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'''KQTV''' (channel 2) is a ] in ], United States, affiliated with ] and owned by ]. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Faraon Street in eastern St. Joseph. '''KQTV''' (channel 2) is a ] in ], United States, affiliated with ] and owned by ]. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Faraon Street in eastern St. Joseph.

KQTV went on the air as KFEQ-TV, the sister station to ] radio, on September 27, 1953.


Although KQTV serves as the primary ABC affiliate for the St. Joseph ], the network's ] affiliate ] (channel 9) is considered an alternate ABC affiliate for the area as its transmitter provides a city-grade over-the-air signal in St. Joseph proper, and is carried alongside KQTV by some local cable providers. Although KQTV serves as the primary ABC affiliate for the St. Joseph ], the network's ] affiliate ] (channel 9) is considered an alternate ABC affiliate for the area as its transmitter provides a city-grade over-the-air signal in St. Joseph proper, and is carried alongside KQTV by some local cable providers.


==History== ==History==
St. Joseph radio station ] applied to the ] (FCC) on April 17, 1948, for permission to construct a new television station on channel 13.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=85300|title=History Cards for KQTV|publisher=]}}</ref> This application was still pending when the FCC, in October 1948, imposed a freeze on new TV station construction permits.<ref>{{cite news|first=Rufus|last=Crater|pages=22A, 57|work=Broadcasting|id={{ProQuest|1040475180}}|title=Television Freeze: FCC Action Halted Pending Definite Policy|date=October 4, 1948}}</ref> In the shuffling of channel allocations during the freeze, St. Joseph lost channel 13 but picked up channel 2 from ].<ref name="Kans510323">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-no-new-tv-soon-add/118109328/|date=March 23, 1951|page=3|title=No New TV Soon: Addition of Video Channels Under FCC Plan Predicted Almost Two Years Off|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The FCC lifted the freeze beginning in April 1952,<ref name="Kans520414">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118109726/go-ahead-to-tv-freeze-on-new-stations-i/|date=April 14, 1952|page=1, |title=Go-Ahead to TV: Freeze on New Stations Is Lifted by FCC, Creating a Much Bigger Field|newspaper=The Kansas City Times|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=February 6, 2023|archive-date=February 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211073202/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118109726/go-ahead-to-tv-freeze-on-new-stations/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> and KFEQ amended its application to specify the new channel.{{r|hc}} KFEQ-TV received its construction permit on October 15, 1952.<ref name="Kans521016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times-st-joseph-to-get/160875920/|date=October 16, 1952|page=1|title=St. Joseph to Get TV: Authorization to KFEQ Given by FCC|newspaper=The Kansas City Times|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Thu --> By the start of 1953, construction was underway on the station's studios on a plot at 40th and Faraon streets in St. Joseph, which would also house a {{convert|750|ft|m|0|adj=on}} transmission tower.<ref name="StJo530104">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-news-press-equipment-ordered/160876055/|date=January 4, 1953|page=1|title=Equipment Ordered for TV Station: KFEQ on Air as Soon as Tower Is Built|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Sun --> Tower work set back completion of the station because structural steel components were delayed;<ref name="Kans530601">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-delay-on-tv-start/160876160/|date=June 1, 1953|page=1|title=Delay on TV Start: August 15 Now Is Target Date for St. Joseph Station|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Mon --> the tower sections did not make it to St. Joseph until the start of July,<ref name="StJo530702">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-news-press-start-on-tv-tower/160876226/|date=July 2, 1953|page=13|title=Start on TV Tower Work|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Thu --> and work moved slower than anticipated, causing an August 15 projected start date to be missed.<ref name="Kans530809">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-kfeq-tv-on-in-septe/160876258/|date=August 9, 1953|page=77|title=KFEQ-TV On in September: Delays on Tower Caused Postponement of Planned Start|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Sun -->
===Early history===

The station first ] the air on September 27, 1953, as KFEQ-TV. It was founded by local businessman Barton Pitts, owner of local radio station ] (]). KFEQ-TV originally operated as a primary ] affiliate, and also carried programming from the ]. That year, a {{convert|750|ft|m|0|adj=on}} tall lattice steel tower was constructed to house the station's ]. The tower, which had become landmark in the city of St. Joseph, is often compared to the {{convert|1,042|ft|m|0|adj=on}} tower used by ] (channel 5) in Kansas City. The two stations, which signed on the air on the same date, built their respective towers at the same time. In preparation for the digital television transition, on January 19, 2009, the KQTV tower was partially truncated in height to {{convert|587|ft|m|0}}.
KFEQ-TV began broadcasting on September 27, 1953. It was an affiliate of ] and the ].<ref name="Kans530927">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-kfeq-tv-starts-toda/160876384/|date=September 27, 1953|page=88|title=KFEQ-TV Starts Today: First Program on St. Joseph Station at 2:30 O'Clock|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Sun --> For viewers in the St. Joseph–Kansas City region, it was the second station to sign on that day, alongside KCMO-TV (now ]) on channel 5 from Kansas City.<ref name="Kans530928">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times-five-channels-on-n/160876486/|date=September 28, 1953|page=3|title=Five Channels On Now: KCMO-TV and KFEQ-TV Send Out First Programs|newspaper=The Kansas City Times|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Mon --> The DuMont network ceased distributing programming in 1955.<ref>{{Cite magazine|id={{ProQuest|1014914488}}|title=DuMont Network To Quit In Telecasting 'Spin-Off'|page=64|magazine=Broadcasting|date=August 15, 1955}}</ref>

Barton Pitts, founder of KFEQ-TV and owner of the morning '']'' and afternoon '']'' newspapers, opted to exit broadcasting for health reasons in 1955. He sold the KFEQ stations to the Midland Broadcasting Company, whose owners included actor ] and ], for $700,000.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Crosby, Brown, Fetzer Negotiate to Buy KFEQ-AM-TV St. Joseph, Mo.|work=Broadcasting|date=August 15, 1955|page=9|id={{pq|1014909430}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|work=Broadcasting|pages=64–65|title=Midland Asks FCC Approval To $700,000 KFEQ-AM-TV Buy|date=November 21, 1955|id={{pq|1014926464}} }}</ref> During its ownership, the channel 2 studios were expanded in size.<ref name="StJo560922">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-news-press-third-anniversary/160876780/|date=September 22, 1956|page=8|title=Third Anniversary for KFEQ-TV: Birthday Comes During National Television Week|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Sat --> Midland owned the stations for less than two years before selling to the Fine family, a theater operator and former owner of ] in ], in 1957; the transaction was motivated by Midland's investors' recent acquisition of ] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite news|page=80|title=Brown Group Sells KFEQ-AM-TV to Fines|work=Broadcasting|date=August 26, 1957|id={{pq|1285752233}} }}</ref>

After a 1960 attempt to sell the KFEQ stations and ] in ] to music man ] fell through,<ref name="Kans600801">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-buys-kfeq-tv-radio/160876983/|date=August 1, 1960|page=18|title=Buys KFEQ TV-Radio: Connie B. Gay Also Acquires KLIK, Jefferson City|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Mon -->{{r|hc}} the Fines sold the properties to Mid-States Broadcasting, headed by ], in 1963.<ref>{{cite news|work=Broadcasting|page=9|title=FCC gives approval to Fine station buys|id={{pq|1014474649}}|date=September 2, 1963}}</ref> In 1967, KFEQ-TV switched affiliations from CBS to ], with KCMO-TV serving as the nearest CBS affiliate to St. Joseph.<ref>{{cite news|page=61|title=KFEQ-TV signed as basic ABC affiliate|date=May 8, 1967|work=Broadcasting|id={{pq|1014507113}} }}</ref>

McGoff sold the KFEQ stations to separate owners over the course of 1968. Channel 2 went to ISC Industries for $3.1 million. ISC—a diversified firm based in Kansas City with interests ranging from truck manufacturing to pen production and securities<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47748277/on-the-financial-front/ |first=Ben B. |last=Schifman |author-link=Ben Schifman |title=On the Financial Front: Manufacturing Contributes to New ISC Corporate Complex |newspaper=] |page=15 |date=August 5, 1969 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>—pledged to upgrade the station to allow it to broadcast local color programming. The sale required one or the other of KFEQ radio and television to change call signs; the radio station kept KFEQ<ref name="StJo681126">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-gazette-station-kfeq-tv-purch/118269445/|date=November 26, 1968|page=1|title=Station KFEQ-TV Purchased by Firm From Kansas City|newspaper=St. Joseph Gazette|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Tue --> and channel 2 became KQTV on February 1, 1969.<ref name="StJo690201">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-news-press-television-station/158827191/|date=February 1, 1969|page=3A|title=Television Station Now Is KQTV|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Sat --> As KFEQ-TV had been informally known as "The Q", the new call sign retained brand equity from the old.<ref name="Kans770804">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-area-signs-traced/97650024/|date=August 4, 1977|page=North 2|first=Russell|last=Clemings|title=Area Signs Traced: Ez-ID With Catchy Call Letters|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Thu --> After ISC closed on the purchase in July 1969,<ref name="Kans690717">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times-on-the-financial-f/160877527/|date=July 17, 1969|page=6H|first=Ben B. |last=Schifman |author-link=Ben Schifman |title=On the Financial Front: Offer to Exchange Stock of First-Leawood Banks|newspaper=The Kansas City Times|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Thu --> the company expanded into radio by buying two radio stations in the Kansas City area.<ref name="Kans690804">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-business-panorama/160877543/|date=August 4, 1969|page=12|title=Business Panorama: Two Local Radio Stations to ISC Industries|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Mon --> After three years, the company opted to exit broadcasting entirely and sold KQTV, plus FM radio stations ] in St. Louis and ] in Houston, to Amaturo Group in a sale completed in 1973.<ref name="Kans720707">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times-isc-ind-to-sell-r/160877579/|date=July 7, 1972|page=16|title=ISC Ind. to Sell Radio-TV Stations|first=Ben B. |last=Schifman |author-link=Ben Schifman|newspaper=The Kansas City Times|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Fri --><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47748442/approves-sale/ |title=Approves Sale |first=Ben B. |last=Schifman |author-link=Ben Schifman |newspaper=] |page=15 |date=July 6, 1973 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Amaturo Group sold KQTV in 1979 to Elba Development Corporation of ], owned by ], so it could pursue larger station transactions without being at the limit of ] television stations ownable by one group once it bought four other stations,<ref name="StJo790514">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-news-press-amaturo-plans-sale/158827236/|date=May 14, 1979|pages=1A, |first=Mark|last=Sheehan|title=Amaturo plans sale of KQTV|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Mon --> revealed to be the ] in central and western Nebraska.<ref name="StJo790917">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-joseph-news-press-kqtv-sold-to-ny/158827251/|date=September 17, 1979|page=1|first=Mark|last=Sheehan|title=KQTV sold to N.Y. firm for $9 million|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|location=St. Joseph, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><!-- Mon -->



] ]
In 1955, KFEQ-AM-TV were sold by Pitts to the Midland Broadcasting Company.<ref>{{cite journal |pages=147–148 |journal=Broadcasting/Telecasting |title=Telecasting Yearbook |year=1956–1957}}</ref> Midland Broadcasting was part-owned by singer-actor ].<ref>{{Cite news|pages=64–65|work=Broadcasting|date=November 21, 1955|title=Midland Asks FCC Approval To $700,000 KFEQ-AM-TV Buy|id={{ProQuest|1014926464}} }}</ref> Shortly after DuMont shut down in on August 6, 1956, KFEQ-TV began carrying ABC programming as a secondary affiliation. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the ].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{Citation|title=Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films |journal=Boxoffice |page=13 |date=November 10, 1956 |url=https://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614204506/http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1 |archive-date=June 14, 2009 }}</ref> The News-Press & Gazette Company (owned by the Bradley family, and which would sign on ] affiliate ] (channel 26) in 2012) bought the KFEQ stations in 1957. The stations were later sold to the Panax Corporation in 1963.


On June 1, 1967, KFEQ-TV became an exclusive ABC affiliate. ABC's Kansas City affiliate, KCMO-TV (now KCTV), which had been affiliated with the network since September 1955, switched to CBS. It became the St. Joseph market's default CBS station as a result.
] ]


===Ownership changes=== ===Ownership changes===

The station's call letters were changed to KQTV in 1969, after the television and radio stations were sold off to separate owners. KQTV went for $3.1 million to Kansas City based ISC Industries. ISC Industries was a diversified company with many different holdings.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47748277/on-the-financial-front/ |first=Ben B. |last=Schifman |author-link=Ben Schifman |title=On the Financial Front |newspaper=] |page=15 |date=August 5, 1969 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1973, ISC sold KQTV and radio stations ] and ] for $4.6 million to Amaturo Group.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47748442/approves-sale/ |title=Approves Sale |newspaper=] |page=15 |date=July 6, 1973 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>


In 1979, Amaturo sold KQTV to Elba Development of ], for $9 million.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47748900/kfeq-tv-is-sold-to-new-yorkers/ |title=KFEQ-TV is sold to New Yorkers |newspaper=] |agency=Associated Press |location=St. Joseph, Missouri |page=7 |date=September 18, 1979 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Prior to the sale, Amaturo had filed with the FCC to build a semi-satellite of KQTV in the ], market on UHF channel 43 (now occupied by ], a ] affiliate owned by ]). When Elba acquired the station, the channel 43 application was dropped, and a separate application was filed requesting to build a new, taller transmission tower in Kansas to increase the station's reach. The FCC did not act on either application.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/P3H48oV|title=imgur.com|website=Topeka Station Archival Documentation}}</ref> In 1979, Amaturo sold KQTV to Elba Development of ], for $9 million.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47748900/kfeq-tv-is-sold-to-new-yorkers/ |title=KFEQ-TV is sold to New Yorkers |newspaper=] |agency=Associated Press |location=St. Joseph, Missouri |page=7 |date=September 18, 1979 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Prior to the sale, Amaturo had filed with the FCC to build a semi-satellite of KQTV in the ], market on UHF channel 43 (now occupied by ], a ] affiliate owned by ]). When Elba acquired the station, the channel 43 application was dropped, and a separate application was filed requesting to build a new, taller transmission tower in Kansas to increase the station's reach. The FCC did not act on either application.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/P3H48oV|title=imgur.com|website=Topeka Station Archival Documentation}}</ref>

Revision as of 06:16, 14 December 2024

ABC affiliate in St. Joseph, Missouri Not to be confused with KTVQ or WTVQ-DT. For the defunct television network in the Philippines, see Q (TV network).

KQTV
Channels
BrandingKQ2
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air dateSeptember 27, 1953 (71 years ago) (1953-09-27)
Former call signsKFEQ-TV (1953–1969)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 2 (VHF; 1953–2009)
  • Digital: 53 (UHF; 2003–2009)
Former affiliations
  • CBS (1953–1967)
  • DuMont (secondary, 1953–1955)
  • ABC (secondary, 1956–1967)
Call sign meaningVariation of the Q from former KFEQ-TV call sign
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID20427
ERP40 kW
HAAT179 m (587 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°46′12″N 94°47′53.4″W / 39.77000°N 94.798167°W / 39.77000; -94.798167
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.kq2.com

KQTV (channel 2) is a television station in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Heartland Media. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Faraon Street in eastern St. Joseph.

KQTV went on the air as KFEQ-TV, the sister station to KFEQ radio, on September 27, 1953.

Although KQTV serves as the primary ABC affiliate for the St. Joseph market, the network's Kansas City affiliate KMBC-TV (channel 9) is considered an alternate ABC affiliate for the area as its transmitter provides a city-grade over-the-air signal in St. Joseph proper, and is carried alongside KQTV by some local cable providers.

History

St. Joseph radio station KFEQ applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 17, 1948, for permission to construct a new television station on channel 13. This application was still pending when the FCC, in October 1948, imposed a freeze on new TV station construction permits. In the shuffling of channel allocations during the freeze, St. Joseph lost channel 13 but picked up channel 2 from Kansas City. The FCC lifted the freeze beginning in April 1952, and KFEQ amended its application to specify the new channel. KFEQ-TV received its construction permit on October 15, 1952. By the start of 1953, construction was underway on the station's studios on a plot at 40th and Faraon streets in St. Joseph, which would also house a 750-foot (229 m) transmission tower. Tower work set back completion of the station because structural steel components were delayed; the tower sections did not make it to St. Joseph until the start of July, and work moved slower than anticipated, causing an August 15 projected start date to be missed.

KFEQ-TV began broadcasting on September 27, 1953. It was an affiliate of CBS and the DuMont Television Network. For viewers in the St. Joseph–Kansas City region, it was the second station to sign on that day, alongside KCMO-TV (now KCTV) on channel 5 from Kansas City. The DuMont network ceased distributing programming in 1955.

Barton Pitts, founder of KFEQ-TV and owner of the morning St. Joseph Gazette and afternoon St. Joseph News-Press newspapers, opted to exit broadcasting for health reasons in 1955. He sold the KFEQ stations to the Midland Broadcasting Company, whose owners included actor Bing Crosby and John Fetzer, for $700,000. During its ownership, the channel 2 studios were expanded in size. Midland owned the stations for less than two years before selling to the Fine family, a theater operator and former owner of WFIE in Evansville, Indiana, in 1957; the transaction was motivated by Midland's investors' recent acquisition of KCOP-TV in Los Angeles.

After a 1960 attempt to sell the KFEQ stations and KLIK in Jefferson City to music man Connie B. Gay fell through, the Fines sold the properties to Mid-States Broadcasting, headed by John P. McGoff, in 1963. In 1967, KFEQ-TV switched affiliations from CBS to ABC, with KCMO-TV serving as the nearest CBS affiliate to St. Joseph.

McGoff sold the KFEQ stations to separate owners over the course of 1968. Channel 2 went to ISC Industries for $3.1 million. ISC—a diversified firm based in Kansas City with interests ranging from truck manufacturing to pen production and securities—pledged to upgrade the station to allow it to broadcast local color programming. The sale required one or the other of KFEQ radio and television to change call signs; the radio station kept KFEQ and channel 2 became KQTV on February 1, 1969. As KFEQ-TV had been informally known as "The Q", the new call sign retained brand equity from the old. After ISC closed on the purchase in July 1969, the company expanded into radio by buying two radio stations in the Kansas City area. After three years, the company opted to exit broadcasting entirely and sold KQTV, plus FM radio stations KGRV in St. Louis and KLYX in Houston, to Amaturo Group in a sale completed in 1973.

Amaturo Group sold KQTV in 1979 to Elba Development Corporation of Rochester, New York, owned by the Glazer family, so it could pursue larger station transactions without being at the limit of VHF television stations ownable by one group once it bought four other stations, revealed to be the Nebraska Television Network in central and western Nebraska.


KQTV logo, used from 2000 to 2009
File:KQTV Logo.png
KQTV logo used from 2009 to 2021.

Ownership changes

In 1979, Amaturo sold KQTV to Elba Development of Rochester, New York, for $9 million. Prior to the sale, Amaturo had filed with the FCC to build a semi-satellite of KQTV in the Topeka, Kansas, market on UHF channel 43 (now occupied by KTMJ-CD, a Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group). When Elba acquired the station, the channel 43 application was dropped, and a separate application was filed requesting to build a new, taller transmission tower in Kansas to increase the station's reach. The FCC did not act on either application.

In 1990, Elba sold KQTV, along with WRBL in Columbus, Georgia, and WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana, to TCS Television Partners for $58 million. Nexstar acquired the station in 1997.

Sale to Heartland Media

Nexstar announced on June 13, 2016, that it would sell KQTV and four other stations to Heartland Media, through its USA Television MidAmerica Holdings joint venture with MSouth Equity Partners, for $115 million. The sale was required as part of Nexstar's planned merger with Media General to comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership caps. The sale was completed on January 17, 2017.

Aborted sale to News-Press & Gazette Company

On April 4, 2019, the St. Joseph-based News-Press & Gazette Company announced it would acquire KQTV from Heartland Media for an initially undisclosed price. Pending FCC approval, the purchase of KQTV would result in News-Press & Gazette maintaining a broadcasting and print monopoly in St. Joseph, as the company already owns the St. Joseph News-Press, three major-network-affiliated competitors of KQTV (Fox affiliate KNPN-LD (channel 26), NBC affiliate KNPG-LD (channel 21) and CBS affiliate KCJO-LD (channel 30), plus a 24-hour local news channel News-Press NOW).

While it would constitute a de facto quadropoly, the purchase may not violate FCC broadcast ownership rules as KQTV is a full-power station while KNPN, KNPG and KCJO are all low-power stations. (FCC local ownership rules restrict a single broadcasting company from owning more than two of the four highest-rated television stations in the same market, but applies the rule exclusively to full-power stations due to their broader signal reach.) However, the likelihood of concentrating St. Joseph's print and broadcast media outlets under one entity, given the DMA's small size, could subject the acquisition to potential antitrust issues once the deal undergoes review by the Justice Department. The FCC did not act on the sale application before the agreement's expiration on September 30, 2019, leading NPG to terminate its bid that October; the sale was dismissed on October 16, 2019. KQTV was not included in the subsequent sale of most of Heartland Media's other stations to Allen Media.

Studios and tower

Market status

St. Joseph ranks 201st out of 210 media markets designated by Nielsen Media Research; it serves several rural portions of northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. However, during the analog era, KQTV provided at least grade B signal coverage to much of Kansas City and Topeka; the channel 2 signal traveled a long distance under normal atmospheric conditions. Its digital signal still has considerable penetration in both cities despite operating on a short transmitter tower. In turn, stations from Kansas City, Topeka and Omaha are receivable over-the-air in portions of the St. Joseph market and are also available on some cable and satellite providers: Suddenlink, DirecTV and Dish Network carry Kansas City's KSMO-TV as the area's default MyNetworkTV affiliate and KCPT as the area's default PBS member station. Kansas City's WDAF-TV (channel 4), which was displaced as the default Fox affiliate by KNPN-LD on Suddenlink and Dish Network when that station signed on, continued to be available on DirecTV until June 30, 2012, when it was replaced by KNPN. As a result of the heavy signal overlap between the Kansas City and St. Joseph area stations, St. Joseph could be considered a sub-market of the adjacent Kansas City market.

TBN owned-and-operated station KTAJ-TV (channel 16), which mainly serves Kansas City, became the second television station licensed to St. Joseph when it signed-on in October 1986. However, KQTV remained the market's only local commercial station until June 2, 2012, when the News-Press & Gazette Company (owned by KQTV's one-time owners, the Bradley family) signed on KNPN-LD as the area's Fox affiliate. News-Press & Gazette (which also owns local news and weather channel News-Press NOW) later signed on KBJO-LD (now KNPG-LD) as the area's CW+ (now NBC) affiliate in March 2013 and KNPG-LD (now KCJO-LD) as a Telemundo (now CBS) affiliate in 2014.

Programming

KQTV runs the entire ABC network schedule. Previously, the station did not carry ABC's overnight news program World News Now; this was because it was one of the few remaining American television stations that signed off during overnight hours, from 1:35 to 5 a.m.

KFEQ-TV's early personalities included Grace Crawford and her pre-1963 predecessor Marge Miner, who had hosted daytime talk shows during the 1950s and 1960s that were aimed at a female audience, among which included Panorama. Marge Miner was a 1959 recipient of the McCall's magazine Golden Mike Award, a national award given to outstanding women in broadcasting, for her series of programs on cerebral palsy.

The station also broadcast live professional wrestling matches that were held in the KFEQ/KQTV studios for many years, which aired after the late newscast on Saturday nights. Originally named Wrestling with Bob, named for the host Bob Whyte. The program was later named Big 2 Wrestling, featured a recording of "The Wrestling Polka" at the start of every broadcast; local business owners would come to ringside and talk about their services between matches. Sometimes, the live commercial chats occurred between falls of matches, while losing wrestlers recovered in the background.

The station featured a live Saturday afternoon record-hop program, which debuted on April 14, 1957, Let's Dance which featured local high school or college students dancing in the TV studio with music provided the week's current Top 10 records and live performances from local bands. The popular show ran until 1971. The show hosts were local TV and radio personalities, Allen Shaw, Bill Foster, Danny Taylor and Jim Connors.

During its early years as an exclusive affiliate of ABC, the station occasionally preempted network programs; most notably, KQTV originally declined The Brady Bunch, airing a local country music program in its Friday night timeslot, before adding the sitcom halfway through its first season (KMBC in the nearby Kansas City market similarly preempted the first season of The Brady Bunch in its entirety); the program was carried instead on Kansas City–based independent station KCIT-TV (channel 50, now KPXE-TV).

News operation

KQTV presently broadcasts 18+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 3+1⁄2 hours each weekday and a half-hour each on Saturdays and Sundays); unlike most ABC affiliates in the Central Time Zone, it does not carry a midday newscast on weekdays or an early evening newscast on weekends. The station has a high turnover rate among its on-air anchoring and reporting staff, with most eventually moving on to larger markets. Gordie Hershiser, brother of former Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser, once served as a sports anchor at the station, succeeding longtime sports director John Baccala.

On August 24, 2007, KQTV marked long-time meteorologist Mike Bracciano's 20th anniversary with the station. Current and former station personnel paid tribute to Bracciano during an hour-long broadcast originating from East Hills Mall. Among those appearing in person or via taped message included Baccala, and former news anchors John Bassford and Nancy Lewis (the latter who, along with Bracciano, served as the original hosts of the station's Live at Five newscast, when it premiered in the early 1990s).

Notable former staff

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KQTV
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
2.1 720p 16:9 KQTV-HD ABC
2.2 480i 4:3 Antenna Antenna TV
2.3 16:9 ION Ion Television

On March 1, 2018, subchannel 2.2 went live and began carrying Antenna TV.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KQTV began broadcasting its digital signal at 1,000 kW on UHF channel 53 in 2003. Since that allocation was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, it seemed likely that KQTV would relocate its digital signal to VHF channel 2. However, low-band VHF signals are more prone to electromagnetic interference from atmospheric conditions than higher channel numbers. For these reasons when the station discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on February 18, 2009, the station's digital signal moved to VHF channel 7, using virtual channel 2.

References

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External links

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