Past programming preemptions and deferrals
As a CBS-owned station, channel 4 cleared the entire network schedule and, after the launch of CBS News Nightwatch in 1982 adopted a 24/7 schedule as a result. When Viacom took over in 1986, this changed rather drastically. KMOV began signing off the air at night, thus preempting Nightwatch. A barrage of scattered prime time preemptions later followed that was so rampant, the station earned a mention in Ken Auletta's 1991 book, Three Blind Mice. KMOV randomly replaced CBS prime time shows with programming such as Billy Graham Crusades and National Geographic specials, syndicated movie packages, and occasional local and regional sporting events, all of which allowed the station and Viacom full control of the ad time airing during the preemptions. According to Auletta, KMOV preempted 103 hours of CBS prime time programs in 1987, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the network prime time schedule.[48] In the 1990s, the prime time preemptions eased as all networks began to tighten down contractually on heavy preemptions, and currently, the station only occasionally preempts a CBS prime time show, usually only due to breaking news or severe weather. The station also resumed a 24-hour broadcast schedule in the early 1990s.
From September 1989 until September 11, 2015, KMOV aired The Young and the Restless on a same-day delay at 3 p.m., and later, at 4 p.m. (serving as a lead-in for its early-evening newscasts), with The Price Is Right airing on a one-hour delay at 11 a.m.; KMOV also delayed The Late Late Show by a half-hour since 1997 under original host Tom Snyder (one of several CBS stations that have done this practice), in order to run syndicated programming after the Late Show with David Letterman (KMOV completely preempted The Late Late Show during the program's first two years on the air). On September 14, 2015, KMOV moved The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless and The Late Late Show to their recommended network time periods with the first full season under Meredith ownership, with the relocation of the former two shows occurring as a result of the launch of a half-hour 4 p.m. newscast.[49]
Sports programming
KMOX/KMOV served as the unofficial home station of the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals from their arrival in St. Louis in 1960 until the 1987 season, when the team relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. It also aired any games of the city's next NFL team, the Rams from 1998 (when CBS acquired the AFC broadcast package) to 2015 (usually home interconference contests), when the Rams returned to Los Angeles.
KMOV aired games of the baseball St. Louis Cardinals from 1990 to 1993 as part of CBS' national broadcast contract with Major League Baseball. In 2025, the Cardinals and KMOV parent Gray Media announced an agreement to simulcast at least 10 games with FanDuel Sports Network Midwest. All games will air on Matrix Midwest with select games also on KMOV.[50]
KMOV was also served as the host of the 2005 Final Four which took place at the Edward Jones Dome.
The station aired St. Louis Blues NHL games for one season, during the 1996–97 season until their over-the-air telecasts moved back to KPLR-TV for the 1997–98 season. In January 2025, the Blues announced an agreement with Gray Media to exclusively broadcast three regular season games during the
Locally produced non-news programming
In 2003, KMOV began producing At the Zoo, a program that gives a behind-the-scenes look inside the St. Louis Zoo and was hosted by meteorologist Kent Ehrhardt (encore presentations of older episodes aired from 2009 to 2011). In September 2008, KMOV premiered Great Day St. Louis, an hour-long daytime talk show, mostly focusing on entertainment and lifestyle topics in the St. Louis area (the show is currently hosted by Matt Chambers, Kent Ehrhardt, and Laura Hettiger). In January 2011, KMOV debuted At the Center, which features an inside look at attractions at the St. Louis Science Center.
News operation
KMOV presently broadcasts 41 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 1/2 hours each weekday, five hours on Saturdays and 3 1/2 hours on Sundays). In addition, the station produces the half-hour sports wrap-up program Sports Sunday, which airs on Sundays after the 10 p.m. newscast. Many members of KMOV's on-air news staff have moved on to work for national news organizations (Richelle Carey and meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, for example, both joined CNN in 2006). While it would seem like a positive aspect, the "revolving door" turnover rate of its anchors and reporters has been one of KMOV's weaknesses over the years (especially under CBS ownership, where it had the same "farm team" talent development role WKYC in Cleveland played for NBC), leading to the unfamiliarity that many of the station's on-air personalities have in the market. Though this may have initially caused some issues for KMOV, ratings for channel 4's newscasts have since increased. Since the departure of Karen Foss from KSDK in December 2006, Larry Conners assumed the title of the longest-serving 10 p.m. news anchor in the market until he was fired by the station in 2013 after a Facebook post questioning if he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service in the wake of a contentious interview with President Barack Obama during the 2012 election cycle.[52]
In 1976, channel 4 became the second station to adopt Dick Marx's "WBBM Channel 2 News Theme", that eventually became the de facto official newscast music for CBS' owned-and-operated stations.
- Joe Buck – reporter
- Richelle Carey – reporter (2003–2006)
- Dan Dierdorf – sports director
- Roger Grimsby – reporter/news correspondent (1959–1961)
- Jim Hart – sports anchor
- Linda Lorelle – reporter (late 1980s)
- Russ Mitchell – anchor/reporter (late 1980s)
- Regis Philbin – hosted one of his early syndicated shows from the KMOX-TV studios (1972–1975)
- Steve Savard – sports anchor (1997–2013) and news anchor (2013–2020)
- Barry Serafin – anchor/reporter (1967–1971)
- Reynolds Wolf – meteorologist (2005–2006)
