KMEG
KMEG is a Sioux City, Iowa-area television station now carrying programming from the Roar digital multicast network.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KMEG is a television station serving the Sioux City, Iowa, United States, market. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 14 and is based at shared facilities on the Interstate 29 corridor in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, while its transmitter is located northeast of Sioux City in Plymouth County, Iowa. KMEG is owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside KPTH, the market’s Fox and CBS affiliate. Its website and news identity have historically used the Siouxland News branding. The station began broadcasting on September 5, 1967, after Medallion Broadcasters received federal authorization to construct a UHF station in Sioux City. Its call letters reflected the station’s planned one-megawatt transmission power. The original objective was to improve the market’s network coverage, but a change in affiliations at existing station KVTV altered Medallion’s plans. KVTV moved from CBS to ABC, enabling KMEG to begin as the market’s CBS affiliate. From sign-on through early 2021, CBS programming was the central element of KMEG’s identity. KMEG experienced several ownership changes during its first decades. Medallion sold the station to John Fetzer roughly eighteen months after launch, and Fetzer later sold it to Gillett Holdings in 1985. Gillett transferred the station after about a year to Maine Radio and Television Company, a family-owned broadcaster expanding beyond New England. KMEG remained a relatively weak ratings performer for much of this period and spent years behind the market’s established stations. Its original local-news operation was discontinued in 1976, leaving public-affairs and documentary production in place until the station gradually rebuilt weather and news capabilities in the 1990s. The station attracted unusual national attention in 1993 when it initially declined to broadcast CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman. Management preferred its existing late-evening schedule, and Sioux City became the only U.S. market where the program was not initially carried. Letterman referred to Sioux City as the show’s home office, prompting local civic promotion. KMEG eventually added the program in 1994. Waitt Broadcasting acquired KMEG in 1998 and invested in its facilities, transmission infrastructure, and local programming. Waitt launched full-length evening newscasts in 1999 and built a new Dakota Dunes facility. In 2005, most station operations were outsourced to Pappas Telecasting, which also operated KPTH. Pappas-related financial problems and a subsequent bankruptcy complicated a proposed sale of KMEG, while KPTH passed through Titan TV Broadcast Group before Sinclair acquired it in 2013. In 2021, Sinclair moved CBS programming and the associated local-news operation from KMEG to a CBS-branded digital subchannel of KPTH. KMEG’s primary digital channel then carried Dabl and later other national multicast programming. Sinclair discontinued local newscasts in the Sioux City market in May 2023. Sinclair acquired KMEG outright from Waitt in 2025, establishing common ownership of KMEG and KPTH, and KMEG became an affiliate of the Roar television network in August 2025. The station therefore remains active as a broadcast outlet, but no longer functions as the market’s primary CBS-branded station.
History
Medallion Broadcasters applied to the Federal Communications Commission in November 1966 for authority to build a UHF television station on channel 14 in Sioux City. The applicant group consisted of northwest Iowa residents and was led by Robert Donovan, a longtime sales manager at existing Sioux City station KVTV. The FCC approved the application on February 15, 1967. Construction used space in a former coffee-company building, and the call letters KMEG were selected to emphasize the station’s intended one-megawatt service. During construction, KVTV announced that it would change its affiliation from CBS to ABC. Medallion consequently pursued CBS, and KMEG signed on September 5, 1967, as the new CBS affiliate. The station initially operated from a transmitter site east of Sioux City. Approximately eighteen months later, Medallion sold KMEG to John Fetzer. The FCC record indicated that Medallion had absorbed substantial losses during the station’s launch. Donovan nevertheless remained station manager until 1983, and KMEG had not yet achieved profitability by 1976. Fetzer began disposing of his broadcasting interests in the mid-1980s. KMEG was sold in 1985 with other stations to Gillett Holdings, which owned it for approximately one year before transferring it to Maine Radio and Television Company. The Maine-based company described KMEG as a relatively small and affordable expansion opportunity. During this era, KMEG also carried selected Fox programming beginning in 1989 and briefly served as a secondary UPN affiliate in 1995. It discontinued UPN programming after declining to carry more of the network’s schedule than Star Trek: Voyager. A locally hosted children’s program was another element of the station’s community-oriented programming. KMEG’s most publicized programming decision occurred in 1993. When CBS launched Late Show with David Letterman, the station chose not to air it because management believed its existing late-fringe schedule was stronger locally. The decision made Sioux City the only market where the program was not initially available. Letterman made the city the program’s symbolic home office, and Sioux City officials promoted the connection. KMEG added Late Show in September 1994, while the home-office joke continued for a further period. KMEG’s news history was uneven. It launched with newscasts called Newsbeat 14, but struggled against established competitors. In 1976, management ended traditional full-length local newscasts and retained a small staff for public affairs and documentaries. Regular weather updates returned in 1993. After Waitt Broadcasting acquired the station in 1998, management committed to rebuilding local news. Evening newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. began on August 24, 1999, initially from the existing Sioux City operation. The service continued to face competitive and financial pressure; most anchors were dismissed in 2004 and weekend newscasts were cancelled. Waitt invested in a new Dakota Dunes facility and moved the station’s antenna to infrastructure associated with the launch of KPTH, improving signal coverage. In 2005, Waitt entered a shared-services agreement with Pappas Telecasting, the owner of KPTH. Pappas assumed operational responsibility for KMEG and moved KPTH into the Dakota Dunes facility. A proposed sale of KMEG to Siouxland Television in 2007 collapsed amid Pappas’s financial difficulties and bankruptcy proceedings. KPTH and other affected Pappas stations were subsequently transferred to Titan TV Broadcast Group, which sold KPTH to Sinclair in a transaction completed in 2013. Sinclair renewed its CBS affiliation agreement in 2021 but designated KPTH rather than KMEG as the Sioux City CBS outlet. On February 4, 2021, CBS programming and the related local news moved to KPTH’s digital channel 44.3. KMEG’s principal digital channel began carrying Dabl and later served as a platform for other national multicast programming. Sinclair ended local newscasts in the Sioux City market in May 2023. A retransmission-consent dispute produced regulatory and legal consequences after AT&T sued Waitt Broadcasting, alleging a failure to negotiate in good faith. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order connected with the dispute and set the forfeiture at $512,228. In 2025, Sinclair acquired KMEG’s license from Waitt for a reported $500,000, creating direct common ownership with KPTH. KMEG became a Roar affiliate in August 2025 and continues as an active broadcast station rather than as the market’s CBS outlet.
- 2025
Sinclair takes direct ownership
[1]Sinclair acquired KMEG’s license from Waitt and formed a legal duopoly with KPTH.
- 2025
Roar affiliation
[1]KMEG became a Roar digital multicast-network affiliate in August.
- 2021
CBS affiliation moves to KPTH
[1]The CBS service and local news moved from KMEG to KPTH’s digital subchannel, changing KMEG’s programming role.
- 2021
FCC forfeiture order
[1]The FCC issued a $512,228 forfeiture order related to the retransmission-consent dispute involving Waitt Broadcasting.
- 2013
Sinclair acquires KPTH
[1]Sinclair completed its acquisition of KPTH, beginning the stations’ long-term common operational relationship.
- 2005
Shared-services agreement with Pappas
[1]Pappas Telecasting assumed most KMEG operations and consolidated its work with KPTH.
- 1999
New Dakota Dunes facility and news relaunch
[1]KMEG opened a new shared facility project in Dakota Dunes and restored regular evening newscasts.
- 1998
Waitt Broadcasting acquisition
[1]Waitt Broadcasting acquired KMEG and began investing in its facilities and local programming.
- 1993
Late Show controversy
[1]KMEG initially declined to carry Late Show with David Letterman, creating a nationally noted Sioux City programming exception.
- 1985
Sale to Gillett Holdings
[1]KMEG was included in John Fetzer’s sale of broadcasting properties to Gillett Holdings.
Products and positioning
A Siouxland-area over-the-air television station serving as a local broadcast outlet and digital multicast-network affiliate. Its historic positioning was as the Sioux City market’s CBS affiliate; since 2021, its role has shifted toward national multicast programming under Sinclair ownership.
Television station · 1967
KMEG channel 14
KMEG’s core offering is its over-the-air television service on virtual channel 14, serving the Sioux City market from a transmitter in Plymouth County, Iowa. The station historically carried CBS and local news, but its main channel now focuses on national digital multicast programming under Sinclair ownership.
Local television news · 1967
KMEG local news
KMEG produced local news under the Newsbeat 14 and later CBS 14 identities. Full-length newscasts were absent for much of the period from 1976 to 1999, returned under Waitt, and were later integrated with KPTH operations. The Sioux City local-news operation was discontinued in 2023.
Network-affiliate service · 1967
CBS 14
CBS 14 was the station’s long-running CBS affiliation and associated news identity. In February 2021, CBS programming moved from KMEG to KPTH’s digital subchannel, ending KMEG’s role as the market’s CBS outlet.
Digital multicast television · 2025
Roar programming
KMEG became an affiliate of the Roar digital multicast network in August 2025, representing its post-CBS role as a national multicast-programming outlet.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2025
Direct acquisition by SinclairM&ABackground
KMEG remained owned by Waitt while Sinclair operated the related KPTH station.
Action taken
Sinclair acquired KMEG’s license from Waitt for a reported $500,000.
Aftermath
The transaction created a legal duopoly between KMEG and KPTH under Sinclair ownership.
Purchase price. $500,000 (2025 transaction)
2021
Moving CBS to KPTHStrategyBackground
Sinclair renewed its CBS affiliation agreement while restructuring the Sioux City stations’ channel assignments.
Action taken
CBS programming and local news moved to KPTH’s 44.3 digital subchannel, while KMEG shifted to national multicast programming.
Aftermath
KMEG ceased to be the Sioux City CBS affiliate and became primarily a multicast-network outlet.
2005
Outsourcing operations to Pappas TelecastingStrategyBackground
Waitt sought operating efficiencies and had a relationship with the owner of nearby station KPTH.
Action taken
Waitt entered a shared-services agreement under which Pappas assumed most KMEG operations and consolidated work at Dakota Dunes.
Aftermath
The arrangement linked KMEG and KPTH operationally, although ownership and later bankruptcy proceedings remained separate issues.
1998
Rebuilding local news under WaittStrategyBackground
KMEG had operated for years without full-length local newscasts and remained a lower-rated station in a competitive market.
Action taken
Waitt invested in facilities and relaunched regular evening newscasts in 1999.
Aftermath
The station restored local news but continued to face competitive pressure; its operations were later combined with KPTH under a shared-services arrangement.
1993
Declining Late Show with David LettermanOtherBackground
CBS introduced Late Show in a time period that KMEG had filled with syndicated or other established programming. Management believed the existing local schedule performed better and that Letterman’s predecessor had not rated strongly in Sioux City.
Action taken
KMEG initially withheld the program from its schedule, making Sioux City the only market without it at launch.
Aftermath
The decision generated national attention through Letterman’s home-office references. KMEG began airing the program in September 1994.
Sources2 sources
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