KNOP-TV

Last updated
KNOP-TV
KNOP logo 2023.svg
Fox k11t logo small.png
Channels
Branding
  • KNOP 2; KNOP News 2
  • Fox 11 (DT2)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KIIT-CD, KNPL-LD, KNEP, KNHL, KOLN/KGIN, KSNB-TV, WOWT
History
First air date
December 15, 1958(65 years ago) (1958-12-15)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 2 (VHF, 1958–2009)
  • Digital: 22 (UHF, until 2009)
Call sign meaning
North Platte
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 49273
ERP 16 kW
HAAT 196 m (643 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 41°12′13″N100°44′0″W / 41.20361°N 100.73333°W / 41.20361; -100.73333
Links
Public license information
Website www.knopnews2.com

KNOP-TV (channel 2) is a television station in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside two low-power stations: CBS affiliate KNPL-LD (channel 10) and Class A Fox affiliate KIIT-CD (channel 11). The three stations share studios on South Dewey Street in downtown North Platte; master control and some internal operations are based at the facilities of sister station KOLN on North 40th Street in Lincoln. KNOP-TV's transmitter is located at the site of its former studio on US Route 83 north of North Platte.

Contents

KNEP (channel 4) in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, operates as a semi-satellite of KNOP-TV.

History

KNOP-TV was founded by local investors headed by attorney Rush Clarke and went on-air December 15, 1958. [2]

In 1968, it was purchased by Richard F. Shively, Harold O. Shively and Ulysses Carlini Sr. [3] Richard died on December 4, 2003. [4] In 1997, Shively and Carlini bought KHAS-TV in Hastings, and formed Greater Nebraska Television as a holding company for their television interests.

In 2005, Greater Nebraska Television sold its stations (including KNOP-TV) to Hoak Media. [5]

KNOP started rebroadcasting NBC programming in high definition, and carrying K11TW's Fox programming on its second digital subchannel, in March 2011. [6]

KNOP gained national attention in February 2012 for being the only station in the country to air a Will Ferrell-produced Super Bowl commercial for Old Milwaukee beer. [7] [8]

On November 20, 2013, Hoak announced the sale of most of its stations, including KNOP-TV and K11TW, to Gray Television. The sale made them sister stations to North Platte CBS affiliate KNPL-LD, a semi-satellite of Gray's KOLN/KGIN; it would have also partially separated KNOP from KHAS-TV, which was planned to be sold to Excalibur Broadcasting but be operated by Gray's KOLN/KGIN and KSNB-TV through a shared services agreement. [9] However, in the wake of heightened FCC scrutiny about local marketing agreements, on June 11, 2014, KHAS-TV announced it would leave the air at midnight on June 13 and NBC programming would be moved to KSNB-TV and the digital subcarrier of KOLN/KGIN. [10] The whole sale was completed on June 13. [11] (KHAS was ultimately sold to Legacy Broadcasting, [12] the call letters were changed to KNHL, [13] and it returned to the air in June 2015 as a SonLife Broadcasting Network affiliate. [14]

On September 14, 2015, Gray announced that it would purchase the television and radio stations owned by Schurz Communications, including Scottsbluff, Nebraska based KDUH-TV (a satellite of Rapid City's ABC-affiliated KOTA-TV) for $442.5 million. [15] [16] [17] Gray planned to convert KDUH into a semi-satellite of KNOP-TV, [18] [19] change the station's call letters to KNEP, and also change KDUH/KNEP's city of license to Sidney, Nebraska (which will move it from the Cheyenne–Scottsbluff market to the Denver market, eliminating an ownership conflict with KSTF, a Gray-owned, Scottsbluff-based semi-satellite of Cheyenne, Wyoming-based CBS affiliate KGWN-TV). [20] [21] [22] The sale approved by the FCC on February 12, 2016, [23] and was completed on February 16. [24] The FCC approved the change of station's city of license on May 16. [25] KNEP's NBC feed for the Nebraska Panhandle (which is branded as "NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff" and produces its own newscasts) signed on May 5, 2016. [26] The station formerly aired KOTA-TV programming on its DT1 channel until 2020. [27]

Newscasts

KNOP-TV presently broadcasts 17 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with three hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station also produces 2+12 hours of weekly news programming each for CBS and Fox affiliated sister stations KIIT-CD and KNPL-LD. Between the three stations, the news operation produces about 22 hours of news programming each week.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KNOP-TV [28]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
2.1 1080i 16:9 KNOP NBC
2.2 720p KIIT Fox (KIIT-CD)
2.3 480i ION TV Ion Television
2.4CIRCLE Circle
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

KNOP-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on February 10, 2009. [29] [30] The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 22 to VHF channel 2 for post-transition operations. [31]

Related Research Articles

In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time-buy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray Television</span> American television broadcast company

Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United States in 113 markets. Its station base consists of all ranges of media markets, from as large as Atlanta, to one of the smallest markets, North Platte, Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOWT</span> NBC affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska

WOWT is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located at the Kiewit Plaza on Farnam Street near downtown Omaha, and its transmitter is located on a "tower farm" near North 72nd Street and Crown Point Avenue in north-central Omaha.

KSNB-TV is a television station licensed to York, Nebraska, United States, serving southeastern and central Nebraska as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliates KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln and Grand Island, and CW+ affiliate KCWH-LD in Lincoln. KSNB-TV's transmitter is located near Beaver Crossing, Nebraska. Its news operations are primarily based at a studio located north of Hastings on US 281, with a secondary news bureau and sales office on West State Street in Grand Island. Master control and some internal operations are based at KOLN's facilities on North 40th Street in Lincoln. The KSNB-TV signal reaches Lincoln; in the Tri-Cities area of the market, KSNB-TV is broadcast as a subchannel of KGIN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KGWN-TV</span> CBS/NBC/CW affiliate in Cheyenne, Wyoming

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEAU</span> NBC affiliate in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

WEAU is a television station licensed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States, serving the La Crosse–Eau Claire market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on South Hastings Way / US 53 Business in Altoona ; its transmitter is located north of Fairchild, near the Eau Claire–Clark county line.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KOTA-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Rapid City, South Dakota

KOTA-TV is a television station in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MeTV affiliate KHME and low-power Fox affiliate KEVN-LD. The stations share studios on Skyline Drive in Rapid City, where KOTA-TV's transmitter is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KIIT-CD</span> Fox/CW affiliate in North Platte, Nebraska

KIIT-CD is a low-power, Class A television station in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KNOP-TV and low-power CBS affiliate KNPL-LD. The three stations share studios on South Dewey Street in downtown North Platte; KIIT-CD's transmitter is located on US 83 in the northern part of the city; master control and some internal operations are based at the studios of co-owned KOLN in Lincoln.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KOLN</span> CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska, US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNHL</span> MyNetworkTV/MeTV affiliate in Hastings, Nebraska

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNPL-LD</span> CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in North Platte, Nebraska

KNPL-LD is a low-power television station in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KNOP-TV and Class A Fox affiliate KIIT-CD. The three stations share studios on South Dewey Street in downtown North Platte; KNPL-LD's transmitter is located on US 83 in the northern part of the city.

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References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for KNOP-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. 1959 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF), 1954, p. B-53
  3. Sportscaster Joe Swift out of job - The North Platte Bulletin
  4. Application for Consent to Assign Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License, or to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License - Federal Communications Commission
  5. KNOP may get new owners - The North Platte Telegraph
  6. New Broadcasting Qualities - KNOP News 2
  7. Burke, Timothy. "We Now Have The Will Ferrell Old Milwaukee Super Bowl Ad In HD, Along With More Info About It". Deadspin. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  8. Carlini, Holly. "Commercial Ran Only On KNOP-TV". KNOP-TV. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  9. "Gray Buying Hoak, Prime Stations For $342.5M". TVNewsCheck. November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  10. "KHAS TV - KSNB TV Statement". KHAS-TV. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  11. Gray closes Hoak deal; completes refinancing., rbr.com, Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  12. "Gray Sets Buyers For Its Six SSA Stations". TVNewsCheck. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  13. "Resumption of Operations". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 9, 2015.
  14. "September 2015". NorthPine.com: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. 11 September 2015.
  15. "GRAY TELEVISION PURCHASES KOTA-TV, KDUH". KNEB. September 15, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  16. "Schurz Communications to sell WSBT and other TV, radio stations". South Bend Tribune . September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  17. Kuperberg, Jonathan (September 14, 2015). "Gray Acquiring TV, Radio Stations from Schurz for $442.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  18. "Comprehensive Exhibit" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  19. Gray Television unveils some changes for Scottsbluff station. KOTA-TV, 17 February 2016, Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  20. "Comprehensive Exhibit" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. October 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  21. KOTA Territory News to bring more statewide coverage., Scottsbluff Star-Herald, 19 February 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  22. "Sale of KDUH-TV Parent Complete". KCSR. February 16, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  23. FCC Approves Gray-Schurz TV Station Deal. Broadcasting & Cable, 12 February 2016, Retrieved 13 February 2016
  24. Gray Closes Schurz Acquisition, Related Transactions, And Incremental Term Loan Facility Press Release, Gray Television, Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  25. Report and Order, Federal Communications Commission, 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  26. "KOTA announces switch to KNEP in May". Scottsbluff Star-Herald . March 29, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  27. May 2016 - Upper Midwest Broadcasting
  28. RabbitEars TV Query for KNOP-TV
  29. Notification of Suspension of Operations - Federal Communications Commission
  30. KNOP switches to digital - The North Platte
  31. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.