KATC-TV 3 hit the air in 1962, the same year John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, the average cost of a new automobile was $3,125 and annual tuition at Harvard University was $1,520.
KATC-TV 3 was locally owned by Acadian Television Company. Acadian sold the station to the Abellor Corporation (Jesuits of NOLA) in 1982, with ownership transferring to Loyola University in 1986. In 1987, the station was purchased by RP Companies/ML Partners, who then sold the station to Evening Post Industries, the parent company of Cordillera.
In October 2018, Scripps announced it would acquire KATC-TV 3 and 14 sister stations from Cordillera. The company closed on the deal May 1. The acquisition increased Scripps’ local television station footprint to 61 stations in 41 markets.
KATC-TV 3, an ABC affiliate, serves viewers in the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary and Vermilion. TV 3 is Scripps' first station in the state of Louisiana. It is one of 15 television stations in 10 markets that Scripps acquired from Cordillera Communications.
Give light and the people will find their own way.
KATC-TV 3's journalists live by the station promise to be “Everywhere” news and weather breaks, and to deliver information on every platform. Acadiana’s NewsChannel is the dominant television and digital news source in its market. The Emmy-winning station was named the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters station of the year multiple times, and TV 3 routinely wins more Associated Press awards than any other station in Louisiana.
The KATC-TV 3 commitment to weather is punctuated by Power Doppler HD, the only television station doppler radar in South Louisiana. It features a 14-foot satellite dish towering more than 75 feet high that instantly reports back to the Storm Team 3 Weather Lab.
KATC-TV 3 helps raise millions of dollars every year for their partner community service agencies. The St. Jude campaign tops more than a million dollars annually. Another home raffle is Home for the Holidays, in which one KATC-TV 3 viewer wins a home worth approximately $450,000. The Holidays initiative benefits local shelters, Habitat for Humanity and an area homeless shelter for veterans.
We thank our viewers for making KATC-TV 3 Acadiana's NewsChannel for 60 years!
