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119-496: WHBF-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois , United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Burlington, Iowa –licensed CW owned-and-operated station KGCW (channel 26); Nexstar also provides certain services to Davenport, Iowa –licensed Fox affiliate KLJB (channel 18) under

238-472: A barter in some cases. Duopoly (broadcasting)#Triopolies and quadropolies A duopoly (or twinstick , referring to "stick" as jargon for a radio tower ) is a situation in television and radio broadcasting in which two or more stations in the same city or community share common ownership . In the United States , the practice of duopolies has been frowned upon when using public airwaves, on

357-804: A shared services agreement (SSA) owner Mission Broadcasting . The three stations share studios in the Telco Building on 18th Street in downtown Rock Island; WHBF-TV's transmitter is located in Bettendorf, Iowa . WHBF-TV signed on the air on July 1, 1950. It is the fifth-oldest surviving station in Illinois, and the oldest outside Chicago . It was owned by the Potter family, publishers of the Rock Island Argus along with WHBF radio (1270 AM, later known as WKBF , now defunct; and 98.9 FM, now WLKU ). WHBF-TV has been

476-639: A CBS affiliate since its inception, but carried secondary affiliations with ABC and the DuMont Television Network . After DuMont's demise in 1956, WHBF shared ABC programming with primary NBC affiliate WOC-TV (channel 6, now KWQC-TV ) until WQAD-TV (channel 8) signed on as an ABC affiliate in 1963. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network . The Potters broke up their media holdings in 1986; at that time, Citadel Communications acquired WHBF-TV, and

595-568: A CTV station in a larger market, to which the small market's existing CBC affiliate would be granted the advertising sales rights. As the company's advertising revenue grew, the CTV transmitter would eventually become an originating station in its own right, and in theory would eventually be sold to another broadcaster. However, in many cases the subsequent sale never happened, as the community's economic growth failed to lend itself to competition between multiple television broadcasters. In other markets where

714-666: A broadcaster from some portion of the existing restrictions on common ownership in order to acquire and operate a station which otherwise would be economically non-viable or would be forced to cease operations . Requests for failing station waivers have historically met with variable reception; in general, the FCC views requests favorably if: Waivers under these criteria were granted to sell WASV-TV in Asheville to Media General , owner of CBS affiliate WSPA-TV in that market, and KWBA in Tucson to

833-450: A concurring acquisition agreement with Media General to accept Nexstar's counterbid. Because of the FCC's "top-four" rule in its duopoly regulations, Nexstar was precluded from acquiring KWQC directly and was required to sell either WHBF (possibly in conjunction with the SSA with KLJB) or KWQC to another company. Nexstar was allowed to keep KGCW, either under its existing duopoly with WHBF or through

952-458: A few isolated cases, the CRTC has permitted "triple-sticks", or triopolies , where a single broadcaster operates three stations in a market. These are only possible under unusual circumstances which are discussed as they arise below. Twinsticks were first allowed in 1967, as a way to help expand CTV service to smaller markets. In the original twinstick model, the second station was a rebroadcaster of

1071-538: A junior partner is structured to avoid direct competition with a senior partner affiliate of either ABC , NBC or CBS (one notable exception involves WTTV and WXIN in Indianapolis , which carry competing morning and evening newscasts as Tribune Broadcasting opted to launch a separate slate of newscasts for WTTV when it became a CBS affiliate in January 2015, rather than shift those seen on sister Fox affiliate WXIN to

1190-593: A legal duopoly involving its existing Fox affiliate WAWS (now WFOX-TV ) and WTEV-TV (now WJAX-TV ), a UPN affiliate that it had been managing under a local marketing agreement since 1994; WTEV's viewership gradually rose after it became a CBS affiliate in July 2002, putting it in the top four threshold with WAWS, resulting in Newport Television – upon purchasing the Clear Channel television group in 2007 – restructuring

1309-624: A local over-the-air CTV station, and a provincial or regional cable channel that broadcasts CTV Two programming. In Alberta, CTV stations CFCN in Calgary and CFRN in Edmonton co-exist with CTV Two Alberta , which is officially licensed as the provincial educational broadcaster and is therefore technically exempt from the CRTC's common ownership policy (prior to September 2011, CTV Two Alberta also operated over-the-air transmitters in Calgary and Edmonton). In

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1428-485: A local real estate agency to air programming. A similar situation exists in Lima, Ohio , where Block Communications controls a quadropoly of stations owned by itself ( WLIO , a full-powered NBC affiliate which also carries Fox and MyNetworkTV on a digital subchannel) and low-power stations owned by West Central Ohio Broadcasting, Inc. (which owns ABC affiliate WPNM-LD / WOHL-CD , and CBS affiliate WAMS-LD ) under an LMA. One of

1547-500: A market provided that the stations broadcast in different languages. In recent years, this has been interpreted as meaning that a single company may own both an English-language station and one or more multicultural stations with some English-language content, which in itself may be considered a form of "exemption". CBC / Radio-Canada owned-and-operated stations (O&Os) are also often deployed in pairs in major cities on both television and radio, separated only by language. In addition,

1666-415: A much shorter wavelength, and thus requires a shorter antenna, but also higher power. North American stations can go up to 5000 kW ERP for video and 500 kW audio, or 1000 kW digital. Low channels travel further than high ones at the same power, but UHF does not suffer from as much electromagnetic interference and background "noise" as VHF, making it much more desirable for TV. Despite this, in

1785-536: A new 4 p.m. newscast would debut in the Fall of 2015. The new broadcast, known as Local 4 News at 4 , made its debut on Monday, September 14, 2015. WHBF's new 4 p.m. newscast directly competes against KWQC's 4 p.m. newscast, which has been on the air since Fall 2011. On December 31, 2015, it was announced that WHBF would begin producing a one-hour 9 p.m. newscast for its SSA partner station, Fox affiliate KLJB (owned by Marshall Broadcasting Group). Also, on September 5, 2017, it

1904-554: A result of E!'s demise in August 2009, with Canwest retaining the Global O&;Os (CIII and CHAN) and selling off the E! stations (CHCH and CHEK). Additionally, Canwest previously owned the now-defunct CHCA in Red Deer , which was available on cable and via rebroadcast transmitters in both Calgary and Edmonton, where Canwest respectively already owned CICT and CITV . This was not considered

2023-658: A result of the FCC's 2017 spectrum incentive auction. As of 2020, WNET currently owns or operates six television stations in the New York region, two (WNJN and WNJB) of which are owned by Public Media NJ and operated by WNET through the NJTV state network, which replaced the New Jersey Network (NJN) as New Jersey's public television service in July 2011; the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority retained

2142-819: A result, the station's then-owner (Citadel) filed an application for a digital UHF fill-in translator on channel 47 and also sought permission to increase the ERP output of its main digital signal on VHF channel 4 from 24.1 kW to 33.7 kW. The fill-in translator is located on the station's Rock Island tower at the telco building-based studios in downtown and operates at an ERP of 2300 watts . Sister station KCAU-TV in Sioux City as well as former sisters WOI-DT in Des Moines and KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska , all of which returned their digital broadcasts to their former analog channel assignments in

2261-499: A second television station that did not repeat the parent station's signal in the same market where they already owned a station (some of these acquired stations were originally licensed as commercial outlets). On August 5, 1999, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-1 to allow common ownership of two television stations within a single market by one company, so long as eight unique station owners remain in

2380-503: A standalone station). In addition, the FCC permits common ownership of three or more television stations if there are low-powered stations that are involved. For example, in the New York media market, a full-power duopoly was formed between WNET and WLIW once the two stations merged their operations with each other in 2003; this would be expanded into a physical quadropoly in early 2018 after WNET's owner acquired WNDT-CD and WMBQ-CD as

2499-582: A standard definition simulcast of KGCW. Due to the fact that KLJB is now owned by a separate company than KGCW, the simulcast of KGCW, which was previously aired on KLJB's 18.2 subchannel, moved to WHBF's 4.2 subchannel as Nexstar owns WHBF and KGCW, where Marshall Broadcasting Group owns KLJB. During the summer of 2009 (June 12, 2009), WHBF-TV, being broadcast in digital on a low VHF channel assignment, encountered numerous reception problems and received several reception related complaints in its first two months alone of being broadcast digitally on VHF channel 4. As

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2618-1008: A true twinstick as CHCA was not based in the larger markets, and did not have permission to solicit local advertising in those markets. It did, however, have simultaneous substitution rights. CHUM Television operated the CITY /CKVR twinstick in Toronto-Barrie and the CKVU /CIVI twinstick in Vancouver-Victoria under the Citytv and A-Channel brands prior to its acquisition by CTVglobemedia in 2006. Following this acquisition, Rogers Media briefly held twinsticks in Vancouver (CKVU and CHNU ) and Winnipeg ( CHMI and CIIT ), formed from its newly acquired Citytv stations and its Omni -branded religious stations; these two sets of twinsticks were dissolved in 2008 following

2737-425: A variety of ways to generate revenue from television commercials . They may be an independent station or part of a broadcasting network , or some other structure. They can produce some or all of their programs or buy some broadcast syndication programming for or all of it from other stations or independent production companies. Many stations have some sort of television studio , which on major-network stations

2856-555: A virtual triopoly with WHBF and KGCW. The sale for WHBF was completed on March 13, 2014. On January 27, 2016, Nexstar announced that it would acquire Richmond, Virginia –based Media General —which had owned NBC affiliate KWQC-TV since November 2013—for $ 4.6 billion, in exchange for giving right of first refusal to the Meredith Corporation to acquire any broadcast or digital properties that may be divested (a clause that Meredith did not exercise) as compensation for terminating

2975-496: Is non-commercial educational (NCE) and considered public broadcasting . To avoid concentration of media ownership of television stations, government regulations in most countries generally limit the ownership of television stations by television networks or other media operators, but these regulations vary considerably. Some countries have set up nationwide television networks, in which individual television stations act as mere repeaters of nationwide programs . In those countries,

3094-470: Is broadcast via terrestrial radio waves. A group of television stations with common ownership or affiliation are known as a TV network and an individual station within the network is referred to as O&O or affiliate , respectively. Because television station signals use the electromagnetic spectrum, which in the past has been a common, scarce resource, governments often claim authority to regulate them. Broadcast television systems standards vary around

3213-437: Is necessary "due to specific circumstances in a local market or with respect to a specific transaction on a case-by-case basis." The said changes were put into practice on two occasions: Some broadcasting companies have used loopholes to establish duopolies in smaller markets by way of a local marketing agreement, shared services agreement or joint sales agreement ; where a station effectively brokers its entire airtime to

3332-792: Is often used for newscasts or other local programming . There is usually a news department , where journalists gather information. There is also a section where electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations are based, receiving remote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV . Outside broadcasting vans, production trucks , or SUVs with electronic field production (EFP) equipment are sent out with reporters , who may also bring back news stories on video tape rather than sending them back live . To keep pace with technology United States television stations have been replacing operators with broadcast automation systems to increase profits in recent years. Some stations (known as repeaters or translators ) only simulcast another, usually

3451-503: The Irving, Texas –based Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $ 88 million. Nexstar immediately took over the station's operations through a time brokerage agreement . The deal followed Citadel founder and CEO Phil Lombardo's decision to "slow down," as well as a desire by Lynch Entertainment to divest its investments in WHBF and WOI. Six weeks later, on November 6, Nexstar announced that it would purchase

3570-616: The Journal Broadcast Group , owner of that market's ABC affiliate KGUN-TV . A similar waiver was refused to KNIN-TV in Boise as the station, a CW affiliate at the time the waiver application was filed, appeared to have reasonable prospects of financial break-even without a takeover by Journal-owned ABC affiliate KIVI-TV ; that decision was subsequently appealed, with the waiver being granted upon further review (Journal Broadcast Group would eventually be required to sell KNIN in 2014, as

3689-805: The June 2009 digital conversion . As such, low-power stations can also be formed to create duopolies; for instance, Weigel Broadcasting maintains triopolies in three markets surrounding the southern part of Lake Michigan ( Chicago, Illinois ; Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; and South Bend, Indiana ) using a combination of full-power and low-power television stations. In Chicago, it maintains one full-power signal (CW-affiliated station WCIU-TV ) and two low-power stations ( MeTV flagship station WWME-CD and independent station WMEU-CD ). In Milwaukee, Weigel has two full-power stations (CBS affiliate WDJT-TV and full-power independent station WMLW-TV ) and two low-power stations (MeTV station WBME-CD and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD ,

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3808-758: The MCTV system, and CKBI and CKOS in Saskatchewan ); these were sold to the CBC in 2002. Similarly, until August 2008, Cogeco owned three twinsticks in Quebec: CKTV and CFRS in Saguenay , CKSH and CFKS in Sherbrooke and CKTM and CFKM in Trois-Rivières . These twinsticks were dissolved when Radio-Canada decided to acquire its former affiliates (CKTV, CKSH and CKTM), while

3927-717: The Maritime Provinces , Bell Media operates both the over-the-air CTV Atlantic group of stations and the cable-only CTV Two Atlantic , which have been jointly owned (under various parent companies) since the latter's launch in 1983. Canwest operated the CIII / CHCH twinstick in Toronto- Hamilton and the CHAN / CHEK twinstick in Vancouver-Victoria until 2009, under the Global and E! brands. These two sets of twinsticks were separated as

4046-548: The Montreal media market, Bell Media Radio owns six radio stations, of which two operate in French and four in English. Officially, CRTC policy mandates that a broadcaster may only own one television station in a particular language in any given market. However, there are two types of exemptions which may be granted: The policy does not prevent companies from owning multiple stations in

4165-476: The VHF band of basic cable throughout much of southwestern Ontario for several decades. Hence, presumably as a result of this duplicated coverage, their current owner has elected to continue airing distinct programming on both stations (on the other hand, Kitchener is also about 100 km from Toronto; nevertheless both CKCO and Toronto's CFTO operate as CTV stations). Finally, in some markets, Bell Media operates both

4284-405: The broadcast range , or geographic area, that the station is limited to, allocates the broadcast frequency of the radio spectrum for that station's transmissions, sets limits on what types of television programs can be programmed for broadcast and requires a station to broadcast a minimum amount of certain programs types, such as public affairs messages . Another form of television station

4403-534: The electricity bill and emergency backup generators . In North America , full-power stations on band I (channels 2 to 6) are generally limited to 100 kW analog video ( VSB ) and 10 kW analog audio ( FM ), or 45 kW digital ( 8VSB ) ERP. Stations on band III (channels 7 to 13) can go up by 5 dB to 316 kW video, 31.6 kW audio, or 160 kW digital. Low-VHF stations are often subject to long-distance reception just as with FM. There are no stations on Channel 1 . UHF , by comparison, has

4522-645: The 1990s. Up until February 2010, twinsticks of this type outside of Quebec involved CTV and CBC Television affiliates. Currently both small-market twinsticks in English Canada consist of Global and CTV affiliates. Within Quebec, twinsticks consist of TVA and V affiliates: From 1997 to 2002, CTV directly owned several CBC twinstick stations that it had inherited from Baton Broadcasting ( CKNC , CHNB , CJIC and CFCL in Northern Ontario, which were part of

4641-495: The CRTC had licensed competing broadcasters, such as Northern Ontario , twinstick mergers were subsequently allowed to permit the survival of both television stations after similar economic difficulties were encountered. With the cross-national consolidation of media ownership, nearly all of the original twinstick stations no longer share ownership with their former twin stations. However, the second type of twinstick, involving media consolidation in larger markets, began to arise in

4760-521: The CTV and CTV Two brands: In addition to these "true" twinsticks, in some areas, Bell Media has taken a twinstick-type approach with two stations deemed to be in adjacent media markets, but which in practice serve both markets. For example, Bell operates both CTV station CKCO-DT in Kitchener, Ontario and CTV Two station CFPL-DT in London , about 100 kilometres (62 mi) away. Both have been carried on

4879-534: The Dispatch/Argus ran a story about the impact of the series, and interviewed Robb's parents, Lorney and Hattie Dussliere of East Moline, Illinois . On December 21, 2010, WHBF-TV became the second in the Quad Cities market, behind KWQC to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition, beginning with the 5 p.m. newscast. During the summer of 2011, WHBF announced morning newscasts would be coming to

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4998-418: The FCC and Justice Department's review and approval process for the acquisition.) As such, Nexstar was required to sell either WQAD or both WHBF and KLJB (separately as it would break the grandfathered LMA) to separate, unrelated companies to address the ownership conflict. KGCW could either be retained by Nexstar (tied with either WQAD or WHBF) or sold to the new buyer if WHBF is sold, as KGCW does not rank among

5117-437: The FCC eliminated the "Eight-Voices Test" requirement, allowing media companies to form duopolies regardless of the number of full-powered stations licensed to each market. It also allows media companies to form duopolies comprising two of the four highest-rated stations in a particular market, provided that companies can prove to the FCC that the transaction "would serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity," and that it

5236-792: The Minute to its programming lineup in October 2011. Up to the Minute was replaced by the CBS Overnight News on September 21, 2015. The move left Iowa Public Television station KQIN as the last Quad Cities television station to sign-off. From 1950 to 2011, WHBF, unlike most CBS affiliates, did not air a morning newscast. Instead, a weather forecast was aired during the CBS Morning News , CBS This Morning , and The Early Show each weekday morning between 6 and 9 a.m. Previously, WHBF had local news updates during those three shows but later on it

5355-561: The Quad Cities about any potential weather hazards. Citadel's other stations also use the ESP: Live branding. On January 29, 2007, WHBF-TV rebranded as "CBS 4". It also adopted a variation of the circle logo shared with Citadel's other major network affiliates. On September 16, 2013, Citadel announced that it would sell WHBF-TV, along with WOI-DT in Des Moines and KCAU-TV in Sioux City to

5474-552: The U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another large portion of this band (channels 52 to 69) away, in contrast to the rest of the world, which has been taking VHF instead. This means that some stations left on VHF are harder to receive after the analog shutdown . Since at least 1974, there are no stations on channel 37 in North America for radio astronomy purposes. Most television stations are commercial broadcasting enterprises which are structured in

5593-541: The United States is operated from the Canadian studios of Kingston, Ontario 's CIKR-FM , a broadcaster already at the two-station limit in its own market, under an LMA. Broadcasters such as Entravision have often entered into local marketing agreements with Mexican border stations (such as Tecate 's XHDTV-TDT for content directed at San Diego ). It is also possible to obtain a "failing station waiver," which can exempt

5712-576: The V affiliates (CFRS, CFKS and CFKM) were acquired by Remstar Corporation , the new owner of V (then known as TQS). One "triple-stick" also exists, in which a single company, Télé Inter-Rives , operates all three licensed stations in Rivière-du-Loup : CKRT , CIMT and CFTF . RNC Media also formerly had an effective "triple-stick" in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, with ownership of CFEM-DT (TVA) and CKRN-DT (Radio-Canada) in

5831-666: The VHF spectrum at the end of the digital transition in 2009 as well, are going through a similar process and they have all set up fill-in translators themselves. As of September 8, 2009, WHBF has been operating its main digital signal on VHF channel 4 at an effective radiated power of 33.7 kW. Also, as of October 22, 2009, WHBF has been operating its digital fill-in translator on UHF channel 47 from its studio location in downtown Rock Island. Television station The Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow ( TV Station Paul Nipkow ) in Berlin , Germany ,

5950-520: The city of Rouyn-Noranda and CFEM-DT (V) in Val-d'Or — although technically licensed to separate cities, in actual practice all three stations served both cities through rebroadcast transmitters. As of 2018, however, CKRN is no longer in operation. These unusual situations arise because of the unique circumstances of francophone television stations in Quebec: with virtually no sources for syndicated programming ,

6069-450: The company a nominal "triple-stick" in that market. The two Omni stations in Toronto each serve different segments of the market's multicultural audience, and thus are also permitted under the language exemption. In Montreal, Canwest owned both Global station CKMI and multicultural station CJNT until August 2009, when the latter was sold to Channel Zero . CTV was formerly a part-owner of

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6188-556: The demise of E! and the subsequent dissolution of the Global/E! twinsticks. In many major markets, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation operates both CBC Television (English) and Ici Radio-Canada Télé (French) stations, as listed below. Prior to the CBC decommissioning all of its television rebroadcasters in 2012, both networks were available over-the-air in numerous other markets not listed below, but one or both of

6307-516: The formation of a new duopoly with KWQC as that station ranked below the top four ratings threshold. On June 3, 2016, Nexstar announced that it would retain ownership of WHBF and fellow CBS-affiliated sister station WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin , and—on Media General's behalf—sell KWQC and its ABC-affiliated sister station in Green Bay, WBAY-TV , to Gray Television for $ 270 million. The transaction

6426-540: The four highest-rated stations in the Quad Cities market. On March 20, 2019, it was announced that Nexstar would keep WHBF-TV, KGCW and the SSA for KLJB and sell WQAD to McLean, Virginia –based Tegna Inc. , as part of the company's sale of nineteen Nexstar- and Tribune-operated stations to Tegna and the E. W. Scripps Company in separate deals worth $ 1.32 billion; this would make WQAD the first television property in Iowa for Tegna and its first television property in Illinois since

6545-416: The four major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox), it does not prohibit duopolies involving stations affiliated individually with any two of them, unless both are among the four highest-rated in the market at the time of a sale. As such, several Big Four duopolies exist based on certain market conditions that originally allowed them to be formed under the criteria (such as a company having acquired one of

6664-464: The francophone V network (formerly TQS) in Quebec, meaning that V's owned-and-operated CFJP in Montreal was a partial twinstick with CTV's CFCF for most of the 2000s. CFCF was, in fact, the original owner of TQS, meaning that the stations were once a true twinstick under the language exemption, although the two stations went through very different sequences of ownership changes after 1995. Bell Media,

6783-696: The group (under its pre-2015-split structure as the broadcasting arm of the Gannett Company ) sold WREX in Rockford, Illinois , to the Gilmore Broadcasting Corporation in 1969. The sale was approved by the FCC on September 16 and was completed on September 19, 2019. On January 16, 2012, WHBF-TV along with all Citadel stations, launched an affiliation with the Live Well Network on its DT2 subchannel. From December 1, 2008, to January 15, 2012,

6902-420: The highest point available in the transmission area, such as on a summit , the top of a high skyscraper , or on a tall radio tower . To get a signal from the master control room to the transmitter, a studio/transmitter link (STL) is used. The link can be either by radio or T1 / E1 . A transmitter/studio link (TSL) may also send telemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of

7021-436: The junior partner, those in which both stations are major network affiliates typically involve a Fox station (which serves as the junior partner in all but a few instances) and an ABC, CBS or NBC affiliate, with some limited arrangements where two Big Three affiliates are jointly owned or managed. One of the few markets where two major network duopolies exist in some form is Jacksonville, Florida , where two companies once owned

7140-451: The late 1970s, WHBF-TV was one of the handful of Midwestern CBS affiliates that did not clear The Incredible Hulk , choosing to instead air the country music program Hee Haw , which it carried as part of CBS' own prime time lineup from its 1969 debut until CBS canceled it during their 1971 rural purge . From 1982 to 2011, WHBF-TV did not carry either CBS News Up to the Minute , nor its predecessor, CBS News Nightwatch . Instead

7259-435: The latter company's heads, Allan J. Block, is the chairman of Block Communications. The group is the sole over-air provider of secular network television programming in the Lima market, though area cable systems also carry out-of-market affiliates from Toledo , Columbus and Dayton . As mentioned above, current FCC rules limit the number of radio stations a single entity may own in a certain market. As of May 2020, these are

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7378-539: The latter of which signed on in 1991 as a Llano -based satellite of KXAN to serve western portions of the market where reception of that station's UHF signal was impaired by the hilly terrain within the area. Even though KBVO was converted into a separately programmed station in October 2009 (and therefore no longer acts as a KXAN repeater, even by way of a subchannel), the FCC granted Media General permission to acquire its license under an existing satellite waiver during that company's merger with LIN Media in 2014 (without

7497-491: The latter stations of which use subchannels of WDJT as its main conduit for full-power carriage). Weigel also takes advantage of digital subchannel broadcasting heavily in addition to MeTV, it also owns MeTV+ , Heroes & Icons , Start TV , Decades , Movies! , and Story Television , all of which air on its stations, in addition to other station groups; the company had also previously executed time share agreements on other subchannels with ethnic broadcasters, and in Milwaukee,

7616-427: The latter's 1996 conversion into a KLJB satellite ). Due to FCC ownership regulations that prohibited ownership of two or more of the four highest-rated television stations in the same media market, KLJB was spun off to Marshall Broadcasting Group , a newly formed minority-controlled company headed by Pluria Marshall Jr.; Nexstar subsequently assumed the operations of KLJB through a shared services agreement, forming

7735-569: The licenses of the Big Four stations they respectively controlled. In 2000, the Gannett Company , owner of NBC affiliate WTLV , purchased ABC affiliate WJXX , which had struggled in the local ratings since its sign-on in February 1997 (when it took the ABC affiliation from WJKS through a group affiliation deal with the Allbritton Communications Company ) due to its status as a relatively new station and issues with signal interference from PBS station WJCT on its Mediacom cable channel slot. The following year, Clear Channel Communications created

7854-427: The life of Robb Dussliere, a Rock Island resident who was battling AIDS . Each week, News Director Ken Gullette (From November 1993 to July 1997) followed Robb as he went to doctors offices, enjoyed his family and worked to renovate a home for HIV and AIDS patients. WHBF viewers watched as Robb went from being relatively healthy in April 1995 to his funeral in April 1996. The stories were unique in that Gullette's voice

7973-409: The limitations on radio ownership in a certain market, according to the FCC website: Unlike television, there is no limit on the percentage of the population to that an entity may reach. In radio, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) policy generally allows broadcasters to operate no more than three radio stations in any given market, of which no more than two may be on

8092-400: The local television station has no station identification and, from a consumer's point of view, there is no practical distinction between a network and a station, with only small regional changes in programming, such as local television news . To broadcast its programs, a television station requires operators to operate equipment, a transmitter or radio antenna , which is often located at

8211-419: The main broadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up that station over-the-air , or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies which other station it is allowed to carry. VHF stations often have very tall antennas due to their long wavelength , but require much less effective radiated power (ERP), and therefore use much less transmitter power output , also saving on

8330-418: The major network stations as a low-rated affiliate of a smaller network prior to an affiliation switch or the ratings of a non-English station placing among the top four over a Big Four network affiliate). While most duopolies are made up of a senior partner that is affiliated with one of the four major networks and an affiliate of a minor network (such as The CW and MyNetworkTV ) or an independent station as

8449-449: The market had fewer than eight unique owners ). Low-power and Class A television stations are not subject to ownership caps in the United States, as their broadcast signals do not reach as many homes as full-power stations. In areas with high cable television penetration, this distinction is essentially meaningless. LPTV stations were also exempt from digital television transition requirements imposed on full-service broadcasters upon

8568-502: The market once the duopoly is formed, and the four highest-rated stations (based on local monthly viewership reports for the market) remain under separate ownership. The FCC only requires the severance of an existing duopoly in which a once lower-rated station falls within the ratings criteria that prohibits such ownership over time if an ownership transaction is under review (such as a piecemeal or group sale of stations, or necessary license transfers during an ownership transaction involving

8687-468: The market, and the stations are normally licensed to serve different communities in the metropolitan market or different programming niches. The stations must also be operated independently of each other, although they are permitted to cross-promote each other's programming. They may also air a very limited amount of common programming, although in practice this privilege is rarely used. Currently, Bell Media operates twinsticks in three major markets, using

8806-490: The market; as such, Los Angeles and San Francisco are the only two U.S. markets which can legally have a true full-power triopoly, though Sinclair owns a legal de facto triopoly in Salt Lake City with CBS affiliate KUTV , independent station KJZZ-TV , and MyNetworkTV station KMYU . The Federal Communications Commission otherwise only permits common ownership of three full-power television stations within one market if

8925-447: The media market. There is no limit on the number of television stations a single entity may own as long as the stations group collectively reaches no more than 39% of U.S. households. Once a duopoly is formed, the acquiring company takes over the operations of its new property. The operations of the two stations are usually consolidated into one facility, depending on the size and age of the facility chosen to house their operations. Since

9044-535: The operation as a virtual duopoly by selling WTEV to shell licensee High Plains Broadcasting (WFOX and WJAX are now respectively owned by the Cox Media Group and Bayshore Television, LLC, but remain under common management through JSA/SSA in which WJAX is the junior partner). The use of digital subchannels has been termed an "instant duopoly," because of the ease by which a single digital station can deliver multiple channels of programming from different networks at

9163-571: The owner of CTV, reacquired V in 2020, reuniting CFJP to co-ownership with CFCF. NBCUniversal formerly owned three full-power stations in Los Angeles , NBC owned-and-operated station KNBC , Telemundo O&O KVEA and Spanish language independent station KWHY-TV , before selling KWHY to the Meruelo Group in January 2011. The FCC allows common ownership of three full-power television stations if there are 18 stations that are licensed within

9282-554: The owner of another station in the market, which becomes responsible for handling its programming and advertising sales – and in effect, operations. These are termed as "virtual duopolies" as the station's license is held by one company, while its operations are handled by another. Through a 2014 FCC ruling, joint sales agreements in which the senior partner sells a minimum of 15% of the advertising time for its junior partner are counted toward ownership caps. Some larger broadcasting companies have controversially built business models around

9401-489: The policy is not interpreted as preventing a single company from owning both a "commercial" general-interest station and an educational station in the same market, even if the latter airs advertising, as with Access in Alberta. Although the small and large market exemptions have a financial criterion in common, there are notable differences between the two. A small market twinstick may involve major network affiliates licensed to

9520-463: The practice, by funding the acquisition of stations by what are effectively shill companies or shell corporations ; for example, Sinclair Broadcast Group operates the stations of Cunningham Broadcasting and Deerfield Media under LMAs, JSAs, or SSAs. Nearly all of Cunningham's stock is held by trusts in the name of Sinclair's founders and owners, the Smith family. Similarly, Nexstar Media Group funds

9639-417: The premise that it gives too much influence to one company. However, rules governing radio stations are less restrictive than those for television, allowing as many as eight radio stations under common ownership in the largest U.S. media markets . Ownership of television stations with overlapping coverage areas was normally not allowed in the United States prior to 2002, even those that were not duopolies under

9758-470: The present legal definition, by way of being located in separate albeit adjacent markets; this required broadcasters to apply for cross-ownership waivers in some cases to retain full-power stations based in adjacent markets. Non-commercial educational broadcasters, mainly those that were members of the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ), were the only licensees allowed to sign-on or acquire

9877-476: The programmes seen on its owner's flagship station, and have no television studio or production facilities of their own. This is common in developing countries . Low-power stations typically also fall into this category worldwide. Most stations which are not simulcast produce their own station identifications . TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather (or news) services to local radio stations , particularly co-owned sister stations . This may be

9996-466: The purchase of acquired stations) took control of WHBF, the station dropped the subchannel entirely. It was the only area station without a subchannel for a period of sixteen months. In November 2014, while Nexstar was still waiting for the completion of its sale of KLJB to Marshall Broadcasting Group, there was speculation by other local media that KGCW might move to a WHBF subchannel. On May 14, 2015, Nexstar relaunched WHBF's digital subchannel 4.2 with

10115-426: The purchase of stations by Mission Broadcasting and Vaughan Media , which forms duopolies with their stations through shared services agreements with a Nexstar station. In some cases, the senior partner may acquire a station's physical assets and intellectual property (such as the station's facilities and programming rights), but spin off the license itself to a shell corporation and enter into an agreement to operate

10234-419: The radio stations moved out of the Telco Building. The following year, Lynch Entertainment acquired a stake in the station; at that time Coronet Communications Company was formed as a partnership between Citadel and Lynch. WHBF-TV was the first station in the area to use color radar and now uses the state-of-the-art weather system known as ESP: Live (Exclusive Storm Prediction) . This allows the station to alert

10353-421: The sales of CHNU and CIIT to S-VOX . Unlike the situation in smaller markets, this type of " consolidation " twinstick had been increasingly common up to the late 2000s, concurrently with the rise of secondary television systems (such as CH/E! and A-Channel) launched by their parent companies to complement their primary networks or systems (such as Global and Citytv). This trend was partially reversed in 2009 with

10472-617: The same community, and is not obligated to provide distinct local news programming on the two stations, while in a large market the stations must be licensed to serve different communities or different programming niches, and cannot merge their news programming into a single operation. Small market twinsticks commonly share their branding across both stations, while twinsticks in large markets generally do not. As well, while small market twinsticks generally involve private affiliates , major market twinsticks are virtually always owned-and-operated stations of their associated networks or systems . In

10591-458: The same radio band — that is, a company may own two AM stations and an FM station, or two FM stations and an AM station, but may not own three AMs or three FMs. However, in major metropolitan markets where a large number of radio stations are already broadcasting, the limit is increased to four stations with a maximum of two on each band. A company may also exceed these limits if it owns stations broadcasting in both English and French; for instance, in

10710-563: The same time. One station can carry four or more standard definition digital channels; multiple high definition feeds typically require too large a bitrate size to be carried on different subchannels of the same station simultaneously without loss of image quality. On November 20, 2017, in its reconsideration order to the Quadrennial Regulatory Review regarding media ownership, the FCC voted to make significant changes, particularly to local television ownership. In its decision,

10829-411: The senior partner is unable to broadcast because of long-form breaking news or severe weather coverage or a locally produced special airing in a scheduled program's normal timeslot, or in the case of certain non-prime time network programs, because the senior partner chooses not to carry it on its regular schedule to carry other scheduled programming. Although the FCC bars common ownership of any of

10948-425: The sole remaining locally owned twinstick anywhere in English Canada. The aforementioned Télé Inter-Rives is similarly unique in Quebec, although Quebecor holds a minority stake in the company. In the mid-1990s, the CRTC also began to allow private companies operating in large markets to acquire smaller stations. In all such cases, the twinsticks are permitted because a diversity of broadcast voices already exists in

11067-648: The station affiliated with the Retro Television Network from December 1, 2008, to January 15, 2012. On January 16, 2012, WHBF, along with all of its sister stations, switched to the Live Well Network, carrying the network in a 16:9 letterbox format while preserving the 480i resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio of the subchannel; scaled down from Live Well Network's 720p master signal. Exactly two years later on January 16, 2014, before Nexstar (which historically dropped all Live Well Network affiliations upon

11186-609: The station carried the Retro Television Network on DT2. Prior to that, WHBF had been simulcasting its main programming in SDTV on the DT2 subchannel. From March 5, 2011, to January 15, 2012, WHBF-TV's subchannel affiliation with the Retro Television Network had a local competitor in the Quad Cities as the DT2 subchannel of WQAD-TV became an affiliate of Antenna TV after WQAD discontinued their "Quad Cities Weather Channel" service. During

11305-426: The station joined its fellow Citadel stations in signing off every night, making WHBF one of the few stations in the country to still do so. However, as of the mid-2000s, WHBF ran its transmitters all night, airing a test pattern with station identification superimposed over the pattern. Digital channel 4.2 has operated 24/7 since the Retro Television Network debut on December 1, 2008. WHBF-TV finally added Up to

11424-401: The station's financial condition improved enough in its post-2011 existence as a Fox affiliate to make it unsuitable for the E. W. Scripps Company – which was in the process of purchasing Journal's broadcasting unit in a deal in which Journal simultaneously merged with Scripps' publishing unit – to acquire it under a renewed waiver, in addition to the fact that it could not acquire it legally as

11543-401: The station, making it the de facto owner, but not the legal owner. Following the purchase, the station's operations and programming are often merged into that of its new parent station. Similarly, a company that acquires an existing legal duopoly that is no longer complies with FCC rules on duopoly ownership may spin off the junior partner station's license to a shell, rather than sell one of

11662-454: The station. Meredith Dennis anchored and Travis Michels provided weather information as of September 12, 2011. Also, the 6 p.m. news returned after a 14-year absence on September 26, 2011. The local morning newscast, known as CBS4 News This Morning (now known as Local 4 News This Morning ), was aired from 5:30 to 7 a.m. The CBS Morning News was moved back to 5 a.m. and the station's daily paid early morning religious programming

11781-447: The station; WXIN and WTTV largely maintain their own anchors, but share a news department and most reporting staff). This situation is uncommon in duopolies involving only Big Three affiliates, as stations affiliated with those networks are more inclined to carry newscasts in overlapping time periods in order to fulfill local programming requirements included in affiliation agreements. Certain syndicated programs are also shared between

11900-571: The stations are effectively constrained to network programming at virtually all times, meaning that despite being owned by a single company, the stations are still able to meet the guiding principles behind the CRTC's policies on media ownership. As noted above, historically, twinstick operations were locally owned. With the cross-national consolidation of media ownership in Canada, however, most twinstick operations are now owned by major media conglomerates. The Thunder Bay Television stations (CHFD/CKPR) are

12019-474: The stations involved in the duopoly are not restricted by FCC law from consolidating their operations, duplicative jobs at one of the stations are often terminated as the consolidation takes effect. News departments are also often consolidated into a singular operation, with anchoring and reporting staffs from the respective stations often being folded into one unit, subject to hiring determinations made by management; anchors and reporters are usually shared between

12138-524: The stations owned by Grant Broadcasting —including Fox affiliate KLJB (channel 18) and CW affiliate KGCW (channel 26)—for $ 87.5 million. Nexstar was able to acquire KGCW directly as, under FCC regulations in effect at the time, the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island market had eight independent, full-power station owners—the minimum required to permit a duopoly—through the existing KLJB/KGCW combination (even though that duopoly originated through

12257-572: The stations to a licensee that would also assume operational responsibilities, allowing the restructured duopoly to remain under common operation through a resulting management agreement. In some cases, the use of an adjacent-market city of license has been used on a secondary station to avoid a limit on the number of stations controlled by the same broadcaster in the same market. Occasionally, those arrangements cross international borders. For instance, radio station WLYK in Cape Vincent, New York in

12376-413: The stations' existing owner); a company is required to sell one of the stations in the duopoly to another licensee if it is no longer compliant with one or both provisions. Currently, an entity is permitted to own up to two television stations in the same media market if either the service areas of the stations do not overlap, or at least one of the stations is not rated among the top four rated stations in

12495-399: The stations, in the form of either same-day repeat airings of programs seen on the one which holds primary rights or separated runs of programs that air on each station, although each station maintains separate syndication inventories as well. The junior partner, unless it is affiliated with a major network, may also be used to carry network (and occasionally, first-run syndicated) programs that

12614-457: The tertiary station is licensed under a satellite station waiver (the FCC constitutes a full-power station that is licensed as a satellite as the same entity as its parent station, and therefore does not count them toward market ownership caps). A unique instance exists in Austin, Texas , involving the de facto triopoly of NBC affiliate KXAN-TV , CW affiliate KNVA and MyNetworkTV affiliate KBVO ,

12733-653: The third ranked station in the Quad Cities market. However, during the May 2015 ratings period, the ratings for WHBF did increase after the station's change to the Local 4 branding. The station's signal is multiplexed : WHBF-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, at 6:01 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 58, which

12852-549: The transmitters was a rebroadcaster of a station originating in a different city; these were not usually considered true twinsticks. Nevertheless, both networks continue to be available as part of the basic programming tier on all cable and satellite providers nationwide. In Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary , Rogers Media's acquisition of the Citytv system put those stations in twinsticks with the multilingual Omni Television stations. In Toronto, Omni Television has its own twinstick, giving

12971-587: The two stations, though in some cases, certain anchors may be employed to appear only on each station's own newscasts. In some cases (like with WHDH and WLVI in Boston, Massachusetts , when the former's owner Sunbeam Television formed a duopoly with WLVI after purchasing the station from Tribune Broadcasting in 2006), the junior partner's news department is shut down completely, with the senior partner subsequently taking over production of its news content using only their existing staff. In many cases, news programming on

13090-453: The waiver, Media General/LIN would have been forced to sell either KBVO or KNVA, which would not have been viable in any event, since there are not enough unique full-power station owners in the Austin market to permit a second legal duopoly with an owner of one of the market's three English language major network affiliates and neither would have likely had long-term financial survivability as

13209-399: The world. Television stations broadcasting over an analog system were typically limited to one television channel , but digital television enables broadcasting via subchannels as well. Television stations usually require a broadcast license from a government agency which sets the requirements and limitations on the station. In the United States, for example, a television license defines

13328-557: Was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era VHF channel 4. WHBF-TV is now one of a very few TV stations in the United States to broadcast its digital signal on a low VHF channel assignment, alongside former sister station WOI-DT in Des Moines, NBC affiliate WMC-TV in Memphis and ABC O&O WPVI-TV in Philadelphia . On its second digital subchannel,

13447-491: Was approved by the FCC on January 11, 2017; the sale was completed on January 17, at which point the existing Nexstar stations and the former Media General outlets that neither group had to sell in order to rectify ownership conflicts in certain markets became part of the renamed Nexstar Media Group. On December 3, 2018, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets of Chicago-based Tribune Media —which has owned WQAD-TV since December 2013—for $ 6.4 billion in cash and debt. Nexstar

13566-785: Was discontinued. As of Spring 2012, CBS4 News This Morning airs from 5 to 7 a.m., while the CBS Morning News airs at 4:30 a.m. In March 2014, morning anchor Meredith Dennis left WHBF and was replaced in April 2014 by Emily Scarlett. On March 4, 2015, WHBF debuted its new set, graphics, and logo. The new Local 4 branding, similar to that of WKRC (Local 12) in Cincinnati, Ohio , WPSD (Local 6) in Paducah, Kentucky , and sister station WOI (Local 5) in Des Moines, went into effect, replacing original CBS 4 . On August 7, 2015, WHBF revealed that

13685-434: Was made public that beginning on September 18, 2017, WHBF would begin producing a new two-hour weekday morning newscast for KLJB from 7 to 9 a.m. WHBF was a solid, if distant, runner-up to rival WOC-TV until the mid-1970s, when it surged to first place. It lost the lead to WOC-TV around 1980. The station was able to hold up the number 2 spot for most of the 1980s until WQAD passed it. Since the late 1980s, WHBF has clearly been

13804-472: Was never heard and he never appeared on camera. Working as a one-man producer, videographer and editor, he told Robb's story through video, natural sound, interviews and music. The feature stories also ran longer than the normal TV stories. Robb's Life raised awareness, changed viewer opinions about AIDS and won awards from the Illinois and Iowa Associated Press organizations. Most of the weekly features can now be seen on YouTube . Fifteen years after it aired,

13923-427: Was precluded from acquiring WQAD directly or indirectly, as FCC regulations prohibit common ownership of more than two stations in the same media market, or two or more of the four highest-rated stations in the market. (Furthermore, any attempt by Nexstar to assume the operations of WQAD through local marketing or shared services agreements would have been subject to regulatory hurdles that could have delayed completion of

14042-419: Was simply a repeat of the weather update that aired earlier in the half-hour. The CBS Morning News was aired at 6 a.m. and repeated itself at 6:30 a.m. weekdays on WHBF. Unlike most CBS affiliates, WHBF does not air a midday newscast during the week. WHBF won numerous awards and public recognition for a ground-breaking news series that ran weekly from April 1995 to April 1996. Robb's Life focused on

14161-674: Was the first regular television service in the world. It was on the air from 22 March 1935, until it was shut down in 1944. The station was named after Paul Gottlieb Nipkow , the inventor of the Nipkow disk . Most often the term "television station" refers to a station which broadcasts structured content to an audience or it refers to the organization that operates the station. A terrestrial television transmission can occur via analog television signals or, more recently, via digital television signals. Television stations are differentiated from cable television or other video providers as their content

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