KSNF(channel 16) is atelevision stationlicensed toJoplin, Missouri,United States, serving the Joplin, Missouri–Pittsburg, Kansastelevision marketas an affiliate ofNBC.It is owned byNexstar Media Group,which provides certain services toABCaffiliateKODE-TV(channel 12, also licensed to Joplin) underjoint salesandshared servicesagreements (JSA/SSA) with ownerMission Broadcasting.The two stations share studios on South Cleveland Avenue in Joplin, where KSNF's transmitter is also located.

KSNF
CityJoplin, Missouri
Channels
BrandingKSN 16;KSN 16 Local News
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KODE-TV
History
First air date
January 4, 1968(56 years ago)(1968-01-04)
Former call signs
  • KUHI-TV (1968–1975)
  • KTVJ (1975–1982)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:16 (UHF, 1968–2009)
  • Digital:46 (UHF, 2003–2019)
CBS(1968–1982)
Call signmeaning
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID67766
ERP525kW
HAAT319.8 m (1,049 ft)
Transmitter coordinates37°4′33″N94°33′17″W/ 37.07583°N 94.55472°W/37.07583; -94.55472
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.fourstateshomepage

History

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KUHI-TV logo, April 1974.

The station first signed on as KUHI-TV (for "Ultra High Frequency" ) on January 4, 1968, as aCBSaffiliate. KUHI was the first station in the Joplin–Pittsburg market to broadcast on the UHF band.

It was originally owned by Marvin Caldwell & Associates. Mid-America Broadcasting sold the station to the owners of theKansas State Networkand changed its call letters to KTVJ ( "Television for Joplin" ) in 1975. On August 23, 1982, the station changed its call letters to KSNF, and almost two weeks later on September 5, swapped affiliations withKOAM-TV(channel 7) to become an NBC affiliate. The station did limited simulcasting withWichitaNBC affiliateKSNW.KSN then sold KSNF to Price Communications in 1986, but the station continued the partial simulcast with KSNW. It stopped simulcasting KSNW completely after George Lilly (SJL Communications) acquired the KSN stations and, in a cost-cutting effort, cut the microwave links toKSNTand KSNF.

The "KSN" brand had become solidified in the market and continued to be used even though KSNF was no longer a part of the Kansas State Network nor made any references to it, although the KSN stations and KSNF were reunited under the same ownership in 2017 when Nexstar acquired the Kansas State Network stations.

On August 23, 1995, Price sold KSNF and fellow NBC affiliatesKJAC-TVinBeaumont, Texas,andKFDX-TVinWichita Falls, Texas,toWakefield, Rhode Island–based upstart USA Broadcast Group for $42 million, retaining ABC affiliateWHTM-TVinHarrisburg, Pennsylvania,as its sole television property (USA soon renamed itself to U.S. Broadcast Group afterUSA Networkfiled a trademark infringement complaint against the broadcasting company).[2][3][4]

On January 12, 1998,Irving–basedNexstar Broadcasting Groupacquired KSNF, KFDX-TV, and KBTV-TV from U.S. Broadcast Group for $64.3 million. Its digital signal on channel 46 signed on in 2003.

In 2002, it was announced KSNF and ABC affiliate KODE would merge, with building expansion planned at the KSN studios. Although some departments did in fact move to KSNF, by 2009 the process was not yet completed, leaving the Joplin market as the only one of the several Nexstar-owned duopolies to have failed to completely merge. In June 2008, KSNF began broadcasting NBChigh definitionprogramming to digital cable and satellite customers in the Joplin market. At the time, only NBC programming was provided in high definition, while local news and syndicated programs were still instandard definition,pending the upgrade of KSN's production systems and equipment to accommodate high definition content for non-network programming.

On May 8, 2009, severethunderstormsaffected the Joplin area. KSNF's tower[5][6]was destroyed (falling on the studio and nearby homes) and the studio was heavily damaged. KSNF could not broadcast due to this tower collapse, so viewers could only receive NBC programming from stations airing on the fringes of the viewing area (KSNW,KJRHinTulsa,andKYTVinSpringfield, Missouri). However, several five- to ten-minute news updates were aired on fourstateshomepage each day until broadcasting resumed. The station returned to the air on June 17, 2009, as a subchannel of sister stationKODE-TVon channel 43.2 (virtual channel12.2). It constructed a news set inside of the KODE-TV studios where it was temporarily housed.[7]It was made public in February 2010 that both KSNF and KODE would be moving to the remodeled KSNF studios at 1502 Cleveland, just down the road from the current KODE building.[8]

On June 15, 2016, Nexstar announced that it has entered into an affiliation agreement withKatz Broadcastingfor theEscape,Laff,Grit,andBounce TVnetworks (the last one of which is owned by Bounce Media LLC, whoseCOOJonathan Katz is president/CEO of Katz Broadcasting), bringing the four networks to 81 stations owned and/or operated by Nexstar, including KSNF and KODE-TV.[9]

Programming

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KSNF currently broadcasts the majority of the NBC schedule, although the station currently does not clear NBC's overnight rerun and lifestyle lineups, preferring to carry some syndicated programming in the designated time period. The station does not clear the Sunday edition ofToday.

News operation

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KSNF presently broadcasts23+12hours of local newscasts each week (with4+12hours each weekday and 30 minutes each on Saturdays and Sundays).

While in its role as airing partial simulcasts of KSNW programming, it used the "Hello News" music package until 1990. In November 2005, a graphics and music change took place. As part of the update (and with upcoming digital changes) the "16" was removed from KSN's logo, opens, and all other images, including station vehicles. In the fall of 2010, KSNF debuted the Four State area's first and only hour-long 6 p.m. newscast. In August 2011, KSNF dropped its 5 p.m. newscast in favor of a new, hour-long 4 p.m. lifestyle program calledLiving Wellmaking that the area's first and only 4 p.m. newscast. (The channel chose to air new episodes ofJeopardy!in its 5 p.m. slot as a lead-in toNBC Nightly News.)[10]On December 19, 2012, KSNF launched its local newscasts in 1080i high definition—and for the first time since the late 90s, re-branded itself asKSN Local NewsdroppingYour Hometown Newsafter 15 years.

On May 1, 2023, KSNF rebranded as KSN 16 with news programming being namedKSN 16 Your Local Newsbringing back the channel number and adding the 16 to KSN's logo, opens, and all other images, including station vehicles. With the rebrand came a new state of the art set.

Notable former on-air staff

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Subchannels

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The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of KSNF[12]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
16.1 1080i 16:9 KSNF-DT Main KSNF programming /NBC
16.2 480i Laff Laff
16.3 Escape Ion Mystery
16.4 Ant TV Antenna TV

On February 1, 2021, KSNF-DT4 brought Antenna TV back to the Joplin–Pittsburg market after it was dropped byKPJO-LDon June 3, 2019, in favor ofCourt TV.

References

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  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for KSNF".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Changing Hands"(PDF).Broadcasting & Cable.Broadcasting Publications, Inc. August 28, 1995. p. 45.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
  3. ^"Price Communications".The New York Times.August 23, 1995.RetrievedAugust 5,2017.
  4. ^"What's in a name? USA Broadcast Group now U.S. Broadcast Group".Broadcasting & Cable.Cahners Business Information.October 9, 1995. Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2014.RetrievedAugust 5,2017.(subscription required)
  5. ^"Survivors clean up after killer Midwest storms - Weather".NBC News. May 8, 2009.RetrievedOctober 8,2015.
  6. ^"KSNF TOWER".May 8, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon May 14, 2009.
  7. ^"KSN Progress Update".June 1, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon June 13, 2009.
  8. ^[1][dead link]
  9. ^"Bounce TV, Grit, Escape, Laff Multicast Deal Covers 81 Stations, 54 Markets".Broadcasting & Cable.June 15, 2016.RetrievedJune 16,2016.
  10. ^"TV Listings - FOURSTATESHOMEPAGE".FOURSTATESHOMEPAGE.June 13, 2019.
  11. ^"T.J. Holmes bio".RetrievedMarch 12,2013.
  12. ^"Digital TV Market Listing for KSNF".RabbitEars.Info.Archivedfrom the original on August 20, 2016.RetrievedJune 19,2016.
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