KKTQ-LD (channel 16) is a
low-power television station in
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...
, United States, affiliated with
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The station is owned by Vision Alaska
LLC, which operates
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
affiliate
KLWY
KLWY (channel 27) is a television station in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with the Fox and Me-TV networks. The station is owned by Coastal Television, and maintains a transmitter southwest of Cheyenne along I-25.
KLWY is a semi-s ...
(channel 27) under a
shared services agreement
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 ...
(SSA) with the Coastal Television Broadcasting Company. KKTQ-LD's transmitter is located on Happy Jack Road (
WYO 210) west of the city.
Although identifying as a station in its own right, KKTQ-LD is considered a
semi-satellite
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
of ABC affiliate
KTWO-TV
KTWO-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Casper, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Vision Alaska LLC, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC, owner of ...
(channel 2) in
Casper
Casper may refer to:
People
* Casper (given name)
* Casper (surname)
* Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque
* Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426
* David ...
. As such, it
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
s all network and
syndicated programming
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
as provided by its parent, but airs separate
station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
s and
commercials
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
. In addition, it shares a website with KTWO, KLWY,
KGWC and
KFNB
KFNB (channel 20) is a television station in Casper, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC, which provides certain services to ABC affiliate KTWO-TV (channel 2, owned ...
(the latter two are the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and Fox affiliates in Casper, respectively), and also it airs newscasts produced by KLWY.
KKTQ-LD's low-power
broadcast radius does not cover the entire Cheyenne–
Scottsbluff television market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
. As such, it is simulcast in
480i
480i is the video mode used for standard-definition digital television in the Caribbean, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Laos, Western Sahara, and most of the Americas (with the exception of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay). The ''480 ...
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
on the second
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
of KLWY in order to reach the entire market.
History
KKTU/KDEV (1987–2006)
KTWO had two previous satellites in Cheyenne. The first, KKTU (channel 33), had signed on in 1987 when KTWO was still an
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate and owned by Dix Communications. Both stations were sold in 1994 to Eastern Broadcasting for $13 million. KTWO and KKTU were temporarily affiliated with
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
in 1995. The late 1990s saw many ownership changes for the two stations. In 1997,
Grapevine Communications bought the two stations among others for $40 million; Grapevine then merged with GOCOM Communications to form
GOCOM Holdings two years later. In 2001,
Equity Broadcasting
Equity Media Holdings Corporation was a broadcasting company based in Little Rock, Arkansas that owned and operated television stations across the United States. Prior to March 30, 2007, the company was known as Equity Broadcasting, a name later ...
bought KTWO-TV and KKTU from GOCOM for $3.5 million.
In September 2003, NBC's affiliation contract with KTWO and KKTU expired and the network signed a new agreement with then Pax TV (now
Ion Television
Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
) affiliate
KCWY-DT
KCWY-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Casper, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Progress Circle in Mills, Wyoming, and its transmitter is located atop Casp ...
(channel 13). However, the two stations had affiliated with ABC three months earlier to prepare for the affiliation switch. But ABC still had an affiliation contract with KFNB that would not expire for about another year. KTWO and KCWY switched affiliations with Pax going to KTWO and NBC going to KCWY. KKTU, as a satellite, was able to immediately switch from NBC to ABC and began branding as "ABC 8", in reference to its
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
channel in Cheyenne. On March 8, 2004 after long negotiations with KFNB, KTWO signed with ABC three months ahead of schedule while KFNB got a new affiliation with Fox. Fox was previously on
K26ES (now low-powered dual MyNetworkTV/MeTV affiliate KWYF-LD, channel 20). K26ES then became affiliated with
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
and Pax.
Seven days earlier, Cheryl Kaupp, who controlled KTWO, began operating the station under a
local marketing agreement
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 tim ...
with Equity. That October, Kaupp filed to acquire KTWO from Equity for $1.7 million. That created a triopoly between KTWO, KFNB, and KGWC. KFNB was owned by Kaupp's father, Marvin Gussman under Wyomedia Corporation; and KGWC was at the time being acquired by Mark III Media. Mark Nalbone, Wyomedia's general manager, owned a 30% interest in Mark III and served as a
consultant
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
to KTWO. In April 2004, Nalbone announced KTWO would move studios from 2nd Street to Skyview Drive in Casper; where it now shares operations with KFNB, KGWC, and KWYF-LD. In 2005, Silverton Broadcasting announced it would acquire KTWO-TV from Kaupp; the acquisition was completed on May 31, 2006. KKTU, however, was left behind with Equity. It changed its callsign to KDEV in 2005, but KTWO was still allowed to operate it. KDEV then dropped ABC in favor of programming from the
Retro Television Network
Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through th ...
in 2006.
K40HP/KKTU-LP/KDEV-LP (2006–2012)
On March 15, 2004, KTWO signed on low-power
repeater
In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...
K40HP (channel 40). It was later renamed KKTU-LP on October 4, 2004; it didn't sign on until 2007. KDEV then began simulcasting ABC programming over its analog signal and the second channel on its digital signal on June 8, 2008. On June 24, 2008, the callsign of KKTU-LP changed to
KDEV-LP
KDEV-LP, UHF analog channel 40, was a low-powered MeTV- affiliated television station licensed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States. The station was owned by Stratus Media Holdings.
History
A construction permit for a low-power station on chann ...
after KDEV changed its callsign to
KQCK
KQCK (channel 39) is a religious television station licensed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States, serving the Cheyenne and Denver, Colorado markets as an owned-and-operated station of the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's studio ...
on June 17. On June 27, an equipment failure at KQCK's analog facilities caused ABC programming to start being broadcast on KDEV-LP. KQCK was then sold to
Valley Bank by auction for $7 million on April 16, 2009; then it was resold to Fusion Communications on September 9. By this time, KTWO moved KDEV-LP's ABC programming to KLWY's second digital subchannel and converted KDEV-LP to
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
in 2010, then to MeTV in 2011. KQCK was then converted to the short-lived Spanish-language network
VasalloVision
VasalloVision was a small Spanish-language television network in the United States that catered to the Mexican audience. Most of its schedule consisted of films, '' lucha libre'', and children's programming. The network was made up of four statio ...
in 2010 and
MundoFox
MundoMax (; originally known as MundoFox from August 13, 2012 to July 28, 2015) was an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network that was owned by RCN Televisión. The network broadcast programs aimed at Hispanic and Latino America ...
in 2012 before becoming a
Christian Television Network
Christian Television Network (CTN) is a non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations (O&O) that broadcasts religious programming. It is based in Largo, Florida (with a mailing address of Clearwater), and the flagshi ...
affiliate in 2014. KQCK was then acquired by CTN in 2017. KDEV-LP was shut down in 2012. The station never
converted to digital.
K16JM-D/KKTQ-LD (2012–present)
On February 21, 2011, about a year and a half before KDEV-LP was shut down, KTWO signed on yet another low-power repeater in Cheyenne, this time in digital. K16JM-D got all ABC programming from KLWY's second subchannel; it still is rebroadcast on the subchannel as of 2022. The callsign was changed to KKTQ-LD on June 5, 2013.
Silverton Broadcasting announced KTWO and KKTQ-LD would be sold to
Legacy Broadcasting
Legacy Broadcasting, LLC is a broadcasting company founded in 2014 by Sherry Nelson and her daughter Sara Jane Nelson.
History
Legacy Broadcasting began in 2014 when it announced it would acquire four television stations from Gray Television t ...
on February 8, 2018, and could have created a
duopoly
A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...
with KFNB, as it was in the process of being acquired from WyoMedia and it was the fifth-ranked station in the Casper market. The sale was canceled six months later.
On October 8, 2019, Silverton announced that it would sell KTWO-TV and KKTQ-LD to Vision Wyoming, a subsidiary of Vision Alaska (run by Stephen Brisette); the sale was concurrent with Big Horn Television's purchase of KGWC-TV and Coastal Television Broadcasting Company's purchase of KFNB and KLWY. Coastal Television (run by Bill Fielder) and Vision Alaska already jointly operated stations in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. The sale was completed on June 1, 2020. Shortly afterwards, the news department was significantly downsized, and weekend newscasts were replaced by programming from
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
-based
NewsNet
NewsNet (stylized as NEWSnet) is an American news-oriented free-to-air television network and newscast production company owned by Bridge News, LLC, which itself is owned by Bridge Media Networks. The network is structured to broadcast a tight ...
. On July 3,
KTWO radio reported that KTWO-TV's morning newscast, ''Good Morning Wyoming'', would be replaced by a new morning show on July 6, and that the station's other newscasts would incorporate NewsNet content, with local reports primarily seen at the start of newscasts. Coastal Television's Alaska stations had moved to a NewsNet-based model the preceding April; in a June 28 interview with KTWO radio, Fielder said that the shift to NewsNet had been accelerated by the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. Coastal later blamed the cutbacks on difficulties in achieving the
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
needed to maintain a full newsroom in rural areas, and in July 2021 cited this as the reason it was merging with
Waypoint Media
Waypoint Media is a confederation of holding companies that own and operate radio and television stations mostly in small cities in the United States. Primary owners of the various companies include Mike Reed, William Christian and Paige Christian ...
, another small rural broadcaster. In June 2022, NewsNet was dropped in favor of Waypoint-owned
News Hub
News HUB (formerly known as Independent News Network) is a production company based in Little Rock, Arkansas, which syndicates "localized" news programs for broadcast television stations in the United States, that have budgets limiting their ...
.
Programming
KKTQ-LD clears the entire ABC schedule as well as syndicated programming provided by KTWO. However, it airs different station identifications and commercials. It also re-airs KLWY's newscasts at 10 p.m.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
The Me-TV affiliated subchannel is a simulcast of KLWY's third subchannel, which in turn is a simulcast of KWYF-LD (channel 20) in Casper.
References
External links
*
{{Wyoming TV
ABC network affiliates
KTQ-LD
Television channels and stations established in 2011
2011 establishments in Wyoming
Low-power television stations in the United States