KOLN

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KOLN KGIN
KOLN: Lincoln, Nebraska KGIN: Grand Island, Nebraska
Branding	10/11
Slogan	Every day ...
Channels	10, 11 (VHF) analog, 25, 32 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	CBS (secondary until 1954) MNTV on DT2
Owner	Gray Television
Founded	February 18, 1953 (KGIN: October 1, 1961)
Call letters meaning	LincOLN Grand Island, Nebraska
Former affiliations	NBC (1953-1980s), ABC (1953-1980s, secondary from 1954), DuMont
Transmitter Power	316 kW
Website	www.kolnkgin.com

KOLN, channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on channel 11 in Grand Island. Combined, the two stations serve one of the largest coverage areas in the nation, stretching across 35 counties in central and western Nebraska. The stations, branded together on-air as 10/11 (pronounced ten-eleven), are owned by Gray Television.

The station is officially part of the Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney television market. However, this market has no basis in television reality. KOLN and CW affiliate KCWL are the only full-power stations shared by the entire market. Lincoln and surrounding communities receive ABC from KLKN-TV in Lincoln, NBC from WOWT-TV in Omaha and Fox from KPTM-TV in Omaha. The rest of the market receives ABC from KHGI-TV in Kearney, NBC from KHAS-TV in Hastings and Fox from KSNB-TV in Superior (which operates a low-powered translator in Lincoln).

KOLN/KGIN also operated a UPN affiliate on its digital subchannels. Beginning on September 5, 2006, those digital subchannels switched to MyNetworkTV programming.

Contents 1 Station history 2 UPN Nebraska / My Network TV 3 Translators 4 External links

[edit] Station history

KOLN signed on for the first time on February 18, 1953 as Nebraska's third television station and the first outside Omaha. It was owned by broadcasting pioneer John Fetzer along with KOLN-AM 1400 (now KLIN). Originally broadcasting on channel 12, it moved to channel 10 in 1954 after donating the channel 12 facilities to the University of Nebraska for its educational station, KUON-TV.

The station was originally the ABC affiliate for the Omaha-Lincoln market. However, after only a year on the air, Fetzer persuaded the Federal Communications Commission to merge Lincoln with the Hastings-Kearney market in central and western Nebraska. As a result, KOLN joined CBS and has remained affiliated with that network ever since. KGIN debuted on October 1, 1961.

KOLN carried programming from the other networks until the 1980s. Lincoln viewers could still view the other networks' full schedules since most of the Omaha stations reach Lincoln over the air, and all of them are available on cable. Until KLKN signed on in 1996, Lincoln was one of the largest cities in the country with only one full-power commercial station.

Well into the 1980s, when nearly every other local television news broadcast began with the latest news, KOLN began its newscasts with the weather report. According to A. James Ebel, KOLN's general manager from 1954 to 1985, "The first thing I learned when I arrived here in 1954 is that the weather is the No. 1 story in Nebraska." [1] Mel Mains served as KOLN's main news anchor for 34 years, from 1961 to 1995.[2]

[edit] UPN Nebraska / My Network TV

UPN was broadcast on DT2 subcarriers of KOLN and KGIN under the banner UPN Nebraska; the service switched to MyNetworkTV in September 2006. It not only airs syndicated programs and the entire network schedule, it offers rebroadcasts of KOLN/KGIN news and The Oprah Winfrey Show in primetime.

[edit] Translators

KOLN serves its large coverage area with 13 translators. KOLN-owned repeaters are in bold; all others are owned by local municipalities or organisations.

• Ainsworth: K11KW, channel 11
• Broken Bow: K04CV, channel 4
• Cambridge: K30FV, channel 30
• Cozad: K55AF, channel 55
• Gothenburg: K28GC, channel 28
• Neligh: K53GC, channel 53
• Newport: K25GM, channel 25
• North Platte: K04ED, channel 4 and K57CZ, channel 57
• O'Neill: K43FX, channel 43
• Ord: K04HL, channel 4
• Valentine: K69AL, channel 69
• Wallace: K33FF, channel 33

[edit] External links

• KOLN & KGIN Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KOLN
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KGIN
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K11KW
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K04CV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K30FV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K55AF
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K28GC
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K53GC
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K25GM
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K04ED
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K57CZ
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K43FX
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K04HL
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K69AL
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K33FF
• Obituary of A. James Ebel (longtime KOLN general manager)
• Nebraska Broadcasters Association profile of Mel Mains (longtime KOLN news anchor)