TV station spending big to upgrade aerial coverage.......

With springtime severe weather rumbling its way into Oklahoma, KWTV NEWS 9’s new helicopter will be able to reach wall clouds faster with a high-definition camera to capture superior images.

The commitment to broadcast tornadoes, “ominous” clouds and circulations from the air quickly separates Oklahoma City from other TV markets that aren’t as interested in the massive cost.

Officials at NEWS 9 bought a Bell 407 helicopter that is top of the line for news aircraft. The average market value of such a helicopter is $1.5 million.

The helicopter was introduced Monday during the station’s newscasts.

The red and black helicopter will have a new name, SKYNEWS 9, and will feature a high-definition camera on the nose that officials said offers three times the optical zoom capability and six times the image resolution as Ranger 9, the TV station’s previous helicopter that was sold to KOTV-6 in Tulsa.

It also has 400 more horsepower than Ranger 9, is about 35 mph faster and can carry five people instead of two.

Greg Ward, NEWS 9’s news operations manager, was in Tennessee this past week to test the new tool.

“If we had severe weather in Stillwater, instead of it taking 30 minutes to get there, it would take, say, 22,” Ward said while aboard the helicopter.

Despite the hefty price tag, station officials said this market demands excellent weather coverage, which also allows TV stations to broadcast faster other news such as car chases or wildfires.

“It’s very exciting for us to be able to have a tool like this to enhance what we do. It’s going to make covering news a lot easier for us,” said Blaise Labbe, news director at NEWS 9.

“It’s going to change the way news is covered, and it’s going to change the way viewers see news from the air.”

Yawn...........

I know what is coming next.

Channel 5 will bring SKY-5 back to there station with all new equipment.

and/or

KFOR will get a new Chopper 4 or add new equipment to the existing one.

Most of us should be used to the Weather Wars by now.

Last year it was radar envy this year it will be helicopters.

At the beginning of Spring Gary introduced us two MOAR, Then Rick showed off his brand new Advantage Doppler HD, then last but not least Mike showed off his not one but, two brand new radars.

I keep waiting for one of them to come on and say "Now we have five radars. One downtown, One NE, One NW, One SE and One SW. We will be able to tell you where every raindrop hits with pinpoing accuracy."

Oh do not forget the free umbrella if the forecast was wrong? Thanks FOX25 by the way how is the weather in the Carolina's.

Why don't one of the stations make it interesting if the forecast is wrong. The hottest reporter on staff will come wash your car in a G-String.

Channel 5 has huge problems....they share Sky 5 with the other Hearst Argyle Stations, so that's why we don't see it very often.

It's funny the article says they sold the old chopper to Channel 6. Ummmm.....Channel 9 and Channel 6 are both owned by David Griffin.

I had forgotten SKY 5 was back in the day when they were owned by Gannet Television.

If I remember right the helicopter they were using during the wildfires was from Kansas City. I looked up the pilots name online and it matched to a Hearst-Arglye station in Kansas City.

Yeah, Hearst-Argyl has one chopper that they share among their stations. Really puts Channel 5 at the back of the pack when severe weather comes here. They have no chopper.

What is "bog stuff?"

It may just be a fancy helicopter to some, but I know that the fire department was appreciative of it today. The fire chief flew in Skynews9 today, as he was surveying the wild grass fires along the Canadian River.

Yes, the former Ranger 9 is now Skynews 6 here in Tulsa. It isn't Tulsa's first or only live helicopter, but it is the best. KTUL's Ranger 8 still relies on having a camera operator onboard pointing the camera out of the window.

Kind of funny, KOTV used to tout having "Sky 6". In reality, anytime you would see Sky 6 footage on screen, it was just footage from Ranger 9.

Being sister stations, KOTV also has a product like MOAR, but it is called WARN 6 Max.

I think it's cool Channel 9 has a new helicopter with HD technology? What's interesting about it though is they're really talking about how great of an HD picture we're seeing at home with it. Hmmmm....I didn't know that they were broacasting their the local news broadcast in HD. Something is kinda fishy here. The camera is HD. Can record in HD. But broadcast the local news in HD? That costs some serious $$$$$. I think a disclaimer should be in order for Channel 9.