KLMG-TV: CBS affiliate (1984–1991)
In February 1982, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a company owned by Clara McLaughlin a construction permit to build a new TV station on channel 51 in Longview. McLaughlin reached an affiliation agreement with CBS in late December, and the station agreed to renovate the former Rollins Elementary School—once Longview's all-Black school—using tax-free bonds supplied by the city. Further, McLaughlin revealed plans to build three more stations as the "East Texas Television Network", including channel 19 in Nacogdoches, channel 42 in Paris, and channel 20 in Denison.[2] By 1983, officials hoped that the new station would be in service by February 1984; work was just beginning on converting the disused elementary school into a TV station facility, having been delayed by construction and financing hangups.[3] That date was missed, in part because of changing technological requirements; CBS was switching to satellite distribution of network programming, and the addition of the necessary dishes further delayed channel 51's launch.[4]
KLMG-TV began broadcasting on September 9, 1984. It assumed the rights to CBS programming from KLTV (channel 7) in Tyler and KTRE (channel 9) in Lufkin, which were all-network stations primarily affiliated with ABC. Most notably moving from channel 7 was CBS's coverage of NFL football, including most Dallas Cowboys games; this irked fans in the Lufkin area, as KTRE lost the rights to the games even though that area fell outside of KLMG-TV's coverage.[5] The new station's sign-on was also a historic moment; McLaughlin was the first African American woman and the twelfth Black person to own a television station in the United States.[6][7][8] She was the only woman stockholder in East Texas Television Network alongside some 30 men. Sometimes, other investors questioned her business decisions; when she decided to renovate the Rollins School for the station's studios, some withdrew their support.[9]
The station's business ambitions did not go to plan. Delays in construction,[10] a sluggish regional economy in the years after channel 51 went to air and threatened litigation led East Texas Television Network to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on March 13, 1987. The largest creditors were banks and investors, such as Barclays.[11] A week later, on March 20, the station canceled its local newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m., laying off its news staff of 13.[12] A lawyer for Barclays stated in bankruptcy court that KLMG-TV was at risk of losing its CBS affiliation.[13] The news department was reinstated on July 4, 1988, following a refinancing of East Texas Television Network.[14]
In 1988, the bankruptcy court awarded ownership of KLMG-TV to Delta Broadcasting, which then filed with the FCC to have the license transferred to it. Delta also began handling management of KLMG-TV on an interim basis. However, McLaughlin and general manager Joe Deck, a partner in Delta Broadcasting, disputed who had operational and legal control of the station, with McLaughlin pointing out that Delta was not the licensee and Deck asserted too much operational control.[15] The bankruptcy case languished for several more years. In August 1989, a bankruptcy judge approved the conversion of the Chapter 11 reorganization case to Chapter 7 liquidation, and a trustee was appointed.[16] East Texas Television Network filed to have the proceeding reverted to Chapter 11.[17]
KFXK: From CBS to Fox
In July 1990, the bankruptcy trustee asked the court to approve the sale of KLMG-TV to Kamin Broadcasting, a new Houston-based firm headed by Lester Kamin. The company decided to pursue a purchase of channel 51 because it believed that the Tyler–Longview market could support three TV stations.[18] The license transfer was completed on January 9, 1991.[19]
Five days later, Kamin announced that channel 51 would become an affiliate of Fox on April 1.[20] The decision was made in part because CBS was available in the market on cable from KSLA in Shreveport, Louisiana, and KDFW-TV in Dallas, but there was no Fox affiliate.[21] This was indeed the case; in a 1990 Arbitron ratings survey, KLMG-TV attracted fewer viewers than either of KSLA or KDFW and tied with multiple out-of-market stations available on cable.[22]
ComCorp and Nexstar management
In 1998, White Knight Broadcasting, a company controlled by Sheldon Galloway, bought KFXK and its associated low-power stations from the successor to Warwick, Inwood Investors Partnership, for $11.5 million.[32] By December 2000, Communications Corporation of America, owner of KETK-TV, was operating KFXK and KLPN-LP under a local marketing agreement with Warwick.[33] After entering bankruptcy reorganization, a majority share in White Knight was sold to Malara Enterprises; Galloway remained involved in the buyer, and no changes were foreseen aside from the addition of a local newscast for KFXK.[34]
ComCorp used KETK-TV as a production hub for newscasts at some of the company's other Fox-affiliated stations. In addition to the newscast for KFXK-TV, news programs seen on the Fox affiliates in Waco and Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Louisiana, were presented from Tyler with stories sent from the local areas.[35]
On April 24, 2013, ComCorp announced the sale of its television stations, including KETK-TV, to
