KOTA-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KOTA-TV
station_
station_slogan = "Coverage You Can Count On"
station_branding = KOTA Territory
analog = 3 (VHF)
digital = 2 (VHF)
affiliations = ABC
other_chs = (see below)
founded = July 1, 1955
location = Rapid City, South Dakota
callsign_meaning = South DaKOTA (pronounced as "kota")
owner = Duhamel Broadcasting
former_affiliations = CBS (1955-76, shared with ABC from 1965)
ABC (secondary 1955-65, joint primary with CBS 1965-76)
NBC (secondary, 1955-58 & 1976-88)
homepage = [http://www.kotatv.com www.kotatv.com]
[http://www.kduhtv.com www.kduhtv.com]

KOTA-TV, channel 3, is an ABC affiliate based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The station, which debuted on the air on July 1, 1955, is owned by the Duhamel family of Rapid City. Its current slogan is "Coverage You Can Count On." Its transmitter is located in Rapid City.

KOTA serves a large area in western South Dakota, eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle. It calls its vast coverage area "KOTA Territory."

KOTA's programming is also shown on a network of three satellite stations (air dates in parentheses):

*KDUH-TV, channel 4, Scottsbluff, Nebraska (March 5, 1958) (part of the Cheyenne / Scottsbluff TV market)
*KHSD-TV, channel 11, Lead, South Dakota (November 2, 1966)
*KSGW-TV, channel 12, Sheridan, Wyoming (December 28, 1977)

KDUH produced its own newscasts for many years, but recent cutbacks have resulted in KDUH placing local inserts into KOTA's newscasts.

History

KOTA was the first television station in western South Dakota when it signed on, so it carried programming from all three networks, though it was a primary CBS affiliate. It was owned by local Rapid City businesswoman Helen Duhamel; her family still owns the station today.

When KRSD, the original channel 7 in Rapid City, signed on in 1958, it took the NBC affiliation, leaving KOTA with ABC and CBS.

In 1965, KOTA took on an unusual "joint primary" affiliation with CBS and ABC, slightly favoring CBS. It was certainly quite a struggle to fit as many network shows as possible onto the schedule, especially in the daytime, so KRSD had to take up some of the slack. But KRSD always had a painfully weak signal which, by 1966, had deteriorated to the point of unacceptability. KRSD finally gave up on December 31 1971.

Fortunately for KOTA, the original Prime Time Access Rule had taken effect by this time, which made it easier for the station to clear shows from both CBS and ABC. From January 1972 until June 1976, KOTA had only PBS station KBHE as a competitor; NBC had to be piped in on cable from KOA-TV in Denver (now KCNC-TV).

Unfortunately, the coverage of KOTA satellite KDUH in Scottsbluff clashed with the coverage of KSTF, a satellite of KYCU in Cheyenne (now KGWN), especially with CBS programs. In February 1976, the FCC awarded a channel 7 license to KEVN, in order to relieve KOTA of its heavy network load and to end the duplication problem in Scottsbluff. When KEVN opened on July 11, 1976, it took all CBS programming. KOTA and its satellites became primary ABC affiliates. As consolation, both stations added secondary NBC affiliations.

Then in November, 1988, KELO-TV in Sioux Falls put a Rapid City satellite of its own on the air, KCLO, which took the CBS affiliation. KOTA then became a full-time ABC affiliate, leaving KEVN with NBC and, eventually, Fox.

Rebroadcasters

KOTA is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
* [http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=K06JM K06JM 6] Gillette, Wyoming

External links

* [http://www.kotatv.com KOTA-TV website]
* [http://www.kduhtv.com KDUH-TV website]
*TVQ|KOTA
*TVQ|KDUH
*TVQ|KHSD
*TVQ|KSGW