KCAU-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting digitally on VHF channel 9. The KCAU TV Tower is a guyed mast for TV transmission in Sioux City at 42°35′12.2″N 96°13′57.1″W / 42.586722°N 96.232528°W / 42.586722; -96.232528. The tower was built in 1965 and is 609.9 meters (2000 feet) high. It is tied for the tallest structure of the state and is one of the tallest structures in America.

Digital television [link]

In 2009, KCAU added The Local AccuWeather Channel as a digital subchannel. Until January 16, 2012, KCAU was the only station owned by Citadel Communications to carry AccuWeather programming on a digital subchannel; sister stations KLKN, WOI-DT, and WHBF-TV instead carried RTV on their DT2 subchannels, while WLNE-TV did not offer a DT2 subchannel. KCAU-DT2 originally identified as "KCAU WeatherNow" but by 2010 was instead branded as "Accuweather 9".

On January 16, 2012, KCAU, along with all of its sister stations, began broadcasting Disney/ABC's Live Well Network on its digital subchannel, replacing "Accuweather 9".^[1]

History [link]

KCAU signed on air as KVTV on March 9, 1953. It is western Iowa's oldest television station. KCAU was primarily affiliated with the CBS network, but it also carried programs from ABC, NBC and DuMont. It lost NBC in 1954 when KTIV signed on. KVTV was sold to Forward Broadcasting in 1965, who, effective in the late summer of 1967, changed the call letters to KCAU-TV and the primary network affiliation to ABC on September 2 of that year; their last broadcast as a CBS affiliate was of Tom and Jerry at 12 noon, then they carried ABC's American Bandstand at 12:30 PM. This left Sioux City without a local CBS outlet until September 5, 1967, when KMEG-TV signed on and took the CBS affiliation. KTIV did carry tape-delays of a few ABC programs KCAU didn't have for several days after KCAU took the primary ABC affiliation.

Citadel Communications (not to be confused with the larger Citadel Broadcasting, the former owner of numerous radio stations across the U.S.) bought the station in 1985, also purchasing Albion, Nebraska, station KBGT-TV (channel 8) a year later; that station was converted into KCAN, a satellite of KCAU. (Citadel moved KCAN's license to Lincoln, Nebraska and converted the station into KLKN, a standalone ABC affiliate, in 1996.)

From 1953 to 1985 KCAU was home to Canyon Kid's Corner, a popular children's show in the area, and it was hosted by longtime KCAU announcer Jim Henry during the entire run of the program.

Until 2011, KCAU did not carry ABC World News Now. Instead, the station joined its fellow Citadel stations in signing off every night at 1:05 a.m., one of the few stations in the United States to do so. World News Now's current run on KCAU is its second; the station had aired the program during the early 2000s.

News operation [link]

In December 2006, KCAU received new graphics and Frank Gari's Eyewitness News (ABC O&O News Collection) music package, but did not drop Eyewitness News branding, like sister stations WOI-TV and WHBF-TV did. Since noon February 17, 2009, KCAU's broadcasts have been digital-only.^[2]

KCAU began broadcasting local news in high-definition on November 23, 2010, the first station in the Sioux City market to do so (KMEG/KPTH began broadcasting 16x9 widescreen news earlier, but not HD).

News/station presentation [link]

Newscast titles [link]

• TV-9 News (1960s)
• Major 9 Report (1970s-early 1980s)
• Major 9 News (early 1980s-1993)^[3]
• News 9 (1993–2001)^[4]
• Channel 9 Eyewitness News (2001–present)

Station slogans [link]

• "Together, We're Making a Difference" (1989–1993; used during period station used Frank Gari's "Making a Difference")
• "Siouxland's Most Experienced News Team" (1989–1993)
• "You'll Say I See" (2001–2006)
• "Siouxland's ABC" (2006–2011)
• "Channel 9, Start Here" (2009–present; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• "Siouxland's ABC in High Definition" (2011–present)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

News team [link]

[edit] Current on-air staff^[5]

Anchors

• Jessica Cihacek - weekend evenings; also weeknight reporter
• Chris Liberto - weekday mornings and weekdays at 11:30 a.m.
• Jenna Rehnstrom - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Larry Wentz - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

ESP:Weather

• Fred Hexom - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Karissa Sanford - meteorologist; weekday mornings and weekdays at 11:30 a.m.
• Scott Larson - meteorologist; weekend evenings

Sports team

• Tim Seaman - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
• Jon Tritsch - sports anchor; weekend evenings

Reporters

• Aaron Adelson - general assignment reporter
• Stacey Alletto - general assignment reporter
• Staci DaSilva - general assignment reporter
• Tanya De Jesus - general assignment reporter
• Hollie Hojek - general assignment reporter

Notable former on-air staff [link]

• Najahe Sherman (now anchor and reporter at KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri)

See also [link]

• List of masts

References [link]

External links [link]

• KCAU website
• KCAU-TV history
• Listing 1018564 in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration database
• https://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b7114
• KCAU TV Tower at Structurae
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KCAU
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCAU-TV