KPTM - History

History

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. Shortly after signing on as an independent, it was approached by the founders of the not-yet-broadcasting Fox Network who asked the station if it would join up with their new venture. But doing so meant KPTM would have had to carry their first and so far only offering, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers opposite The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson and Rivers were bitter rivals by this time, and KPTM declined the offer; as a station staffer put it, "Would you carry Joan Rivers in the market where Johnny Carson got his start in entertainment?" However, KPTM did become a Fox affiliate on August 28, 1988, just in time to carry that year's Emmy Awards telecast. Today, the station is a typical Fox affiliate carrying nearly the entire programming lineup of the network. Only Weekend Marketplace is preempted (KPTM airs syndicated children's programming instead) 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. Along with KETV and KMTV, KPTM terminated analog programming and began digital-only broadcasts on June 12, 2009. 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. KKAZ-CA's license was surrounded to the Federal Communications Commission on August 5, 2010, and its call sign deleted from the FCC's database. 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.

In August of 2012, Time Warner Cable stopped carrying the KPTM HD signal in Lincoln and surrounding markets. It remains available on their systems in Omaha DMA markets.