAKE and WOWT to Benedek Broadcasting for that company's WWLP in Springfield, Massachusetts and cash. The acquisition of KAKE and WOWT could be seen as the ultimate undoing for the financially challenged Benedek, which in 2002 declared bankruptcy and sold most of its stations, including KAKE and WOWT, to Gray Television (their current owner). In 2003, another translator shuffle occurred, and many translator channels in service moved on August 15 of that year.

KAKE and the BTK case

For a more thorough history on the BTK case, see Dennis Rader.

In the 1970s, KAKE received letters, poems and packages from the BTK serial killer. One claimed responsibility for several of the BTK murders; another contained clues about an intended victim (who was not murdered). During an interview with Wichita's police chief in the late 1970s, subliminal messages were broadcast on KAKE to convince BTK to turn himself in. The effort was unsuccessful.

In 2004 and 2005, BTK again sent letters to KAKE. One included a word puzzle—another expressed concern about the colds anchors Susan Peters and Jeff Herndon had at the time. Park City, Kansas resident Dennis Rader was eventually arrested and convicted of the murders.

News operation

In January 2011, KAKE expanded its weekday morning newscasts by a half-hour, moving the start time to 4:30 a.m., becoming the first station in the Wichita-Hutchinson market to broadcast a pre-5 a.m. newscast. On July 17, 2011 beginning with its 5:30 p.m. newscast, KAKE began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition; this leaves KSNW as the only remaining station in the Wichita-Hutchinson market not broadcasting its local newscasts in HD, KSNW broadcasts its newscasts in mostly enhanced definition widescreen (although the weather segments of that station's newscasts is broadcast in high definition). With the change, the station began using new on-air graphics for its newscasts, a custom news music package (composed by Aircast Custom Music) and introduced a new station logo that emphasizes the long used "KAKEland" sub-branding for KAKE's network of satellite and repeater stations. KAKE will discontinue its half-hour 4 p.m. newscast in September 2011, due to a lack of a solid syndicated programming lead-out of the newscast.

Ratings

For 30 years, KAKE was the highest-rated station in Wichita, even though it did not build an extensive translator/satellite network in central and western Kansas until the 1990s. For most of the last quarter-century, it has been runner-up to KWCH-TV which has been the dominant station in the market. KAKE is presently in second place, with NBC affiliate KSNW in third.

Newscasts and local programming

Monday-Friday

• Good Morning Kansas - 4:30–7 a.m.
• KAKE News at 11:00 - 11 a.m.–noon
• KAKE News at 5:00 - 5–5:30 p.m.
• KAKE News at 6:00 - 6–6:30 p.m.
• KAKE News at 10:00 - 10–10:35 p.m.

Saturday

• Good Morning Kansas Saturday - 6–7 a.m.
• Good Morning Kansas Saturday - 8–9 a.m.
• KAKE News at 6:00 - 6–6:30 p.m.
• KAKE News at 6:30 - 6:30–7 p.m.
• KAKE News at 10:00 - 10–10:35 p.m.

Sunday

• KAKE News at 5:30 - 5:30–6 p.m.
• KAKE News at 10:00 - 10–10:35 p.m.
• KAKE Sports Overtime Live - 10:35–11:05 p.m.
• Lawyer on the Line - 11:05–11:35 p.m.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• The General Motors Newscast (1954–1964)
• The National News (1964–1967)
• TV-10 News (1967–1990)
• KAKE News 10 (1990–1998; continues in use as alternate newscast title)
• KAKE News (1998–present)

Station slogans

• "The News People" (1970s)
• "Come Home To KAKE" (early 1980s; not related to the similarly named NBC campaign)
• "Keep Your Eye on KAKE" (mid 1980s)
• "Dedicated, Determined, Dependable" (early 1990s)
• "Coverage You Count On" (early-mid 1990s)
• "On Your Side" (1998–2007)
• "The Breaking News and Weather Authority" (2009–2012)
• "KAKEland - Everywhere." (2012-Present)

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On-air staff

Current on-air staff

Anchors

• Jared Cerullo - Saturday mornings Good Morning Kansas; also general assignment and "Crimestoppers" reporter and storm chaser
• Deb Farris - weekdays at 4 p.m.
• Larry Hatteberg - weeknights at 5 p.m.
• Jeff Herndon - weeknights at 4, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Jemelle Holopirek - weekday mornings Good Morning Kansas and 11:30 a.m.
• Mike Iuen - weekday mornings Good Morning Kansas
• Susan Peters - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

KAKEland WeatherPlex Team

• Jay Prater (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seal of Approval) - managing meteorologist; weekdays at 4, weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Ben Pringle (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings Good Morning Kansas and 11 a.m.
• Tanner Swift - meteorologist; Saturday mornings Good Morning Kansas, also fill-in
• Blake Smith (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; fill-in

Sports team

• Chris Frye - sports anchor; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m., also host of KAKE Sports Overtime Live
• Shane Ewing - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m., also sports reporter
• Jason Duda - KAKE Sports Overtime Live co-host

Reporters

• Tim Brown - host of This Week in Kansas
• Phil White - general assignment reporter; also producer
• Chris Frank - general assignment reporter
• Alicia Myers - general assignment reporter
• Parrish Alleman - general assignment reporter
• Enrique Ramirez - "Ricky's Review" entertainment critic
• Jordan Shefte - Good Morning Kansas reporter
• Lily Wu - general assignment reporter

Former on-air staff

• Steve Doocy - host of "PM Magazine" (now co-host of Fox and Friends on Fox News Channel)
• Hallie Shulman - meteorologist (now at KCTV in Kansas City)

External links

• KAKE.com - Official Website
• mcsittel.com:Screengrabs of various TV stations (including KLBY) from the late-1980s, taken from Kingsport, TN
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KAKE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KUPK
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KLBY
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KHDS-LD
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KGBD-LD
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K25CV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K38GH
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KAKE-TV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KUPK-TV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KLBY-TV