KCBS-TV
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Predecessor | KNXT (1951–1984) |
| Founded | 1931 |
| Founder | Don Lee Broadcasting |
| Headquarters | Studio City, Los Angeles , United States |
Area served | Los Angeles metropolitan area |
Key people | Jim Hill (sports director) |
| Products | Television broadcasting, local news programming, sports programming |
| Owner | CBS News and Stations |
| Parent | Paramount Skydance Corporation |
| Website | losangeles |
KCBS-TV (channel 2), operating under the brand name CBS LA, serves as a television station located in Los Angeles, California, and functions as the flagship outlet for the CBS network on the West Coast. The station is owned by CBS News and Stations and shares its production facilities with its independent sister station, KCAL-TV, at the Radford Studio Center in Studio City. Its transmitter is situated on Mount Wilson, near Occidental Peak.
Since 2017, KCBS-TV has operated separately from KCBS radio (740 AM) based in San Francisco. This separation followed the divestiture of KCBS radio and KCBS-FM (93.1) in Los Angeles to Entercom (currently known as Audacy), which ended nearly 70 years of joint ownership.
Early years (1931–1948)
As the longest-running television station continuously broadcasting in the Western United States, KCBS-TV traces its origins back to June 1931 when Don Lee Broadcasting received an experimental license for W6XAO. The station commenced transmissions on December 23, 1931. Initial broadcasts relied on mechanical cameras that offered limited image clarity, but by 1939, these were replaced with fully electronic systems delivering 441-line resolution.
During the early 1940s, Don Lee Broadcasting expanded audience reach by installing television sets in key locations throughout Los Angeles. Although programming was curtailed during World War II, full broadcasting resumed after the war ended. In March 1946, following an FCC channel reallocation, the station transitioned from Channel 1 to Channel 2.
In May 1948, the station was granted a commercial license under the call sign KM2XBD; this was changed to KTSL in October 1950 to honor Thomas S. Lee, son of Don Lee. That same year, KTSL affiliated with the DuMont Television Network and introduced programs such as Peter Potter's Jukebox Jury, which later gained national exposure on ABC.
CBS acquisition (1949–1984)
In 1949, CBS acquired a 49% minority interest in KTTV (channel 11), now a Fox owned-and-operated station.
After Thomas S. Lee passed away, Don Lee's broadcasting properties were placed on the market in 1950. General Tire and Rubber purchased all stations including flagship KHJ radio, but divested KTSL to CBS. Subsequently, CBS sold its stake in KTTV to the majority owner, the Los Angeles Times, and consolidated all CBS network programming onto KTSL beginning January 1, 1951. On October 28, 1951, KTSL adopted the call letters KNXT to align with CBS’s Los Angeles radio outlet KNX (1070 AM), simultaneously relocating its transmitter from Mount Lee to Mount Wilson.
As KCBS-TV (1984–present)
The station officially changed its call sign to KCBS-TV on April 2, 1984. The KNXT designation was later assigned to an unrelated Fresno station from 1986 until 2021. In 1997, KCBS-TV embraced the "CBS2" branding consistent with sister stations like WBBM-TV and WCBS-TV. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, KNXT/KCBS-TV produced local programs such as 2 on the Town and KidQuiz, strengthening its presence within the local market.
Following Viacom’s acquisition of KCAL from Young Broadcasting in 2002, KCBS-TV became a sister station to KCAL-TV. On April 21, 2007, both stations moved from their longtime home at the historic CBS Columbia Square in Hollywood to a modern all-digital facility located at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, consolidating their operations.
KCBS-TV ceased analog transmission over VHF channel 2 on June 12, 2009, completing its switch to digital broadcasts on UHF channel 43 while retaining virtual channel number 2. The analog “nightlight” service continued until July 12, 2009.
On October 21, 2014, CBS partnered with Weigel Broadcasting to announce the launch of a digital subchannel network called Decades, which premiered on KCBS-TV’s channel 2.2 during the second quarter of 2015. Decades was replaced by Start TV on September 3, 2018; Decades subsequently moved to Weigel’s KAZA-TV.
On December 4, 2019, CBS Corporation and Viacom reunited under a single corporate entity known as ViacomCBS (currently operating as Paramount Skydance Corporation), thereby consolidating their media holdings within one corporate framework.
Sports programming
CBS started televising NFL games in 1956, featuring Los Angeles Rams contests on Channel 2 until the conclusion of the 1993 season, when Fox acquired the rights to National Football Conference (NFC) matchups. Consequently, KTTV became the Rams' broadcast home in 1994 prior to the team relocating to St. Louis. Following the Rams' return to Los Angeles in 2016, Channel 2 resumed airing games against American Football Conference (AFC) opponents and cross-flexed CBS games; it also covered Rams preseason games from 2016 through 2019 and intermittently during their earlier LA period. Between 1982 and 1993, Channel 2 aired all home inter-conference games for the Los Angeles Raiders, including their victory in Super Bowl XVIII. The station also broadcast Super Bowls XIV and XXI, both hosted at the nearby Rose Bowl stadium, and played a role in blackout policies related to the first Super Bowl held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with local blackouts lifted starting in 1973 and fully eliminated by 2015.
In 2017, KCBS became the de facto flagship station for the relocated Los Angeles Chargers, an AFC team whose majority of games are shown on CBS. While Los Angeles was only a secondary market for the Chargers during their San Diego years, KCBS already carried their road games. Although plans were made to resume broadcasting Chargers preseason contests in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of NFL preseason games; KCBS resumed airing Chargers preseason matches in 2021. The station had previously televised Chargers preseason action from 2002 until 2015.
Jim Hill, former Charger player and CBS Sports announcer between 1976 and 1987, returned as KCBS sports director in 1992 and continues in that position. Other former athletes who transitioned into sportscasting roles at KCBS and KCAL-TV include Eric Dickerson, Jim Everett, James Worthy, and Eric Karros.
KCBS aired Los Angeles Lakers games through NBA on CBS from 1973 to 1990, encompassing five NBA Finals championships during the Showtime era. From 1990 to 1993, select Dodgers and Angels games were broadcast on Channel 2 under CBS’s Major League Baseball contract.
Starting in 2024, KCBS-TV began televising select USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins football games as part of Big Ten on CBS coverage.
News operation
KCBS-TV currently produces locally generated newscasts totaling 23 hours and 10 minutes per week, including three hours and thirty-five minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, and three hours on Sundays.
News department history
In 1961, KNXT pioneered one of America’s earliest extended local news programs with The Big News, a 45-minute evening newscast featuring Jerry Dunphy as anchor, Bill Keene handling weather forecasts, and Gil Stratton covering sports. This program aired weeknights from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., leading into a fifteen-minute CBS Evening News segment to complete a full hour. The format propelled KNXT to dominate Los Angeles ratings with up to one-quarter of television sets tuned in. The station expanded its news staff and established bureaus in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Orange County.
By 1963, The Big News was extended to a full hour and began color broadcasts by 1966. KNXT eventually offered two and a half hours of local news daily plus a late-night edition. Throughout the 1960s, KNBC was a close competitor for viewers; however, by the mid-1970s KABC-TV gained ground at KNXT’s expense. After dismissing Dunphy in 1975—who subsequently joined KABC—KNXT adopted a "happy talk" style akin to KABC's Eyewitness News, but this change resulted in a significant drop in ratings.
From 1975 through 2006, KNXT/KCBS-TV faced persistent challenges in Los Angeles news ratings amid repeated rebranding efforts—from The Big News/Eleven O’Clock Report to Channel 2 News, then Newsroom, before reverting—often experimenting with formats that failed to resonate. In 1986, a heavily criticized news-wheel approach was briefly implemented before returning to conventional newscasts. KCBS also launched a short-lived 7 p.m. newscast between 1986 and 1987 and was the last local station to maintain a half-hour early evening newscast at 6:30 p.m.
During the late ’80s and early ’90s, KCBS embraced an Action News tabloid format that sparked internal disputes culminating in news director John Lippman’s termination in 1993 amid declining audience numbers. In response, CBS appointed Bill Applegate as general manager; he moderated the format’s tone and recruited prominent anchors from competing stations—including Jerry Dunphy’s return after twenty years away. Additional hires included Ann Martin, Dr. George Fischbeck, Paul Dandridge, Mark Coogan, Larry Carroll, Linda Alvarez, and consumer reporter David Horowitz.
Despite improvements under Applegate’s leadership, his departure following CBS’s merger with Westinghouse in 1996 disrupted progress. The Action News branding was dropped; the station briefly reverted to Channel 2 News before adopting CBS 2 News in 1997. Dunphy left KCBS in 1996 but returned to KCAL a year later.
In 1998, KCBS discontinued its afternoon newscast at four o’clock to air syndicated talk shows like The Howie Mandel Show followed by public affairs programming such as Women 2 Women. After Viacom acquired KCAL-TV, the four o’clock newscast was reinstated exclusively on that station.
Entering the new millennium brought further anchor changes: Kent Shocknek joined as morning co-anchor in 2000; Harold Greene was hired for evening broadcasts in 2001; Laura Diaz joined Greene in 2002; Paul Magers replaced Greene on key evening slots by 2004; Johnny Mountain moved from KABC to KCBS in 2005. Although these changes initially had limited effect on ratings until April of 2006 when KCBS climbed to second place at five p.m., aided by lead-in show Dr. Phil, and claimed first place at eleven p.m.—a position not held for thirty years.
Relocating studios to Studio City in 2007 prompted major personnel shifts along with technological enhancements: several anchors departed; both KCBS and KCAL began airing all local newscasts and public affairs programs in high definition—the third and fourth stations in Los Angeles to do so—and transitioned into a fully tapeless newsroom named after Jerry Dunphy. This facility also functions as CBS News's bureau for Los Angeles and the West Coast.
On April 1, 2008, CBS Television Stations implemented significant budget reductions across its properties. As a result, KCBS/KCAL released approximately ten to fifteen employees; longtime anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin retired as their contracts expired amid layoff considerations; reporters Jennifer Sabih, Greg Phillips, and Jennifer Davis were among those dismissed.
NewsCentral period
On September 19, 2009, KCBS and KCAL introduced the combined NewsCentral brand, shifting their newscasts' focus toward community reporting that included coverage of surrounding areas. A news ticker displayed headlines sourced from the Los Angeles Newspaper Group and other MediaNews Group publications, while viewer-contributed videos and photographs were incorporated into broadcasts. Reporters concluded their stories by mentioning NewsCentral instead of the individual station names, and both stations' logos appeared together on microphone flags and news vehicles. The newscasts asserted they delivered more local news than any other U.S. station, with correspondents stationed in Ventura County, the Inland Empire, and Orange County, supported by two helicopters leased from Angel City Air. The newscast was introduced by Ed Asner. CBS clarified that this initiative was not a response to other stations sharing news resources.
During the November 2009 sweeps, ratings indicated KCBS trailing behind KABC-TV and KNBC in critical time periods. On December 10, 2009, president Patrick McClenehan stepped down after a year in the role and was succeeded by Steve Mauldin, who had previously managed CBS's Dallas–Fort Worth duopoly. That same week, the NewsCentral branding was discontinued, reinstating the CBS 2 News and KCAL 9 News identities. Although NewsCentral graphics and logos remained on screen for a short time, on-air personnel stopped using the brand name.
2010–2022
By early 2010, new leadership had overhauled KCBS' news division. Longtime meteorologist Johnny Mountain retired and was succeeded by Jackie Johnson from sister station KCAL; anchor Paul Magers was joined by Pat Harvey, also from KCAL, on major newscasts. The morning show was rebranded as CBS 2 News, featuring refreshed graphics and theme music composed by Frank Gari, drawing on the enduring ten-note motif originally created by Dick Marx and used intermittently since the 1970s.
On August 3, 2011, the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley was broadcast live from the Dunphy Newsroom, marking the first time a national CBS newscast originated from the Studio City studio.
Beginning January 14, 2012, KCBS and its sister station KCAL launched weekend morning newscasts, entering competition with KABC-TV, KNBC, and KTLA. KCBS was among the last major-market CBS-owned affiliates to introduce local weekend morning news programming.
In June 2019, CBS News debuted a Los Angeles edition of its online news service CBSN, providing exclusive content alongside simulcasts of KCBS and KCAL newscasts as well as selected CBS News programs. This followed the November 2018 launch of Spectrum News 1 Southern California, the region’s second cable/streaming news channel. Prior to this, KCBS had collaborated with the now-defunct Orange County Newschannel (1990–2001), featuring OCN reporters and segments within KCBS newscasts.
2022–present
On July 13, 2022, KCAL announced it would introduce a seven-hour morning newscast running from 4 to 11 a.m., replacing KCBS’ existing morning block. KCBS planned to air the live East Coast edition of CBS Mornings from 4 to 6 a.m. PT, followed by a simulcast of KCAL’s 6 a.m. hour before airing the West Coast edition of CBS Mornings. CBS News and Stations president Wendy McMahon described this change as an "audience growth opportunity," pointing out that early mornings on KCAL had been largely devoted to paid programming.
Concurrently, CBS designated KCAL as its primary local news provider within its Los Angeles duopoly. When KCAL News Mornings premiered on January 5, 2023, both stations rebranded their news departments under the unified name KCAL News, aligning with CBS’s corporate branding strategy. Meanwhile, KCBS transitioned to "CBS Los Angeles," with "CBS LA" becoming widely used by October 2025. At that point, both stations aimed to consolidate their news branding as CBS News Los Angeles, matching their streaming service and other CBS-owned outlets.
Distinguished current on-air personnel
- Paul Deanno – meteorologist
- Pat Harvey – news anchor
- Jim Hill – sports director and anchor
Distinguished former on-air personnel
- Ross Becker – reporter and anchor (1980–1990)
- Joseph Benti – news anchor (late 1970s)
- Jim Castillo – weather anchor (2001–2002)
- Bob Chandler – host of 2 On the Town (1984–1987)
- Sophia Choi
- Connie Chung – reporter and anchor (1976–1983)
- Joel Connable
- Tony Cox – reporter and anchor (1982–1985)
- Ann Curry – reporter (1984–1990)
- Peter Daut – reporter and anchor (2016–2019)
- Laura Diaz – reporter and anchor (2002–2011)
- Linda Douglass – political correspondent (1983–1985)
- Jerry Dunphy – news anchor (1960–1975, 1995–1996)
- Steve Edwards – entertainment reporter, weather forecaster, and Two on the Town host (1978–1981)
- Rich Fields – weather anchor (2010–2016)
- Roy Firestone – sports reporter and anchor (1977–1985)
- Jim Forbes – investigative journalist (1985–1989)
- Dr. George Fischbeck – special correspondent (1994–1997)
- Gary Franklin – entertainment correspondent (1981–1986)
- David Garcia – reporter and anchor (1983–1986)
- Carlos Granda – currently with KABC-TV
- Harold Greene – news anchor (2001–2008)
- Drew Griffin – anchor and reporter (1994–2004)
- Joel Grover – reporter (1996–2002)
- John Hart – reporter (1962–1965)
- Steve Hartman – feature reporter (1994–1998)
- Steve Hartman (sportscaster) – sports anchor (1998–2010)
- Sandra "Sandy" Hill – reporter and anchor (1974–1976, 1982–1986)
- Louisa Hodge – meteorologist and general assignment journalist
- Lester Holt – reporter (1982–1983)
- David Horowitz – consumer affairs reporter (1993–1998)
- Huell Howser – features correspondent (1981–1987)
- Jackie Johnson – meteorologist
- Ken Jones – reporter and anchor (1976–1982)
- Lisa Joyner – entertainment correspondent (2002–2006)
- David Kaye – station announcer (2003–2010)
- Bill Keene – weather presenter, Keene at Noon host, and traffic reporter (1954–1972, 1987–1993)
- Steve Kmetko – entertainment critic and reporter (1980–1992)
- Jim Lampley – sports and news anchor (1987–1992)
- Kelly Lange – host of Women 2 Women (1999–2001)
- Harvey Levin – legal analyst (1987–1997)
- Dorothy Lucey – reporter and anchor (1987–1992)
- Paul Magers – news anchor (2004–2017)
- Dave Malkoff – reporter (2007–2010)
- Mario Machado – consumer affairs correspondent and Noontime host (1969–1977)
- Rory Markas – sports anchor (1990–1996)
- Jess Marlow – news anchor (1980–1986)
- Ann Martin – reporter and anchor (1994–2008)
- Ben McCain – reporter in 2000
- Butch McCain – reporter in 2000
- Gary Miller – sports anchor from 2005 to 2017
- Dan Miller – news anchor/reporter (1986–1987)
- Jim Moret – entertainment correspondent and anchor (1984–1987)
- Byron Miranda – weeknight weather presenter (2002–2005)
- Johnny Mountain – weeknight weather presenter (2005–2010)
- Terry Murphy – news anchor/reporter (1980–1984, 1987–1989)
Digital subchannels
KCBS-TV broadcasts multiple streams within its signal, as detailed below:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect ratio | Identifier | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KCBS-HD | CBS programming |
| 2.2 | 480i | StartTV | Start TV network | |
| 2.3 | Dabl | Dabl network | ||
| 2.4 | FaveTV | Fave TV channel | ||
| 13.2 | 480i | 16:9 | BUZZR | Buzzr (KCOP-TV affiliation) |
Translator stations
- K22NA-D located in Inyokern
- K25QB-D serving Lucerne Valley
- K30GU-D covering Morongo Valley
- K10IX-D based in Newberry Springs
- K15FC-D operating in Twentynine Palms