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A southern Texas city proud of its diverse heritage, San Antonio continues to grow. The entire DMA spans about 175 miles north to south and about 350 miles east to west. However, about 80 percent of the population lives in Bexar County. As an example of the market's expansiveness, Val
Verde County at the westernmost portion of the DMA, is actually closer to El Paso than it is to San Antonio. Hispanics, predominantly of Mexican descent, make up about 54 percent of the DMA.
The market's diversity is also reflected in its TV stations. The San Antonio TV market ranks 37th in the nation, with 693,810 households. The market has seen some significant changes in the past year. Notably, Belo Corp. has entered into a local marketing agreement with a brandnew, full-power outlet. The VHF, KBEJ-- TV, is the market's first full-fledged UPN affiliate, locally owned by Corridor Television. The market's NBC affiliate, KMOL-- TV, had been doing some delayed broadcasting of UPN programming.
Belo already owns CBS affiliate KENSTV. In Nielsen Media Research's November sweeps, KENS won the 10 p.m. news race with its solo-anchored newscast with veteran Chris Marrou. KENS also edged ahead of Post-Newsweek's ABC affiliate, KSAT-TV, at 6 p.m., although the two are neck and neck in the time period. While KSAT was the clear winner at 5 p.m., KENS maintained its position as the market news leader in the mornings.
From 6 to 7 a.m., KENS drew an 8 rating/26 share in households, compared to KSAT's 5/18 and NBC affiliate KMOL-- TV's 5/16. "We had significant growth in every major daypart," says Robert McGann, KENS president/general manager. McGann says the station is considering repurposing its local news on KBEJ-.
At the end of November, KENS lost Dan Cook-the man credited with coining the phrase, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings"-who retired after spending the last 40 years as the station's lead sports anchor. Cook plans to remain with the station, reporting and doing commentary twice a week on the 10 p.m. news. No. 2 sports anchor Joe Reinagel will replace Cook, adding the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts to his 6 p.m. sports anchor duties.
Another coup for Belo last year was its successful bid to acquire local...