KFOR-TV, channel 10, was a
VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
television station in
Lincoln, Nebraska, that operated from May 1953 to March 1954.
History
KFOR-TV signed on May 31, 1953, three months after the launch of the first Lincoln station,
KOLN. It was founded by Lincoln-based Cornbelt Broadcasting, which also operated
KFOR KFOR may refer to:
* KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
* KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
* KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defunct ...
radio. New studios were built for the station at 48th and Vine streets. The station's transmitter was located on the KFOR radio tower a few blocks away from the studio.
It was the
ABC affiliate for the Omaha-Lincoln market. However, according to longtime KOLN personality
Leta Powell Drake
Leta Powell Drake (March 10, 1938 – September 15, 2021) was an American broadcaster, television producer, screenwriter and television personality on local stations in Nebraska. Drake hosted ''Live & Learn'', a program for seniors on 5 City TV i ...
, Omaha stations
KMTV and WOW-TV (now
WOWT), both of which had a secondary ABC affiliation, had first choice on ABC programming and blocked KFOR from airing ABC's most popular shows during prime time.
In February 1954, broadcasting pioneer
John Fetzer — who had purchased KOLN in August 1953 — purchased KFOR-TV for $300,000. The purchase included the station license and equipment but not the studio building or KFOR radio.
To avoid running afoul of
Federal Communications Commission ownership regulations (and to create a commercial broadcast monopoly for himself in the Lincoln market
), Fetzer moved KOLN from its sign-on channel 12 to KFOR's channel 10 and donated the channel 12 facilities and the KFOR license to the
University of Nebraska for its
educational station,
KUON-TV.
KFOR-TV was shut down on March 13, 1954;
KOLN picked up KFOR's ABC affiliation until Fetzer successfully persuaded the FCC to split Lincoln from the Omaha market, after which time it switched its primary affiliation to
CBS.
''
Backyard Farmer
''Backyard Farmer'' is a cooperative television program produced by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension and Nebraska Public Media. First broadcast in 1953, the show has run for more than 60 years, making it one of the longest-running pr ...
'' originated on KFOR-TV in 1953; it moved to KUON in 1955 and continues to air on what is now known as
Nebraska Public Media.
The former KFOR-TV studio became a
funeral home,
then was later converted to office space that was known for a time as the Egan Building.
The KFOR-TV call sign was adopted by the former WKY-TV/KTVY-TV in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1990.
References
External links
"TV Comes to Town,"a short film documenting the process of building KFOR-TV, which was commissioned by the station's owners and filmed by the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
{{Lincoln TV
Television stations in Nebraska
Defunct television stations in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1953
1954 disestablishments in Nebraska
1953 establishments in Nebraska
Television channels and stations disestablished in 1954
Defunct mass media in Nebraska