KTWO-TV

KTWO-TV is a local broadcast television station licensed to Casper, Wyoming, and serving the Casper–Riverton designated market area. The station broadcasts on channel 2 and is affiliated with ABC. Its principal facilities are located on Skyview Drive in Casper, where it shares operational resources with Fox affiliate KFNB and CBS affiliate KGWC-TV under arrangements involving their respective owners and service providers. KTWO-TV’s transmitter is located on Casper Mountain, and its programming reaches viewers across Wyoming through a network of VHF and UHF translators, digital subchannels, and cable distribution. KKTQ-LD in Cheyenne operates as a semi-satellite of the station. The station began test transmissions on March 1, 1957, and commenced regular programming on March 8 of that year. It was initially established as a primary NBC affiliate with a secondary ABC relationship. A secondary CBS affiliation was added in 1959 after the closure of KSPR-TV, and the owners also acquired the associated KSPR radio operation, aligning the radio and television call signs under the KTWO identity. For much of its early history, the station was an important network outlet in a sparsely populated state where broad translator coverage was essential to reaching viewers outside Casper. KTWO-TV’s network identity changed several times. ABC became its primary affiliation in 1978, during a period when the network was becoming the highest-rated national television service. The station returned to primary NBC service in 1986 after competition from newer Casper-area outlets. In 2003, NBC moved from KTWO-TV to KCWY-TV. KTWO operated temporarily as an independent station while preparing to become an ABC affiliate again. That transition was completed on March 8, 2004, after the station reached an agreement that allowed KFNB to end its ABC affiliation early and take Fox programming instead. Ownership also changed repeatedly. Harriscope sold the station to Dix Communications in 1986. Dix later sold it to Eastern Broadcasting, which subsequently became part of GOCOM Holdings through a merger involving Grapevine Communications. Equity Broadcasting acquired KTWO-TV and its Cheyenne satellite operation in 2001. In the mid-2000s, the station moved from Equity’s ownership and operation through a series of local marketing and purchase arrangements involving K-TWO TV of Wyoming and Silverton Broadcasting. Silverton completed its acquisition in 2006. In 2018, Silverton announced a proposed sale to Legacy Broadcasting, but the transaction was canceled later that year. In 2019, Silverton agreed to sell KTWO-TV and KKTQ-LD to Vision Wyoming, a subsidiary of Vision Alaska LLC. The transaction closed on June 1, 2020. Following the change in ownership, the station substantially reduced its local news operation and incorporated centrally produced NewsNet programming. The changes were presented as a response to the economic and operational challenges of sustaining a full newsroom in a rural television market, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the transition. By 2022, NewsNet programming had been replaced by the Coastal-owned and partly centralized News Hub service. KTWO-TV remains a local ABC outlet with a hybrid programming model combining network entertainment and news, locally produced reports, syndicated or centrally supplied programming, and distribution through Wyoming’s extensive translator infrastructure. Its brand is closely associated with Casper, central Wyoming, and statewide over-the-air coverage rather than with a national corporate consumer brand.

KTWO-TV began test broadcasts in Casper on March 1, 1957, and entered regular operation on March 8. Harriscope Inc. owned the station, which launched as a primary NBC affiliate with ABC as a secondary affiliation. In 1959, it added CBS programming after KSPR-TV ceased operations. The station’s owners also acquired KSPR radio, then a CBS Radio affiliate, and changed the radio call sign to KTWO, creating a related broadcast identity. In October 1959, the television operation moved its studios into the KTWO radio facility. The station’s network affiliations reflected the changing competitive structure of Casper television. In March 1978, ABC announced that KTWO-TV would become a primary ABC station beginning September 5, at a time when ABC was rising to the top of the national ratings. KTWO later lost CBS programming when a new Casper station launched in 1980. Another new outlet began carrying NBC programming not cleared by KTWO in 1984. In early 1986, KTWO agreed to return to primary NBC service effective September 1, while ABC moved to the competing outlet. Harriscope sold KTWO-TV and KULR-TV in Billings, Montana, to Dix Communications in 1986. Dix signed on KKTU on channel 33 in Cheyenne in 1987 as a satellite of KTWO-TV. In 1994, Dix sold KTWO-TV, KKTU, and other stations to Eastern Broadcasting. Eastern later sold its television properties to Grapevine Communications, which merged with GOCOM Communications in 1999 to create GOCOM Holdings. Equity Broadcasting acquired KTWO-TV and KKTU in 2001. The most consequential affiliation change occurred in the early 2000s. NBC planned to move its Casper affiliation to KCWY, and the transfer took place on September 1, 2003. Equity had anticipated the expiration of the NBC agreement. KTWO-TV temporarily operated as an independent station and carried selected Pax TV programs, including Candid Camera and Miracle Pets. On June 27, 2003, the station announced that it had reached an agreement to become an ABC affiliate after the expiration of ABC’s contract with KFNB. KKTU in Cheyenne was able to switch to ABC earlier and marketed itself as ABC 8 based on its cable position. The ABC transition was completed on March 8, 2004. KFNB ended its ABC affiliation early and took Fox programming, while the former outlet carrying that Fox service adopted UPN and Pax programming. On March 1, 2004, K-TWO TV of Wyoming, controlled by Cheryl Kaupp, began operating KTWO-TV under a local marketing agreement. The entity later filed to purchase the station from Equity for $1.7 million. Its acquisition rights were assigned to Silverton Broadcasting, headed by Barry Silverton, in May 2005, and Silverton completed the purchase on May 31, 2006. During the same period, KTWO’s Cheyenne distribution changed. Equity retained the former channel 33 operation, which changed call signs and affiliations several times. KTWO moved ABC programming in Cheyenne to a low-power repeater after the former satellite stopped carrying ABC. That repeater later became KDEV-LP, and ABC programming was eventually dropped there in 2010. KTWO subsequently launched a new low-power Cheyenne satellite, K16JM, in 2011; it became KKTQ-LD in 2013. KKTQ-LD is also carried on the second digital subchannel of KLWY and maintains its own identifications and commercial inventory. KTWO-TV’s distribution has depended heavily on translators and retransmission agreements because Wyoming’s population is dispersed across a large, mountainous area. The station was added to Dish Network in 2005, but KTWO, KFNB, and KGWC were removed from the service on January 1, 2012, after the parties failed to reach a new contract. The signals returned on May 1 of that year. Silverton announced a proposed sale to Legacy Broadcasting in February 2018. The transaction would have created a duopoly involving KFNB, but it was canceled in October. In October 2019, Silverton announced the sale of KTWO-TV and KKTQ-LD to Vision Wyoming, a Vision Alaska subsidiary associated with Stephen Brissette. The broader transaction also involved separate sales of other Wyoming stations to Big Horn Television and Coastal Television Broadcasting. The KTWO transaction closed on June 1, 2020. After the ownership change, KTWO-TV substantially reduced its local news operation. Weekend newscasts were replaced with Michigan-based NewsNet programming, and in July 2020 the station announced that Good Morning Wyoming would be replaced by a new morning program. Other newscasts incorporated NewsNet material while preserving limited local reports, generally at the beginning of broadcasts. Coastal Television attributed the reductions to the difficulty of achieving sufficient economies of scale for full rural-market newsrooms, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the shift. By April 2022, the station had stopped using NewsNet and adopted the Coastal-owned and partly centralized News Hub service. KTWO-TV continues to operate as an ABC affiliate serving Casper and surrounding Wyoming communities through its main signal, satellites, translators, digital subchannels, and cable distribution.

• 2022

  News Hub replaces NewsNet

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTWO-TV discontinued NewsNet programming and adopted the Coastal-owned News Hub service.

• 2020

  Vision Alaska transaction closes

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition closed June 1, followed by major changes to the station’s news operation and programming model.

• 2019

  Vision Wyoming acquisition announced

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Silverton announced the sale of KTWO-TV and KKTQ-LD to Vision Wyoming, a Vision Alaska subsidiary.

• 2011

  New Cheyenne low-power satellite launches

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTWO-TV launched a new low-power Cheyenne satellite, later renamed KKTQ-LD.

• 2006

  Silverton Broadcasting completes purchase

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Silverton Broadcasting completed its acquisition of KTWO-TV on May 31.

• 2004

  KTWO-TV becomes an ABC affiliate again

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTWO-TV began its current ABC affiliation on March 8 after KFNB ended its ABC service early.

• 2003

  NBC affiliation moves to KCWY

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  NBC programming moved from KTWO-TV to KCWY on September 1, leaving KTWO temporarily independent.

• 2001

  Equity Broadcasting acquisition

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Equity Broadcasting acquired KTWO-TV and KKTU.

• 1987

  Cheyenne satellite launches

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Dix launched KKTU on channel 33 in Cheyenne as a KTWO-TV satellite.

• 1986

  Station returns to NBC

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTWO-TV resumed primary NBC affiliation on September 1 and was sold by Harriscope to Dix Communications later that year.

• 1978

  Primary ABC affiliation begins

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  ABC announced that KTWO-TV would become its primary affiliate effective September 5.

• 1959

  CBS programming is added

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station added a secondary CBS affiliation following the closure of KSPR-TV.

• 1957

  Station launches

  [1]KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTWO-TV conducted test broadcasts beginning March 1 and began regular programming March 8 as a primary NBC affiliate with secondary ABC programming.

Local ABC affiliate serving Casper, central Wyoming, and a broader statewide audience through translators and satellite operations.

• Network television · 2004

  ABC network programming

  KTWO-TV’s principal programming product is the ABC network schedule, including network entertainment, news, and other programming distributed to the Casper–Riverton market. The station has carried ABC continuously since the current affiliation began in March 2004, following earlier ABC relationships in its history.

• Local television news · 1957

  Local news and weather

  KTWO-TV provides local reports, weather information, and market-specific coverage for Casper and central Wyoming. The scale and format of the news operation have changed over time, particularly after 2020, when the station reduced locally produced newscasts and incorporated centralized programming while retaining local reports.

• Broadcast distribution · 2011

  KKTQ-LD semi-satellite service

  KKTQ-LD serves Cheyenne as a semi-satellite of KTWO-TV. It extends the station’s ABC service into southeastern Wyoming and is also distributed through digital subchannels of other stations. The operation carries its own station identifications and commercial inventory.

• Broadcast distribution · 1957

  Wyoming translator network

  Because of Wyoming’s large geography and dispersed population, KTWO-TV relies on a network of VHF and UHF translators and related digital subchannels. This distribution system extends the main Casper signal into communities across the state and supports the station’s statewide regional positioning.

• Centralized news programming · 2022

  News Hub programming

  News Hub is a partly centralized news service associated with Coastal Television. KTWO-TV adopted the service after discontinuing NewsNet programming by April 2022, using it to supplement or replace portions of locally produced news coverage.

• 2020

  Adopt a more centralized news modelStrategy

  Background

  After Vision Alaska completed its acquisition, the station faced the operating challenges of maintaining a full newsroom in a rural market. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a transition already being pursued within related station operations.

  Action taken

  KTWO-TV reduced its local news department, replaced weekend newscasts with NewsNet programming, and incorporated centralized content into other newscasts.

  Aftermath

  Good Morning Wyoming was replaced, local reports were concentrated in limited portions of broadcasts, and NewsNet was later replaced by News Hub.

  Source

• 2012

  Resolve Dish Network retransmission disputeOther

  Background

  KTWO-TV, KFNB, and KGWC-TV were removed from Dish Network after negotiations over a replacement carriage agreement failed.

  Action taken

  The stations and Dish Network reached a new agreement, restoring the signals on May 1, 2012.

  Aftermath

  KTWO-TV returned to Dish Network carriage in the Casper–Riverton market.

  Source

• 2004

  Switch from temporary independence to ABC affiliationStrategy

  Background

  NBC had moved its Casper affiliation to KCWY in 2003, while ABC programming was still under contract with KFNB.

  Action taken

  KTWO-TV reached an agreement to become an ABC affiliate and began carrying ABC programming on March 8, 2004, after KFNB ended its ABC relationship early.

  Aftermath

  KTWO-TV has remained an ABC affiliate, while KFNB adopted Fox programming.

  • KFNB — KFNB ended its ABC affiliation early and obtained the Fox affiliation.

  Source

1. 1KTWO-TVen.wikipedia.org