Affiliations CBS | Founded September 2, 2002 | |
Branding CBS Local 2 (general)
CBS Local 2 News Slogan The News Team That Stands For You Channels Digital: 38 and KESQ-DT 42.2 (UHF)
Virtual: 38.1 and 42.2 (PSIP) Owner News-Press & Gazette Company
(Gulf-California Broadcast Company) | ||
KPSP-CD is the Class A CBS-affiliated television station for the Coachella Valley in the southern region of the U.S. state of California, licensed to Cathedral City. It broadcasts a high definition signal on UHF channel 38 and a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 42.2 from a transmitter on Edom Hill in Cathedral City. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, it is sister to ABC affiliate KESQ-TV, Class A Fox affiliate KDFX-CD, low-powered CW affiliate KCWQ-LP/LD, and low-powered Telemundo affiliate KUNA-LP/LD.
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All five outlets share the same studios at Melanie Place in Palm Desert. Along with other major Coachella Valley television stations, the station identifies itself on-air using its cable designation (CBS Local 2) rather than its over-the-air channel position. The unusual practice stems in part from the area's exceptionally high cable penetration rate of 80.5% which is one of the highest in the United States.
History
The station launched September 2, 2002 and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 38. Prior to its sign-on as the Coachella Valley's first ever CBS affiliate, programming from the network came into the market via cable or antenna (in some areas) through Los Angeles' KCBS-TV. When KPSP went on-the-air, area cable companies displaced KCBS at that outlet's request. KPSP adopted the "CBS 2" moniker following the practice of major local competitors in using its cable designation for branding purposes.
On April 1, 2008, it switched from branding itself "CBS 2" to "KPSP Local 2" although the "CBS 2" logo was retained for several months afterwards. On January 31, 2012, KPSP was sold by Desert Television to the News-Press & Gazette Company becoming a sister station to KESQ. It moved from its own studios on Dunham Way in Thousand Palms to KESQ's facility in Palm Desert. KPSP's transmitter on 38.1, went silent at midnight on March 1, 2012; the station's license was not initially included in the deal. CBS programming is now broadcast on 42.2 on the KESQ-DT digital tier and the lineup has not changed. In January 2013, News Press & Gazette acquired the KPSP-CD license, as well as KYAV-LD, from Desert Television. The Class A channel 38 digital transmitter was turned back on on February 7, allowing CBS programming to be shown over the air in 1080i high definition for the first time in nearly a year. NPG's acquisition of the Desert Television assets was completed on April 26.
Programming
Syndicated programming on KPSP includes Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, The Dr. Oz Show and Dr. Phil among others. The latter two are spin-offs of The Oprah Winfrey Show. All are distributed by CBS Television Distribution.
News operation
At one point while operating as a separate entity, KPSP aired its early weeknight newscast from 5:00-6:30 advertising the slot as a single 90-minute newscast. The CBS Evening News would therefore be seen in the regular time period at 6:30. The station would eventually move the CBS Evening News to 5:30 p.m.
After KPSP was acquired by KESQ, this station had its operations merged into that outlet's facility. Local news offerings on both outlets were adjusted as a result. Currently, KESQ offers the most broadcasts while KPSP still airs separate news programs on weekday mornings as well as weeknights at 5:30 and 6:30. These productions originate from a secondary set at the Melanie Place studios. Along with shared video coverage, reporters from KESQ can be seen on KPSP and vice versa.
FOX affiliate KDFX-CD airs a nightly half-hour prime time broadcast at 10:00 produced by KPSP featuring the CBS outlet's branding and anchors. The program competed with low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate KPSG-LP (now KPSE-LD), which had local news seen for thirty minutes at the same time produced by rival NBC affiliate KMIR-TV. KPSP is a media partner of The Desert Sun. All news anchors also serve as reporters.