KCAL, the independent arm of the CBS-owned duopoly in Los Angeles, made history on August 11, 2025, by presenting its 10 a.m. newscast entirely from its extended reality studio. Morning anchor Chris Holmstrom heralded the event on social media, boasting it as the market's first newscast produced using a virtual set.
The station utilizes an existing studio launched in June 2025. “It’s bold. It’s fresh. It’s never been done here before,” Holmstrom stated. This advancement is part of a broader initiative by CBS-owned stations nationwide to install large virtual studio facilities. These facilities typically involve a chroma key volume and an array of specialized camera and tracking systems.
In Los Angeles, the same news department serves both KCBS and KCAL, though both stations brand on-air as “KCAL News” since early 2023. The CBS News Los Angeles name is also used. Prior to this transition, the studio primarily hosted weather and sports segments, a common practice among sister stations.
CBS News 24/7 utilizes a similar virtual studio shared with New York’s WCBS for its “CBS News 24/7 Primetime” whip-around newscast. This studio also features in “CBS Evening News,” which originates from an LED volume in Studio 47 at the network’s New York headquarters, employing virtual set extensions.
CBS News has a history with chroma key technology, notably in the production of “60 Minutes,” albeit on a smaller scale. “CBS News Sunday Morning” also uses a key wall for anchor intros, combining 3D renderings and real set photographs. KTVT in Dallas–Ft. Worth, Texas, also uses a green screen space for most of its news, while retaining a smaller hard set.
It remains uncertain whether KCAL News will expand virtual studio production to other newscasts or adopt it as its primary format. CBS News and Stations are aggressively developing a network of AR and VR studios nationwide, exceeding other station groups in scale and speed, though similar setups exist elsewhere.