Gray looks to double up in Lincoln NE

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SoldKSNB-TV once brought Fox programming to Lincoln as a satellite of an Omaha station, but it was orphaned in 2009 and has fallen on hard times. Gray Television is seeking a waiver to own it alongside its CBS KOLN-TV.


The seller is Colins Broadcasting Corporation, headed by Thomas F. Mitts. Gray is headed by Hilton H. Howell Jr. and Robert S. Prather Jr.

The price for the station will be $1.25M, including a $100K advance and the balance in cash at closing.

In addition to KOLN, Gray owns satellite KGIN-TV Grand Island NE.

KSNB is licensed to Superior NE, and the deal also includes two translators licensed to Lincoln – KWAZ-LP and K18CD-D.

The station at one time was a satellite for a Fox station in the Omaha market owned by Pappas, but that arrangement evaporated 12/1/09. The owners attempted to operate it as an independent aimed at the local Lincoln and Superior audiences, but have been bleeding cash.

The station lost $137K in 2010, $72K in 2011 and has lost $158K through the first ten months of 2012.

Gray is seeking a failing station waiver to acquire KSNB, promising that it will restore it to good health and thereby serve the local public interest.

1 COMMENT

  1. For everyone is wondering about NTV/KHGI who operated KSNB till 2009 I got the facts right here.

    NTV had attempts to move to inside Kearney. The story is found at:

    http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/ntv-wants-to-sell-its-property-not-its-station-and/article_8fc0b1f4-a478-11e0-9777-001cc4c002e0.html

    My own intake on NTV story of moving to inside Kearney:

    NTV would’ve consider moving it’s operations from Axtell to Kearney, but I think it likely didn’t panned out at all because of the bankruptcy and financial mess within the Pappas organization despite being able to move the Grand Island new bureau into the popular Conestoga Mall. I heard an TV ad meaning NTV wants to move into it’s start of the art facilities in Kearney. I feel the ad did made me fearful about NTV’s future and it’s very likely confusing to NTV viewers on TV. I feel NTV plans to move into it’s new studios inside Kearney is likely permanently cancelled and called off due to the difficulties in finding the best location for the facilities and finding a buyer for NTV’s current facilities near Axtell.

    In December 2011, Pappas planned to having his assets with NTV KHGI and KFXL going into a liquidating trust fund under Harry Pappas:

    http://houstondtv.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/kvvv-heads-to-liquidation-trust/

    Unfortunately, Harry Pappas and his Pappas Telecasting failed to make the payment and to reinvest the assets within Harry Pappas under his liquidating trust fund and it does meant that NTV and KFXL is actually under the receivership of trustee Lee Shubert.

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lee-shubert/3/9b2/625

    http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/kmph%20lost%20to%20recieivers.html

    Conclusion: I don’t think NTV and KFXL will be able to do all local productions in HDTV due to the stations limited ability at their facilities in Axtell, Nebraska NTV could never be able to compete with 10/11 in the Tri-Cities when it comes to having better news sets. I have to agree that NTV’s news set since 2000 is getting tiring. I”ll find that NTV/KHGI and KFXL FOX Nebraska is at risk of going off the air, going out of business and being force to suspend all total operations if the economy falters and even 5 years.

    Maybe Journal ought to buy NTV’s KHGI and KWNB ABC channels and KFXL FOX Nebraska plus the idea of putting KSNB back on the air with CW Plus programming maybe with RTV or the new The Nashville Network to fill the stations digital space. Also buy Milwaukee’s WIWN to create a duopoly with WTMJ plus swaps RF frequency with the FamilyNet station over there in Milwaukee and WIWN would change from airing WeatherNation programming to Univision and Telefutura programming on different subchannels plus change calls completely. Journal would not have the difficulties and problems with buying the stations at all and must be sold due to Harry Pappas and Pappas Telecasting bankruptcy and financial mess and turmoil since May 2008. Hearst could buy KCWI to create duopoly with KCCI and Sinclair buys KDMI programming assets with MYNET and ThisTV progamming to get aired on KDSM DT2 channel with KDMI RF channel getting reassigned to another station in another market in the future as well.

    KLKN would also have been perfect for wanting to get KSNB back on the air as well as getting the transmitter in the Superior area from Pappas. KLKN owner and parent could make KSNB a real true satellite of KLKN and bring ABC service back to all the areas in Kansas and Nebraska in which viewers could not watch ABC over the air after KLKN sign on from Lincoln and KSNB went from a satellite of KHGI to satellite of KTVG and later KFXL.

    Maybe Harry Pappas and his Pappas Telecasting with trustee Lee Shubert ought to swap KFXL with permit to move to RF 15 with transmitting from it’s tower inside Lincoln or transmit from KOLN 10 tower and get new callsign to Gray for KSNB with transmitting on RF 4 from a tower near York and gets KSNB callsign and use KSNB with RF 4 to transmit KFXL FOX Nebraska programming faster while Gray used KFXL with permit to move to RF 15 to air as an independent station or be affiliated with CW Plus or with any diginet network.

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