KWCH-DT

KWCH-DT is a television station licensed to Hutchinson, Kansas, and serving the Wichita television market as an affiliate of CBS. Its principal studios are on North 37th Street in northeast Wichita, while its main transmission facility is located east of Hutchinson in rural northeastern Reno County. The station is the flagship of the Kansas Broadcasting System, or KBS, a regional network of full-power stations that distributes CBS programming and KWCH-originated content across a broad portion of Kansas and into adjacent areas of Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The station began broadcasting on July 1, 1953, under the call sign KTVH. It was the first commercial television station constructed in Kansas and initially operated from Hutchinson. Although Hutchinson remained the station’s community of license, KWCH established a Wichita presence in 1954 and gradually developed into a dual-market service focused on the state’s largest city. Regulatory disputes during the 1950s concerned whether the station could identify itself as serving Wichita as well as Hutchinson. The Federal Communications Commission eventually allowed the station to use a Hutchinson–Wichita designation. Ownership during the early decades included local Kansas investors and the Cowles family’s Star & Tribune Company, later known as Cowles Media. The station expanded its Wichita facilities, increased transmitter power, and became part of the KBS regional television structure during the early 1960s. KBS brought together KTVH with stations in western and northwestern Kansas, giving the network an unusually extensive geographic footprint for a regional broadcasting operation. A new high-power transmitter east of Hutchinson was activated in 1963. A major transformation occurred after KBS Inc., controlled by Ross Beach and Robert E. Schmidt, acquired KTVH in 1983. The owners installed new management, invested in equipment and presentation, adopted the KWCH call letters, and introduced the “The Look of a Leader” positioning. The station also reworked its local news operation under the Eyewitness News identity. These changes helped KWCH move from a distant third-place position in local news ratings to a leading position in the Wichita market by the late 1980s and across the broader market by the early 1990s. The KBS properties later passed through Smith Broadcasting, ownership associated with Sandy DiPasquale, and Spartan Communications. Spartan merged with Media General in 2000. Media General sold KWCH and related stations in 2006 to Schurz Communications, which operated the Wichita assets through its Sunflower Broadcasting subsidiary. Schurz added CW affiliate KSCW-DT as a sister station in 2007 and developed additional programming, sales, and technical relationships with other local broadcasters. In 2015, Schurz announced the sale of its broadcasting division to Gray Television, now known as Gray Media. The transaction was completed in February 2016 after regulatory approval. Because Gray already owned KAKE in the Wichita market, it divested that station to Lockwood Broadcast Group in order to retain KWCH. Under Gray, KWCH remains a central Kansas news, weather, sports, and CBS programming outlet, with distribution through its over-the-air signal, digital subchannels, cable and satellite systems, and online properties. Its locally oriented services include newscasts, weather coverage, high-school sports programming, and the Catch It Kansas sports brand.

KWCH-DT traces its history to a construction-permit application filed in 1952 by Wichita-Hutchinson Company, Inc. The Federal Communications Commission approved the application for channel 12 in January 1953. The ownership group included Hutchinson-area business and civic interests, among them members of the Dillons grocery family, a local automobile dealer, the owners of salt-mining interests, the publisher of the Hutchinson News-Herald, and the owner of radio station KWBW. The resulting station selected the KTVH call sign, built studios on Plum Street in Hutchinson, and established a transmitter site east of the city. It transmitted a test pattern in June and formally launched on July 1, 1953. KTVH was notable not only as Hutchinson’s station but also as the first television outlet to serve Wichita, then the largest city in Kansas. It opened a Wichita satellite studio in 1954 and purchased former KEDD facilities in Wichita in 1956. The station’s efforts to present itself as a Wichita–Hutchinson service generated objections from Wichita broadcasters, but the FCC permitted broader market identification by 1959. A technical upgrade increased the station’s effective power in 1957, improving its regional reach. In 1955, 80 percent of KTVH was sold to the Minneapolis-based Star & Tribune Company, controlled by the Cowles family. The company retained the station after a proposed 1968 sale to the WKY Television System of Oklahoma City failed to receive prompt FCC approval and was ultimately abandoned. During the 1960s, KTVH became the flagship of the Kansas Broadcasting System. KBS incorporated stations serving southwestern Kansas, Hays, and Goodland, creating a network that claimed coverage of dozens of Kansas counties and portions of neighboring states. The network’s present regional character was established during this period, and a 1,504-foot transmitter tower was activated east of Hutchinson in 1963. The station’s main operational center shifted toward Wichita during the 1970s. In 1976, the FCC authorized the move of the main studio provided that Hutchinson staffing and service were maintained. KWCH subsequently expanded its Wichita facility, and by 1978 a majority of locally originated programming came from Wichita. The station nevertheless retained its Hutchinson license and transmission identity. Cowles Media sold KTVH to Kansas Broadcasting System Inc., owned by Ross Beach and Robert E. Schmidt, in a transaction that took effect in January 1983. The new owners hired Ron Bergamo as general manager, upgraded equipment, modernized the studio presentation, and changed the call letters to KWCH on July 4, 1983. The “The Look of a Leader” campaign and a redesigned Eyewitness News product were intended to reverse the station’s weak local-news position. New anchor talent, a more contemporary set, and greater investment in reporting helped KWCH challenge KAKE and KSNW. By the late 1980s, KWCH led in many Wichita time periods, and it reached first place across the full market in the early 1990s. The owners expanded KBS by acquiring KTVC in 1988. Later that year, Smith Broadcasting purchased the KBS operation. Sandy DiPasquale became an important figure in the company’s management and later acquired majority ownership. Spartan Communications bought KBS in 1994, and Spartan merged into Media General in 2000. Media General sold KWCH, its satellite stations, and related broadcast assets in 2006 as part of a wider portfolio transaction connected to Media General’s acquisition of former NBC-owned stations. Schurz Communications acquired the properties and operated them through Sunflower Broadcasting. Schurz purchased KSCW through a failing-station waiver in 2007, expanded KWCH-produced programming for that station, and entered into service and sales arrangements involving Univision affiliate KDCU-DT. Schurz announced its exit from broadcasting in 2015. Gray Television agreed to acquire the broadcasting division for approximately $442.5 million, subject to regulatory review. The FCC approved the transaction in February 2016, and the sale closed shortly afterward. To address market-ownership requirements, Gray divested KAKE to Lockwood Broadcast Group while retaining KWCH. The station continues to operate as a Gray Media CBS affiliate and regional news brand, combining network television, local journalism, weather, sports, digital publishing, and programming distributed through the Kansas Broadcasting System.

1. 2016Gray ownership begins

   Gray Television completed its acquisition of Schurz’s broadcast division, including KWCH.

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2. 2007KSCW becomes a sister station

   Schurz acquired CW affiliate KSCW and KWCH began supplying additional local programming.

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3. 2006Schurz acquisition

   Schurz Communications acquired KWCH and related stations from Media General.

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4. 2000Spartan merges with Media General

   KWCH entered the Media General portfolio through Spartan Communications’ merger.

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5. 1994Spartan Communications acquisition

   Spartan Communications acquired KBS from Sandy DiPasquale’s ownership group.

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6. 1988KBS expands and changes ownership

   KBS acquired KTVC and was subsequently purchased by Smith Broadcasting.

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7. 1983KTVH becomes KWCH

   New owners changed the call letters, refreshed the visual identity, and launched a major local-news turnaround.

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8. 1978Main studio operations shift toward Wichita

   After FCC approval, the station began originating most local programming from its expanded Wichita facility while maintaining Hutchinson service.

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9. 1963High-power transmitter activated

   A new transmitter east of Hutchinson expanded the station’s regional coverage.

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10. 1962Kansas Broadcasting System formed

    KTVH joined stations in Hays, Goodland, and southwestern Kansas to create the KBS regional network.

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11. 1954Wichita presence established

    The station opened a satellite studio in Wichita, beginning a long-term dual-market service strategy.

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12. 1953Launch as KTVH

    KTVH began broadcasting from Hutchinson on July 1 as the first commercial television station built in Kansas.

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A leading regional CBS television and local-news brand for Wichita, Hutchinson, central Kansas, and western Kansas, emphasizing broad geographic reach, breaking news, weather, sports, and community coverage.

• KWCH Eyewitness NewsLocal television news1983

  KWCH’s principal local-news franchise, developed during the 1983 relaunch. It combines Wichita-area reporting with coverage from Hutchinson and the broader Kansas Broadcasting System footprint, including breaking news, investigations, weather, traffic, community stories, and regional reports. The franchise was central to the station’s rise from a lower-rated news operation to a market leader during the 1980s and early 1990s.

• Catch It KansasHigh-school sports media

  A KWCH sports brand focused on Kansas high-school athletics. It includes a digital presence and a weekly television program carried by sister station KSCW, extending the station’s local identity beyond daily news and professional or collegiate sports.

• CBS programmingNetwork television programming1953

  KWCH carries CBS network programming for the Wichita and central Kansas market. Through its KBS distribution structure, CBS and KWCH-provided programming reach viewers well beyond the station’s Hutchinson community of license.

• KWCH local weatherWeather information

  Weather forecasting and severe-weather information are core parts of KWCH’s local service. The station’s broad coverage area makes regional storm tracking, warnings, forecasts, and weather-related digital content important elements of its audience proposition.

• 1983The Look of a Leader

  Wichita · Hutchinson · Central Kansas

  KWCH introduced a new station identity and positioning campaign alongside its call-letter change from KTVH. The campaign supported a broader overhaul involving new management, equipment, presentation, staffing, and the Eyewitness News format.

  Outcome. The repositioning contributed to a substantial improvement in local-news ratings, with KWCH becoming a leading Wichita-area news outlet by the late 1980s and a full-market leader by the early 1990s.

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• 2016Gray acquires KWCH while divesting KAKEM&A

  Gray Television already owned KAKE in the Wichita market when it agreed to purchase Schurz Communications’ broadcasting division.

  What changed. Gray completed the KWCH acquisition after FCC approval and divested KAKE to Lockwood Broadcast Group to satisfy ownership requirements.

  Aftermath. KWCH became part of Gray Media and remained the company’s retained Wichita-area television property.

  Transaction value. Approximately $442.5 million (2015 announced transaction, completed February 2016)

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• 2007Expansion of programming for KSCWStrategy

  Schurz acquired CW affiliate KSCW, creating a sister-station relationship with KWCH.

  What changed. KWCH began producing an extended weekday morning newscast for KSCW and later added afternoon and evening local-news editions.

  Aftermath. The arrangement broadened KWCH’s local-news distribution across Schurz’s Wichita television properties.

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• 2004Prime-time news production for KSASProduct launch

  KWCH entered a news-sharing arrangement with Fox affiliate KSAS-TV.

  What changed. KWCH began producing a half-hour KSAS newscast at 9 p.m.

  Aftermath. The arrangement later led to a contract dispute concerning whether the program was aired live; the parties settled with a live-broadcast commitment for the remaining term.

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• 1983Rebrand and local-news turnaroundStrategy

  KTVH was generally behind KAKE and KSNW in local-news ratings and was perceived as conservative and dated in presentation.

  What changed. New owners changed the call letters to KWCH, hired new management, invested in equipment and presentation, adopted the Eyewitness News identity, and launched the “The Look of a Leader” positioning.

  Aftermath. KWCH became a serious competitor by the mid-1980s and reached first place in many local-news ratings by the end of the decade.

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• 2016Gray Television completes acquisition of KWCH

  Gray completed its purchase of Schurz’s broadcasting division, including KWCH, after receiving Federal Communications Commission approval.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2012KWCH settles dispute over KSAS newscast production

  A contract dispute with Fox affiliate KSAS concerning the delivery of a jointly produced newscast was settled after KWCH agreed to air the program live for the balance of the agreement.

  Lawsuit
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• 2007KWCH expands programming for KSCW

  Following Schurz’s acquisition of KSCW, KWCH began producing an extended weekday morning newscast for the CW affiliate.

  Product launch
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• 2006KWCH becomes a Schurz Communications station

  Schurz Communications acquired KWCH and related stations from Media General and placed its Wichita broadcasting assets in Sunflower Broadcasting.

  M&A
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• 1983KTVH adopts KWCH identity and relaunches its news operation

  After a change in ownership, the station changed its call letters to KWCH, introduced a new brand promise, and began a major local-news repositioning.

  Leadership change
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• 1962Kansas Broadcasting System takes shape

  KTVH joined stations in western and northwestern Kansas to form the Kansas Broadcasting System, with KTVH serving as its flagship.

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• 1953KTVH begins broadcasting as Kansas's first commercial television station

  The station launched in Hutchinson under the KTVH call sign and became the first commercial television station built in Kansas.

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1. KWCH-DT
2. KWCH official website