WKAG-CA

WKAG-CA (channel 43) was a low-power, Class A television station in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States. The station was owned by local cable television provider NewWave Communications.

WKAG-CA
CityHopkinsville, Kentucky
Channels
BrandingNewsWatch 43 (newscasts)
WKAG-3 (2004–2010)
The Pennyrile Channel (2009–2011)[1]
Source16 (2010–2011)
Programming
AffiliationsDefunct
Ownership
Owner
  • NewWave Communications
  • (Owen Broadcasting, Inc.)
History
FoundedDecember 9, 1983 (December 9, 1983)
First air date
July 24, 1984 (1984-07-24)
Last air date
August 5, 2011 (2011-08-05)
(27 years, 12 days)
Former call signs
W43AG (1983–1994)
All News Channel (1989–2002)
America One (1995–2011)
Technical information
ClassCA
ERP18.5 kW

History

The station was founded when the FCC issued the construction permit for a low-power television station to the Kentucky New Era on December 9, 1983. The LPTV permit was the first to be issued to a Kentucky-based licensee;[2] all other LPTV signals in the state were translators of preexisting television stations. In May 1984, the station's transmission tower was erected at a site along Old Madisonville Road on the north side of Hopkinsville.[3]

After a period of preparations, the station went on the air in July 24, 1984, as W43AG, becoming Hopkinsville's first local television station.[4][5][6][2]: 320  The station was scheduled to begin broadcasting the day before,[7] but a part of the transmitter failed, thus delaying the inaugural broadcast to July 24.[6] The establishment of the station was part of an agreement between station manager D. J. Everett III and the Kentucky Educational Television network, which also held an application to build and eventually sign on translator station W64AV to rebroadcast Madisonville's WKMA-TV in the area.[2]: 320  Upon sign on, W43AG became the first standalone low-power television station to ever sign on in Kentucky.[8] The call letters were changed to WKAG-LP in 1994 (after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed low-power stations to use traditional call signs with an "-LP" suffix, instead of a translator-style call sign; it was the first LPTV station in Kentucky to do so).[2]: 321  The callsign was changed again to WKAG-CA in 2002, when the station was upgraded to Class A status.

The New Era sold the station to Owen Broadcasting, controlled by station manager Eddie Owen, in mid-2004;[4][9] As a Class A low-powered television station, the station was not required to transition to digital television in 2009.[9]

In 2010, NewWave purchased the station from Owen and rebranded the station as "Source16", after the station's new cable channel allocation (before the acquisition, WKAG was instead seen on cable channel 3).[10]

On August 5, 2011, at 3 p.m., Source16 employees were informed that the station would be shut down. No warning was given to employees prior to the shutdown. On September 14, 2012, due to the station having been off the air for more than twelve months, the FCC canceled the station's license and deleted the WKAG-CA call sign from its database.[11]

Past programming

General programming

WKAG-CA was formatted as an independent station with a huge emphasis on local events, news, and sports. However, the station did maintain affiliations with American Independent Network[6], BizNet, Satellite Program Network,[12] and the Prime of Life Network from the beginning, and America One from 1995 onward, but the station also broadcast some syndicated programming. The station also provided local coverage of worship services by the First, Second, and St. John's Baptist churches of Hopkinsville. National news inserts were provided by CNN throughout the station's life. The station also carried some programming from All News Channel from 1989 to 2002. At some time in the late 1980s, the station also ran some programming from the short-lived Hit Video Network.[13]

Sports programming

During the mid-to-late 1990s and the early to mid-2000s, WKAG-CA has also broadcast live, syndicated Southeastern Conference (SEC) football and men's basketball games produced and syndicated through Lorimar Sports Network from 1984 to 1986,[12] and Jefferson Pilot Sports (later Lincoln Financial Sports, then Raycom Sports) until 2009,[14][15] as well as some locally produced coverage of Austin Peay Governors football and basketball. From 2002 until 2011, the station also aired Bowling Green-based WKYU-TV's Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network coverage of Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball and football games.[16][17] In addition, WKAG also aired programming related to the Kentucky Wildcats from the television unit of UK Sports Network, syndicated through Lexington's CBS affiliate WKYT-TV.[1] The station also aired St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK's coverage of Major League Baseball games involving the St. Louis Cardinals until 2010.[18]

News operation

WKAG's news operation began in the mid-1980s, initially producing 22½ hours of newscasts on weekdays, including four 15-minute newscasts between 6 and 8 a.m., three 30-minute newscasts at 5, 10, and 11:30 p.m., as well as two 60-minute newscasts at 6 and 8 p.m. Most afternoon and evening newscasts were also run on weekends.[19] The station's news operation had already received praise for the production of their newscasts; indeed, the station's 10 p.m. newscast even won an award for Best Local Production in News division at the 2nd Annual LPTV Conference and Exposition in 1989. The station even won an award for a televised advertisement for a local feed store that same year.[20] In late 1989, the station won an Associated Press award for Best News series or Continuing Story for its five-part news series about training Army troops at Fort [21]

During the 1990s, WKAG's news department produced three newscasts (at 6:00, 9:00, and 10:00 p.m.) on weekdays with an encore of the 10 p.m. newscast at 12 midnight. Newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays were broadcast at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. Each newscast was 30 minutes long, so WKAG produced 9½ hours worth of newscasts.[22] During the 2000s, the 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. newscasts focused on the Pennyrile region of Western Kentucky, the 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. newscasts focused on the "Queen City", which is the Clarksville area, and the 10 p.m. newscasts.[23] A locally produced program called 43 Magazine showcased local businesses and organizations, and their upcoming events and/or promotions. They came in morning and afternoon editions every weekday. [24][25] By the mid-2000s, WKAG moved the replay of the 10 p.m. newscasts to 1:00 a.m. Newscast names were changed to NewsWatch Hopkinsville (6, 9, and 10 p.m.), and NewsWatch Clarksville (6:30, 9:30, and 10:30 p.m.), thus expanding the total newscasts to a maximum of 19 hours per week.[26] All national news video clips were provided by CNN.[16] Newscasts were discontinued on August 5, 2011, amid uncertainty about the station's future (it was not included in the sale of NewWave's area cable systems to Time Warner Cable).[10] It still rebroadcast news programming from Lexington's WKYT-TV.

Coverage area

In addition to its over-the-air signal coverage, the station was carried on local cable television systems in six counties in Kentucky (e.g. Christian, Caldwell, southern Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Todd, and Trigg). During the station's life, NewWave Communications also owned the cable systems in Christian and Muhlenberg Counties. In addition, the station was also available on cable in three north-central Tennessee counties, including Cheatham, Montgomery (where CDE Lightband carried the station), and Robertson Counties. In total, the station was available for viewing in 80,000 homes with cable TV.[16] Cable subscribers in the aforementioned areas made up most of the station's viewership during its final years on the air.[27]

References
  1. WKYT 6pm News, April 16, 2009/ December 28, 2016 -- via YouTube.
  2. Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State. Host Communications. ISBN 9781879688933.
  3. Allen, Sonny (March 15, 1984). "Site granted KET tower; Channel 43's tower being erected". Kentucky New Era. p. 1A, 2A – via Google Books.
  4. Leazer, Melony (June 1, 2004). "Station Manager Buys TV-43". Kentucky New Era. Retrieved March 31, 2010 – via Google Books.
  5. Atchley, Lowell (July 6, 1984). "Staff for new television station is announced". Kentucky New Era. p. 5B – via Google Books.
  6. Atchley, Lowell (July 24, 1984). "TV 43 eyeing second broadcast attempt". Kentucky New Era. p. 1A – via Google Books.
  7. Atchley, Lowell (July 23, 1984). "Inaugural broadcast set for new television station". Kentucky New Era. pp. 1A, 2A – via Google Books.
  8. Broadcasting Yearbook 1986, page C-84
  9. "December 30, 2008". Kentucky New Era. pp. A1, A7 – via Google Books.
  10. Everett, D. J. (August 5, 2011). "Source16/TV-43 Ends Local News Programming". WKDZ. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  11. Deleted Stations -- Rabbitears.info
  12. Kentucky New Era advertisement of TV-43 (December 4, 1984, page 8B)
  13. "Hit Video Adds TV-43" (PDF). LPTV Report. February 1988. p. 23. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  14. Jefferson-Pilot Sports: 1998 SEC Basketball Schedule and Affiliates Archived from the original January 4, 1998. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  15. "JPsports.com - SEC" Archived from the original November 3, 1999. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  16. WKAG-TV 43 Hopkinsville, Kentucky - WKAG Facts. Archived from the original August 11, 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  17. "Hoptown station joins Tops' network". Park City Daily News. December 14, 2001. p. 2C – via Google Books.
  18. "Whats on WKAG?" Archived from the original March 9, 2001. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  19. "The LPTV Newsroom". LPTV Report. September 1989. pp. 1, 10, and 25.
  20. "Best LPTV Local Productions Honored at Show". The LPTV Report. December 1989. pp. 1, 5.
  21. "TV 43 News Wins 1989 AP Award". The LPTV Report. January 1990. p. 1.
  22. "What's on the TV43 Tube". Archived from the original July 14, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  23. "WKAG Online". Archived from the original October 15, 2002. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  24. WKAG-TV 43 Hopkinsville Kentucky - 43 Magazine. Archived from the original August 11, 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  25. 43 Magazine - WKAG. Archived from the original July 14, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  26. "WKAG-3 TV". Archived from the original February 3, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  27. Reed, Alan (December 30, 2008). "Digital transition means little to WKAG". Kentucky New Era. pp. A1, A6.
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