San Francisco-area viewers can get their morning TV news in Chinese.
Lincoln Broadcasting’s KTSF on Monday launched one of the country’s first locally produced Chinese-language morning shows, bringing local news, weather and sports to the market’s robust Chinese community.
The show will air weekdays for two hours starting at 6 a.m. KTSF, which broadcasts exclusively in Chinese, already produces news at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
The news expansion is part of the station's larger effort to offer Chinese-speaking viewers more locally produced programming, said general manager Mark Antonitis.
“What people don’t want to do is tune in and see what’s happening in Beijing, Taiwan and Hong Kong,” he said. “We know from research that they watch to find out what’s happening in the Bay Area.”
In addition to news, KTSF produces local talk and business shows. It also airs entertainment from China and other Asian countries in both Cantonese and Mandarin, Antonitis said.
"We are naturally a starting point for people who are Chinese, who think of themselves as culturally Chinese and particularly for those whose first language is Chinese," he said.
“But that doesn’t mean they don’t have other options,” Antonitis said. “They can watch news on KPIX and KRON and, frankly, more of them do in the mornings. And that’s why we are doing the morning show.”
