KTWO-TV

KTWO-TV, virtual channel 2 (UHF digital channel 17), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Casper, Wyoming, United States. The station is owned by Vision Alaska. KTWO-TV's studios are located on Skyview Drive in Casper, and its transmitter is located atop Casper Mountain.

Not to be confused with KATU, KTUU-TV, K2, or WTWO.
KTWO-TV
Casper, Wyoming
United States
BrandingK2TV
K2 News
SloganWyoming's News Leader
ChannelsDigital: 17 (UHF)
Virtual: 2 (PSIP)
TranslatorsSee below
AffiliationsABC (1978–1986, 2004–present; secondary, 1957–1978)
OwnerVision Alaska, LLC[1]
LicenseeVision Wyoming LLC
First air dateMarch 1, 1957 (1957-03-01)[2]
Call sign meaningChannel TWO
Former channel number(s)Analog:
2 (VHF, 1957–2009)
Former affiliationsNBC (1957–2003; secondary 1978–1986)
CBS (secondary, 1959–1980)
The WB (secondary, 1995–1998)
Independent (2003–2004)
Pax TV (secondary, 2003–2004)
Transmitter power52.9 kW
Height560 m (1,837 ft)
Facility ID18286
Transmitter coordinates42°44′26″N 106°21′36″W
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
Websitewww.k2tv.com

KTWO-TV is also available on channel 6 on Charter Spectrum cable in Casper, as well as on the digital subcarrier of Cheyenne-based Fox affiliate KLWY (channel 27) and a network of UHF and VHF translators across the state. Under previous owner Equity Broadcasting, it had also been available on a free-to-air satellite uplink (as with all of Equity's stations, hubbed out of Little Rock, Arkansas and sent to the transmitter via FTA satellite) until Equity went bankrupt and the satellite was sold.

History

KTWO-TV signed on the air on March 1, 1957; it was owned by Harriscope Inc., and aired programming from ABC and NBC,[3] with NBC as its primary affiliation.[4] CBS programming was added in 1959, after the shutdown of previous CBS affiliate KSPR-TV (channel 6);[5] KTWO's owners also purchased KSPR radio (then at 1470 AM; now at 1030 AM), a longtime CBS Radio affiliate,[6] and changed its call sign to KTWO to match its new television sister.[7]

In March 1978, after 21 years as a primary NBC affiliate, ABC announced that KTWO-TV would become a primary affiliate effective September 5;[8] this was around the same time that ABC became the nation's highest rated network. The station lost CBS to KCWY-TV (channel 14, now KGWC-TV) when it signed on in 1980. In 1984, another new station, KXWY-TV (channel 20), began carrying NBC programming not cleared by KTWO. In early 1986, KTWO agreed to once again become a primary NBC affiliate effective September 1;[9] the ABC affiliation went to KXWY (now KFNB). Later that year, Harriscope Broadcasting sold KTWO-TV, along with KULR-TV in Billings, Montana, to Dix Communications for $12.2 million.[10] On August 28, 1987, Dix signed on a KTWO satellite station in Cheyenne, KKTU (channel 33).

In 1994, Dix sold KTWO-TV and KKTU, along with KAAL-TV in Austin, Minnesota, to Eastern Broadcasting for $13 million.[11] For a time starting in 1995, KTWO and KKTU had a secondary affiliation with The WB.[12] Eastern sold its stations — KTWO-TV and KKTU, KAAL-TV, and KODE-TV in Joplin, Missouri — to Grapevine Communications for $40 million in 1997;[13] Grapevine merged with GOCOM Communications to form GOCOM Holdings in 1999.[14] Equity Broadcasting bought KTWO-TV and KKTU for $3.5 million in 2001.[15]

Affiliation transition from NBC to ABC

On September 1, 2003, NBC moved its affiliation from KTWO to KCWY (channel 13).[16] Equity had known at the time it acquired the station that the NBC affiliation would expire; in preparation for the move, on June 27, 2003, KTWO-TV announced that it had agreed to affiliate with ABC, and that the new affiliation would not take effect until the expiration of ABC's contract with KFNB on June 5, 2004.[16] In the interim, KTWO operated as an independent station, but carried programming from Pax TV (now Ion Television), including Candid Camera and Miracle Pets; before the affiliation change, Pax programming had been seen on KCWY.[16] Cheyenne satellite station KKTU was able to immediately switch from NBC to ABC,[16] and began branding itself as "ABC 8", after its position on the Cheyenne cable system. After reaching an agreement with KTWO, KFNB agreed to end its ABC affiliation early; on March 8, 2004, KTWO officially became an ABC affiliate, KFNB obtained the Fox affiliation from K26ES (now MyNetworkTV affiliate KWYF-LD channel 29) and K26ES became an affiliate of UPN and Pax.[17]

Coinciding with the affiliation switch, on March 1, 2004, K-TWO TV of Wyoming, controlled by Cheryl Kaupp, began operating KTWO-TV under a local marketing agreement, and that October filed to purchase the station outright from Equity Broadcasting for $1.7 million.[18] Kaupp was the daughter of Marvin Gussman, whose Wyomedia Corporation owned KFNB;[19] Wyomedia's general manager, Mark Nalbone, served as a consultant to KTWO and owned a thirty-percent interest in Mark III Media, which was in the process of acquiring KGWC-TV,[20] though in December 2005 he told Television Business Report that he did not speak for KTWO in retransmission consent negotiations.[19] In April 2004, Nalbone announced that KTWO would vacate its longtime studios on East Second Street in Casper;[20] its present location shares operations with KFNB, KWYF, and KGWC on Skyview Drive. K-TWO TV of Wyoming assigned its right to acquire KTWO-TV to Silverton Broadcasting, headed by Barry Silverton, in May 2005;[21] Silverton completed the purchase on May 31, 2006.[22]

Equity Broadcasting retained ownership of channel 33 in Cheyenne, which had changed its call sign to KDEV in 2005, and allowed KTWO to continue to operate it; KTWO later moved its ABC programming in Cheyenne to a low-powered repeater, KKTU-LP (channel 40), after KDEV dropped ABC in favor of programming from RTN. On June 24, 2008, KKTU-LP changed its call letters to KDEV-LP, after KDEV changed its call sign to KQCK. In September 2009, KDEV dropped all ABC programming; in 2011, KTWO-TV signed on a new low-powered satellite in Cheyenne, K16JM (channel 16), which changed its call sign to KKTQ-LD on June 5, 2013.[23] KKTQ is simulcast on KLWY's second digital subchannel, and airs its own station identifications and commercials.

In July 2005, KTWO was added to the Dish Network line up of channels for customers in the Casper/Riverton designated market area. On January 1, 2012, KTWO, KFNB, and KGWC were dropped from Dish Network after failing to come to an agreement on a new contract. The signals were restored by Dish Network on May 1, 2012.

2018–present

Silverton Broadcasting agreed to sell KTWO-TV to Legacy Broadcasting on February 8, 2018. The deal would have created a duopoly with KFNB, which Legacy would have concurrently acquired from Wyomedia Corporation; in its filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Legacy stated that the duopoly was permissible because KFNB was the fifth-ranked station in the Casper–Riverton market.[24] The sale was canceled in October 2018.[25]

On October 8, 2019, Silverton Broadcasting announced that it would sell KTWO-TV and KKTQ-LD to Vision Wyoming, a subsidiary of Vision Alaska (run by Stephen Brissette); the sale was concurrent with Big Horn Television's purchase of KGWC-TV and Coastal Television Broadcasting Company's purchase of KFNB and KLWY.[26] Coastal Television (run by Bill Fielder) and Vision Alaska already jointly operated stations in Alaska.[1] The sale was completed on June 1, 2020.[27] Shortly afterwards, the news department was significantly downsized, and weekend newscasts originated from NewsNet out of Michigan.[28]

Notable former on-air staff

Translators

References
  1. Jessell, Harry A. (October 8, 2019). "Fielder, Brissette Buy Network Affils". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says March 1, while the Television and Cable Factbook says March 8.
  3. "KTWO-TV Casper Takes to Air" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecastting. March 18, 1957. p. 92. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  4. 1958 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1958. p. A-215. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  5. "Media reports" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 17, 1959. p. 69. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  6. "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 5, 1959. p. 58. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  7. "For the record" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 26, 1959. p. 120. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  8. "ABC-TV grabs three more" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 13, 1978. p. 59. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  9. "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 3, 1986. p. 105. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  10. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 3, 1986. p. 85. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  11. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. July 4, 1994. p. 30. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  12. Smith, Doug (November 1995). "TV News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. pp. 11, 13. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  13. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. March 24, 1997. p. 46. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  14. Television & Cable Factbook 2001 Edition (PDF). 2001. pp. A-1415. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  15. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. February 5, 2001. p. 34. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  16. Westreicher, Tara (June 28, 2003). "KTWO-TV signs ABC contract". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  17. Burke, Brendan (February 24, 2004). "Programming to change March 8". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  18. "Casper deal is as easy as ABC". Radio Business Report. October 11, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  19. "Next retransmission showdown: Wyoming". Television Business Report. December 27, 2005. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  20. Van Dusen, Matthew (April 27, 2004). "KTWO-TV to move from Second Street". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  21. BIA Financial Networks (May 23, 2005). "Deals". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  22. Silverton, Barry (June 1, 2006). "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Notice. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  23. "Call Sign History (KKTQ-LD)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  24. "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  25. "Notification of Non-consummation". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  26. Learned, Nick (October 9, 2019). "21 Wyoming TV Stations to be Sold in 3 Transactions". K2 Radio. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  27. Brissette, Stephen (June 5, 2020). "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Notice. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  28. Learned, Nick (June 22, 2020). "Casper's K2TV Fires Anchors, Scraps Some Local Newscasts After Ownership Change". K2 Radio. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
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