| Omaha/Lincoln, Nebraska- Council Bluffs, Iowa |
|
|---|---|
| City of license | Omaha |
| Branding | Fox 42 (general) Fox 42 News My 42.2 & This Omaha (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Omaha's Only Local Source For News, Weather, and Sports at 9 |
| Channels | Digital: 43 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 42.1 Fox 42.2 MyNetworkTV & This TV 42.3 Estrella TV |
| Owner | Titan Broadcast Management (TTBG/KPTM License Sub, LLC) |
| First air date | April 6, 1986 |
| Call letters' meaning | Pappas Telecasting of the Midlands |
| Sister station(s) | KXVO |
| Former channel number(s) | 42 (UHF analog, 1986-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1986) America One (secondary on DT2, 2006-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 700 kW |
| Height | 475 m |
| Facility ID | 51491 |
| Website | kptm.com |
KPTM is the Fox-affiliated television station for Omaha, Nebraska. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 (virtual channel 42.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter south of Gretna and I-80. The station can also be seen on Cox channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 710. Owned by Titan Broadcast Management, the station operates CW affiliate KXVO (owned by Mitts Telecasting Company) through a local marketing agreement (LMA) and the two share studios on Farnam Street in Omaha. Syndicated programming on KPTM includes My Name Is Earl, The Office, Two and a Half Men, and The New Adventures of Old Christine among others.
Contents |
On KPTM-DT2 and Cox digital channel 121 is the area's MyNetworkTV & This TV affiliate. On KPTM-DT3 and Cox digital channel 131 is Estrella TV.
| Channels | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Main KPTM programming / FOX |
| 42.2 | 480i | 4:3 | "My 42.2" & "This Omaha" |
| 42.3 | Estrella TV |
KPTM was the third broadcasting property owned by Pappas Telecasting when it began broadcasting on April 6, 1986 (after flagship KMPH-TV in Fresno, California and WHNS in Greenville, South Carolina). It was the second Independent station in Nebraska, and the first new commercial station to sign on in Omaha in 29 years. At the time, Omaha was one of the few top-100 markets that did not have an independent station of its own. After a few months as an Independent, it became a charter Fox affiliate in October. Today, the station is a typical Fox affiliate carrying nearly the entire programming lineup of the network. Only Weekend Marketplace is preempted and aired on sister station KXVO.
KPTM has significant viewership in Lincoln and included that city in its station IDs for many years; including for over a year after Lincoln received a full-power Fox affiliate of its own, KFXL-TV. It is the only major Omaha station that includes Council Bluffs, Iowa (the second "major city" in the Omaha metro area) in its IDs on a regular basis. On January 16, 2009, it was announced several Pappas stations (including KPTM and its LMA with KXVO) would be sold to Titan Broadcast Management after the purchased received United States bankruptcy court approval. [1] Along with KETV and KMTV, KPTM terminated analog programming and began digital-only broadcasts on June 12, 2009. [2] On September 5, 2006, it signed-on a new second digital subchannel carrying MyNetworkTV during prime time (currently weeknights 7 to 9) and America One programming for the remainder of the broadcast schedule.
In 2009, America One was replaced with This TV. KPTM-DT2 primarily identifies as "My 42.2" although is also branded as "This Omaha" reflecting its secondary affiliation. The channel was rebroadcast on Class A KKAZ-CA. That aired an analog signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter in Downtown Omaha until April 2010 when it was shut down due to financial concerns. On May 6, 2010, it was announced KPTM would add a new third digital subchannel carrying Estrella TV. KPTM-DT3 began broadcasting May 11 and relays programming from KETD in Castle Rock, Colorado aside from local ID screens. Corresponding with the station's 25th anniversary in April 2011, it introduced an updated logo.
After Fox requested its affiliates to air local newscasts in the early-1990s, KPTM established a news department and began airing a half-hour prime time broadcast at 9 on June 14, 1990. Within a year, The Nine O'Clock Nightly News was expanded to its present one-hour format. From the start, the station put a greater emphasis on national coverage over local content. It also presented more packaged news reports.
With KXVO's original identity and tagline of "All Entertainment, All the Time" in 1995, local news shows did not seem like a natural fit to its schedule. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, KXVO did air sixty-second updates that promoted stories for the upcoming night's broadcast on KPTM. This was seen during the six-o-clock hour. In 2001, KXVO made plans to air a 5:30 newscast on weeknights utilizing on-air talent and production assistance from KPTM. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the resulting economic downturn, these plans were put on hold and eventually abandoned. In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks, KXVO provided continuous coverage from CNN Headline News.
On January 28, 2006, that station began airing The KXVO 15 10 O'Clock News on weeknights which was produced by KPTM. In April of the same year, former MTV personality and reality show host Brian McFayden was hired to anchor the program. He left the show to explore other options in his career amid rumors that he was becoming more and more difficult to work with. In any case, his hiring was unable to save the newscast's low ratings which had been the case from the start. In late-August 2006, comedian and Second City Training Center alumnus Matt Geiler was named the new anchor of the broadcast. By this time, the show had become some sort of sketch comedy program with news content being handled by KPTM staff. Throughout its run, The KXVO 15 10 O'Clock News never registered a single ratings point and was canceled in 2007.
On August 31, 2007, weeknight news anchor Taylor Wilson announced KPTM would move to a new set in a few weeks. He also said it would add a newscast weekdays at 4 which would be a first for the station. The new set and show premiered September 17, 2007. [3] It competed with NBC affiliate WOWT but was an hour long versus a half-hour on the big three station. In 2008, the broadcast was scaled back to a half-hour. KPTM was one of the very few Fox stations offering a 4 p.m. newscast during the week, but in the spring of 2009, it was canceled.
On July 6, 2010, station management announced it would shut down its news department and have Fox 42 News at Nine produced by the Independent News Network (INN) starting September 6. [4] News anchors, meteorologists, and sports anchors are provided by the centralized news operation and other personnel from INN can fill-in as needed. KPTM maintains local reporters who contribute most of the content to the shows. The live newscasts originate from INN's facilities on Tremont Avenue in Davenport, Iowa. Although the previous in-house broadcasts were not in high definition, the "Heartland Proud" segment was. Under the agreement with the Independent News Network, KPTM's newscasts now air in HD. Its Saturday night broadcast was dropped because INN does not produce a newscast then. Tuesday through Saturday mornings at 5, the hour long prime time broadcast is replayed on KPTM-DT2.
+ denotes locally-based personnel
Anchors
Fox 42 True View Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||