Establishment and WB/CW affiliation
In 1996, World Broadcasting, Incorporated, a subsidiary of the Omaha World-Herald newspaper, applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking approval to build a station on channel 51 in Lincoln. It expected to involve Pappas Telecasting in the operation of the new station.[3] The two open ultra high frequency (UHF) channels in Lincoln, channels 45 and 51, had each received multiple applications. In the case of channel 51, World Broadcasting was competing with Anthony J. Fant, who at the same time was in the process of selling the Nebraska Television Network (NTV) to Pappas.[4] By 1999, the field of applicants for channel 51 had grown to five with David M. Comisar, Prime Broadcasting Company, and Lincoln 51 LLC filing proposals.[5] The FCC granted World Broadcasting the construction permit in 2003, three years after the five applicants had reached a joint settlement agreement; the FCC at one point had dismissed World's application on technical grounds related to interference to new Class A stations but reinstated the application.[6]
World then intended to transfer the license to CFM Communications, a company owned by Carol Miller, which would contract with Pappas for construction, sales, and programming services. The FCC initially approved the deal in 2005, over the objections of Gray Television (owner of the region's CBS affiliate, KOLN/KGIN). Gray believed that Pappas would continue to exercise de facto control over the station under CFM ownership.[7] However, weeks later, the FCC rescinded this approval. This occurred after Mitts Telecasting, owner of Pappas-managed KXVO in Omaha, filed with the FCC the transcript of a deposition made by Miller in a lawsuit involving CFM and Mitts. In a letter, the head of the FCC Media Bureau's Video Division noted, "[T]he sworn statements made by Ms. Miller in her deposition raise serious questions regarding the truthfulness of representations made in CFM's application to acquire Lincoln [Broadcasting, a subsidiary holding the channel 51 permit] from World [Broadcasting]".[8]
KFXL signed on June 26, 2006, as KOWH,[9] an affiliate of The WB Television Network.[10] The station derived its call sign from the World-Herald; the newspaper outsourced most of the station's operations to Pappas, which provided marketing, sales and programming services to the station.[9] Before KOWH signed on, The WB was seen either via KXVO in Omaha[9] or a cable-only WB 100+ station, "KWBL", which Pappas operated alongside NTV.[11] KOWH also used the WB 100+ service.[12]
Five months before KOWH's sign-on, The WB and UPN had announced that they would close and form The CW Television Network. Pappas had obtained the affiliation for KOWH by the time it signed on,[9] and to reflect this affiliation, the station changed its call sign to KCWL-TV on August 1, 2006. KCWL operated as a member of The CW Plus, successor of The WB 100+. On September 1, 2006, KCWL was added to the primary cable system in Lincoln, Time Warner Cable, on channel 18 in their low basic cable tier.[10]
Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the digital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997,[13] the station did not receive a companion digital channel. It was thus required to flash-cut to a digital signal when analog broadcasting formally ended on June 12, 2009.[14]
Switch to Fox
On June 3, 2009, Pappas Telecasting announced that KCWL would drop its CW affiliation upon the shutdown of the analog transmitter, leaving the Lincoln–Hastings–Kearney market without an over-the-air CW station. The station turned off its analog signal on June 9. When it returned as a digital-only station on June 12, it did so as Fox affiliate KFXL-TV, airing the same programming as KTVG-TV (channel 17) and KSNB-TV (channel 4).[14] The primary Fox affiliate on Lincoln cable systems was Pappas-owned KPTM in Omaha, though KSNB-TV also operated two analog translators in Lincoln and had been added to the Time Warner Cable lineup in 2003 because of its secondary carriage of UPN programming.[15] Steve Harry, general manager of NTV/KFXL, stated that the move was made to increase viewership of his station due to most viewers in Lincoln choosing KXVO, which Time Warner Cable had continued to carry, for CW programming.[14] It also had been a longstanding ambition of Pappas, since the late 1990s, to build a full-power Fox station in Lincoln.[16] KPTM continued to be carried in high definition by Time Warner Cable until 2012.
