Early history
Five applications were designated for comparative hearing in March 1983,[2] though community surveys and filings had begun the year prior.[3] Davenport Communications, Limited Partnership, was granted the construction permit in November after the five applicants entered into a settlement agreement;[4] partners in the station included brothers Ed and Lee Hanna of New York, former Rock Island mayor James R. Davis, and Gary Brandt, who served as general manager.[5] In June 1984, the board of supervisors in Henry County, Illinois, approved the rezoning of land at Orion for the station's transmitter; a Christmas launch was announced at that time,[6] but the timeline had slipped to midyear by November.[7] Station officials noted that the Quad Cities' comparatively high cable TV penetration and its status as one of the larger remaining markets without an existing independent station.[8]
KLJB-TV began broadcasting on July 28, 1985; it was named for the Hanna brothers' father, Lee J. Blumberg. As with other independents, its programming consisted of children's cartoons, syndicated reruns and movies, and sports.[9] It operated from studios on 53rd Street in Davenport.[10] In 1987, the station debuted Live on Tape, a local Saturday night sketch comedy program wrapped around a feature film.[11]
The station was a charter affiliate of Fox when it launched in October 1986, but by early 1988, Brandt was expressing serious distaste with the network's constantly shifting programming. In January, he submitted a cancellation notice to Fox—which took effect on March 20—and shunted the network's Saturday night lineup to late nights.[12][13] Meanwhile, in order to get out from expensive programming leases that had been made at the station's launch in 1985—some for titles KLJB-TV never aired—Davenport Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[14] While the station was in bankruptcy, the Fox network found its stride with shows such as The Simpsons, but Quad Cities viewers had no access to the network's programming, even on cable.[15] Even though station management said they had no desire to affiliate with Fox for the foreseeable future as late as April 1990, the stronger ratings and more stable identity convinced Brandt to return the station to the Fox network beginning that September.[16] The move did result in fewer sports telecasts on the station to accommodate Fox programming.[17]
Grant Broadcasting ownership
In December 1990, Davenport Communications emerged from bankruptcy and debtor-in-possession status, having met the terms of a repayment schedule that saw $250,000 to $350,000 in payments on what was originally a $2 million debt.[18] Two months later, the company agreed to sell KLJB-TV to Florida-based Grant Communications. Its founder, Milton Grant, had only the year before returned to television station ownership with the purchase of WZDX in Huntsville, Alabama.[19] Grant extended the station's reach in 1996 by buying and restoring to air KJMH (channel 26) in Burlington, Iowa, which began to simulcast KLJB. The Burlington station, whose signal did not reach the Quad Cities, had gone on the air in January 1988 as a Fox affiliate. However, in May 1994, it lost the network affiliation (picking up Channel America programming to fill the void[20]), and six months later, it went off the air.[21]
Nexstar ownership
On November 6, 2013, Irving, Texas–based Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it would purchase the Grant stations, including KLJB and KGCW, for $87.5 million. Due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership regulations (as Nexstar was also in the process of acquiring WHBF-TV, the local CBS affiliate), KLJB was to then be spun off to Mission Broadcasting, with Nexstar providing operational support through a shared services agreement as with other Mission-owned stations.[27] However, on June 6, 2014, Nexstar announced that it would instead sell KLJB and two other Fox stations to Marshall Broadcasting Group—a new, minority-controlled company headed by Pluria Marshall Jr.—for $58.5 million. While this company acquired much of the station's assets, Nexstar entered into a shared services agreement to provide non-programming resources (such as master control) and advertising sales for Marshall's three stations.[28] The sale was completed on December 1, 2014.[29]
In November 2014, while Nexstar was still waiting for the completion of its sale of KLJB to Marshall Broadcasting, there was speculation by other local media that KGCW might move to a WHBF subchannel.
