KMEG
Encyclopedia
KMEG is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for the Southern Siouxland
licensed to Sioux City, Iowa
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 39 (or virtual channel
14.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in unincorporated
Plymouth County, Iowa
east of James and US 75
along the Woodbury
county line. The station can also be seen on Cable ONE
channel 7 and in high definition on digital channel 460. Owned by Waitt Broadcasting, KMEG is operated through a shared services
agreement (SSA) by New World TV Group. This makes it a sister station to Fox affiliate KPTH
and the two outlets share studios along I-29
(postal address says Gold Circle) in unincorporated
Dakota Dunes, South Dakota
. Syndicated
programming on this station includes Wheel of Fortune
, Jeopardy!
, The Doctors
, and The Nate Berkus Show
among others.
which launched in October 2008 as a straight simulcast of sister station KAZO-LP
/KXVO
-DT2 in Omaha, Nebraska
. In Spring 2010, it was spun-off to have a separate feed in the Sioux City area. Although this local service is currently not offered on Cable ONE, the provider airs the national feed on channel 18.
. Since all are licensed as low-powered
stations, they were exempt from transitioning to digital-only broadcasts in 2009 as mandated by law for all full-power television stations.
The station signed-on October 1, 1967
as the market
's fourth television outlet. It has been affiliated with CBS since the beginning. Before its launch, the network had previously been carried on KVTV (now KCAU-TV
) from 1953 until 1965 through a primary relation. When that station switched its affiliation to ABC
, KCAU shared secondary CBS relations with NBC
outlet KTIV
until KMEG signed-on. KMEG was started by a group of local investors led by Bob and Norma Donovan. Its call letters were selected in honor of their daughter Meg who would later pass away.
The station's original ownership group sold KMEG to John Fetzer
in 1969. Fetzer sold off all of his broadcasting properties in the mid-1980s. KMEG was among the last to be divested going to Gillett Holdings
in 1985. The next year, Gillett spun-off the station to an employee group called KMEG Television, Inc. In 1991, Maine
Radio acquired the station.
KMEG was aquired by Waitt Broadcasting in 1998, and after that company took control, the station received significant upgrades. This included an increase of its broadcast tower height to 2,000 feet and effective radiated power
to five million watt
s. The station transformed its analog
signal on UHF channel 14 from the Sioux City metro area to full-market coverage spanning 23 counties in Northwestern Iowa
, Northeastern Nebraska
, and Southeastern South Dakota
. Around the same time Waitt bought KMEG, the company also purchased Fox affiliates WFXL
in Albany, Georgia
, WPGX
in Panama City, Florida
, WDFX-TV
in Dothan, Alabama
, and KYOU-TV
in Ottumwa, Iowa
. However, the Fox affiliates were kept separate from KMEG through a subsidiary known as Waitt Media. In 2003, Waitt Broadcasting sold its entire Waitt Media unit to Raycom Media
(who concurrently transferred KYOU's license to a third party due to Federal Communications Commission
duopoly
regulations as Raycom already owned Ottumwa's ABC affiliate KTVO
at the time) but retained KMEG.
It was one of only two CBS stations not to air The Late Show with David Letterman when it premiered. KXJB Fargo, North Dakota
also declined to alter its syndicated lineup in order to air the new program. This led Sioux City to become known as The Late Show's first home office. KMEG would began airing the show in 1994. KMEG's first studios were at the corner of 7th Street and Floyd Boulevard in Downtown Sioux City until around the turn of the 21st century
when it moved into new facilities in Dakota Dunes near North Sioux City, South Dakota
. The 20132 sq ft (1,870.3 m²) building was constructed by Darland Construction Company, and at the time, the building housed KMEG and two radio station
s (KZSR
-FM 102.3 and KKYY
-FM 101.3). In May 2005, Waitt Broadcasting entered into a shared services
agreement (SSA) with Pappas Telecasting Companies
(then owner of Fox affiliate KPTH). The two radio stations moved out and KPTH was integrated into KMEG's facility eventhough its was the senior partner in the arragement.
In November 2007, Waitt announced it would sell KMEG to Siouxland Television, LLC. Pappas was to have continued operating the station as part of the deal. However, Pappas' Sioux City duopoly is among the company's thirteen stations which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection. As a result, the sale of KMEG to Siouxland Television fell through. On January 16, 2009, it was announced several of the Pappas stations involved in the bankruptcy (including KPTH) would be sold to New World TV Group after the transaction received United States bankruptcy court
approval. The change in ownership was completed on October 15, 2009, and on that day, New World TV Group took over the SSA with KMEG. From 1988 until the sign-on of KPTH in 1999, the station maintained a secondary affiliation with Fox. It also aired selected UPN
programming out-of-pattern until the network merged with The WB (carried locally on KTIV-DT2
and cable television
) to form The CW in 2006. Since noon on February 17, 2009, KMEG's broadcasts have been digital-only.
to upgrade its news operation to 16:9
enhanced definition widescreen
. Although not truly high definition, the broadcasts match the ratio of HD television screens. The weeknight news at 9 on KPTH was included in the change.
KCAU became the area's first outlet to add full high definition newscasts soon after on November 23. It would not be until June 2011 when KITV would complete the same upgrade. KMEG does not air any weekend newscasts but does offer a weekly summary of headlines Sunday nights at 10. Its weekday broadcasts in the morning, at 5, and 10 are streamed live on the station's website. Unlike most CBS affiliates in the Central Time Zone
, it does not air local news weeknights at 6. Maintaining only nine on-air personalities, KMEG has a smaller news department compared with most other big three network
affiliates.
Other anchors
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the Southern Siouxland
Siouxland
Siouxland is a vernacular region that encompasses the entire Big Sioux River drainage basin in the U.S. states of South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa....
licensed to Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 39 (or virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
14.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Plymouth County, Iowa
Plymouth County, Iowa
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 24,986 in the 2010 census, an increase from 24,849 in the 2000 census. The county seat is Le Mars...
east of James and US 75
U.S. Route 75
U.S. Route 75 is a north–south U.S. Highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Kittson County, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it continues as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side of a closed border crossing. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 30 and Interstate 45 in Dallas,...
along the Woodbury
Woodbury County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 102,172 in the county, with a population density of . There were 41,454 housing units, of which 39,052 were occupied.-2000 census:...
county line. The station can also be seen on Cable ONE
Cable One
Cable ONE is a United States cable service provider and subsidiary of The Washington Post Company, functioning as its own self-contained corporation within its parent company. The company's name and current focus dates back to 1997; prior to that time the company was known as Post-Newsweek Cable...
channel 7 and in high definition on digital channel 460. Owned by Waitt Broadcasting, KMEG is operated through a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement (SSA) by New World TV Group. This makes it a sister station to Fox affiliate KPTH
KPTH
KPTH is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Southern Siouxland licensed to Sioux City, Iowa. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 49 from a transmitter in unincorporated Plymouth County, Iowa, east of James and US 75, along the Woodbury county line...
and the two outlets share studios along I-29
Interstate 29 in South Dakota
In the U.S. state of South Dakota, Interstate 29 traverses on the eastern side of the state, bypassing through Sioux Falls, the state's largest city.-Route description:...
(postal address says Gold Circle) in unincorporated
Union County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,584 people, 4,927 households, and 3,517 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 5,345 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
Dakota Dunes, South Dakota
Dakota Dunes, South Dakota
Dakota Dunes is an unincorporated, master-planned residential and commercial development covering about in Union County in the extreme southeast corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The development is sandwiched between the Big Sioux River and the Missouri River...
. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on this station includes Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
, and The Nate Berkus Show
The Nate Berkus Show
The Nate Berkus Show, commonly referred to as The Nate Show, is a syndicated talk show hosted by interior designer Nate Berkus, which premiered on September 13, 2010....
among others.
Digital television
On KMEG-DT2 is Azteca AméricaAzteca América
Azteca América is a broadcast television network marketed toward Spanish-speaking families residing in the United States. As a rapidly-growing Spanish language network, Azteca América now reaches 89% of the Hispanic households in the U.S., operating in sixty-two markets nationwide. Wholly owned by...
which launched in October 2008 as a straight simulcast of sister station KAZO-LP
KAZO-LP
KAZO-LP, UHF analog channel 57, was a Spanish-language low-power television station in Omaha, Nebraska affiliated with the Azteca America network, except for a brief affiliation with the TuVision Spanish language network in 2007 and 2008...
/KXVO
KXVO
KXVO digital channel 38 is the The CW affiliated television station in Omaha, Nebraska. The station is owned by Mitts Telecasting Company and operated by Titan TV Broadcast Group through a local marketing agreement. KXVO shares operations and studios with another Titan-owned station, Fox affiliate...
-DT2 in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. In Spring 2010, it was spun-off to have a separate feed in the Sioux City area. Although this local service is currently not offered on Cable ONE, the provider airs the national feed on channel 18.
| Channels (physical/virtual) | Name | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.1/39.1 | KMEG-HD | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
main KMEG programming/CBS (HD) |
| 14.2/39.2 | KMEG-DT2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | Azteca América (SD) |
Translators
KMEG's signal is repeated over three translatorsBroadcast relay station
A broadcast relay station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator , rebroadcaster , or repeater is a broadcast transmitter which relays, repeats, or reflects the signal of another radio station or television station, usually to an area not covered by the signal of the originating station...
. Since all are licensed as low-powered
Low-power broadcasting
Low-power broadcasting is electronic broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area.The terms "low-power broadcasting" and "micropower broadcasting" should not be used interchangeably, because the markets are not the same...
stations, they were exempt from transitioning to digital-only broadcasts in 2009 as mandated by law for all full-power television stations.
History
1967 in television
The year 1967 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1967.For the American TV schedule, see: 1967-68 American network television schedule.-Events:...
as the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
's fourth television outlet. It has been affiliated with CBS since the beginning. Before its launch, the network had previously been carried on KVTV (now KCAU-TV
KCAU-TV
KCAU-TV is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting digitally on VHF channel 9 as an affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company.-History:...
) from 1953 until 1965 through a primary relation. When that station switched its affiliation to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, KCAU shared secondary CBS relations with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
outlet KTIV
KTIV
KTIV is an NBC television station in Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting on digital channel 41.KTIV also carries The CW Television Network, which replaced The WB network in September 2006, on its 4.2 digital subchannel.-History:...
until KMEG signed-on. KMEG was started by a group of local investors led by Bob and Norma Donovan. Its call letters were selected in honor of their daughter Meg who would later pass away.
The station's original ownership group sold KMEG to John Fetzer
John Fetzer
John Earl Fetzer was a radio and television executive who was best known as the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961 through the early 1980s.- Biography :...
in 1969. Fetzer sold off all of his broadcasting properties in the mid-1980s. KMEG was among the last to be divested going to Gillett Holdings
George N. Gillett Jr.
-Biography:George Gillett graduated from Lake Forest Academy in 1956. He attended Amherst College and is a graduate of Dominican College in Racine, Wisconsin....
in 1985. The next year, Gillett spun-off the station to an employee group called KMEG Television, Inc. In 1991, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
Radio acquired the station.
KMEG was aquired by Waitt Broadcasting in 1998, and after that company took control, the station received significant upgrades. This included an increase of its broadcast tower height to 2,000 feet and effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
to five million watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. The station transformed its analog
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
signal on UHF channel 14 from the Sioux City metro area to full-market coverage spanning 23 counties in Northwestern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Northeastern Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, and Southeastern South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. Around the same time Waitt bought KMEG, the company also purchased Fox affiliates WFXL
WFXL
WFXL is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southwestern Georgia that is licensed to Albany. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Doerun near the Colquitt and Worth County line. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station has studios on...
in Albany, Georgia
Albany, Georgia
Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...
, WPGX
WPGX
WPGX is the Fox Network-affiliated television station for the Florida Panhandle that is licensed Panama City. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in the Bennett section of Youngstown. Owned by Raycom Media, the station has studios known as the "Fox...
in Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
, WDFX-TV
WDFX-TV
WDFX-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southeastern Alabama's Wiregrass Region licensed to Ozark. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter in Wicksburg. The station can also be seen on Knology channel 5 as well as Comcast and Time Warner...
in Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
, and KYOU-TV
KYOU-TV
KYOU-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Honey Lands area of Southeastern Iowa and Northeastern Missouri. Licensed to Ottumwa, Iowa, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 15 from a transmitter ten miles north of Fairfield, Iowa...
in Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
. However, the Fox affiliates were kept separate from KMEG through a subsidiary known as Waitt Media. In 2003, Waitt Broadcasting sold its entire Waitt Media unit to Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
(who concurrently transferred KYOU's license to a third party due to Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
duopoly
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
regulations as Raycom already owned Ottumwa's ABC affiliate KTVO
KTVO
KTVO is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Honey Lands area of Northeastern Missouri and Southeastern Iowa. Licensed to Kirksville, Missouri, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter northwest of Downing, Missouri along US 136...
at the time) but retained KMEG.
It was one of only two CBS stations not to air The Late Show with David Letterman when it premiered. KXJB Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
also declined to alter its syndicated lineup in order to air the new program. This led Sioux City to become known as The Late Show's first home office. KMEG would began airing the show in 1994. KMEG's first studios were at the corner of 7th Street and Floyd Boulevard in Downtown Sioux City until around the turn of the 21st century
21st century
The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era or the Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The century began on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100. The years from 2001 to 2010 are historical; the years from 2011 to 2100 are subject to futurology and...
when it moved into new facilities in Dakota Dunes near North Sioux City, South Dakota
North Sioux City, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,288 people, 916 households, and 621 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.7 people per square mile . There were 953 housing units at an average density of 425.6 per square mile...
. The 20132 sq ft (1,870.3 m²) building was constructed by Darland Construction Company, and at the time, the building housed KMEG and two radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s (KZSR
KZSR
KQNU is a radio station broadcasting a Modern AC format. The station is licensed to Onawa, Iowa, and serves Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting from a tower east of Walthill, Nebraska on the Omaha Indian Reservation. KQNU is owned by Powell Broadcasting...
-FM 102.3 and KKYY
KKYY
KKYY is a radio station licensed to serve Whiting, Iowa. The station is owned by Powell Broadcasting Company, Inc. It airs a Classic country format....
-FM 101.3). In May 2005, Waitt Broadcasting entered into a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement (SSA) with Pappas Telecasting Companies
Pappas Telecasting Companies
Pappas Telecasting Companies was a diversely organized broadcasting company headquartered in Visalia, California, United States. Founded in 1971, it was one of the largest privately held broadcasting companies in the country, with its stations reaching over 15% of all U.S. households and over 32%...
(then owner of Fox affiliate KPTH). The two radio stations moved out and KPTH was integrated into KMEG's facility eventhough its was the senior partner in the arragement.
In November 2007, Waitt announced it would sell KMEG to Siouxland Television, LLC. Pappas was to have continued operating the station as part of the deal. However, Pappas' Sioux City duopoly is among the company's thirteen stations which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
protection. As a result, the sale of KMEG to Siouxland Television fell through. On January 16, 2009, it was announced several of the Pappas stations involved in the bankruptcy (including KPTH) would be sold to New World TV Group after the transaction received United States bankruptcy court
United States bankruptcy court
United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. They function as units of the district courts and have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal district courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases arising...
approval. The change in ownership was completed on October 15, 2009, and on that day, New World TV Group took over the SSA with KMEG. From 1988 until the sign-on of KPTH in 1999, the station maintained a secondary affiliation with Fox. It also aired selected UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
programming out-of-pattern until the network merged with The WB (carried locally on KTIV-DT2
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
and cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
) to form The CW in 2006. Since noon on February 17, 2009, KMEG's broadcasts have been digital-only.
Newscasts
After being acquired by Waitt Broadcasting in 1998, KMEG added evening and late-night local news. On October 9, 2006, KMEG began producing a weeknight prime time newscast on its sister outlet. Known as Fox 44 News at Nine, the broadcast can currently be seen for thirty minutes. This station handles primary newscast production even through KPTH is the senior partner in the SSA. On October 25, 2010, KMEG became the first station in the marketMedia market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
to upgrade its news operation to 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
enhanced definition widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios 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 the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
. Although not truly high definition, the broadcasts match the ratio of HD television screens. The weeknight news at 9 on KPTH was included in the change.
KCAU became the area's first outlet to add full high definition newscasts soon after on November 23. It would not be until June 2011 when KITV would complete the same upgrade. KMEG does not air any weekend newscasts but does offer a weekly summary of headlines Sunday nights at 10. Its weekday broadcasts in the morning, at 5, and 10 are streamed live on the station's website. Unlike most CBS affiliates in the Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
, it does not air local news weeknights at 6. Maintaining only nine on-air personalities, KMEG has a smaller news department compared with most other big three network
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
affiliates.
News titles
- KMEG News (1999–2005)
- KMEG 14, Your Hometown News (2005–present)
- KMEG 14 Five O'Clock Focus (5 p.m. weeknights, 2011–present)
Station slogans
- "Kmeg U Can Count On Us" (1990–1999)
- "Building Our Station Around You" (1999–2000)
- "Live, Local, Latebreaking" (2000–2004)
- "Your Hometown News" (2005–present)
News team
Anchors and reporters- Erika Thomas - weekday morning news and "Hometown Farmer" segment producer
- Jordan Furbee - weeknight news and Game Night host
- Michelle Stuhr - weeknight news
- Olivia Wilmsen - news reporter
- Jacob Heller - news reporter
Other anchors
- Chad Sandwell (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist seen weeknights - Lacey Swope - weekday morning meteorologist
- Lisa Ryan - fill-in meteorologist
- Mike Foss - Sports DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen weeknights at 9 and 10 (also Game Night host)