KCSG

name1

KCSG

city1

Cedar City–St. George, Utah

branding

MeTV Utah

digital1

14 (UHF)

virtual1

affiliations

8.1: MeTV for others, see

translators

see

owner

Weigel Broadcasting

licensee

KCSG-TV LLC

country

United States

airdate1

April 23, 1990

callsign meaning

Cedar City St. George

former callsigns1

KCCZ (1990–1993) KSGI-TV (1993–February 1998) KXIV (February–May 1998)

former channel numbers1

Analog: 4 (VHF, 1990–2009) Virtual: 14 (2009–2016)

former affiliations1

Independent (1990–1992, 1994–1998) Dark (1992–1994) Pax TV (1998–2005) America One (2005–2008) MyNetworkTV (2008–2011) MeTV (2011–2014) Heroes & Icons (2014–2018)

erp1

25 kW

haat1

368 m

facility id1

59494

coordinates1

37.63958°N, -113.03303°W

licensing authority

FCC

website

KCSG page on MeTV website

name2

K18OI-D

city2

Ogden–Salt Lake City, Utah

digital2

18 (UHF)

virtual2

former callsigns2

K68GP (2006–2009) K68GP-D (2009) KQTI-LD (2009–2020) KCSG-LD (2020–2026)

former channel numbers2

Analog: 68 (UHF, 2006–2009) Digital: 31 (UHF, 2009–2024)

former affiliations2

America One, Youtoo America, NewsNet

erp2

15 kW

haat2

1110 m

class2

facility id2

130912

coordinates2

40.68222°N, -112.20333°W

KCSG (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Cedar City, Utah, United States, airing programming from the classic television network MeTV. Owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting, it broadcasts from a main transmitter on Cedar Mountain, southeast of Cedar City. The station is rebroadcast on the Wasatch Front by K18OI-D, licensed to Ogden and transmitting from Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains, and on additional translators in Utah.

Channel 4 in Cedar City spent most of its history as a station with local programming for Southern Utah. It was built by Michael Glen Golden as KCCZ, which began broadcasting on April 23, 1990, as an independent station with studios in Cedar City. Golden ran out of money in 1992, causing the station to leave the air. Seagull Communications, which owned radio stations in St. George, acquired the station out of bankruptcy and returned it to the air as KSGI-TV in 1994. Bonneville International Corporation, the owner of KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, acquired the station in 1998. It was relaunched under new KCSG call letters and served as an affiliate of Pax.

Broadcast West acquired KCSG in 2002, beginning a 14-year ownership tenure for KCSG under car dealer Stephen Wade. Wade launched a news department for KCSG in 2003, which was shuttered in 2010 due to poor advertising support. Local news was revived through an agreement with Dixie State College, which briefly managed the station. KCSG converted to digital broadcasting in 2009 and began using virtual channel 16.

History

KCCZ and KSGI-TV: Early years

On June 11, 1984, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a construction permit to Michael Glen Golden of Parowan, Utah, for a new commercial TV station to broadcast on channel 4. Golden believed that Southern Utah's growth could support a television station. He attempted to secure affiliation or program deals with the major networks and later met with officials from CBS and Turner Broadcasting System but was unsuccessful, leading him to target construction of channel 4 as an independent station.[1] Construction on the transmitter site on Cedar Mountain began in October 1986, with Golden—through his Liberty Broadcasting Company—hoping to have KCCZ on the air by January 1987.[2]

KCCZ began broadcasting on April 23, 1990,[3] from studios on Airport Road in Cedar City.[4] In September 1992, it began offering 12:30, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. newscasts from KSL-TV featuring dedicated Southern Utah news stories and weather forecasts.[5] However, the station was suffering financially. Over the course of 1992, five liens were filed against Liberty Broadcasting Company property for failure to pay federal taxes. In early November, the station abruptly shut down, after which time Golden was assessed a civil tax penalty of more than $22,000.[6]

KCCZ was sold at bankruptcy in September 1993 to Seagull Communications Corporation, which won the bidding for $75,000. Seagull's principals owned St. George radio station KSGI (1450 AM) and were building KSGI-FM 99.7 at the time.[7] The station resumed broadcasting as KSGI-TV either in January 1994 or on February 1.[8] It maintained the Cedar City studio and opened another on North 1000 East and broadcast a family-friendly independent station format with local programming and a package of Colorado Rockies baseball games.[9][10]

KCSG: Local TV for Southern Utah

The Bonneville International Corporation, a broadcasting company wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and owner of KSL-TV, acquired KSGI-TV from Seagull in 1997.[11] The station changed its call sign to KXIV by the time Bonneville completed the purchase in April 1998.[12] The call sign was changed again to KCSG before Bonneville relaunched the station as an affiliate of Pax on October 12, 1998. Pax had only gone on the air that August. The station maintained studios in Cedar City but had its offices in St. George. Station leadership stated plans to eventually produce a local newscast,[13] but by 2000 the only local newscasts on the station's schedule were rebroadcasts from KSL-TV.[14] Under Bonneville, KCSG also offered some local college sports, including Dixie College and Southern Utah University athletics.[15]

MeTV and Weigel purchase

On September 5, 2011, KCSG switched its primary affiliation to MeTV, a diginet specializing in classic television programming.[34][35] In 2014, it switched diginets from MeTV to Heroes & Icons, which like MeTV is owned by Weigel Broadcasting.[36]

West American Finance Corporation acquired KCSG in 2016 and rebranded it using virtual channel 8. The station also launched an 8 p.m. newscast, lasting eight minutes in length, continuing the Heroes & Icons affiliation.[37]

Weigel Broadcasting acquired KCSG and its translators in St. George from West American Finance for $1.1 million in 2017.[38]

History

KCCZ and KSGI-TV: Early years

KCSG: Local TV for Southern Utah

MeTV and Weigel purchase

Technical information and subchannels

Other translators

External links

References