KOBR
Encyclopedia
KOBR is an NBC
-affiliated television station
located in Roswell
, New Mexico
, U.S. Also serving Carlsbad
, KOBR operates on VHF channel 8 as a satellite of NBC affiliate KOB
in Albuquerque
, which is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. Other satellite stations of KOB include KOBF in Farmington
and KOBG-TV in Silver City
. These satellite operations provide additional news bureaus for KOB and sell advertising
time to local sponsors.
, ABC
and DuMont
. The station moved to 1717 West 2nd Street in Roswell, which was purpose-built. A bigger 1610 feet (490.7 m) tower was erected near Caprock, New Mexico
, 43 miles (69.2 km) east of Roswell, in 1956. At that time, it was the world's tallest structure; the world's tallest tower of that type 50 years later (North Dakota's
KVLY-TV
mast) was 2063 feet (628.8 m) in height. With the new transmitter, the effective radiated power was ramped up to 316 kW, the highest for a full-power VHF analog station; the antenna
was 1786 feet (544.4 m) above average terrain. The tower fell due to an ice storm in 1960, and a new 875 feet (266.7 m) tower was constructed. New facilities at Caprock and Comanche Peak were built. A newer tower was built by 1962. (See KOBR-TV Tower
.)
KSWS-TV grew out of the earlier history of KSWS radio, which signed on at 1230 kHz with 250 watts day and night in 1947. This station is mentioned in many of the Roswell UFO incident
stories as its newsroom was contacted during the events. It is not known if Barnett put KSWS radio on the air from scratch or whether he bought it prior to putting Channel 8 on the air.
The first transmitter (and likely the first antenna, package deals were very common in the early days of television) was/were built by Standard Electronics. This was installed at the Comanche Peak site east of Roswell. It was later moved to the Caprock tower. In the early sixties an RCA TT-25-DH (25,000 watt visual output, fourth (D) series, high band VHF output channel) was installed at the new site. After the 1960 collapse of the first 1610 feet (490.7 m) tower, the 875 feet (266.7 m) tower (formerly used by KFVS-TV
in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
) was installed a fraction of a mile from the former and future tall tower site. In the mid-1980s a Harris Transmitter was installed and the TT-25DH was retired to standby duty, where it currently serves.
The Caprock site was remarkable for its extreme isolation. Three houses were built near the tower to house operating engineers and their families. Electrical power was provided by the area power cooperative. When it proved difficult to keep the power flowing, the station invested in large diesel generator
s to bridge the gap. Water was provided by an extremely deep well, and mail was delivered to a rural box on a stand a few miles away at the crossroads.
The same interest in extreme facilities went into other ventures. The studios and offices were built at 1717 West 2nd in Roswell. The plant was more than 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) and had two large studios, with overhead control rooms and separate audience areas complete with bleachers. The plant was inspired by the then recent CBS Television City
facility in the Los Angeles
area. The small AM
station was sold to other interests (eventually becoming KRSY
) when Barnett won a permit for a new station on 1020 kHz. The new KSWS radio station, which went on the air in 1965, was 50,000 watts by day and 10,000 watts by night. That station is today's KCKN
.
In 1956 KSWS got its first competitor when KAVE-TV
channel 6 signed on in Carlsbad as the CBS affiliate for southeastern New Mexico. KAVE was hobbled with inadequate facilities and broadcast on low power and height from its facilities on Church Street in the western portion of Carlsbad before moving the transmitter to a 1200 feet (365.8 m) tower near Artesia, New Mexico
in the early 1960s.
In early 1966, KBIM-TV channel 10 signed on in Roswell as the area's CBS affiliate, broadcasting from a studio in downtown Roswell and over a 1900 feet (579.1 m) tower that was just 163 feet (49.7 m) short of the tallest mast, the KVLY mast in North Dakota. Almost simultaneously with the debut of KBIM, KAVE was sold and became a satellite of ABC affiliate KMOM-TV in Monahans, Texas
, which is now NBC affiliate KWES-TV
in Midland, Texas
. With ABC now having a primary affiliate in the area and KBIM becoming the exclusive CBS affiliate for southeastern New Mexico (KSWS retained a secondary affiliation with CBS even after KAVE went on the air), KSWS-TV became an exclusive NBC affiliate.
mines near Carlsbad downscaled activity or closed, and the Walker Air Force Base
at Roswell was deactivated in 1967. At the same time, KSWS now faced major competition from KAVE and KBIM, new radio stations, and an expanding cable television
system that gave viewers access to TV stations from surrounding areas of New Mexico and west Texas
. Following the death of KSWS founder John Barnett in 1968, the station was sold to Lubbock, Texas
businessman Joe Bryant and his company, Caprock Broadcasting, for $490,000. Bryant turned KSWS into a full-time satellite of Lubbock's KCBD-TV. Combined, the two stations served one of the largest coverage areas in the nation. Then two years later, Bryant died in 1970, and State Telecasting Company of Columbia, South Carolina
became the new owner of both KSWS and KCBD in 1971.
A private microwave system was installed between Lubbock and Roswell to link the two stations and programming. The system was very reliable, with good locations, sturdy towers, clear paths, and backup power (large lead acid batteries). The four hops went from the KCBD-TV studio/transmitter tower at 5600 Avenue "A" in Lubbock to a tower at the south edge of Levelland, Texas
, to a site near Lehman, Texas (not far from Morton, Texas
) to a site near Crossroads, New Mexico to the actual tower at Caprock. Collins Radio provided the equipment and the system was considered "network grade," meaning that it was comparable to AT&T
hops of the day.
During the 1970s KCBD-TV produced a separate newscast for KSWS, aired from the KCBD studios in Lubbock. The New Mexico Report was recorded between KCBD's 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts (5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on KSWS, which operated in the Mountain Time Zone
while KCBD broadcast in the Central Time Zone
) and consisted largely of items off the New Mexico wire service
s. The program aired after Tom Snyder
's Tomorrow
show and before sign-off on both KSWS-TV and KCBD. Often as not, the same program was repeated at sign-on the next day.
rules because the same company would own two-thirds of Roswell's television media. The station was transferred to KCBD Associates which was headed by W. Robert McKinsey (the long time general manager of KCBD and KSWS). A planned sale to the Hubbard interests at KOB-TV had to wait until the KSWS license was renewed. The license had been challenged.
In May 1983, the sale of KCBD-TV to the KBIM-TV owners closed. KSWS-TV began to operate independently of KCBD, by way of an agreement with New Mexico public television station KENW in Portales, New Mexico
. Where KCBD-TV operated as a Central Time Zone
station unsuitable for broadcast in a Mountain Time
market (one hour earlier than Central), KSWS began to use an NBC feed that came from KOB and was fed over NMPTV microwave to the Portales master control, and from there to the Caprock tower. According to listings from the New Mexico edition of TV Guide
from this era, most NBC and selected syndicated and news programming originated from KOB-TV, with most of that station's syndicated and sports programming replaced with religious and selected PBS
programming (though never popular PBS shows such as Sesame Street
or Masterpiece Theatre
).
New studios and offices were eventually set up for the renamed KOBR at 214 East 2nd in Roswell. Local news, weather and sports inserts called Eyewitness News 8 and specific to KOBR viewers were included in portions of the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts sourced from the Albuquerque station until the practice was discontinued by Hubbard for KOBR as well as for Farmington satellite station KOBF, effective March 1, 2007.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
located in Roswell
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, U.S. Also serving Carlsbad
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...
, KOBR operates on VHF channel 8 as a satellite of NBC affiliate KOB
Kob
The Kob is an antelope found across Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to South Sudan. Found along the Northern Savanna, often seen in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; Garamba and Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as grassy floodplains of...
in Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, which is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. Other satellite stations of KOB include KOBF in Farmington
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 U.S. Census the city had a total population of 45,877 people. Farmington makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas in New Mexico. The U.S...
and KOBG-TV in Silver City
Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...
. These satellite operations provide additional news bureaus for KOB and sell advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
time to local sponsors.
As a separate station
KOBR channel 8 began operations in 1953 as KSWS-TV and was the first television station in southeastern New Mexico. KSWS began broadcasting with a 790 feet (240.8 m) tower and studios on Comanche Peak east of Roswell. The station's effective radiated visual power was 107 kW, and its height above average terrain was 905 feet (275.8 m). The station, owned by oil investor and petroleum engineer John A. Barnett, was affiliated with all four networks at the time: NBC, CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, ABC
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...
and DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. The station moved to 1717 West 2nd Street in Roswell, which was purpose-built. A bigger 1610 feet (490.7 m) tower was erected near Caprock, New Mexico
Caprock, New Mexico
Caprock is an unincorporated town in Lea County, New Mexico, United States.-References:...
, 43 miles (69.2 km) east of Roswell, in 1956. At that time, it was the world's tallest structure; the world's tallest tower of that type 50 years later (North Dakota's
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV, is an NBC affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 44, which redirects to former NTSC channel 11 via PSIP. In addition to its main studio in Fargo, it operates a satellite studio in...
mast) was 2063 feet (628.8 m) in height. With the new transmitter, the effective radiated power was ramped up to 316 kW, the highest for a full-power VHF analog station; the antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
was 1786 feet (544.4 m) above average terrain. The tower fell due to an ice storm in 1960, and a new 875 feet (266.7 m) tower was constructed. New facilities at Caprock and Comanche Peak were built. A newer tower was built by 1962. (See KOBR-TV Tower
KOBR-TV Tower
KOBR-TV Tower is a 490.7 meter high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Caprock, New Mexico, USA. KOBR-TV Tower was built in 1960. The original KSWS-TV Tower was built in December 1956 and was the same height at 1610 ft...
.)
KSWS-TV grew out of the earlier history of KSWS radio, which signed on at 1230 kHz with 250 watts day and night in 1947. This station is mentioned in many of the Roswell UFO incident
Roswell UFO incident
The Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...
stories as its newsroom was contacted during the events. It is not known if Barnett put KSWS radio on the air from scratch or whether he bought it prior to putting Channel 8 on the air.
The first transmitter (and likely the first antenna, package deals were very common in the early days of television) was/were built by Standard Electronics. This was installed at the Comanche Peak site east of Roswell. It was later moved to the Caprock tower. In the early sixties an RCA TT-25-DH (25,000 watt visual output, fourth (D) series, high band VHF output channel) was installed at the new site. After the 1960 collapse of the first 1610 feet (490.7 m) tower, the 875 feet (266.7 m) tower (formerly used by KFVS-TV
KFVS-TV
KFVS-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southeastern Missouri, the Purchase area of Western Kentucky, and Southern Illinois that is licensed to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter north of the city in rural Cape...
in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
) was installed a fraction of a mile from the former and future tall tower site. In the mid-1980s a Harris Transmitter was installed and the TT-25DH was retired to standby duty, where it currently serves.
The Caprock site was remarkable for its extreme isolation. Three houses were built near the tower to house operating engineers and their families. Electrical power was provided by the area power cooperative. When it proved difficult to keep the power flowing, the station invested in large diesel generator
Diesel generator
A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....
s to bridge the gap. Water was provided by an extremely deep well, and mail was delivered to a rural box on a stand a few miles away at the crossroads.
The same interest in extreme facilities went into other ventures. The studios and offices were built at 1717 West 2nd in Roswell. The plant was more than 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) and had two large studios, with overhead control rooms and separate audience areas complete with bleachers. The plant was inspired by the then recent CBS Television City
CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of North Fairfax Avenue...
facility in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area. The small AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
station was sold to other interests (eventually becoming KRSY
KRSY (AM)
KRSY is a radio station broadcasting a talk/personality format. Licensed to Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA, the station is currently owned by WP Broadcasting, LLC and features programing from Citadel Media, ESPN Radio and Premiere Radio Networks....
) when Barnett won a permit for a new station on 1020 kHz. The new KSWS radio station, which went on the air in 1965, was 50,000 watts by day and 10,000 watts by night. That station is today's KCKN
KCKN
KCKN is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Country format. Licensed to Roswell, New Mexico, USA. The station is currently owned by JCE Licenses, LLC and includes programming from AP Radio and Dial-Global.-History:...
.
In 1956 KSWS got its first competitor when KAVE-TV
KOAT-TV
KOAT-TV, channel 7, is an ABC network affiliated television station serving Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its transmitter is located on Sandia Crest, northeast of Albuquerque. Syndicated programming on KOAT includes: Entertainment Tonight, Ellen, The Dr...
channel 6 signed on in Carlsbad as the CBS affiliate for southeastern New Mexico. KAVE was hobbled with inadequate facilities and broadcast on low power and height from its facilities on Church Street in the western portion of Carlsbad before moving the transmitter to a 1200 feet (365.8 m) tower near Artesia, New Mexico
Artesia, New Mexico
Artesia is a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States, centered at the intersection of U.S. Route 82 and 285; the two highways serve as the city's Main Street and First Street, respectively...
in the early 1960s.
In early 1966, KBIM-TV channel 10 signed on in Roswell as the area's CBS affiliate, broadcasting from a studio in downtown Roswell and over a 1900 feet (579.1 m) tower that was just 163 feet (49.7 m) short of the tallest mast, the KVLY mast in North Dakota. Almost simultaneously with the debut of KBIM, KAVE was sold and became a satellite of ABC affiliate KMOM-TV in Monahans, Texas
Monahans, Texas
Monahans is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, Texas, United States. A very small portion of the city extends into Winkler County. The population was 6,821 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, which is now NBC affiliate KWES-TV
KWES-TV
KWES-TV, channel 9, commonly referred to as NewsWest 9, is the NBC affiliated television station in the Midland/Odessa area. The station is owned by the Drewry Communications Group. It also operates a satellite station, KWAB-TV , in Big Spring, Texas.-History:KWES began broadcasting in 1958 as...
in Midland, Texas
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
. With ABC now having a primary affiliate in the area and KBIM becoming the exclusive CBS affiliate for southeastern New Mexico (KSWS retained a secondary affiliation with CBS even after KAVE went on the air), KSWS-TV became an exclusive NBC affiliate.
KCBD-TV satellite
As KSWS became a sole NBC affiliate in the mid-to-late 1960s, economic problems were emerging in southeastern New Mexico. The potashPotash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
mines near Carlsbad downscaled activity or closed, and the Walker Air Force Base
Walker Air Force Base
Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles south of the central business district of Roswell, a city in Chaves County, New Mexico, US...
at Roswell was deactivated in 1967. At the same time, KSWS now faced major competition from KAVE and KBIM, new radio stations, and an expanding cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
system that gave viewers access to TV stations from surrounding areas of New Mexico and west Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Following the death of KSWS founder John Barnett in 1968, the station was sold to Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
businessman Joe Bryant and his company, Caprock Broadcasting, for $490,000. Bryant turned KSWS into a full-time satellite of Lubbock's KCBD-TV. Combined, the two stations served one of the largest coverage areas in the nation. Then two years later, Bryant died in 1970, and State Telecasting Company of Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
became the new owner of both KSWS and KCBD in 1971.
A private microwave system was installed between Lubbock and Roswell to link the two stations and programming. The system was very reliable, with good locations, sturdy towers, clear paths, and backup power (large lead acid batteries). The four hops went from the KCBD-TV studio/transmitter tower at 5600 Avenue "A" in Lubbock to a tower at the south edge of Levelland, Texas
Levelland, Texas
Levelland is a city in Hockley County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,542. It is the county seat of Hockley County. It is located on the Llano Estacado, west of Lubbock. Major industries include cotton farming and petroleum production...
, to a site near Lehman, Texas (not far from Morton, Texas
Morton, Texas
Morton is a town in Cochran County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,249 at the 2000 census. The population has been in steady decline since the 1960s and is estimated to have dropped by approximately 15% from the 2000 number when the 2010 Census is completed. Morton is the county seat of...
) to a site near Crossroads, New Mexico to the actual tower at Caprock. Collins Radio provided the equipment and the system was considered "network grade," meaning that it was comparable to AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
hops of the day.
During the 1970s KCBD-TV produced a separate newscast for KSWS, aired from the KCBD studios in Lubbock. The New Mexico Report was recorded between KCBD's 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts (5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on KSWS, which operated in the Mountain Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
while KCBD broadcast in the Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
) and consisted largely of items off the New Mexico wire service
Wire Service
Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.-Synopsis:Wire Service focuses on three reporters for the fictional Trans-Globe wire service, which was similar to real-life news wire services such as the Associated Press and United Press International...
s. The program aired after Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder
Thomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
's Tomorrow
Tomorrow (TV series)
Tomorrow was an American late-night television talk show hosted by Tom Snyder...
show and before sign-off on both KSWS-TV and KCBD. Often as not, the same program was repeated at sign-on the next day.
KOB-TV satellite
State Telecasting decided to sell KSWS in 1983. The owners of Roswell's CBS affiliate, KBIM-TV, made the best bid for KCBD at $10.75 million, but due to KBIM itself, had to divest KSWS in order to keep KCBD. Otherwise, the ownership would break Federal Communications CommissionFederal 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...
rules because the same company would own two-thirds of Roswell's television media. The station was transferred to KCBD Associates which was headed by W. Robert McKinsey (the long time general manager of KCBD and KSWS). A planned sale to the Hubbard interests at KOB-TV had to wait until the KSWS license was renewed. The license had been challenged.
In May 1983, the sale of KCBD-TV to the KBIM-TV owners closed. KSWS-TV began to operate independently of KCBD, by way of an agreement with New Mexico public television station KENW in Portales, New Mexico
Portales, New Mexico
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 11,131 at the 2000 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region.Eastern New Mexico...
. Where KCBD-TV operated as a Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
station unsuitable for broadcast in a Mountain Time
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
market (one hour earlier than Central), KSWS began to use an NBC feed that came from KOB and was fed over NMPTV microwave to the Portales master control, and from there to the Caprock tower. According to listings from the New Mexico edition of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
from this era, most NBC and selected syndicated and news programming originated from KOB-TV, with most of that station's syndicated and sports programming replaced with religious and selected PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
programming (though never popular PBS shows such as Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
or Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
).