W46BE
In May 1990, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted Murray Broadcasting Company a construction permit for a new low-power TV station.[1]
WQTV-LP launched on July 1, 1990, as W46BE and was known on-air as "TV-46".[2] It was designed to be a sister outlet for radio station WNBS (1340 AM), owned by Murray Broadcasting, and was carried on Murray's local cable system. The station aired local news and events as well as content from the FamilyNet, Hit Video USA, and All News Channel services.[3]
In October 1991, WNBS owner Chuck Shuffett sold WNBS and W46BE for $1.2 million to Troy Cory, a Hollywood singer who announced his real name was Keith Stubblefield and that he was a descendant of Nathan Beverly Stubblefield, whose 1892 experiments with "wireless telephony" predated Guglielmo Marconi's invention of radio. Major changes followed. The evening newscast was eliminated, and during the day, the TV station (referred to as "WNBS-TV") began simulcasting the audio of WNBS radio with a camera in the studio and cartoons and other vignettes playing during songs. Cory brought significant labor strife to WNBS; the station's employees resigned after Cory insisted they sign contracts to become independent contractors instead of employees. For two weeks, operations manager Anthony Parham kept the stations on the air through December 6, when WNBS left the air and channel 46 began broadcasting a test pattern.[4] The stations were put in receivership in early 1992; Cory sued Shuffett, claiming he had been misled about the company's debts, while Cory was arrested on felony theft charges that were only dropped with a plan to repay the employees for lost wages.[5][6] Equipment used by the TV station was sold to the Calloway County, Kentucky, school system for use in Calloway County High School's TV production class.[7] Shuffett successfully sued Stubblefield for breach of contract.[8]
WQTV-LP
Sam Parker, who already owned Murray radio stations WSJP (1130 AM) and WBLN-FM (103.7), purchased WNBS in 1995; he reactivated channel 46 as WQTV-LP on September 3, 1995. The station, known as the "Quad Cities Television Network" (for Murray, Mayfield, Benton, and Paris, Tennessee), operated from studios on Duiguid Drive near the radio stations.[9] It aired programming from The WB and also began producing two local newscasts a day.[10] In addition, WQTV held the rights to Murray State University (MSU) athletic events.[11] Parker retired from broadcasting in November 1996 and announced the sale of the Murray stations to WRUS Inc. of Russellville.[12] During this time, Murray State returned its coaches' shows to Paducah's WPSD-TV in order to reach a wider audience.[13]
WQWQ-LP
WQWQ-LP began broadcasting on February 12, 2001. It was owned by Engles Communications of Santa Barbara, California, and primarily served to rebroadcast WQTV-LP, which remained owned by Murray State; the combined service was known as "UPN 9/24", with WQTV-LP having recently moved from channel 46 to channel 24.[20] Owner Steve Engles was familiar with the market; he had owned KBSI-TV from 1989 to 1995.[21] The launch of the new Paducah station provided a renewed opportunity for the Kentucky Broadcasters Association to criticize Murray State for selling advertising on WQTV.[22]
In 2002, Engles bought WQTV-LP from Murray State, then Raycom Media, owner of KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, bought both stations from Engles. Raycom's first priority was to improve the signal quality from the transmitters. The UPN feed and other programming were now received in Cape Girardeau and sent to the analog transmitters in Paducah and Murray, as well as local cable companies, as a digital subchannel of KFVS-TV.[23]
Telemundo affiliation
In 2023, WQWQ relocated its transmission facility to its current location at KFVS' tower in Cape Girardeau.[33] That same year, the station became affiliated with Telemundo, becoming the market's first Spanish-language television station.
