Founded in 1954, ABC13 (KTRK-TV) was established by a group of local businessmen and civic leaders, known as the Houston Consolidated Television Company. The idea was to bring a new, high-quality television station to the rapidly growing city of Houston to compete with existing channels. The group included prominent local figures who wanted to expand information and entertainment access for the region. Eventually, the station was purchased by Capital Cities (which later bought ABC), and today, it is owned by The Walt Disney Company as one of their select "owned-and-operated" stations. Today, ABC13 is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and is one of the most-watched stations in the region. They cover a wide variety of topics, including breaking local news, severe weather and traffic updates, and Houston-area sports. Because they are an ABC affiliate, they also cover national politics and entertainment news, serving as a major information hub for the massive Houston metropolitan area. One interesting fact: A unique fact about ABC13 is that one of its most famous reporters, Marvin Zindler, broke the story that inspired a Broadway musical and a Hollywood movie. In 1973, Zindler exposed an illegal brothel known as the "Chicken Ranch," and his reporting led to the creation of the famous film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.