KLKN
Encyclopedia
KLKN, channel 8, is the ABC
-affiliated television station in Lincoln, Nebraska
, USA. It is owned by Citadel Communications (not related to the larger Citadel Broadcasting
). Studios are located south of downtown Lincoln, while its transmitter is located in Utica, Nebraska
.
This station's digital signal is multiplexed:>
Channel
Name
Video
Aspect
Programming
8.1
KLKN-DT
720p
16:9
Main KLKN programming / ABC HD
8.2
KLKN-DT2
480i
4:3
"RTV 8"
; classic television series
On December 1, 2008, KLKN launched an affiliation with Retro Television Network
on its DT2 subchannel and Time Warner
channel 82 and Charter
digital 398, alongside sister stations WOI-TV
in Des Moines
and WHBF-TV
in the Quad Cities
.
to broadcast its digital signal on a high VHF
channel assignment.
, and began broadcasting December 3, 1964 as KHQL-TV, a satellite of KHOL-TV (now KHGI-TV
) in Kearney
and the Nebraska Television Network (NTN, later known as NTV) owned by Bi-States Company. The station served as the ABC affiliate for much of the Nebraska side of the Sioux City market. NTV Enterprises acquired the NTV stations in 1974; soon afterward, the station's call letters were changed to KCNA-TV (for the largest towns in its service area, Columbus
, Norfolk
, and Albion).
Joseph Amaturo bought the NTV stations in 1979 in a deal funded by the sale of KQTV
in St. Joseph, Missouri. Amaturo split KCNA from NTV on November 1, 1983 and relaunched it as Nebraska's first independent station, KBGT-TV (Big 8—named for the Big Eight Conference
, of which the Nebraska Cornhuskers
were a member). KBGT's programming during this time included movies, syndicated programming, newscasts (both locally-produced and from CNN Headline News), and sports; it also operated 24/7, a rarity for small-market stations at that time. However, by 1986 it became clear that an independent station was unsustainable in such a small market, leading to financial losses that ultimately compelled Amaturo to sell the station. Citadel Communications then acquired KBGT with the intention of making it a satellite of Sioux City ABC affiliate KCAU-TV
; in January 1987, the call letters were changed to KCAN.
In the spring of 1996, Citadel moved the license to Lincoln, and on April 1 relaunched the station as KLKN. Before then, Lincoln was one of the largest cities in the country with only one commercial television station. Omaha
's KETV
had served as Lincoln's default ABC affiliate, and is still available on cable on most Lincoln-area cable systems, including remaining the default ABC affiliate on some smaller systems.
As the move of channel 8 to Lincoln left Albion without a television station, Citadel established KLKE (channel 24) on March 30, 1996 as a satellite of KLKN. KLKE was shut down on March 2, 2003 and its license returned to the Federal Communications Commission
after determining that the cost of converting the station to digital broadcasting was prohibitive. KLKE's vacant transmitter is located near Elgin
at 41°56′25.9"N 98°16′57.4"W. This has resulted in parts of northeast Nebraska, including O'Neill
, Neligh
, and Albion having no local over-the-air ABC signal; however, KLKN and KHGI remain available on cable and satellite in these areas, and KHGI currently operates a repeater in O'Neill.
KLKN's digital signal signed on August 31, 2002, operating on UHF channel 31 until the end of the station's analog broadcasts on February 17, 2009. It was the first digital television station in Nebraska.
The Lincoln market is one of the few in the country (Grand Rapids and Tampa Bay being others) where there are two competing ABC affiliates in the market, as the western portion of the market (Grand Island
, Hastings
and Kearney) continues to be served by NTV. Both KLKN and NTV are available on satellite in the market.
Until 2011, KLKN did not carry ABC
World News Now
. Instead, the station joined its fellow Citadel stations in signing off every night, making it one of the few remaining stations in the country to do so. However, many Lincoln area viewers could still receive World News Now via either KETV over-the-air or on cable, or NTV via satellite.
Eyewitness News (ABC O&O News Collection) music package
, similar to its sister stations KCAU-TV
, WOI-TV
and WHBF
, but did not drop the Eyewitness News
title. KLKN started airing its newscasts in high-definition
on October 26, 2010.
ESP: Live Weather
Sports team
Reporters
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliated television station in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, USA. It is owned by Citadel Communications (not related to the larger Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
). Studios are located south of downtown Lincoln, while its transmitter is located in Utica, Nebraska
Utica, Nebraska
Utica is a village in Seward County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 844 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Utica is located at ....
.
Digital programming
KLKN-DT broadcasts on digital channel 8.Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
; classic television series
On December 1, 2008, KLKN launched an affiliation with Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
on its DT2 subchannel and Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
channel 82 and Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
digital 398, alongside sister stations WOI-TV
WOI-TV
WOI-DT, channel 5, is the ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Ames, and serving the Des Moines, Iowa market. Its studios are in West Des Moines...
in Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
and WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV, channel 4, is a television station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, which serves as the CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities television market...
in the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
.
Analog-to-digital conversion
KLKN shut down its analog signal on February 17, 2009, continuing digital broadcasts on channel 8. KLKN was one of about 30% of TV stations in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to broadcast its digital signal on a high VHF
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
channel assignment.
History
Channel 8 was originally licensed to Albion, NebraskaAlbion, Nebraska
Albion is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Albion is located at ....
, and began broadcasting December 3, 1964 as KHQL-TV, a satellite of KHOL-TV (now KHGI-TV
KHGI-TV
KHGI-TV, channel 13, is the ABC-affiliated television station for most of central and western Nebraska. The station is licensed to the town of Kearney....
) in Kearney
Kearney, Nebraska
Kearney is a city in and the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 at the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska-Kearney....
and the Nebraska Television Network (NTN, later known as NTV) owned by Bi-States Company. The station served as the ABC affiliate for much of the Nebraska side of the Sioux City market. NTV Enterprises acquired the NTV stations in 1974; soon afterward, the station's call letters were changed to KCNA-TV (for the largest towns in its service area, Columbus
Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in east central Nebraska, United States. Its population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Pre-settlement history:...
, Norfolk
Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the...
, and Albion).
Joseph Amaturo bought the NTV stations in 1979 in a deal funded by the sale of KQTV
KQTV
KQTV, digital channel 7 , is the ABC-affiliated television station in St. Joseph, Missouri. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, it is the only local commercial broadcast television station serving the St. Joseph area; though TBN affiliate KTAJ , which primarily serves the northern portion of...
in St. Joseph, Missouri. Amaturo split KCNA from NTV on November 1, 1983 and relaunched it as Nebraska's first independent station, KBGT-TV (Big 8—named for the Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
, of which the Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...
were a member). KBGT's programming during this time included movies, syndicated programming, newscasts (both locally-produced and from CNN Headline News), and sports; it also operated 24/7, a rarity for small-market stations at that time. However, by 1986 it became clear that an independent station was unsustainable in such a small market, leading to financial losses that ultimately compelled Amaturo to sell the station. Citadel Communications then acquired KBGT with the intention of making it a satellite of Sioux City ABC affiliate KCAU-TV
KCAU-TV
KCAU-TV is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting digitally on VHF channel 9 as an affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company.-History:...
; in January 1987, the call letters were changed to KCAN.
In the spring of 1996, Citadel moved the license to Lincoln, and on April 1 relaunched the station as KLKN. Before then, Lincoln was one of the largest cities in the country with only one commercial television station. Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
's KETV
KETV
KETV, digital channel 20 , is the ABC affiliate television station in Omaha, Nebraska and is owned by Hearst Television...
had served as Lincoln's default ABC affiliate, and is still available on cable on most Lincoln-area cable systems, including remaining the default ABC affiliate on some smaller systems.
As the move of channel 8 to Lincoln left Albion without a television station, Citadel established KLKE (channel 24) on March 30, 1996 as a satellite of KLKN. KLKE was shut down on March 2, 2003 and its license returned to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
after determining that the cost of converting the station to digital broadcasting was prohibitive. KLKE's vacant transmitter is located near Elgin
Elgin, Nebraska
Elgin is a city in Antelope County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 735 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elgin is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
at 41°56′25.9"N 98°16′57.4"W. This has resulted in parts of northeast Nebraska, including O'Neill
O'Neill, Nebraska
O'Neill is a city in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,733 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Holt County.-Geography:O'Neill is located at ....
, Neligh
Neligh, Nebraska
Neligh is a city in Antelope County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,651 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Antelope County. The city's name is pronounced .-History:...
, and Albion having no local over-the-air ABC signal; however, KLKN and KHGI remain available on cable and satellite in these areas, and KHGI currently operates a repeater in O'Neill.
KLKN's digital signal signed on August 31, 2002, operating on UHF channel 31 until the end of the station's analog broadcasts on February 17, 2009. It was the first digital television station in Nebraska.
The Lincoln market is one of the few in the country (Grand Rapids and Tampa Bay being others) where there are two competing ABC affiliates in the market, as the western portion of the market (Grand Island
Grand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 48,520 at the 2010 census.Grand Island is home to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center which is the sole agency responsible for training law enforcement officers throughout the state,...
, Hastings
Hastings, Nebraska
Hastings is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, United States. It is the principal city of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Adams and Clay counties. The population was 24,907 at the 2010 census...
and Kearney) continues to be served by NTV. Both KLKN and NTV are available on satellite in the market.
Until 2011, KLKN did not carry ABC
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
World News Now
World News Now
World News Now is an American overnight news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company's television network. Its tone is often lighthearted, irreverent and humorous...
. Instead, the station joined its fellow Citadel stations in signing off every night, making it one of the few remaining stations in the country to do so. However, many Lincoln area viewers could still receive World News Now via either KETV over-the-air or on cable, or NTV via satellite.
News operation
In December 2006, KLKN began using new graphics and Frank Gari'sFrank Gari
Frank Gari is a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a performer are "Utopia" , "Lullaby of Love" and "Princess" , all of which hit the U.S. Top 40 in 1961. He co-wrote with Roger McGuinn the song Beach Ball for Bobby Darin...
Eyewitness News (ABC O&O News Collection) music package
Television news music
Television news music is used by television stations to brand their news operations. Each television station uses an identifiable news theme; some themes are used by multiple stations while others are composed specifically for a certain station....
, similar to its sister stations KCAU-TV
KCAU-TV
KCAU-TV is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting digitally on VHF channel 9 as an affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company.-History:...
, WOI-TV
WOI-TV
WOI-DT, channel 5, is the ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Ames, and serving the Des Moines, Iowa market. Its studios are in West Des Moines...
and WHBF
WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV, channel 4, is a television station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, which serves as the CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities television market...
, but did not drop the Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
title. KLKN started airing its newscasts in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
on October 26, 2010.
Newscast titles
- The Nebraska Report (1964–1966)
- Channel 8 News (1966–1971)
- Newscope (1971–1973)
- TV-8 News (1973–1976)
- Newscene 8 (1976–1983)
- NewsWatch 8 (1983–1987)
- News 8 (1996–2001)
- Channel 8 Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
(2002–present)
Station slogans
- You'll Say I See (2002–2006)
- Lincoln's Own ABC (2006–present)
News team
Anchors- Vanessa Brown - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Rod Fowler - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Megan Palera - weekday mornings and noon (interim)
- Kali Nicole - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
ESP: Live Weather
- Kevin Coskren (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. - Luke Dorris - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
- Rachael Witter - meteorologist; weekends
Sports team
- Brett Edwards - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
Reporters
- Stephanie Costanzo - general assignment reporter
- Ashley Harding - general assignment reporter
- Melina Matthes - general assignment reporter
- Kelly Sommariva - general assignment reporter
Newsroom management
- Roger Moody - General Manager
- Mark Haggar - News Director
- Linda Van Hoosen - Assignment Manager
- Melissa Lindell - Senior Producer
- Keith Stueven - Chief Photographer
- Charlie Horan - Producer
- Cecilia Jackson - Producer
- Jeff Swanson - Operations Manager
- Dave Dwinell - Promotions Manager