KNPG-CD

KNPG-CD is a low-power, Class A television station serving St. Joseph, Missouri, and nearby communities in northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. The station is owned by the locally based News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG), which also owns St. Joseph sister stations KNPN-CD and KCJO-CD. The three stations operate from NPG's corporate headquarters on Edmond Street in downtown St. Joseph, alongside the St. Joseph News-Press and the News-Press NOW local news and weather service. KNPG-CD's transmitter is located on South 16th Street near U.S. Route 36, southeast of downtown. The station's lineage began not as a licensed over-the-air station but as WBJO, a cable-only affiliate of The WB launched on September 21, 1998. The service was managed and promoted by St. Joseph Cablevision, then an NPG-owned cable operation. Because WBJO was a local cable channel rather than an FCC-licensed broadcast facility, the call sign was used for branding purposes. The outlet provided St. Joseph viewers with locally managed access to WB programming at a time when the market otherwise relied on stations from Kansas City, Omaha, or distant satellite feeds. When The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in 2006, the cable service joined The CW Plus on September 18, 2006. NPG later sold its cable systems to Suddenlink Communications in 2011. The transaction included the cable-based WBJO service and the related News-Press 3 NOW channel, although NPG subsequently resumed control of WBJO's promotion and advertising when the programming moved toward a digital broadcast outlet. NPG entered St. Joseph's over-the-air television market in 2012, announcing plans for a Fox-affiliated station that would also carry CW and Telemundo services on digital subchannels. A separately acquired low-power digital license became KBJO-LD on March 7, 2013. The station initially carried The CW Plus, while its sister station KNPN-LD operated the Fox service. On November 1, 2016, KBJO-LD became KNPG-LD and took the NBC affiliation, giving St. Joseph its first locally based NBC affiliate. The CW Plus service moved to a second digital subchannel. On June 1, 2017, Telemundo programming was added to a third subchannel after the former Telemundo outlet, the sister station then known as KBJO-LD, was converted into CBS affiliate KCJO-LD. KNPG-CD's programming mix combines national network entertainment, news, daytime, syndicated, and Spanish-language programming with locally produced news. Its news operation is shared with KNPN-CD and KCJO-CD and draws on the reporting resources of the St. Joseph News-Press and News-Press NOW. The station's NBC-era news schedule included simulcasts and original broadcasts produced by the shared newsroom, including morning, early-evening, and late-evening programs. The station's low-power status means that cable and satellite carriage is not automatically guaranteed under the same regulatory framework as full-power stations, although it has been distributed through local and regional television providers. KNPG-CD therefore functions both as a local broadcast outlet and as one component of NPG's integrated St. Joseph news and television operation.

KNPG-CD traces its commercial and programming history to WBJO, a cable-only affiliate launched in St. Joseph on September 21, 1998. The service was operated and promoted by St. Joseph Cablevision, which was owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company. Since it did not hold an FCC broadcast license, WBJO was a fictional call-sign identity used for the cable outlet. Before its launch, local viewers generally received WB programming from out-of-market stations, including superstation and regional feeds. The station's network identity changed when The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in 2006. WBJO joined The CW Plus on September 18, 2006, preserving its local-market role while moving from the discontinued WB 100+ service. NPG sold its cable television operations to Suddenlink Communications in 2011. That transaction included the St. Joseph cable service associated with WBJO and the News-Press 3 NOW channel. NPG later regained promotional and advertising control as the service was incorporated into its emerging broadcast television strategy. In March 2012, NPG announced plans to establish a local Fox station in St. Joseph with CW and Telemundo services on digital subchannels. The company acquired a low-power digital license from DTV America 1, LLC and secured regulatory permission to move the facility to St. Joseph and increase its effective radiated power. The facility began broadcasting on March 7, 2013, under the call sign KBJO-LD. Its launch allowed CW programming to move from a subchannel of KNPN-LD to a dedicated low-power station, although carriage on cable and satellite systems was not automatically assured because of the station's low-power classification. A major repositioning occurred in 2016. NPG reached an affiliation agreement with NBC, and KBJO-LD became KNPG-LD on November 1, 2016. The change gave St. Joseph a locally based NBC affiliate for the first time. NBC programming had previously been supplied primarily by Kansas City's KSHB-TV, which continued to be receivable in the market and remained an alternate source. The CW Plus service moved to KNPG's second digital channel. In 2017, the station added Telemundo to a third subchannel after the former Telemundo sister station was converted into CBS affiliate KCJO-LD. The station's news operation expanded with the NBC affiliation. NPG's shared newsroom produces programming for KNPG-CD, KNPN-CD, and KCJO-CD from the Edmond Street facilities. It also uses reporting from the St. Joseph News-Press and shares material with News-Press NOW. The NBC-era schedule included portions of the KNPN morning newscast, early-evening programming, and KNPG-produced broadcasts at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. The station's local output has been integrated with NPG's broader community news operation rather than maintained as a completely separate newsroom. The station is now identified as KNPG-CD, reflecting its Class A digital television status. It remains part of NPG's St. Joseph television cluster and serves a market in which local broadcast, cable, satellite, newspaper, and digital news operations are closely connected. Its principal role is to deliver NBC programming and local news while using digital multicast capacity for CW Plus and Telemundo services.

1. 2017Telemundo is added to a third subchannel

   KNPG assumes local Telemundo affiliation after its sister facility is relaunched as a CBS station.

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2. 2016KBJO-LD becomes KNPG-LD and affiliates with NBC

   The station adopts the KNPG identity and becomes the locally based NBC affiliate for St. Joseph; CW moves to a subchannel.

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3. 2013KBJO-LD signs on

   The low-power digital facility begins broadcasting as KBJO-LD with CW programming.

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4. 2012NPG announces a local television station group

   NPG announces a St. Joseph Fox station planned to carry CW and Telemundo services on digital subchannels.

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5. 2011NPG sells its cable operations

   Suddenlink acquires NPG's cable systems, including the cable-based WBJO service and News-Press 3 NOW.

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6. 2006WBJO joins The CW Plus

   The outlet replaces its former WB affiliation with The CW Plus when The CW launches.

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7. 1998Cable-only WBJO service launches

   A locally managed cable affiliate of The WB begins operation in St. Joseph under the WBJO branding.

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A locally owned, multi-network television outlet combining national network programming with community news, weather, and reporting resources supplied by the News-Press & Gazette Company.

• NBC programmingBroadcast network affiliation2016

  KNPG-CD's primary service is NBC programming for the St. Joseph market. The affiliation began in November 2016 and replaced the market's reliance on Kansas City's KSHB-TV as its default NBC outlet. The service includes NBC's national schedule together with locally produced news and weather programming.

• The CW PlusDigital multicast television service2006

  The CW Plus is carried through a digital subchannel of KNPG-CD. It is the successor service to the station's original WBJO cable affiliation and moved to the KNPG platform when the station became an NBC affiliate.

• TelemundoSpanish-language digital multicast service2017

  KNPG-CD carries Telemundo programming on a digital subchannel, giving the St. Joseph area a locally distributed Spanish-language network service. The affiliation moved to KNPG in 2017 after the former sister Telemundo station became KCJO-CD, a CBS affiliate.

• Local news and weatherLocal television news2016

  KNPG-CD participates in NPG's shared local newsroom with KNPN-CD and KCJO-CD. The operation uses journalists and material from the St. Joseph News-Press and News-Press NOW, and produces or simulcasts morning, evening, and late-night news and weather coverage for the local market.

• 2017Telemundo affiliation moves to KNPGStrategy

  NPG reorganized its St. Joseph television portfolio when the former Telemundo station was converted into CBS affiliate KCJO-CD.

  What changed. KNPG activated a third digital subchannel carrying Telemundo programming on June 1, 2017.

  Aftermath. NPG retained a local Telemundo service while operating NBC, CW Plus, and CBS services across its St. Joseph station group.

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• 2016NPG converts the station into a local NBC affiliateStrategy

  St. Joseph had received NBC programming primarily from out-of-market Kansas City station KSHB-TV, despite that station's strong signal in the area. NPG sought to establish a locally based major-network outlet.

  What changed. NPG changed the call sign from KBJO-LD to KNPG-LD and launched the NBC affiliation on November 1, 2016. CW Plus programming was moved to a new second digital subchannel.

  Aftermath. KNPG became the market's primary local NBC outlet, while KSHB-TV continued to be receivable as an alternate station. The change also supported an expanded local news schedule.

  • KSHB-TV — KSHB-TV remained available as an alternate NBC signal, although duplicate NBC programming could be blacked out on some systems under FCC program-duplication rules.
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• 2017Telemundo moves to KNPG's digital subchannel

  KNPG adds local Telemundo carriage after the former sister Telemundo station is relaunched as CBS affiliate KCJO-LD.

  Product launch
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• 2016Station becomes St. Joseph's NBC affiliate as KNPG-LD

  KBJO-LD changes its call sign to KNPG-LD and assumes the NBC affiliation. The CW Plus service moves to a second digital subchannel.

  Leadership changeProduct generation
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• 2013KBJO-LD begins over-the-air broadcasting

  The acquired low-power digital license signs on as KBJO-LD. The station carries CW programming while NPG develops its local multi-station television operation.

  Product launch
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• 2012News-Press & Gazette announces a local St. Joseph television station

  NPG announces plans for a Fox-affiliated television station that will also provide CW and Telemundo services through digital subchannels.

  Product launch
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• 2006WBJO transitions to The CW Plus

  Following the replacement of The WB and UPN by The CW, the St. Joseph cable outlet adopts The CW Plus on the network's launch date.

  Product generation
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• 1998The WB cable service begins in St. Joseph under the WBJO identity

  A cable-only local affiliate of The WB begins serving St. Joseph viewers. The service is managed and promoted by St. Joseph Cablevision, an NPG-owned cable provider.

  Product launch
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1. KNPG-CD
2. News-Press NOW television page