Weather is always a major story in Oklahoma City, whether it’s tornadoes, ice or the “Siberian bomb cyclone,” as one general manager put it, that rolled in just before Christmas. That meant snow and ice, brutal winds and extreme cold. 

The Oklahoma City stations were all over it. When the extreme weather turns up, “it’s showtime for our meteorologists,” said Rob Krier, president of Griffin Media, which owns KWTV. 

Griffin holds KWTV, a CBS affiliate and a ratings beast, and MyNetworkTV station KSBI. Nexstar Media Group has NBC outlet KFOR and independent KAUT. Hearst Television owns ABC affiliate KOCO. Sinclair Broadcast Group has KOKH-KOCB, a Fox-The CW pair. 

Cox is the primary cable operator in DMA No. 46.

Oklahoma City is the state capital. The market’s economy was long driven by energy, defense and agriculture but it has diversified, including a growing biotech sector. “Oklahoma City has been able to grow its economy past agriculture and oil and defense,” Brent Hensley, KOCO president and general manager, said. 

Oklahoma City offers an array of entertainment options, including theater, live music, an array of upscale restaurants and breweries and Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball. 

“A lot of people think of Oklahoma as a flyover state, but there’s a little bit of something for everyone,” KWTV VP of marketing Houston Hunt said. “You’re going to find what you’re looking for in Oklahoma City, and you’re not gonna pay through the nose for it.”

Also: Check Out Our Local News Close-Up Profiles on Dozens of U.S. Markets

KWTV devours ratings points. In 2022, the station won the 6 a.m. battle, in households and viewers 25-54, handily. KWTV won 5 and 6 p.m. in both races, and tallied a 6.5 household score at 10 p.m., ahead of KFOR’s 3.7, KOCO’s 3.1 and KOKH’s 0.6. In the 25-54 derby for late news, KWTV had a 1.9, KOCO a 0.9, KFOR a 0.8 and KOKH a 0.3. 

KWTV thrives on local ownership, well-established on-air talent, and a trusted weather team. “We hang our hat on weather,” said Krier. “We probably have the largest weather center in the country.”

KWTV moved into a new downtown facility in November, departing the northeast side of the city, where the other stations are located, and where KWTV spent close to seven decades. The new site is a couple of blocks from City Hall, and one block from the convention center. “It’s a completely different vibe,” said Krier, noting how, among other advantages, employees can walk down the street for dozens of restaurant options. 

Griffin donated the old KWTV building to Langston University, an HBCU that will use it for its aspiring journalists. 

Griffin owns six stations in Oklahoma, including KOTV. “The Griffins continue to be incredibly invested in Oklahoma,” said Krier. 

KWTV’s rivals are hustling to pick up ratings points. KOCO debuted a 4 p.m. newscast in August, replacing The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Zach Rael and Abigail Ogle anchor. The Ogle name is extraordinarily represented in Oklahoma City TV (see sidebar). 

“It has done really well,” Hensley said of the newscast. 

Hensley is bullish on Hearst Television’s Very Local app, which sees the group’s stations share content nationwide. “It’s catching on,” he said. “We’re really encouraged by it.”

KOCO has five meteorologists, with Damon Lane the chief. 

KFOR’s Sunday morning public-affairs program Flashpoint is approaching 30 years on the air. Kevin Ogle hosts, with Michael Turpen representing Democrats and Todd Lamb speaking out for Republicans. Turpen ran for governor in 1986 while Lamb ran for the same post in 2018. Wes Milbourn, KFOR-KAUT VP and general manager, quipped that “you have to run for a major office and lose before becoming co-host.”

Milbourn boasts of talent with deep roots in the market at Oklahoma’s News 4, including Ogle and chief meteorologist Mike Morgan, both with three decades at the station. “They are friends to viewers as they welcome our talent into their homes every night,” said Milbourn. 

The Nexstar stations produce 54½ hours of news a week. On KAUT, known as Freedom 43, Rise and Shine is on 7-9 a.m. “It tries to be a little more entertaining in that particular hour of the day,” Milbourn said. 

KAUT has 9 p.m. weekday news too. 

Diana Wilkin took over as VP and general manager of KOKH-KOCB in late July. Unlike the other Oklahoma City stations, the pair does not have a helicopter. Wilkin said she’s revamping programming and making some management changes. “There’s an opportunity to position ourselves in a stronger way in the market,” she said. 

Jack Gerfen joined as Fox 25 chief meteorologist in August. Shelby Love departed the station last summer when she married, and returned to the anchor desk, hosting mornings, in January. “She brings a renewed energy to our mornings,” said Wilkin. 

KOCB has high school football on Fridays in the fall when Friday Night Rivals airs. Wilkin called it “a great community service project.”

She mentioned Sinclair’s “digital-first” approach, and said it is paying off in Oklahoma City. 

The market’s newly diverse economy is holding up well. The city continues to grow, and the stations are seeing solid returns. “We saw nice momentum from local advertisers in the market through 2022 and despite all the talk of recession, the advertisers I talk to are optimistic about what 2023 holds,” Hensley said. 

Hensley has been the KOCO GM since 1999. The city has “changed immensely” during his time in Oklahoma City, he said. “In my young adult life, downtown Oklahoma City was not someplace you frequented,” he added. “Now it’s a vibrant downtown. There are things to do, places to live, restaurants and activities that were not available before.”

Local TV insiders mentioned vigorous news players in the market. “I’ll put my newscast — any of the market’s newscasts — up against the major market newscast,” Milbourn said. “We can compete with the larger markets in terms of quality of news and quality of anchors.” ▪️

Langston University, a historically Black university based near Oklahoma City, has taken over the former KWTV Oklahoma City building after KWTV parent Griffin Media donated it. KWTV, known as News 9, moved to a downtown location in mid-November. Langston officially takes possession of the building January 3. 

The building is on North Kelley Avenue on the city’s northeast side. Located on a hill, it is a popular site for the TV stations in DMA No. 46 to base their transmitters. KWTV had been there for almost 70 years.

“If we abandon this building, there is going to be a hole in this community, and we just did not want to leave this community alone,” David Griffin, Griffin Media chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “So, we went on a search to see how we could be a part of something bigger than ourselves. And then it just dawned on me, Langston has a journalism program.”

Based in Langston, Oklahoma, a northeast suburb of Oklahoma City, Langston University came to be in 1897. The former Griffin site will be the home for the university’s Center for Media and Community Advancement. 

“There is an entire business behind news production,” Langston University president Kent J. Smith said. “From computer technology to marketing and sales, our students will have the benefit of learning here. Now we can think of Oklahoma City and our Oklahoma City campus in an entirely different realm that we just could not before.”

The new News 9 facility at 100 W. Main Street is “at the heart of Oklahoma City,” according to Rob Krier, president of Griffin Media and KWTV general manager. Griffin Media picked it up for over $16 million, according to The Oklahoman. KWTV is a local ratings beast. 

KWTV talent will teach classes and mentor students at Langston. 

“If you’re looking for something to believe in that will fundamentally change not only Langston University but journalism as a whole there is no doubt in my mind that this is it,” Smith said. “If you cannot get excited about that I do not know what gets you excited.” ■

Despite San Antonio’s drubbing of Oklahoma City, TNT tallied almost 7 million viewers to its coverage of Game 5 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.

TNT netted a 4.3 U.S. household rating for its May 30 presentation of the Spurs’ 117-89 stomp of the Thunder, translating into 6.94 million viewers, according to Nielsen data. That made it the top show on cable last night.

Coupled with the 2.6 overnight mark for the Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA, TNT delivered the two highest-rated and most-viewed shows on cable on Thursday night. Inside the NBA’s performance nearly doubled the show’s average through the first two rounds of the NBA postseason, according to network officials. 

TNT’s San Antonio-OKC telecast peaked with a 5.1 rating and 8.3 million total viewers.

The network’s exclusive coverage of the 2014 NBA Western Conference Finals -- even though there have been four lopsided contests – has averaged 6.43 viewers and a 4.0 rating through five games, up 31% and 29% when compared to ESPN’s 4.89 million viewers and 3.1 mark last year, when the Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies. Under the NBA current national TV contracts, TNT and ESPN/ABC alternate coverage of the conference finals on annual basis.

With two possible playoff games remaining – the home court team has prevailed in all five Spurs-Thunder contests so far – TNT has averaged 4.52 million viewers over 44 contests, up 1% from 4.46 million watchers at the comparable stage of the pro hoops league's 2013 postseason.

TNT’s playoffs' presentations have propelled the network to win the night 19 times among total viewers and 23 times among males 18 to 34 and 18 to 49.