A&E will chronicle the exploits of a Houston-based, all-Latin homicide unit in a new documentary series, The Chicano Squad.

The four-hour series will follow the groundbreaking team of bilingual patrol officers who were promoted to detectives dedicated to tackling Houston’s soaring rate of Latin homicide cases in 1979, said A&E officials.

According to the network, decades of disregard and corruption inside the Houston Police Department led to widespread police brutality and hundreds of unsolved homicides in the city’s Latin neighborhoods. One officer, Jim Montero, had a vision to form a unit uniquely designed to solve them, so he and five bilingual Mexican American department rookies were given 90 days to solve all open Latin murder cases, regain the trust of the community and assist in any new crimes involving Spanish-speaking people.

“The Chicano Squad were a groundbreaking ground breaking group of law enforcement officers who broke down barriers and served their community with distinction,” A&E executive VP and head of programming Elaine Frontain Bryant said in a statement. “This documentary will tell the untold story of the Chicano Squad, from their humble beginnings to their trailblazing work building trust between the police and the communities they served.”

The Chicano Squad is executive produced by Patrick Reardon, Brian Nashel, Eric Wetherington, Lawrence Bender, Kevin Kelly Brown, Sergio Selvera, Nancy De Los Santos and Mario Diaz.  

KRIV Houston, known as Fox 26, premieres weeknight program The Nightcap October 10 in the 11:30 p.m. CT slot. The show “will explore all of the taboo and provocative topics that television often avoids,” Fox 26 said. Carolina Sanchez hosts, Raabe Pegado produces and Jake Hooper edits and handles photography.  

The half-hour program follows The Isiah Factor: Uncensored. It will stream on Fox Soul. 

“We hope to add The Nightcap to our successful list of non-news local programming initiatives which already include What’s Your Point and The Isiah Factor: Uncensored,” said D’Artagnan Bebel, senior VP and general manager, KRIV. “We have taken non-traditional routes of identifying passions and potential within our station’s talent to create successful brands and shows that showcase them and resonate with viewers. Producer Raabe Pegado and host Carolina Sanchez are the next winning combination.”

The Nightcap will feature interviews with newsmakers and celebrities visiting its pink couch to share their opinions on controversial topics. The set will include a full bar with a rotating cast of bartenders pouring up cocktails. 

“We’re using this unique opportunity to talk about all the stuff you’re not supposed to talk about — especially on TV!” Sanchez said. “We’ll explore and question other lifestyles and cultures with an enthusiastic, open mind and hope to leave our viewers happily pondering new perspectives.” 

Sanchez joined Fox 26 in late 2013 as an associate producer, before transitioning to the digital team, where she led coverage for major events. Sanchez moved on to host the station’s social-media news show The Break. ■

The Big Freeze, as it is known, took over in Texas just over a year ago. Severe storms caused a massive grid failure, knocking out power for millions of homes. The temps got downright cold again in early February 2022 in Houston, and many lost power. 

But things were nowhere near as frightful as they were a year ago. 

“Everybody’s sensitivity level is so high,” Wendy Granato, KTRK president and general manager, said. “Folks have been through so much. Add it to the list — hurricanes, tornadoes, crazy crime and now we get freezes.”

To be sure, Houston is in a good place these days. The oil industry that fuels the local economy is on solid footing and the region for years has worked to diversify its business portfolio, with the likes of health care, aerospace and the legal profession growing. “There’s such an influx of companies coming into Houston,” John Hannon, KXLN president and general manager, said. “Oil and gas used to drive 100% of the economy, and now it’s a smaller percentage.”

ABC owns KTRK and Graham Media Group has NBC affiliate KPRC. Fox owns KRIV-KTXH, and Tegna has CBS outlet KHOU. Univision owns KXLN and Telemundo holds KTMD. 

Also: 10 Stations Coordinate in Houston To Launch NextGen TV

Comcast is the primary pay TV operator in DMA No. 8. 

Robust Competition

KTRK, which uses an Eyewitness News branding, rules the English-language stations and KXLN does so on the Spanish-language side — often winning the overall ratings races. Everyone competes; one GM notes how the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations all occupied the top spot at 10 p.m. for a period last year. 

In January, KTRK won 6-7 a.m. in households, and it and KRIV took the viewers 25-54 derby. At 5 and 6 p.m., it was KTRK again in households and KXLN in the demo. (KXLN offers network news at 5:30 and network entertainment programming at 6.) At 10 p.m. in January, KXLN posted a 3.2 in households, and KTRK got a 3.1. KPRC got a 2.8 and KHOU a 2.7, while KRIV scored a 1.8 and KTMD a 1.5. In the late-news demo in January, KXLN ran away with it, posting a 2.7, with KTMD at 0.8, KPRC, KTRK and KRIV at 0.7 and KHOU at 0.5. 

KTRK is a power thanks to a bullish digital strategy, signature long-form reporting and its own helicopter, among other attributes, with the competition sharing a chopper. The station is ramping up Spanish-speaking personnel on both sides of the camera. “If you don’t serve the Hispanic audience in the Houston area, you will not be Houston’s news leader for very long,” Granato said. 

KXLN knows all about serving the Hispanic audience, with morning news, an 11:30 newscast, and news at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. KXLN introduced a new news set in early February. Its 11:30 a.m. news, Edicion Digital, has a digital focus, as the name suggests. “It’s not your hard and fast like you see at 5 and 11,” Hannon said. “It’s shorter clips and stories where you want to go online and explore it deeper.”

Fully 45% of the city population is Hispanic, according to Census.gov. Asked what they like about Houston, every general manager who responded for this story mentioned the diversity. As one put it, in other multicultural cities, one goes out to a restaurant and sees a variety of ethnicities around them. In Houston, the range of ethnicities is in your dinner party. 

“The sheer diversity of the city is such an asset,” Robert Springer, KHOU president and general manager, said. “There’s a real sense of community, and people are proud to be from Houston.”

Houston gained nearly 240,000 homes from 2020 to 2021, per Nielsen, and the stations are working hard to turn the new arrivals into viewers. Morning news is a giant business, with plenty of shift workers in the health care and energy fields. KHOU revamped its a.m. program amidst the pandemic, slowing things down a bit. “Not everybody is trying to race out the door first thing in the morning,” Springer said. “We’re not in as much of a rush as we were before, so we added more context.”

KPRC has an Insider program, where users sign up to receive exclusive content and giveaways. The real membership push began late summer, said Jerry Martin, KPRC VP/general manager, and numbers are over 100,000. “It’s in the beginning stages, and we keep tailoring it,” he said.

Lots of Local Innovations 

KPRC has Houston Life at 3 p.m. Martin calls it a “nontraditional lifestyle show” with “very, very few sales elements.” The plan is to expand the program to two hours next year. “It won’t be news, but it won’t be all cooking, recipes and restaurant openings either,” he said. “It’s information that can make your life better.”

KRIV, known as Fox 26, has signature news segments such as “Breaking Bond,” about felons released on their own recognizance who commit violent crimes after their release, and “The Missing,” about missing persons in the area. 

“We don’t just shine a light on the issue, we cause people to take action,” D’Artagnan Bebel, senior VP and general manager, said. 

Fox 26 offerings include Sunday political show What’s Your Point, which Bebel said is “not your father’s political show,” and the live-streamed Lunch for the Soul, hosted by anchor Melissa Wilson. “People are hungry for stories of faith and personal success and how do you create an environment of hope and happiness,” Susan Schiller, KRIV VP and news director, said.

KTRK introduced a live 24/7 streaming channel, along with the rest of the ABC group, on the last day of January. It adds 17 hours a week of live news on the platform, streaming from 4:30 to 9 a.m. weekdays, with the premiere of Eyewitness News at 8:00 A.M. with Jonathan Bruce. “It won’t be long before we launch a 9 a.m., a 10 a.m.,” said Granato. 

Univision has a substantial stash of media in Houston. Besides KXLN, there’s a UniMas station and five radio outlets. 

Keaton Fuchs became KTRK news director in July following roles as digital producer, investigative producer and head of content and data strategy for the station. “He’s done just about everything you can do in the newsroom,” Granato said. “Keaton is a data geek who’s obsessed with what the data can tell us about what the audience wants.”

Two years ago, Tegna acquired KTBU Houston, and airs its Quest programming. 

The station execs in Houston mention a big-city market full of worthy news outlets covering local stories that often go national. “It’s just a go-go market,” Springer said. “It takes a lot of resilience to work in Houston. The pace here is just so intense.”

Bring your A-game every day, they say, or you’ll lose your perch. “Let your guard down for one day in Houston, and you’ll get your butt beat,” Granato said. “I love that and would not have it any other way.” ■

Video streaming service UMC (Urban Movie Channel) will debut its latest original drama series, 5th Ward, on March 2, the company said.

The series depicts the life and struggles of residents from Houston’s 5th Ward community, according to company officials. Grammy-winning artist Mya (Chicago) leads an ensable cast that includes Carl Anthony Payne (The Game), Thomas “Nephew Tommy” Miles (Think Like a Man), Gary Sturgis (Daddy’s Little Girls), Corr Kendricks (Showtime’s The Chi, Fox's Empire), Chris O’ Neal (Greenhouse Academy) and Christopher Jefferson (Boy Bye).

UMC will stream the six-epispode series on a weekly basis beginning March 2, said officials of the African-American targeted streaming service.

The service also announced it will premiere on Friday (Feb. 23) the music documentary I Am The Blues, which takes a nostalgic musical tour of the juke joints, backroads and church halls of the Mississippi Delta.

Hurricanes in Florida and Texas drove down video customer rolls by about 125,000 in the third quarter, but gains in high speed data subscriptions helped boost overall customer relationships by 115,000 homes.

Comcast had earlier warned that severe storms that ripped through Houston, Texas and western Florida would impact video customer growth in the period. At an investor conference last month, newly minted Comcast EVP of Xfinity Services Matt Strauss estimated that the customer losses would be between 100,000 and 150,000 customers. In the end, Comcast ended up in the middle – losing 125,000 video subscribers. But a gain of 214,000 high-speed internet customers helped steer overall customer relationships into the black. For the period, Comcast said it added 83,000 residential customer relationships and 32,000 business customer relationships. Comcast lost about 94,000 phone customers but added 51,000 security and automation subscribers.

High speed data revenue rose 8.9% in the period and video revenue increase 4.2%, mostly reflecting rate increases, additional revenue associated with a boxing event available on pay-per-view and an increase in the number of customers subscribing to additional services. Business services revenue increased 12.6%, primarily due to increases in the number of customers receiving our small and medium-sized business services offerings.

Total cable systems revenue increased 5.1% to $13.2 billion and cash flow increased 5.2% to $5.25 billion.

Consolidated revenue dipped 1.6% to $20.98 billion in the period, while cash flow increased 5% to $7.2 billion.

“I’m very pleased with the company’s operational and financial results during the quarter, Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement. “Across Comcast NBCUniversal, we are uniquely positioned with a broad range of growth opportunities that set us up well for the future.

The Fox Sports Network Engineering & Operations hub in The Woodlands, Texas, about 40 miles north of Houston, delivered 78 live events over the weekend of the disastrous rainfall and flooding from Hurricane Harvey, even though only about 120 employees were able to be there (about 40% of the staff).

Through last Wednesday (Aug. 30) the live events figure was up to 104, and some employees still were unable to get to the building because of the flood conditions.

About 20 close family members also took residence in the facility, which is the master control center for all 21 of Fox’s regional sports networks.

Fox said a number of employees suffered severe losses in terms of home and vehicle damage. The Woodlands did not receive as much rainfall as Houston, but still had 19 inches of rain as of last Monday (Aug. 28) with more expected that day.

“The company and the facility have come through with flying colors so far,” Eric Shanks, Fox Sports president and chief operating officer, told The Wire. He added: “But that’s not our main concern. It’s the people who actually live in the area, now that it’s only going to get worse from here on out.”

Fox is focused on providing financial assistance, Shanks said, matching contributions to United Way of Greater Houston and priming the pump with $100,000. And 21st Century Fox is setting up an internal fund for employees to apply for grants “to repair whatever they need to repair, living expenses, to get back to where they need to be.”

Shanks said the facility was designed to be able to live out of: “walk-in freezers, sides of beef, red beans and rice cooking every day, showers, everything.” Hot water, though, has been in short supply.

This article appears in the Sept. 4 edition of Multichannel News's Through the Wire.

Comcast said Thursday that its maintenance technicians are working in all areas of Houston where power has been restored and roads are accessible.

Those areas include Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Fort Bend, Harris, Liberty and Montgomery Counties, the operator said.

Most of the remaining outages are due to loss of commercial power to its network in the area, Comcast said, adding that it’s deploying generators in neighborhoods to power the network until commercial power is restored.

Comcast, which began its assessment and restoration phase in the area amid the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey yesterday, said “hundreds” of technicians along with resources from other parts of the country have begun to arrive in Houston to help with the restoration process.

RELATED: Comcast Starts Assessment, Restoration Phase in Houston

“The assessment of Comcast facilities, services and network continues in high-impacted areas as flood waters recede,” the company said. “Comcast is working diligently to restore service to all impacted customers as quickly and safely as possible.”

Additionally, all Xfinity stores in Houston are open and operating under normal business  hours, Comcast said.

Comcast and NBCU have committed $1 million-plus to support Houston-area relief efforts through cash and in-kind contributions.

RELATED: Comcast-NBCU Commits $1M-Plus to Hurricane Harvey Relief

Comcast also has opened up 53,000 Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the Houston area. Under the current plan, non-Comcast customers can access those access points for free through Friday, Sept. 8.

Comcast and NBCUniversal have committed more than $1 million in cash and in-kind contributions toward relief efforts for flooding and other devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.

The commitment for those Houston-area relief efforts includes $500,000 in cash to be shared between Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and the American Red Cross.

Related: Comcast Temporarily Suspends Operations in Houston

Comcast said it will also donate advertising time on its cable systems to those organizations to run public service announcements to help educate concerned citizens about how they can assist with flood relief efforts.

Its owned NBC and Telemundo stations also are implementing local phone banks and telethons to raise awareness of ways communities can help with the crisis in Houston, the company said.

Related: Verizon Commits $10 Million to Harvey Relief

Comcast, which had suspended operations in Houston as a safety precaution, has also opened 53,000 Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the Houston area to customers and non-customers to help residents and emergency workers there stay connected.

Communications companies continue to up the ante on help for Hurricane Harvey-related areas.

Verizon said late Tuesday (Aug. 29) that it was pledging $10 million to fund relief efforts through four non-profit organizations to meet short- and long-term needs.

Related: Verizon Offers Communications Help to Harvey-Affected Customers

In addition, the company is:

"Relieving postpaid customers of data, talk and text charges and giving prepaid customers an extra 3 GB to be used for data, talk and text from Aug. 26 through September 15.  The September 15 date reflects a one-week extension to what was previously announced.

"Deploying mobile equipment including Cells on Wheels (COWs), and Cells on Light Trucks (COLTS) to supplement service in areas of South Texas that need extra network capacity. Verizon has staged additional equipment and is prepared for rapid deployment as needed in hard-hit areas. This initiative is part of a network investment of nearly $1 billion in 2016 in the state of Texas.

"Working closely with several federal and local government agencies to help support first responders on the ground with much needed communications services.

"Staffing shelters with Verizon employees in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio to assist first responders and displaced residents with mobile charging, internet access and other communications needs.

"Along with its subsidiary Oath, the company is providing financial support to residents of Houston and South Texas with dollar-for-dollar matches of employees’ contributions to select relief-focused organizations. Oath also will match consumers’ contributions to select relief-focused organizations when they donate after visiting one of Oath’s web properties. More information can be found at https://yahoo.benevity.org/community.

"Offering emergency financial assistance to employees who have been affected by this tragedy though both its employee assistance program and its VtoV program where employees can donate funds to help fellow employees affected by a natural or personal disaster. In addition, to reinforce our long- term commitment to the communities we serve, Verizon will be offering it’s more than 10,000 employees who work in the states of Texas and Louisiana the opportunity to volunteer for the Harvey recovery effort over the coming months and receive up to a weeks vacation for their time."

Other cable and telecom companies assisting with relief efforts via services and donations include Altice USA, Comcast-NBCU, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Altice USA said it will provide customer support and employee assistance as part of the company’s Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

As part of that, Altice USA said it’s making a $50,000 donation to the Red Cross of Texas, and is providing the Red Cross with free advertising time across its Optimum and Suddenlink systems nationwide.

Altice USA, which acquired Suddenlink in late 2015, said it’s also in contact with local officials to determine how donations made by its employees may be utilized to help the affected communities.

Related: Comcast Temporarily Suspends Operations in Houston

Altice USA said it has also implemented the following measures:

-Customer accounts for those who have lost service due to flooding will be credited for equipment and services dating back to August 25.

-Suddenlink customers will not be charged for lost or damaged equipment.

-An Employee Disaster Relief Fund has been established to assist employees directly affected by Hurricane Harvey, and the company will match the employee contributions.

-Altice USA employee volunteers from around the country are traveling to assist the Company and its employees with customer restoration and recovery efforts.

Related: More Cell Sites Out, Cable Outages From Harvey

The operator said its employees are “working around the clock” where physical access has been permitted, including Victoria, Texas, to assist affected Suddenlink customers, local communities and employees.

Additionally, the Suddenlink retail store in Victoria (105 Industrial Dr.) is open and will provide free WiFi and charging stations for all residents, the company said.

Comcast said Monday that it is continuing to suspend operations in the Houston area until local emergency management agencies deem it safe to be on the roads as the region continues to grapple with the destruction and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey.

“Restoration crews remain on standby,” Comcast said, in a statement. “Once clearance is granted, Comcast's maintenance technicians will be dispatched to begin assessment and restoration efforts throughout the Greater Houston Area including Galveston, Liberty, Brazoria, Harris and Fort Bend Counties.”

Related:AT&T Deploys Portable Cell Sites, Charging Stations Following Hurricane Harvey | Verizon Offers Communications Help to Harvey-Affected Customers|T-Mobile Offering Free Data to Harvey-Affected Subs |More Cell Sites Out, Cable Outages From Harvey

 Comcast Houston’s Twitter handle noted that most service outages in the area are because of power outages:

Vast majority of our outages are due to power failures that affect our network. As power is restored our services typically are as well.

— Comcast Houston (@ComcastHouston) August 28, 2017

To help residents and emergency personnel stay connected, Comcast earlier this week opened access to more than 53,000 Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the Greater Houston area.

Comcast said it has extended open access to that WiFi network until September 8.

To gain access, Comcast high-speed internet customers need locate and select WiFi networks bearing the “xfinitywifi” SSID and then launch a browser.

Non-Comcast subs are advised to visit the “Not an XFINITY Internet Customer” section on the sign in page to get started.  Those non-subs will need to renew their complimentary session every two hours, Comcast said.

DirecTV Sports Networks has hired David Peart as general manager of its Root Sports Southwest network.

Peart, an executive with a quarter century of experience in the sports and entertainment industries, most recently with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, will have day-to-day oversight for the regional sports network that is home to the NBA's Rockets and MLB's Astros.

When he begins his new job on March 2, Peart will report to DirecTV Sports Networks president Patrick Crumb,

Root Sports Southwest replaced CSN Houston in November through a bankruptcy transaction. The RSN, which counts both DirecTV and AT&T U-verse as owners and is carried by the lhe would-be merger partners, has registered a significant ratings rise in the Houston DMA over the 2013-14 NBA season. Not only are the Rockers performing well on the court, the expanded distribution footprint has helped the service record a 32% increase to a 1.56 household rating in the Houston area through the All-Star break.

Peart comes to the network with some roots in the Lone Star State, spending nine years with NFL, MLB and NHL teams in Texas. He previously worked at the Texas Rangers/Dallas Stars organization as assistant vice presidents sponsorship and sales and then moved to the NNFL Houston Texans in the role of vice president, business development. While with the Texans he played a leadership role in launching the expansion franchise and associated business initiatives. Most recently he served as senior vice president for the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he was responsible for all local revenue and business development.      

“We are happy to have David lead the Root Sports Southwest team,” said Crumb. “His extensive experience, particularly with the region’s advertising sales community, and his existing relationships with team partners, will be a huge asset. His strong relationships in Houston, as well as his collaborative leadership approach, make him an excellent fit for this position.”

“I spent many wonderful years with teams in the Southwest market, and my heart is still in Texas, so I’m excited about returning to Houston,” said Peart. “I also look forward to working with the exceptional team of professionals at ROOT SPORTS Southwest to maximize the great potential of this new network.”