History
George T. Hernreich trading as KFPW Broadcasting Company, owner of Fort Smith radio station KFPW (1230 AM), applied to build a station on channel 24 on March 15, 1967.[1] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated his application and a second from a consortium known as Broadcasters Unlimited for comparative hearing on March 11, 1968,[2] after which Hernreich amended his application to specify channel 40. The FCC granted Hernreich a construction permit on May 28, 1969.
KFPW-TV began airing limited programming on July 28, 1971, from studios on Albert Pike in Fort Smith. It was the first time that the Fort Smith market had two competing stations in more than 15 years.[3] It aired programs from all three major networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. At the time, Fort Smith's other TV station, KFSM-TV (channel 5), did likewise: KFPW-TV aired ten ABC prime-time programs, eight from CBS, and five from NBC in the fall 1971 television season.[4] This arrangement ended in 1973, when KFPW-TV obtained first call rights to CBS programming,[5] which was supplemented by ABC.[6]
Channel 40 had been allowed to go on the air by the FCC amid an investigation into practices at Hernreich's other TV station, KAIT in Jonesboro. KAIT was being investigated in a bribery scandal involving ABC, and the FCC conditioned approval of a final broadcast license for KFPW-TV on the outcome of its Jonesboro hearing.[7] In April 1973, FCC administrative law judge Forest L. McClenning ruled that Hernreich should lose the licenses for both stations. He found that Hernreich lacked the qualifications to be a broadcast licensee, putting his other holdings—two AM radio stations and an FM outlet in other Arkansas cities—in peril. McClenning rejected allegations from Hernreich that the payments were made on threat of losing the ABC affiliation for KAIT-TV.[8] On appeal to the FCC in 1974, Hernreich won a license for KFPW-TV and was found to be generally qualified, but the commission on a 3-2 vote denied a license renewal for KAIT-TV; that decision was reversed five years later.[9][10]
During this time, Hernreich made arrangements to buy a station in Fayetteville. In May 1973, Hernreich filed to buy KGTO-TV from Noark Investments to convert it to a satellite station of KFPW-TV.[11] KGTO-TV went off the air that December awaiting approval of the sale.[12] Hernreich received conditional approval to buy the station in 1975, dependent on the outcome of the other proceedings,[13] as well as approval to build an FM station in Fort Smith in 1976.[14] To save costs, Hernreich successfully petitioned the FCC to change KGTO-TV from channel 36 to channel 29,[15] and the station returned to the air as KTVP on December 5, 1977, with local studios in Fayetteville's McIlroy Plaza.[16] The Fayetteville operation later moved to quarters on Church Street.[17]
Fort Smith received a third local TV station in 1978 when KLMN (channel 24) began. Ahead of it going on the air, Hernreich held talks with ABC and CBS for exclusive affiliation. When CBS heard of this, they decided to cut ties with KFPW–KTVP; this left the stations to sign with ABC,[18] which Hernreich believed "would be the main vibrant force in network television for the next five years". Channel 24 then affiliated with CBS.[19] When the Hernreichs sold their Fort Smith radio holdings in 1983, the KFPW call sign stayed with the radio station, and channel 40 changed to KHBS, reflecting its parent, Hernreich Broadcasting Stations. That same year, Hernreich completed construction on new Fayetteville studios and upgraded the channel 40 transmitter facility.[20] In 1985, George Hernreich sold KHBS–KTVP to Sigma Broadcasting, controlled by his children Cynthia and Robert Hernreich, separating the television station from Hernreich's remaining radio interests in Hot Springs.[21] KTVP became KHOG-TV in 1987.
Argyle Television of San Antonio, Texas, purchased KHBS–KHOG from Sigma in 1996.[22] In August 1997, Argyle merged with the Hearst Corporation's broadcasting unit to form what was then known as Hearst-Argyle Television.[23][24] After years of maintaining its operations in facilities in Fort Smith and Fayetteville, Hearst-Argyle opened a new, 12900 ft2 studio in Rogers in 2007, as growth in Northwest Arkansas and particularly Benton County outpaced the Fort Smith area.[26]
KHBS and KHOG began broadcasting The CW as subchannels on April 28, 2008.[27][28][29] Previously, CW programming was not available even on cable because the market lacked a local affiliate and the network denied Cox Communications permission to offer a direct network feed to subscribers.[30] Arkansas CW was provided in high definition beginning in 2012.[31]
