KNEP
{{Short description|Television station in Sidney, Nebraska}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Redirect|KDUH|the airport with ICAO code KDUH|Toledo Suburban Airport}}
{{distinguish|WNEP-TV}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KNEP
| above = {{ubl|Semi-satellite of KNOP-TV,|North Platte, Nebraska}}
| logo = KNEP logo 2023.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| location = Sidney, Nebraska
| country = United States
| city =
| branding = KGWN Scottsbluff
| digital = 7 (VHF)
| virtual = 4
| subchannels =
| translators = {{ubl|KSTF 10.2 Scottsbluff|KGWN-TV 5.2 Cheyenne, WY}}
| affiliations = 4.1/4.2: NBC
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|CBS (primary 1958−1965, joint primary 1965−1976, secondary 1976−1981)|NBC (secondary 1958–1970, joint primary 1970−1976, sole primary 1976–1984)|ABC (secondary 1958−1965, joint primary 1965–1970, sole primary via KOTA-TV 1984–2020)|Fox (via KEVN-LD, 2020−2022)}}
| owner = Marquee Broadcasting
| licensee = Marquee Broadcasting West, Inc.
| airdate = {{start date and age|1958|3|5|p=y}}
| callsign_meaning = Nebraska Panhandle
| sister_stations = KSTF
| former_callsigns = KDUH-TV (1958–2016)
| former_channel_numbers = Analog: 4 (VHF, 1958–2009)
| erp = 32 kW
| haat = {{convert|475|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 17683
| coordinates = {{Coord|41|50|27.9|N|103|4|28.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = FCC
| website = {{URL|https://www.kgwnscottsbluff.com/}}
}}
KNEP (channel 4) is a television station in Sidney, Nebraska, United States, serving the Nebraska Panhandle as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Marquee Broadcasting alongside Cheyenne, Wyoming–licensed dual CBS/CW+ affiliate KGWN-TV (channel 5). KNEP's studios are located on 1st Avenue in Scottsbluff, and its transmitter is located in Angora, Nebraska.
Although it serves as a brand extension of KGWN-TV and identifies as a separate station in its own right, KNEP is considered a semi-satellite of KNOP-TV (channel 2) in North Platte.
History
The station signed on for the first time on March 5, 1958, as KDUH-TV, broadcasting from Hay Springs, Nebraska. The station was owned by Helen Duhamel, whose last name formed the basis of the callsign.{{Cite news|url=http://www.starherald.com/news/pride/kota-celebrates-years-on-the-air/article_9a229ac6-9d9f-56cd-965f-40d2c414dfde.html?TNNoMobile|title=KOTA celebrates 58 years on the air|last=Seaney|first=Aaron|date=March 4, 2016|work=Scottsbluff Star-Herald|access-date=November 15, 2018|language=en}} It was a semi-satellite of the original KOTA-TV in Rapid City (license now held by KHME). Like its parent, it carried programming from all four major networks, but was a primary CBS affiliate.
In 1965, in tandem with its parent, KDUH took on an unusual joint primary affiliation with CBS and ABC, slightly favoring CBS. This caused a good deal of confusion for viewers in the Nebraska Panhandle, since future sister station KSTF, which had signed on three years earlier in 1955, also held a joint primary affiliation with CBS and ABC, slightly favoring ABC. It was not unheard of for both stations to air the same program at the same time. However, in 1970, again in tandem with its parent, KDUH became a joint primary affiliate of ABC and NBC. This came after NBC finally lost patience with its longtime affiliate in the Black Hills, KRSD-TV (channel 7), whose signal had deteriorated to the point of unacceptability.
KRSD would be forced off the air in 1976, replaced by a new station on channel 7, KEVN-TV (license now held by the present KOTA-TV). That station took all ABC programming, resulting in KOTA and KDUH becoming primary NBC affiliates with a secondary CBS affiliation. KDUH lost CBS in 1981 after KELO-TV in Sioux Falls signed on a low-powered repeater in Rapid City, and became a sole full-time NBC affiliate in 1981 before swapping affiliations to ABC in 1984.
Also in 1981, operations were moved from Hay Springs to Scottsbluff.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ne-ba.org/about_us-hall_of_fame.asp?id=41|title=Hall of Fame 1992 - Helen Duhamel|website=Nebraska Broadcasters Association|access-date=November 15, 2018}} In 1988, KDUH consolidated its operations at KOTA-TV.
On September 24, 2002, the station's mast in Hemingford, which was built in the 1960s, collapsed during an installation of a digital transmitter. Two workers were killed and other three were injured.[http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/116402.html Two Killed In Tower Collapse - WOWT]{{Cite news|url=http://www.yankton.net/news/article_93618717-2f81-5513-a62a-1eab3a013d1e.html?TNNoMobile|title=Broadcaster Files Lawsuit Over Tower Collapse|date=February 12, 2003|work=Yankton Press & Dakotan|access-date=November 15, 2018|language=en}} A new tower was located in Angora was built in 2003 as a replacement the collapsed transmitter. The full signal was restored on September 19, 2003.{{Cite web|url=http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/archive/news0903.html|title=Broadcasting News-September 2003|last=Ellis|first=Jonathan M.|website=Upper Midwest Broadcasting|access-date=November 15, 2018}} During the construction of the tower, KDUH reached viewers on cable systems in the area and Duhamel-owned translators K02NT in Scottsbluff, and K02NY in Chadron.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fybush.com/site-021003.html|title=A selection from a decade of visits to tower and studio sites in the Northeast and beyond|website=www.fybush.com|access-date=November 21, 2018}}
Bill Duhamel announced on October 31, 2013, that KOTA-TV and its satellites (including KDUH-TV) would be sold to Schurz Communications' subsidiary Rushmore Media Company, pending FCC approval.{{Cite web|url=http://www.kotatv.com/story/23843835/kota-tv-sold-to-schurz-communications-inc|title=KOTA-TV and its satellites sold to Schurz Communications, Inc.|date=October 31, 2013|website=KOTA Territory News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075043/http://www.kotatv.com/story/23843835/kota-tv-sold-to-schurz-communications-inc|archive-date=April 7, 2014|access-date=November 15, 2018}}{{cite news|last=Malone|first=Michael|title=Schurz to Acquire KOTA Rapid City|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/496352-Schurz_to_Acquire_KOTA_Rapid_City.php|access-date=October 31, 2013|newspaper=Broadcasting & Cable|date=October 31, 2013}} The FCC granted the sale on March 31, 2014; and it was completed on April 28, 2014.{{Cite web|url=http://www.kotatv.com/story/25133718/fcc-approves-sale-of-kota-tv|title=FCC approves sale of KOTA-TV|date=April 1, 2014|website=KOTA Territory News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407074658/http://www.kotatv.com/story/25133718/fcc-approves-sale-of-kota-tv|archive-date=April 7, 2014|access-date=November 15, 2018}}[http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2014/db0331/DA-14-436A1.pdf Notice], Federal Communications Commission, March 31, 2014, Retrieved April 3, 2014.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140407112945/http://www.kotanow.com/story/25134818/fcc-approves-sale-of-kota-territory-televi FCC approves sale of KOTA Territory TV], KOTA-TV, April 1, 2014, Retrieved April 3, 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101635348&formid=905&fac_num=17688|title=CDBS Print|website=licensing.fcc.gov|access-date=November 16, 2018}}
On September 14, 2015, Schurz announced that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations, including KDUH-TV, to Gray Television for $442.5 million.{{cite news|title=Schurz Communications to sell WSBT and other TV, radio stations|url=http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/schurz-communications-to-sell-wsbt-and-other-tv-radio-stations/article_e95251d6-5b1d-11e5-b80b-ef330f571e57.html|access-date=September 14, 2015|work=South Bend Tribune|date=September 14, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Kuperberg|first1=Jonathan|title=Gray Acquiring TV, Radio Stations from Schurz for $442.5 Million|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/gray-acquiring-tv-radio-stations-schurz-4425-million/144190|access-date=September 14, 2015|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=September 14, 2015}} In its original filing with the FCC, Gray said that KDUH would be converted to a satellite of KNOP-TV, a Gray-owned NBC affiliate in North Platte.{{cite web|title=Comprehensive Exhibit|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101687178&qnum=5120©num=1&exhcnum=1|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=September 18, 2015|format=PDF}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20160219093113/http://www.kotatv.com/news/nebraska-news/gray-television-unveils-some-changes-for-scottsbluff-station/38049426 Gray Television unveils some changes for Scottsbluff station]. KOTA-TV, February 17, 2016, Retrieved February 23, 2016. In a subsequent filing with the FCC, Gray requested change the KDUH-TV call letters to KNEP following its conversion to a KNOP-TV satellite. It also sought to change KDUH/KNEP's city of license to Sidney, Nebraska. By changing its city of license, KNEP was now officially reckoned as part of the Denver market rather than the Cheyenne–Scottsbluff market, eliminating an ownership conflict with KSTF in Scottsbluff, a semi-satellite of KGWN-TV in Cheyenne, Wyoming.{{cite web|title=Comprehensive Exhibit|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101694215&qnum=5120©num=1&exhcnum=2|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=October 24, 2015|format=PDF|date=October 2015}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/kota-territory-news-to-bring-more-statewide-coverage/article_333e30a3-3d6d-5f3b-b502-d1ce433d9cef.html|title=KOTA Territory News to bring more statewide coverage|last=Sell|first=Travis|date=February 19, 2016|work=Scottsbluff Star-Herald|access-date=November 21, 2018|language=en}} The FCC does not allow one company to own two of the four highest-rated stations in the market. Additionally, the Cheyenne–Scottsbluff market had only five full-power stations (KGWN and KSTF are counted as one station for ratings and regulatory purposes), which was three stations too few to legally permit a duopoly in any case.
The sale was approved by the FCC on February 12, 2016,[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fcc-approves-gray-schurz-tv-station-deal/153781 FCC Approves Gray-Schurz TV Station Deal]. Broadcasting & Cable, February 12, 2016, Retrieved February 13, 2016 and was completed on February 16.[http://www.gray.tv/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=105&cntnt01returnid=81 Gray Closes Schurz Acquisition, Related Transactions, And Incremental Term Loan Facility] Press Release, Gray Television, Retrieved February 16, 2016. The FCC approved the change of station's city of license on May 16, making KDUH/KNEP a Denver DMA station.[https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-543A1.pdf Report and Order], Federal Communications Commission, May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016. For all intents and purposes, however, it remained a de facto Scottsbluff station.
On May 5, 2016, the station officially became the NBC affiliate for the Nebraska Panhandle. Despite officially becoming a semi-satellite of KNOP-TV, the station formerly aired ABC programming from KOTA on channel 4.1 until 2020, when it was replaced with a simulcast of Fox programming from Rapid City-licensed KEVN-LD until 2022; initially, "NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff" was aired on channel 2.1.{{Cite web|url=http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/archive/news0516.html|title=Broadcasting News-May 2016|last=Ellis|first=Jonathan M.|website=www.northpine.com|access-date=November 16, 2018}} {{as of|2021|10}}, NBC programming is seen on channel 4.1.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KNEP#station|title=RabbitEars.Info|website=www.rabbitears.info|language=en|access-date=November 21, 2018}}
On December 8, 2023, KNEP re-branded from "NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff" to "KGWN Scottsbluff".[https://www.facebook.com/KGWNScottsbluff/posts/pfbid02ASXzELYcWj1rSk47f5kFqmGCDZL6EEKP3jVFUXTwnr3dYvHXNm6qwTH4NB19ndBNl Facebook], Facebook, December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023. The station continues to be rebroadcast on KGWN channel 5.2 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, as well as KSTF channel 10.2 in Scottsbluff.
On February 1, 2024, Gray announced that it was swapping its stations in the Cheyenne–Scottsbluff and Casper, Wyoming, markets to Marquee Broadcasting in exchange for the construction permit for KCBU in the Salt Lake City market.{{cite web|url=https://graytv.gcs-web.com/node/21466/pdf?fbclid=IwAR1xRu_EpxfHzidQu0aOAwTbzdsRoIqSa8AXFfJwzfNvrdckua_S81SKhg8/|title=Gray and Marquee Broadcasting Swap Television Station Assets
|date=February 1, 2024|accessdate=February 2, 2024}}{{cite news |title=Gray Goes Black on KNEP; Shuts Down Scottsbluff TV Station |url=https://ruralradio.com/kneb-am/news/gray-goes-black-on-knep-shuts-down-scottsbluff-tv-station/ |access-date=February 7, 2024 |work=KNEB-AM 960 AM – 100.3 FM |date=February 5, 2024}}
Newscasts
KNEP broadcast {{frac|8|1|2}} hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with {{frac|1|1|2}} hours each weekday and a half-hour each on Saturdays and Sundays).
As KDUH, the station produced full-length newscasts focused on the Nebraska Panhandle for years. However, due to cutbacks in later years, KDUH's newscasts were reduced to inserts in KOTA's weeknight newscasts with a few personalities locally based in Scottsbluff.
On May 5, 2016, KNEP's full-length localized newscasts in Scottsbluff were reinstated, upon the launch of NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff.[http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/kota-announces-switch-to-knep-in-may/article_11b88c87-3978-5019-a491-82e00b4aedd2.html KOTA announces switch to KNEP in May], Scottsbluff Star-Herald, March 29, 2016, Retrieved May 10, 2016.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160506034226/http://www.nbcneb.com/scottsbluff/content/news/NBC-Nebraska-Scottsbluff-newscasts-begin-Thursday-May-5-377653631.html NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff newscasts begin Thursday, May 5 - NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff] The Scottsbluff news operation was shut down in February 2024 ahead of the swap to Marquee Broadcasting; KNEP's newscasts were replaced with a simulcast of KGWN-TV's Wyoming News Now. Seven staffers were laid off.{{cite news |last1=Underwood |first1=Jack |title=Gray TV closes Scottsbluff station, announces sale |url=https://starherald.com/news/community/gering/scottsbluff-news-station-sold-gray-tv/article_521d452a-c4fd-11ee-a9a6-5fdd37b2810b.html |access-date=February 7, 2024 |work=Gering Courier |date=February 6, 2024 |language=en}}
Technical information
=Subchannels=
=Analog-to-digital conversion=
KNEP (as KDUH-TV) shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, on February 17, 2009,[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1295322&Form_id=910&Facility_id=17683 Analog Termination Information Update - Federal Communications Commission] the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 7,{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |format=PDF |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }} using virtual channel 4.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.kgwnscottsbluff.com/}}
{{Denver TV}}
{{Cheyenne TV}}
{{NBC Nebraska}}
{{Marquee Broadcasting}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knep}}
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1958