KXAS Goes HD in Dallas

KXAS ramped up its local news, sports, and talk broadcasts in 1080i last weekend with the longtime broadcaster’s mid-morning talk show in Dallas-Ft. Worth (Nielsen DMA No. 5).

The NBC Universal affiliate has a slew of daily newscasts and talk shows, all of which are now airing in HD—including its 5 a.m. , 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news (along with “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” at 5:30 p.m.).

KXAS (NBC 5) said it also helped kick off its HD era by airing several hours of consecutive live local and network HD programming on Sunday, Sept. 9, starting with the Dallas Cowboys season-opening kick off at 5:30 p.m. and winding through its “Out of Bounds” local sports special later that night.

While KXAS says it was the first TV broadcaster to go on-air in Texas (and the first in the Lone Star State to migrate to color), it followed a few other Texas broadcasters into local HD—including KHOU in Houston and WFAA in Dallas, which both converted to local HD news last February (HD Notebook, Feb. 7, 2007).

Later this month, KTVT-KTXA in the Dallas market also will jump to local HD (HD Notebook, Aug. 29, 2007).