KBSH-DT
A CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Hays, Kansas, and operated as part of the Kansas Broadcasting System.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KBSH-DT is a full-power television station licensed to Hays, Kansas, serving central and western Kansas as part of the Wichita–Hutchinson Plus television market. The station broadcasts CBS programming and operates within the Kansas Broadcasting System, a statewide group of four full-power stations that distribute programming from KWCH-DT, the CBS affiliate licensed to Hutchinson and based in Wichita. KBSH-DT adds local advertising and, historically, locally oriented news material for viewers in and around Hays and the surrounding western Kansas communities. The station began broadcasting on September 2, 1958, under the call sign KAYS-TV. It was established by Hays businessmen Ross Beach and Bob Schmidt, who also owned local radio station KAYS. The television operation initially occupied an expansion of the radio station’s studio building. Its launch came into a competitive regional broadcasting environment, including KCKT, a station that had begun operating in 1954 and served western Kansas alongside a Garden City affiliate. KAYS-TV initially carried ABC programming. In 1962, it changed its primary affiliation to CBS, following the earlier affiliation change of KTVC in Ensign. That year, KAYS-TV, KTVC, KLOE-TV in Goodland, and KTVH in Hutchinson became the four-station Kansas Broadcasting System. The arrangement allowed the CBS network to reach a broad, geographically dispersed Kansas audience through a combination of full-power stations and networked operations. Ownership changed several times over the following decades. The Kansas Broadcasting System Corporation acquired KTVH in 1983 and KTVC in 1988, temporarily bringing all four KBS stations under common ownership. Smith Broadcasting purchased the group in 1989. After that transaction, KAYS-TV adopted the KBSH-TV call sign, aligning it with the KBS network identity and the other semi-satellite stations associated with KWCH. Smith later sold the station to Spartan Communications in 1994; Spartan merged with Media General in 2000. The station’s local news operation was gradually centralized. KBSH provided daily newscasts from its Hays studios until 1991, when full-scale evening broadcasts were replaced by short local inserts within KWCH newscasts. Those inserts ended in 2001, after which the Hall Street facility continued primarily as a news bureau and advertising-sales office. Local reporter-photographers supplied material to Wichita for incorporation into KWCH’s simultaneous Eyewitness News broadcasts, which were distributed across the KBS service area. Media General sold KWCH, KBSH, and the other KBS stations in 2006 as part of a broader portfolio restructuring. Schurz Communications completed the acquisition in September 2006 and placed the Wichita-market broadcasting properties in its Sunflower Broadcasting subsidiary. Schurz announced its exit from broadcasting in 2015, and Gray Television acquired the stations in a transaction completed in February 2016. Gray retained the KBS stations after selling the separately owned KAKE television properties. KBSH-DT completed the United States full-power television transition from analog to digital on June 12, 2009. Its digital signal moved to VHF channel 7, and the call sign formally changed from KBSH-TV to KBSH-DT on June 24, 2009. The station remains a CBS outlet within Gray Media’s Kansas broadcasting portfolio, with its transmitter, bureau, and sales presence located in Hays and its networked programming and operational infrastructure coordinated with KWCH in Wichita.
History
KBSH-DT began service as KAYS-TV on September 2, 1958, in Hays, Kansas. Ross Beach and Bob Schmidt, local owners of radio station KAYS, founded the television station and housed it in an extension of the radio studio building. The station entered a regional market that already included KCKT, which had launched in 1954 and operated in coordination with a Garden City station. KAYS-TV initially carried ABC programming. During its early years, it participated in the Golden K Network branding arrangement alongside KAKE-TV and affiliated stations. A change in regional network relationships led KTVC in Ensign to become a CBS affiliate in 1961. KAYS-TV followed on September 1, 1962, changing from ABC to CBS. In the same period, the station acquired KWHT-TV in Goodland and renamed it KLOE-TV. KAYS-TV, KLOE-TV, KTVC, and KTVH in Hutchinson then formed the Kansas Broadcasting System, a linked group serving central and western Kansas. The KBS structure developed through a series of ownership changes. In 1983, the Kansas Broadcasting System Corporation acquired KTVH from the Cowles family. It purchased KTVC in 1988, placing all four full-power stations under common ownership for the first time. Smith Broadcasting acquired the corporation in 1989. Following that transaction, KAYS-TV became KBSH-TV, a call-sign change intended to make the station’s connection to KWCH and the wider KBS network more apparent. Smith sold the station to Spartan Communications in 1994, and Spartan later merged with Media General in 2000. Operational centralization changed the station’s role in local news. KBSH produced daily newscasts from its Hall Street studios until 1991. Afterward, full evening newscasts were discontinued and replaced with short Hays-area inserts within KWCH’s Wichita-produced broadcasts. The inserts ended in 2001. The Hays facility continued as a news bureau and advertising-sales office, while two reporter-photographers supplied local material to Wichita. Beginning in 2005, KWCH also used a digital automation system from Wichita to schedule advertising and manage master-control functions for all four KBS stations. Media General announced the sale of KWCH and its satellite stations in April 2006. Schurz Communications completed the purchase on September 25, 2006, establishing Sunflower Broadcasting as the subsidiary for its Wichita-market broadcasting assets. Schurz later announced that it would leave the broadcasting business. Gray Television acquired the television and radio properties in a transaction announced in 2015 and completed on February 16, 2016. Gray already owned KAKE and its satellites but sold those properties to Lockwood Broadcast Group while retaining the KBS stations. The station’s technical identity changed during the nationwide digital television transition. KBSH ended its analog VHF channel 7 transmission on June 12, 2009, and retained channel 7 for its post-transition digital signal after moving from pre-transition UHF channel 20. On June 24, 2009, the station formally changed its call sign from KBSH-TV to KBSH-DT. It continues to operate as a CBS affiliate licensed to Hays, with its transmitter, advertising office, and news bureau on Hall Street and its broader programming and news operations coordinated with KWCH-DT in Wichita.
- 2016
Gray completes acquisition
[1]Gray Television completes its purchase of the KBS stations and becomes KBSH-DT’s owner.
- 2009
Digital television transition
[1]KBSH ends analog broadcasting, relocates its digital signal to VHF channel 7, and adopts the KBSH-DT call sign.
- 2006
Schurz Communications takes control
[1]Schurz completes its acquisition of KWCH, KBSH, and related stations and places the assets in Sunflower Broadcasting.
- 2005
Centralized digital automation begins
[1]KWCH begins using a Wichita-based automation system for advertising scheduling and master-control operations across the KBS stations.
- 2001
Local news inserts end
[1]The Hays news inserts are discontinued, while the local facility remains a bureau and advertising-sales office.
- 1991
Local full-scale newscasts are discontinued
[1]KBSH replaces its standalone daily newscasts with local inserts carried within KWCH-produced broadcasts.
- 1989
Station becomes KBSH-TV
[1]After Smith Broadcasting acquires the group, KAYS-TV changes its call sign to KBSH-TV to reinforce the statewide KBS identity.
- 1988
KBS corporation acquires KTVC
[1]The acquisition brings all four full-power KBS stations under common ownership.
- 1983
KBS corporation acquires KTVH
[1]The Kansas Broadcasting System Corporation purchases KTVH in Hutchinson during the Cowles family’s divestiture of media assets.
- 1962
KAYS-TV joins CBS and the Kansas Broadcasting System
[1]KAYS-TV changes its primary affiliation to CBS and becomes one of the four stations in the Kansas Broadcasting System.
Products and positioning
A locally present CBS affiliate that combines Hays-area advertising and reporting with the centralized programming, news, and technical operations of the Kansas Broadcasting System.
Television broadcasting · 1962
CBS network programming
KBSH-DT serves as a CBS affiliate for Hays and surrounding areas. Its CBS schedule is distributed within the Kansas Broadcasting System, allowing network programming to reach central and western Kansas through a linked group of full-power stations.
News broadcasting · 1958
Local news and community coverage
The station formerly produced standalone Hays newscasts and later local inserts. Today, its Hays bureau and reporter-photographers contribute local material to KWCH’s Wichita-produced broadcasts, which are carried across the KBS service area.
Advertising services · 1958
Television advertising
KBSH maintains an advertising-sales presence in Hays and offers local and regional commercial inventory within its CBS and KBS distribution footprint.
Brand decisions
2009
Complete the digital television transitionGeneration changeBackground
Federal requirements required full-power television stations in the United States to end analog broadcasting.
Action taken
KBSH shut down its analog channel 7 transmission, moved its post-transition digital signal to VHF channel 7, and changed its call sign to KBSH-DT.
Aftermath
The station continued digital CBS broadcasting from its Hays facilities.
1991
Centralize news productionStrategyBackground
The Kansas Broadcasting System sought to consolidate operations across its geographically dispersed stations.
Action taken
KBSH ended full-scale evening newscasts and replaced them with short local inserts within KWCH-produced broadcasts.
Aftermath
The inserts ended in 2001, and the Hays facility was reduced to a news bureau and advertising-sales office.
1962
Move from ABC to CBSStrategyBackground
The station was operating in a developing regional network environment in which affiliated stations were being reorganized around CBS distribution.
Action taken
KAYS-TV changed its primary affiliation from ABC to CBS and joined the Kansas Broadcasting System.
Aftermath
The station has remained part of the CBS-oriented KBS network, later operating as KBSH-TV and KBSH-DT.
Recent events
- 2016
Gray Television completes acquisition of KBS stations[1]
M&A
Gray completed its acquisition of KWCH, KBSH, and the other KBS stations. Gray retained the KBS properties while divesting the separately owned KAKE stations.
- 2015
Schurz Communications exits broadcasting[1]
M&A
Schurz announced the sale of its television and radio holdings, including KWCH-DT and the KBSH satellite stations, to Gray Television.
- 2009
KBSH-DT completes analog-to-digital transition[1]
Product generation · Regulation
The station ended analog broadcasting on VHF channel 7, moved its digital signal to VHF channel 7 after the transition, and adopted the KBSH-DT call sign.
- 2006
Media General announces sale of KWCH and its satellites[1]
M&A
Media General announced the sale of KWCH, KBSH, and related stations while restructuring its portfolio after acquiring several former NBC-owned stations.
- 1989
Smith Broadcasting acquires Kansas Broadcasting System properties[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Smith Broadcasting purchased the Kansas Broadcasting System Corporation, after which KAYS-TV adopted the KBSH-TV call sign as part of a coordinated network identity.
- 1988
Kansas Broadcasting System expands to four stations[1]
M&A
The Kansas Broadcasting System Corporation acquired KTVC, bringing the four full-power stations associated with the KBS network under common ownership.
- 1962
KBSH-TV changes affiliation from ABC to CBS[1]
Other
The Hays station changed its primary network affiliation from ABC to CBS and became part of the four-station Kansas Broadcasting System.
Sources1 sources
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