KCAL Los Angeles, the independent station owned by CBS, will launch a morning news block that runs 4-11 a.m. on weekdays, starting in the fall. KCAL has never had weekday morning news.
Coinciding with the launch of KCAL’s morning newscasts, sister KCBS will air network program CBS Mornings from 4 to 6 a.m., while also airing the program in its 7-9 a.m. slot. KCAL’s morning news will air on KCBS during the 6-7 a.m. hour.
“By launching morning news on KCAL 9 and adding a second daily broadcast of CBS Mornings on CBS 2, our local-to-global news organization is perfectly positioned to showcase its premium content on our broadcast and streaming channels in the Los Angeles market,” said Wendy McMahon, president and co-head, CBS News and Stations. “As one of the most trusted local news providers in Southern California, the window of opportunity for KCAL 9 News in the morning is wide open. We also believe this is an audience growth opportunity for CBS Mornings by giving early risers and commuters in the Los Angeles market the chance to watch live from 4-6 a.m.”
KCAL has begun hiring full-time staff for the morning program.
The addition of KCAL 9’s morning news franchise will give it, KCBS and the CBS News Los Angeles streaming channel a combined total of 91.5 hours of regularly scheduled live local newscasts per week.
“These bold moves will allow us to have the best of both worlds, with the strength of KCAL 9 News establishing a local news beachhead and two runs of CBS Mornings making CBS 2 a more prominent provider of national network news,” said Joel Vilmenay, president and general manager, KCBS-KCAL. “We are excited and grateful for the support we are getting from Wendy McMahon, (CBS Stations President) Jennifer Mitchell and our colleagues at CBS News and Stations. The investments we are making in people and technology will allow us to produce more hours of live, regularly scheduled local news than any other station in the market.”
In 1990, KCAL 9 became the first television station in the country to launch nightly, three-hour local newscasts during primetime, airing 8-11 p.m. ■
