KSBI

KSBI is a commercial television station serving Oklahoma City and surrounding parts of Oklahoma. Broadcasting on UHF channel 52, the station is owned by locally based Griffin Communications, which also owns and operates Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV-DT, known as News 9. KSBI and KWTV share Griffin’s downtown Oklahoma City facilities, while KSBI’s transmitter is located in northeast Oklahoma City. The station originated with a construction-permit application by Satellite Broadcasting Company, a religious nonprofit associated with Donald J. Locke, founder of the Oklahoma hardware-store chain Locke Supply, and his wife Wanda McKenzie Locke. Although the channel allocation was initially linked to the possibility of serving Edmond, the Federal Communications Commission ultimately authorized use of the Oklahoma City assignment. The planned KSBI call sign referred to Satellite Broadcasting Company, Inc. After several years of delays, the station began broadcasting on October 3, 1988. During its first sixteen years, KSBI operated primarily as a religious independent station. Its early schedule was limited, initially transmitting only during part of the day before expanding to longer daily hours and eventually to round-the-clock service. The station carried religious and gospel programming alongside a modest selection of secular sitcoms, westerns, movies and other syndicated material. It did not rely on viewer donation appeals, despite its religious orientation. Cable carriage beginning in 1993 substantially improved its availability in the Oklahoma City area, while an expanding translator network later gave the station one of the broadest over-the-air footprints among Oklahoma commercial stations. KSBI’s programming and ownership changed significantly after the death of Donald Locke in 2000. Locke Supply’s leadership sought to divest the station and related properties, and an attempted 2001 sale to Christian Media Group failed when the buyer could not complete its financing. A reorganized Family Broadcasting Group of Oklahoma, associated with Brady Brus, Brenda Bennett, Angie Brus and Joe Bowie, eventually acquired KSBI in a transaction completed in 2004. Under Family Broadcasting, the station became a family-oriented general-entertainment independent. It emphasized edited syndicated series, classic comedies and dramas, westerns, movies, sports, and locally produced material designed to minimize explicit sexual content, strong profanity and graphic violence. Family Broadcasting also invested heavily in weather coverage. KSBI created a weather department, deployed remote cameras across the state under the KSBI Statecam name, and introduced bilingual severe-weather alerts in English and Spanish. The station later broadened its syndicated schedule and developed local talk, lifestyle, cooking, film-review and sports programs. In 2008 it reached an agreement to air selected Oklahoma City Thunder games and temporarily promoted itself as Thunder TV. It also built a new facility in Yukon, completed in 2009, and later appointed former KOCO-TV executives Vince Orza and Jerry Hart to senior management roles. KSBI became a MyNetworkTV affiliate in September 2012 after that affiliation moved from KAUT-TV. In 2014, Family Broadcasting cancelled most of the station’s locally produced programs and reduced staffing. Griffin Communications subsequently agreed to acquire KSBI, reviving a purchase interest it had previously pursued. Griffin positioned the station as a complementary outlet for programming displaced from KWTV by breaking news or severe-weather coverage. In March 2017, KSBI adopted the News 9 Plus identity as a KWTV brand extension. Griffin later consolidated its operations in downtown Oklahoma City, completing new facilities for KWTV and KSBI in November 2022. The station continues as an independently programmed outlet with a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation and a close operational relationship with KWTV.

The channel 52 allocation in Oklahoma City was contested by prospective broadcasters in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Satellite Broadcasting Company, a religious nonprofit connected to Locke Supply founder Donald J. Locke and Wanda McKenzie Locke, petitioned for the allocation and filed its station application in 1980. The FCC granted the license in 1982, and the proposed KSBI call sign was adopted later that year. Operational delays postponed the station’s launch until October 3, 1988. KSBI initially operated from Locke Supply offices in southeast Oklahoma City and followed a largely religious independent format. Its schedule was limited during an initial test period, then expanded first to longer daytime hours and later to a 24-hour schedule. The station combined religious programming with selected secular entertainment, including sitcoms, westerns and films. Cable carriage became available in 1993 following the implementation of broadcast must-carry rules, materially extending the station’s reach. During the 1990s and early 2000s, KSBI also developed a substantial translator network and secured carriage beyond the Oklahoma City market. The station increased its technical reach in 1999 by installing a new antenna and upgrading transmitter power. Around the same period, it began adding family-oriented secular programming. In 2000, themed blocks organized around westerns, sports, music, wildlife, automotive material, family shows, comedy and religious content illustrated the station’s transition toward a broader general-entertainment schedule. KSBI also maintained restrictions on certain advertising and declined to use telethons or viewer-donation appeals. Donald Locke’s death in February 2000 prompted Locke Supply to review the future of KSBI and associated translator properties. A proposed sale to Christian Media Group in 2001 collapsed when the prospective buyer failed to fund the transaction. Family Broadcasting Group, a restructured entity associated with several of the same principals, reached a new agreement in 2003. It operated the station under a time-lease arrangement while awaiting regulatory approval, and the purchase was finalized in March 2004. Family Broadcasting repositioned KSBI as a family-oriented independent station. The new strategy relied on syndicated entertainment edited to meet the station’s content standards, together with weather, sports and local productions. Under Brady Brus, KSBI made weather a central part of its identity, including frequent updates, a network of remote cameras and bilingual English-Spanish severe-weather information. The schedule later expanded with a larger inventory of syndicated programs and sports rights. In 2007, Chesapeake Energy co-founders Aubrey McClendon and Tom L. Ward acquired an interest in Family Broadcasting after its equity was reorganized to retire long-term debt. In 2008, KSBI began carrying selected Oklahoma City Thunder games and used the Thunder TV promotional identity. The station also constructed a new Yukon studio complex, moving into it in 2009. Management changed in 2010 when Vince Orza and Jerry Hart, both former KOCO-TV executives, took leading operational roles. The station subsequently refined its local output and syndicated schedule. KSBI became affiliated with MyNetworkTV in 2012. In 2014, Family Broadcasting cancelled most of its locally produced programs and reduced its workforce. Griffin Communications then acquired the station, linking it operationally with KWTV. Griffin’s stated use for KSBI included carrying CBS programs and syndicated shows that KWTV could not air because of severe-weather reporting or breaking-news coverage. The News 9 Plus branding was introduced in 2017. Griffin later bought the Century Center complex in downtown Oklahoma City for corporate and broadcast use, and new facilities for KSBI and KWTV were completed in 2022.

1. 2022Downtown Oklahoma City facilities open

   New Griffin facilities serving KSBI and KWTV were completed downtown.

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2. 2017News 9 Plus launch

   KSBI was rebranded as News 9 Plus as part of Griffin’s KWTV-related portfolio.

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3. 2014Griffin acquisition announced

   Family Broadcasting agreed to sell KSBI to Griffin Communications.

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4. 2012MyNetworkTV affiliation begins

   KSBI took over the Oklahoma City MyNetworkTV affiliation from KAUT-TV.

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5. 2008Thunder TV promotion begins

   The station secured selected Oklahoma City Thunder broadcasts and promoted them under the Thunder TV identity.

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6. 2004Family Broadcasting ownership finalized

   Family Broadcasting completed its purchase of KSBI and related broadcast properties.

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7. 1999Transmitter expansion

   KSBI upgraded its transmitter and antenna system, increasing its technical coverage.

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8. 1993Cable carriage begins

   Local cable systems began carrying KSBI after broadcast must-carry provisions took effect.

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9. 1988Station signs on

   KSBI began broadcasting on October 3 as a primarily religious independent station.

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10. 1982License granted and KSBI call sign selected

    The FCC granted Satellite Broadcasting Company authority for the channel 52 facility, and the KSBI call sign was selected.

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A locally oriented Oklahoma City broadcast station positioned as a complementary, family-conscious and general-entertainment outlet within Griffin Media’s News 9 television operation.

• KSBI broadcast serviceTelevision station1988

  KSBI’s core offering is a local broadcast television service for Oklahoma City and nearby Oklahoma communities. Its schedule has evolved from religious programming to a general-entertainment mix, with syndicated series, movies, sports, weather information, MyNetworkTV programming and material complementary to KWTV. Distribution has included over-the-air transmission, cable, satellite and translator stations.

• News 9 PlusTelevision programming brand2017

  News 9 Plus is the Griffin-era identity applied to KSBI from 2017. It presents the station as an extension of KWTV’s News 9 operation and provides an additional outlet for programs that may be displaced from the primary CBS station by breaking news or severe-weather coverage.

• KSBI Statecam NetworkWeather information service

  The Statecam Network was a collection of remote cameras placed in Oklahoma communities to support KSBI’s locally focused weather coverage. It formed part of the station’s broader investment in frequent weather updates and severe-weather information.

• 2008Thunder TV

  Oklahoma City

  KSBI promoted selected Oklahoma City Thunder regular-season broadcasts under the Thunder TV identity, temporarily emphasizing local professional sports as part of its programming proposition.

  Outcome. The branding was a historical programming promotion rather than the station’s permanent identity.

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• 2017Launching the News 9 Plus brandStrategy

  Griffin sought to make KSBI’s relationship with KWTV clearer to viewers.

  What changed. KSBI was rebranded as News 9 Plus.

  Aftermath. The station became more explicitly positioned as a secondary outlet within Griffin’s Oklahoma City news and programming portfolio.

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• 2014Sale to Griffin CommunicationsM&A

  Family Broadcasting had reduced KSBI’s local programming and staffing, while Griffin sought a complementary outlet for KWTV content.

  What changed. Family Broadcasting agreed to sell KSBI to Griffin Communications, the owner of KWTV.

  Aftermath. KSBI became part of Griffin Media and was later integrated with KWTV under the News 9 Plus identity.

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• 2012Accepting the MyNetworkTV affiliationStrategy

  MyNetworkTV programming became available after KAUT-TV returned to independent status.

  What changed. KSBI added MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation while continuing to operate primarily as an independent station.

  Aftermath. The affiliation became part of KSBI’s mixed local, syndicated and network schedule.

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• 2004Repositioning as a family-oriented independentStrategy

  After acquiring KSBI, Family Broadcasting inherited a station historically centered on religious programming and sought a broader audience.

  What changed. The station introduced syndicated sitcoms, dramas, westerns, films, sports and local productions while applying standards intended to limit explicit sexual content, strong profanity and graphic violence.

  Aftermath. KSBI developed a broader general-entertainment identity and expanded its weather and local-programming operations.

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• 2022New Griffin downtown facilities completed

  New downtown Oklahoma City facilities for Griffin’s television operations, including KSBI and KWTV, were completed.

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• 2017KSBI adopts News 9 Plus identity

  Griffin rebranded KSBI as News 9 Plus, presenting it as a complementary service to KWTV’s News 9 operation.

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• 2014Griffin Communications agrees to buy KSBI

  Following reductions in local programming and staffing, Family Broadcasting agreed to sell the station to KWTV owner Griffin Communications.

  M&ALeadership change
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• 2012KSBI joins MyNetworkTV

  KSBI became Oklahoma City’s MyNetworkTV affiliate after the service moved from KAUT-TV.

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• 2004Family Broadcasting completes KSBI acquisition

  Family Broadcasting Group of Oklahoma completed its purchase of KSBI and related broadcast properties after operating the station under an interim arrangement.

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• 2001KSBI sale agreement with Christian Media Group fails

  A proposed acquisition by Christian Media Group was not completed after the buyer could not raise the required purchase funds.

  M&A
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• 1988KSBI begins broadcasting

  The station signed on after the original licensee spent several years developing the channel 52 facility.

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1. KSBI
2. KSBI programming and ownership reference