KWBH-LD
KWBH-LD is a low-power television station serving Rapid City, South Dakota, as a digital rebroadcaster of KNBN.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KWBH-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Rapid City, South Dakota. The station operates on channel 27 and serves the Rapid City and broader Black Hills television market. Its present role is primarily that of a digital translator or rebroadcaster for KNBN, a Rapid City station carrying NBC and CBS programming and owned by Forum Communications Company. The station began broadcasting on April 2, 1998, using the call sign KNBN-LP and operating as an analog low-power NBC affiliate. Its initial NBC affiliation was later superseded when Rapid Broadcasting launched full-power KNBN on channel 21 in 2000. In October 2003, the low-power channel adopted the call sign KWBH-LP and became a WB affiliate, carrying programming associated with the national WB 100+ Station Group. When The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in September 2006, KWBH-LP joined the new network at its launch. The station’s network identity changed again in 2017, when it moved from The CW to MyNetworkTV. The CW affiliation in the market was transferred to a digital subchannel of KCLO-TV, a CBS affiliate. This change reflected the continuing transition of local television distribution away from purely over-the-air analog facilities and toward digital subchannels and network multicast services. KWBH-LP went silent in March 2021, shortly before the Federal Communications Commission’s deadline for the end of analog low-power television operations on July 13 of that year. During this period, its programming was also carried in high definition on KNBN’s second digital subchannel. The station subsequently filed a digital license-to-cover application on December 16, 2021, proposing operation as a digital rebroadcaster of KNBN. Digital operation was authorized effective February 4, 2022, and the station changed its call sign from KWBH-LP to KWBH-LD, with the final suffix indicating low-power digital operation. On August 14, 2024, Forum Communications Company announced an agreement to acquire KWBH-LD and KNBN. Forum, based in Fargo, North Dakota, had existing broadcast operations in the region, including the former sister station KSFL-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The transaction closed on October 2, 2024. Under Forum ownership, KWBH-LD remains associated with KNBN and functions as part of the group’s local television distribution infrastructure rather than as an independently programmed national-network outlet. KWBH-LD is therefore best understood as a local broadcast facility whose identity has changed several times in response to network realignments, the transition from analog to digital transmission, and changes in ownership. Its current value to viewers lies in extending or duplicating KNBN programming over a low-power signal in and around Rapid City.
History
KWBH-LD originated as an analog low-power television station in Rapid City, South Dakota. It began operation on April 2, 1998, under the call sign KNBN-LP and initially served as an NBC affiliate on channel 27. The station’s early role was connected to Rapid Broadcasting’s local television operations. When Rapid Broadcasting placed full-power KNBN on channel 21 in 2000, the low-power facility no longer served as the market’s principal NBC outlet. In October 2003, channel 27 was renamed KWBH-LP and became affiliated with The WB through the WB 100+ Station Group, a distribution system designed to provide WB programming to smaller television markets. The station retained that general network role until the 2006 national merger of The WB and UPN. When The CW launched in September 2006, KWBH-LP became a charter affiliate of the new network in the Rapid City area. The affiliation changed in 2017. KWBH-LP switched to MyNetworkTV after The CW affiliation moved to a digital subchannel of KCLO-TV. This was part of the broader development of digital multicast television, in which local stations could carry multiple programming services without requiring each service to operate a separate full-power transmitter. KWBH-LP went silent in March 2021. The shutdown occurred before the Federal Communications Commission’s July 13 deadline for the termination of analog low-power television operations. During the transition, programming associated with the station was available in high definition on KNBN’s second digital subchannel. On December 16, 2021, the station filed a digital license-to-cover application stating that it would rebroadcast KNBN. The digital facility was licensed effective February 4, 2022, and the call sign changed to KWBH-LD. The station’s ownership changed in 2024. On August 14, Forum Communications Company announced that it would acquire KWBH-LD and KNBN. Forum is a Fargo, North Dakota-based media company with broadcast holdings in the northern Great Plains, including the former sister station KSFL-TV in Sioux Falls. The purchase was completed on October 2, 2024. Today, KWBH-LD is associated with KNBN and operates as a low-power digital rebroadcaster serving Rapid City and the surrounding Black Hills region. Its history illustrates the evolution of local television from analog network affiliates to digital translators and multicast distribution facilities.
- 2024
Acquired by Forum Communications Company
[1]Forum Communications Company completed its acquisition of KWBH-LD and KNBN on October 2.
- 2022
Digital license takes effect
[1]The station received authorization for digital operation and changed its call sign to KWBH-LD.
- 2021
Analog operation ends
[1]KWBH-LP went silent in preparation for the nationwide end of analog low-power television operations.
- 2017
Moves to MyNetworkTV
[1]The station changed from The CW to MyNetworkTV after The CW moved to a KCLO-TV digital subchannel.
- 2006
Joins The CW
[1]Following the combination of The WB and UPN, KWBH-LP became an affiliate of the newly launched CW network.
- 2003
Channel 27 becomes a WB affiliate
[1]The station adopted the KWBH-LP call sign and joined the WB 100+ Station Group.
- 2000
Full-power KNBN begins NBC broadcasting
[1]Rapid Broadcasting began airing NBC programming on full-power KNBN channel 21, changing the role of the channel 27 facility.
- 1998
Station launches as KNBN-LP
[1]The station began analog low-power broadcasting on channel 27 as an NBC affiliate using the call sign KNBN-LP.
Products and positioning
A local low-power television outlet and digital translator supporting KNBN coverage in the Rapid City and Black Hills market.
Low-power television station · 2022
KWBH-LD channel 27
KWBH-LD is the station’s current digital low-power television service licensed to Rapid City. It primarily rebroadcasts programming from KNBN, helping distribute the parent station’s programming over the channel 27 signal in the Rapid City and Black Hills area.
Analog low-power television station · 1998
KWBH-LP analog service
The former analog service operated on channel 27 from 1998 until it went silent in 2021. During its existence, it carried NBC, WB, The CW, and later MyNetworkTV programming at different stages of its history.
Brand decisions
2024
Sale to Forum Communications CompanyM&ABackground
Forum Communications Company announced an agreement to acquire KWBH-LD and KNBN from their previous ownership group.
Action taken
The transaction closed on October 2, placing KWBH-LD under Forum Communications Company ownership.
Aftermath
KWBH-LD remained associated with KNBN as a digital rebroadcasting facility.
2021
Transition away from analog broadcastingStrategyBackground
Federal rules required the end of analog low-power television operations in July 2021.
Action taken
KWBH-LP went silent and its programming was carried in high definition on KNBN’s second digital subchannel.
Aftermath
The facility later returned as a digital station and was renamed KWBH-LD.
2017
Change from The CW to MyNetworkTVStrategyBackground
The CW affiliation in the Rapid City market moved to a digital subchannel of KCLO-TV.
Action taken
KWBH-LP replaced The CW programming with MyNetworkTV programming.
Aftermath
The station continued operating as a network-affiliated low-power outlet until its later transition to digital rebroadcasting.
Recent events
- 2024
KWBH-LD and KNBN announced for acquisition by Forum Communications Company[1]
M&A
Forum Communications Company announced an agreement to acquire KWBH-LD and its parent station, KNBN, expanding the company’s broadcast presence in the Dakotas.
- 2024
Forum Communications Company completed the acquisition of KWBH-LD and KNBN[1]
M&A
The announced transaction involving KWBH-LD and KNBN closed on October 2, bringing the stations into Forum Communications Company’s ownership group.
- 2022
KWBH-LD received authorization for digital operation[1]
Other
Following the end of its analog operation, the station received effective authorization for digital operation and adopted the KWBH-LD call sign.
- 2017
KWBH-LP moved from The CW to MyNetworkTV[1]
Other
The station changed network affiliations after The CW moved to a subchannel of KCLO-TV in the Rapid City market.
Sources1 sources
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