KATC (TV)
 
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Lafayette/Lake Charles, Louisiana United States |
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| Branding | KATC TV 3, Acadiana's News Channel |
| Slogan | KATC is everywhere. |
| Channels |
Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 3 () |
| Subchannels | 3.1 ABC 3.2 CW+ 3.3 Grit |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner |
Cordillera Communications (KATC Communications, LLC) |
| First air date | September 19, 1962 |
| Call letters' meaning |
Acadian Television Corporation (former owner) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 3 (VHF, 1962–2009) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW |
| Height | 537 m |
| Facility ID | 33471 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°19′26″N 92°17′25″W / 30.32389°N 92.29028°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.katc.com/ |
KATC, virtual channel 3, is the ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Lafayette, Louisiana; the station is owned by Cordillera Communications, the television subsidiary of the Evening Post Industries. The station's studios are located on Eraste Landry Road on the city's South side and its transmitter (which became operational on November 6, 2007) is located near Branch, Louisiana.
The station began operations on September 19, 1962, and was locally owned by Acadian Television Company. Conventional wisdom suggested it should have signed on as an NBC affiliate, but instead it took the ABC affiliation full-time. Previously, ABC had been limited to off-hours clearances on CBS affiliate KLFY-TV. This was a very unusual move for a then two-station market, especially one of Lafayette's size. Usually, ABC, as the smallest and weakest network, was relegated to secondary status on one or both of the existing stations. However, Lake Charles' KPLC-TV and Baton Rouge's WBRZ-TV (the latter now a fellow ABC affiliate) provided at least grade B coverage to much of the market. In contrast, no ABC affiliate even put a grade B signal into the area. Acadian Television apparently figured that if it linked up with ABC, it would not get much local competition.
KATC coined the term "Acadiana" in the early 1960s and popularized it throughout south Louisiana. In early 1963, the ABC affiliate received an invoice erroneously addressed to the Acadiana Television Corp; someone had typed an extra "a" at the end of the word "Acadian." The station started using it to describe the region covered by its broadcast signal.
Acadian Television sold the station to Loyola University New Orleans in 1982, making it a sister station to New Orleans' CBS affiliate, WWL-TV. In the late 1980s, Loyola divested their broadcast properties, with WWL-TV going to a group of station employees (Rampart Operating Partnership) in 1990 and KATC going to investment firm Merrill Lynch in 1986. In 1993, the station joined other ABC affiliates, including WBRZ in not airing the pilot to NYPD Blue. In 1995, The Evening Post Publishing Company purchased the station. In 2003, the station started broadcasting in stereo.
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