KREG-TV

KREG-TV is a television station licensed to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, serving the Colorado Western Slope. The station broadcasts on VHF channel 3 and is owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Its primary affiliation is MeTV, the classic television network, while additional digital subchannels carry other Weigel networks and related programming services. The station’s transmitter is located atop Sunlight Peak, a mountainous site whose winter access and weather conditions have materially affected the station’s operations. The station first went on the air on January 28, 1984, under the call sign KCWS. It was established by Western Slope Communications as a local independent station intended to compete through a mix of syndicated programming and regional news. At launch, KCWS promoted a broad schedule of off-network and first-run syndicated shows and attempted an ambitious local-news operation, including a long-form morning newscast. Its early operation was hindered by severe winter conditions, delays and damage involving technical equipment, disputes concerning the transmitter site, and limitations on distribution through local translator systems. The Glenwood Springs advertising base was also small, while Denver station KWGN-TV had already been available by cable in the area for many years. These difficulties contributed to repeated layoffs and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June 1984. Local news was discontinued, and KCWS went off the air on July 2, 1984, after roughly five months of operation. The station was subsequently acquired by W. Russell Withers Jr., who also owned KREX-TV in Grand Junction. It returned to the air on September 16, 1987, with the KREG-TV call sign as a satellite of KREX-TV, a station then carrying CBS and NBC programming. In that configuration, KREG-TV generally followed KREX’s programming and did not produce separate local news inserts, although it maintained a small office in nearby Carbondale. Ownership later changed through several broadcast-company transactions. Withers sold KREG-TV and KREX-TV to Hoak Media in 2003. In connection with Gray Television’s acquisition of Hoak Media, KREG-TV was divested to Nexstar Broadcasting Group in a transaction completed in 2014. Nexstar then sold the station to Marquee Broadcasting in 2016 as part of divestitures associated with Nexstar’s acquisition of Media General and applicable Federal Communications Commission ownership limits. Following the Marquee transaction, KREG-TV stopped operating as a KREX satellite because its Glenwood Springs assignment is associated with the Denver media market rather than the Grand Junction market. KREG-TV experienced another interruption in January 2017 when snow and ice accumulation, together with avalanche danger, made the Sunlight Peak transmitter inaccessible for repairs. The station returned to the air in July 2017 with Heroes & Icons programming. Weigel Broadcasting agreed to acquire KREG-TV from Marquee in 2019, and the transaction closed on January 2, 2020. KREG-TV initially operated as a Heroes & Icons owned-and-operated station under Weigel. Later in 2020, MeTV was placed on digital channel 3.1 and Heroes & Icons moved to 3.2. Although KREG-TV is associated with the Denver television market, its terrestrial signal does not reach the Denver metropolitan area. Its practical distribution therefore depends substantially on cable and satellite carriage, and several of its network services are duplicated on Denver stations. The station’s current identity is consequently less that of a conventional locally produced news outlet and more that of a regional broadcast platform for Weigel’s classic-television and specialty-network portfolio.

KREG-TV’s history began with the launch of independent station KCWS on January 28, 1984. Western Slope Communications created the station to serve Glenwood Springs and the wider Colorado Western Slope with syndicated entertainment and an extensive local-news operation. The station promoted its programming lineup as a competitive alternative to existing cable-delivered Denver stations and attempted an unusually long morning newscast for the region. The launch was undermined by technical and financial difficulties. Severe winter weather delayed construction and damaged equipment, while regulatory and local-government disputes complicated the proposed use of the Sunlight Peak transmitter site and the station’s access to translator systems. KCWS was not initially distributed in Grand Junction, the largest Western Slope community, and its Glenwood Springs advertising base could not support the station’s cost structure. After three rounds of layoffs, the station filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 27, 1984. Its news operation was eliminated, and KCWS ceased broadcasting on July 2 after approximately five months on the air. W. Russell Withers Jr., owner of Grand Junction CBS and NBC affiliate KREX-TV, acquired the failed station. It returned on September 16, 1987, as KREG-TV and operated as a KREX satellite. KREG-TV carried KREX’s programming without separate local news inserts, although it maintained a small Carbondale office. Withers later sold KREG-TV and KREX-TV to Hoak Media in 2003. The next ownership transition followed Gray Television’s acquisition of Hoak Media. To address Federal Communications Commission ownership requirements connected with Gray’s Grand Junction holdings, KREG-TV and related stations were sold to Nexstar Broadcasting Group. The transaction was announced in 2013 and completed on June 13, 2014. Nexstar subsequently agreed in 2016 to sell KREG-TV to Marquee Broadcasting for $350,000. That divestiture accompanied Nexstar’s acquisition of Media General and the resulting ownership-cap constraints. After the sale, KREG-TV was no longer operated as a KREX satellite because the station is assigned to the Denver television market. KREG-TV went off the air on January 5, 2017. The station attributed the interruption to accumulated ice and snow and the danger of avalanches at its mountain transmitter site, which prevented personnel from reaching the equipment to make repairs. Broadcasting resumed on July 1, 2017, with Heroes & Icons programming. Marquee agreed to sell KREG-TV to Weigel Broadcasting for $2 million on May 30, 2019. The transaction closed on January 2, 2020, and KREG-TV became a Weigel-owned Heroes & Icons station. Later that year, MeTV was placed on digital channel 3.1 and Heroes & Icons moved to digital channel 3.2. Today, KREG-TV remains a Glenwood Springs station whose terrestrial coverage is concentrated in the Colorado Western Slope. Its lack of signal penetration into metropolitan Denver limits direct over-the-air reach in that market, but the station has been positioned as a Denver-market service through cable and satellite distribution. Several services carried by KREG-TV are also available on other Denver stations, making the station primarily an outlet for Weigel’s multicast network portfolio rather than a standalone local-news broadcaster.

• 2020

  Weigel Broadcasting ownership and MeTV launch

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Weigel completes its acquisition, and MeTV becomes the primary digital service on channel 3.1 while Heroes & Icons moves to 3.2.

• 2017

  Transmission interruption and return

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KREG-TV goes dark because winter access and avalanche conditions prevent transmitter repairs, then returns with Heroes & Icons programming in July.

• 2016

  Marquee Broadcasting agrees to acquire the station

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar agrees to sell KREG-TV to Marquee Broadcasting as part of ownership-cap divestitures related to the Media General acquisition.

• 2014

  Nexstar ownership begins

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar Broadcasting Group completes its acquisition of KREG-TV from the divestiture of Hoak Media-related stations.

• 2003

  Acquisition by Hoak Media

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  W. Russell Withers Jr. sells KREG-TV and KREX-TV to Hoak Media.

• 1987

  KREG-TV returns as a KREX-TV satellite

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station returns to the air under the KREG-TV call sign as a satellite of Grand Junction station KREX-TV.

• 1984

  KCWS launches as an independent station

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Western Slope Communications launches KCWS on VHF channel 3 in Glenwood Springs with syndicated programming and a regional news operation.

• 1984

  KCWS files for bankruptcy and goes dark

  [1]KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  After layoffs, distribution difficulties and weak advertising economics, KCWS files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and stops broadcasting in July.

A regional Colorado broadcast outlet focused on distributing Weigel Broadcasting’s classic television and specialty networks, with terrestrial service centered on Glenwood Springs and the Colorado Western Slope and broader market presence through cable and satellite carriage.

• Digital multicast television network · 2020

  MeTV

  MeTV is KREG-TV’s primary digital television service on channel 3.1. The network is associated with classic television programming and became the station’s principal affiliation after Weigel Broadcasting acquired KREG-TV.

• Digital multicast television network · 2017

  Heroes & Icons

  Heroes & Icons is carried by KREG-TV on digital channel 3.2. The station returned to the air with Heroes & Icons programming in 2017 and initially operated as a Weigel-owned Heroes & Icons outlet after the 2020 ownership change.

• 2020

  MeTV becomes the primary digital affiliationProduct launch

  Background

  Following Weigel Broadcasting’s acquisition, the station reorganized its digital multicast lineup.

  Action taken

  MeTV was added to digital channel 3.1 and Heroes & Icons was moved to digital channel 3.2.

  Aftermath

  KREG-TV’s principal identity shifted toward MeTV and Weigel’s classic-television network portfolio.

  Source

• 2019

  Sale from Marquee Broadcasting to Weigel BroadcastingM&A

  Background

  Marquee Broadcasting agreed to sell KREG-TV as part of a change in ownership for the Glenwood Springs station.

  Action taken

  Marquee agreed to sell KREG-TV to Weigel Broadcasting for $2 million; the transaction closed in January 2020.

  Aftermath

  KREG-TV became a Weigel-owned station, initially carrying Heroes & Icons before adding MeTV as its primary digital service later in 2020.

  Purchase price. $2 million (2019 agreement; completed January 2, 2020)

  Source

• 2016

  Sale from Nexstar to Marquee BroadcastingM&A

  Background

  Nexstar needed to divest stations in connection with its acquisition of Media General and applicable FCC ownership limits.

  Action taken

  Nexstar agreed to sell KREG-TV to Marquee Broadcasting for $350,000. The station subsequently ceased operating as a satellite of KREX-TV.

  Aftermath

  KREG-TV became operationally separate from KREX-TV and continued as a station associated with the Denver television market.

  Purchase price. $350,000 (2016 transaction announcement)

  Source

1. 1KREG-TVen.wikipedia.org