View source for KCAU-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Sioux City, Iowa}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{distinguish|WCAU}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KCAU-TV
| city = 
| logo = KCAU 9 (2022).svg
| logo_upright = 0.75
| logo_alt = A silvery 9 in a box split between silvery, blue, and yellow pieces, with the ABC logo on top. In a blue box above, the lettering KCAU, and in a silver box below, the word NEWS.
| branding = KCAU 9
| digital = 9 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 9
| translators = KNEN-LD 35.2 [[Norfolk, NE]]
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''9.1:''' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1953|3|29|p=y|br=yes}}
| location = [[Sioux City, Iowa]]
| callsign_meaning = 
| former_callsigns = KVTV (1953–1967)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 9 (VHF, 1953–2009)|'''Digital:''' 30 ([[UHF]], until 2009)}}
| owner = [[Nexstar Media Group]]
| licensee = Nexstar Media Inc.
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[CBS]] (1953–1967)|[[NBC]] (secondary, 1953–1954)|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (secondary, 1953–1955)|ABC (secondary, 1953–1967)}}
| erp = 29.5 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|616|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 11265
| coordinates = {{coord|42|35|12.2|N|96|13|57.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.siouxlandproud.com/}}
}}

'''KCAU-TV''' (channel 9) is a [[television station]] in [[Sioux City, Iowa]], United States, affiliated with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and owned by [[Nexstar Media Group]]. The station's studios are located on Gordon Drive in Sioux City, and its transmitter is located near [[Hinton, Iowa]].

The first television station in the region, the station began broadcasting as CBS affiliate KVTV in 1953. It was acquired in 1965 by a company that became known as Forward Communications; under Forward stewardship, the station activated a {{convert|2000|ft|m|adj=on}} tower, changed its call sign to KCAU-TV and its affiliation to ABC in 1967, and became the leading station in the market through the early 1980s, when it was overtaken by its principal competitor, [[KTIV]]. It was owned by [[Citadel Communications]] from 1985 to 2014, when it was purchased by Nexstar.

==History==
===Early years===
The Cowles Company, which owned [[WNAX (AM)|WNAX]] in [[Yankton, South Dakota]], filed to build a new television station on channel 9 in Sioux City, on June 30, 1952.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=84387 |title= History Cards for KCAU-TV|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}} ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Radio Stations/History Cards|Guide to reading History Cards]])<!--Converted from {{FCC letter}}--></ref> The [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) approved it on November 19, after a competing application from Siouxland Television Company merged into the Cowles bid; it was the second construction permit granted for a station in the city after one for UHF channel 36.<ref name="Siou521121">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688668/wnax-receives-video-channel/|date=November 21, 1952|page=12|title=WNAX Receives Video Channel|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215011/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688668/wnax-receives-video-channel/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> A downtown office was set up on Pierce Street, and the transmitting facility was built north of the city at 41st and Howard streets.<ref name="Siou530104">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688696/covering-dump-is-among-53-projects-here/|date=January 4, 1953|page=3:1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688688/new-projects/ 2]|first=Jerry|last=White|title=Covering Dump Is Among '53 Projects Here|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528084021/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688696/covering-dump-is-among-53-projects-here/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The call letters KVTV were selected; the station could not be WNAX-TV because the FCC did not allow two stations located in different cities to share the same base call sign.<ref name="Siou530222">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688719/progress-report-on-kvtv-channel-9/|date=February 22, 1953|page=2:9|title=Progress Report on KVTV Channel 9|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215012/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688719/progress-report-on-kvtv-channel-9/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun -->

KVTV began broadcasting on March 29, 1953.<ref name="Siou530329">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688743/kvtv-sioux-citys-first-television-stat/|date=March 29, 1953|page=3:2|title=KVTV, Sioux City's First Television Station, Goes on Air This Afternoon|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215013/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688743/kvtv-sioux-citys-first-television/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> It was [[Network affiliate|affiliated]] with [[CBS]], [[NBC]], and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]], with ABC coming on board shortly after launch. When [[KTIV]] signed on in 1954, NBC programming moved there, and the two stations split DuMont (until that network folded) and ABC.<ref name="Siou541010">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688787/ktiv-begins-telecasts-on-channel-4-tonig/|date=October 10, 1954|page=1|title=KTIV Begins Telecasts on Channel 4 Tonight|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215012/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688787/ktiv-begins-telecasts-on-channel-4/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> In 1956, KVTV moved to the former municipal auditorium at Seventh and Douglas streets in downtown Sioux City.{{r|hc}} The 1909 structure had previously functioned as Sioux City's municipal auditorium, a meeting place for fraternal organizations, and as the Tomba Ballroom.<ref name="Siou030922">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680420/excessive-noise-in-neighborhood-can-be/|date=September 22, 2003|page=A4|first=Jeannette|last=Lubsen|title=Excessive noise in neighborhood can be stopped|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215012/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680420/excessive-noise-in-neighborhood-can-be/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->

One of the first programs on the new station was a children's show hosted by Jim Henry, who was approached to see if he knew anyone who would be a good host, but could not recommend anyone else.<ref name="Siou830403">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102615199/hes-been-in-canyon-for-30-years/|date=April 3, 1983|page=A12|first=Bruce R.|last=Miller|title=He's been in Canyon for 30 years|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215013/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102615199/hes-been-in-canyon-for-30-years/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> His Brooklyn accent made him an odd fit for a Western-themed kids' program, but ''[[Canyon Kid's Corner]]'' became a long-running feature of the station.{{r|Siou851119}} 

[[File:Peoples Broadcasting Advertisement 1960.tif|thumb|left|Advertisement for Peoples Broadcasting Corporation, later known as Nationwide Communications Inc., a subsidiary of the [[Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company]] ''(Note the Nationwide "eagle" logo inside the Peoples microphone logo)''|alt=Refer to caption]]
In late 1957, Cowles sold WNAX and KVTV to the [[Nationwide Communications|Peoples Broadcasting Corporation]], a subsidiary of [[Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company]], for $3 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-12-02-BC.pdf|id={{ProQuest|1285746801}}|date=December 2, 1957|work=Broadcasting|page=10|title=FCC Approves Cowles Sale To Peoples, Other Transfers|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127013021/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-12-02-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> KVTV began producing a regular series of bowling telecasts in conjunction with [[KELO-TV]] of [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]. ''The Big Bowl'', which was produced in Sioux City and aired until 1973, featured competitors from the two cities facing off against each other and was credited with increasing bowling's popularity regionally.<ref name="Argu870208">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680109/pioneer-bowling-broadcaster-remembers/|date=February 8, 1987|page=7B|first=Pat|last=Duncan|title=Pioneer bowling broadcaster remembers 'The Big Bowl'|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680109/pioneer-bowling-broadcaster-remembers/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> Also under Peoples, the station erected its first [[weather ball]] atop the Badgerow Building, which remained in place until it was destroyed in a 1973 windstorm.<ref name="Siou730619">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102787965/wont-replace-weather-ball/|date=June 19, 1973|page=2|title=Won't Replace Weather Ball|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 29, 2022}}</ref><!-- Tue -->

===Forward ownership===
In 1965, Peoples sold KVTV to the Wisconsin Valley Television Company of [[Wausau, Wisconsin]], owner of [[WSAU (AM)|WSAU AM]]-[[WIFC|FM]]-[[WSAW-TV|TV]] in Wausau and [[WMTV]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]].<ref name="Siou650717">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102689023/kvtv-sale-at-3500000-announced/|date=July 17, 1965|page=5|title=KVTV Sale At $3,500,000 Announced|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102689023/kvtv-sale-at-3500000-announced/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --><ref name="Waus670109"/> That December, after seven years of joint work and the withdrawal of an objection by [[KVFD-TV|KQTV]] in [[Fort Dodge]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1965/1965-01-25-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=January 25, 1965|page=66|id={{ProQuest|1014487117}}|title=Iowa TV's settle tower disagreement|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108154437/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1965/1965-01-25-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> KVTV moved to a new tower near [[Hinton, Iowa]], that it co-owned with KTIV.<ref name="Siou651205">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688939/tall-tower-moving-day-big-event/|date=December 5, 1965|page=10|title=Tall Tower Moving Day Big Event|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102688939/tall-tower-moving-day-big-event/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The former tower was dismantled; the land was sold to the Sioux City school system to build [[North High School (Sioux City, Iowa)|North High School]],<ref name="Siou670927">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671416/no-immediate-plans-sioux-city-school/|date=September 27, 1967|page=E4|title='No Immediate Plans': Sioux City School Board to Buy 78.18-Acre Site|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671416/no-immediate-plans-sioux-city-school/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --><ref name="Siou720816">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671736/some-problems-will-mark-opening-of-new/|date=August 16, 1972|page=B10|first=Dianne|last=Rose|title=Some Problems Will Mark Opening of New Schools|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671736/some-problems-will-mark-opening-of-new/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> and the antenna was gifted to [[South Dakota Public Broadcasting|South Dakota Educational Television]], which used it as a backup for its KBHE in [[Rapid City]].<ref name="Siou670729">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671124/used-television-antenna-donated-to/|date=July 29, 1967|page=5|title=Used Television Antenna Donated to Dakota ETV|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215102/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671124/used-television-antenna-donated-to/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --><ref name="Rapi670225">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102689096/etv-gains-equipment-from-iowa/|date=February 25, 1967|page=3|title=ETV Gains Equipment From Iowa|newspaper=Rapid City Journal|location=Rapid City, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215106/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102689096/etv-gains-equipment-from-iowa/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat -->

Bigger changes were in store beyond a new tower. In 1967, Forward Communications—which changed its name from Wisconsin Valley at the start of the year owing to its expansion outside the state<ref name="Waus670109">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102710726/tv-corporation-has-new-name/|date=January 9, 1967|page=7|title=TV Corporation Has New Name|newspaper=Wausau Daily Herald|location=Wausau, Wisconsin|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215106/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102710726/tv-corporation-has-new-name/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->—changed the station's call letters to KCAU-TV to "reflect the new character of the station" and switched network affiliation from CBS to ABC. At the time, neither Sioux City nor Sioux Falls had an ABC affiliate. With Sioux Falls CBS affiliate KELO-TV about to activate a 2,000-foot tower of its own and other nearby stations airing CBS, Forward concluded there would be a larger audience for an ABC station.<ref name="Siou670516">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102689216/channel-9-to-be-fulltime-abc-affiliate/|date=May 16, 1967|page=13|title=Channel 9 To Be Fulltime ABC Affiliate|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528084938/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102689216/channel-9-to-be-fulltime-abc-affiliate/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --><ref name="Siou670723">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671078/channel-9-to-become-kcau-tv/|date=July 23, 1967|page=7|title=Channel 9 to Become KCAU-TV|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215107/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671078/channel-9-to-become-kcau-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The station advertised in the ''[[Argus Leader]]'' in Sioux Falls, staking a claim to be the ABC affiliate for both Sioux City and Sioux Falls.<ref name="Argu670724">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671359/kcau-tv-9-formerly-kvtv-will-be-abc/|date=July 24, 1967|page=11|title=KCAU-TV 9 (Formerly KVTV) Will Be ABC For Sioux City and Sioux Falls|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528084029/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102671359/kcau-tv-9-formerly-kvtv-will-be-abc/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->

While Sioux City viewers would turn to new station [[KMEG-TV]] (channel 14), originally planned as an ABC affiliate, for their CBS programs, the Forward ownership and affiliation switch ushered in the strongest years in station history, living up to the "Major 9" moniker adopted around the same time. William F. Turner served as general manager of KCAU-TV from 1966 to 1985, and the station spent most of that time as the market leader in Sioux City; at its height, it had a nearly 2-to-1 ratings lead over KTIV. KCAU-TV also had a large audience in Sioux Falls, where the only other receivable ABC affiliate was [[KDLT-TV|KORN-TV/KXON-TV/KDLT]] in [[Mitchell, South Dakota]].<ref name="Siou850921">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102709470/television-is-in-the-spotlight-turner-r/|date=September 21, 1985|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102709414/turner-receives-standing-ovation/ A26]|title=Television is in the spotlight: Turner resigns|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215107/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102709470/television-is-in-the-spotlight-turner/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> However, the station started to lose ground in the early 1980s in large part because of an affiliation switch in Sioux Falls. When ABC moved its Sioux Falls affiliation to [[KSFY-TV]] in 1983, the factor that gave KCAU-TV a ratings advantage disappeared, and KTIV—which had been improving its coverage steadily for several years—surged past KCAU-TV for first place.{{r|Siou850921}}<ref name="Siou840203">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102710028/news-wars/|date=February 3, 1984|page=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102709991/ B4]|first=Bruce R.|last=Miller|title=News wars|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215107/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102710028/news-wars/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> Forward Communications was sold in late 1984 to [[Wesray Capital Corporation]], which retained the Forward name for its media holdings.<ref name="Waus850103">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626833/new-forward-owner-expanding-wesray-must/|date=January 3, 1985|page=3|first=Tom|last=Berger|title=New Forward owner expanding: Wesray must sell WSAW or Marshfield paper|newspaper=Wausau Daily Herald|location=Wausau, Wisconsin|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182342/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626833/new-forward-owner-expanding-wesray/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->

===Citadel ownership===
{{see|KLKN}}
Wesray intended all along to sell some of Forward's television properties and its four radio stations, and KCAU-TV was the first to find a buyer. In July 1985, KCAU-TV was purchased for $14 million by [[Citadel Communications]], a company owned by Phil Lombardo.<ref name="DesM850727">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711029/sioux-city-tv-station-kcau-sold-once-mor/|date=July 27, 1985|page=17A|first=Dave|last=Rhein|title=Sioux City TV station KCAU sold once more|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|location=Des Moines, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215108/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711029/sioux-city-tv-station-kcau-sold-once/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> General manager Turner exited, receiving a standing ovation from staff.{{r|Siou850921}} Days after closing on the purchase, Lombardo put his stamp on the station on November 18, 1985, firing 22 staffers in what a front-page headline of the ''Sioux City Journal'' termed a "purge" of a third of the staff; he was reported to have called KCAU-TV "hemorrhaging" and in need of "major surgery". Among those to lose their jobs was Jim Henry;<ref name="Siou851119" /> ''Canyon Kid's Corner'', by then a weekly show,<ref name="DesM780416">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102614809/sioux-citys-canyon-kid-cowboy-with-new/|date=April 16, 1978|page=7P|first=Gail|last=Casterline|title=Sioux City's Canyon Kid: Cowboy with New York accent|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|location=Des Moines, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215109/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102614809/sioux-citys-canyon-kid-cowboy-with/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> was canceled after 32 years on the air and more than 70,000 guests.<ref name="Siou851119">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102615377/no-more-canyon-kid-kcau-ousts-22-in/|date=November 19, 1985|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102615403/ A12]|first=Betsy|last=Burkhard|title=No more 'Canyon Kid': KCAU ousts 22 in purge|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527014851/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102615377/no-more-canyon-kid-kcau-ousts-22-in/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue -->

Citadel sought to expand KCAU-TV's circulation to the southwest. In 1986, the company acquired KBGT-TV, a struggling independent station in [[Albion, Nebraska]], from the Amaturo Group, and converted it into a satellite station as KCAN (call letters that matched KCAU-TV and also reflected the major cities served of [[Columbus, Nebraska|Columbus]], Albion, and [[Norfolk, Nebraska|Norfolk]]).<ref name="Siou870111">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711824/citadel-to-change-kbgt-call-letters/|date=January 11, 1987|page=D2|title=Citadel to change KBGT call letters|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215110/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711824/citadel-to-change-kbgt-call-letters/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The FCC approved the deal because it agreed with Citadel's contention that Albion could not support its own TV station, and ABC approved extending the affiliation because some of the households reached by its transmitter did not receive ABC from another station.<ref name="Linc861114">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711541/sioux-city-signal-retransmission-planned/|date=November 14, 1986|page=16|title=Sioux City signal retransmission planned: Big 8 TV will become ABC 'satellite' station|newspaper=Lincoln Journal|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215111/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711541/sioux-city-signal-retransmission/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The deal, which would add 463,000 viewers to the station's potential audience, did not include KBGT's satellite studio in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]].<ref name="Siou861118">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711705/owner-of-channel-9-acquires-new-outlet/|date=November 18, 1986|page=A1|title=Owner of Channel 9 acquires new outlet|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215110/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711705/owner-of-channel-9-acquires-new-outlet/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue -->

KCAN continued as a complement to KCAU-TV for more than a decade, but beginning in 1991, Citadel began efforts to move the station south to Lincoln, which only had one full-service commercial TV station.<ref name="LincJ911211">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711998/firm-wants-to-move-tv-station-to-lincoln/|date=December 11, 1991|page=29|title=Firm wants to move TV station to Lincoln|newspaper=Lincoln Journal|agency=Associated Press|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215110/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102711998/firm-wants-to-move-tv-station-to-lincoln/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> A new UHF station would replace it at Albion.<ref name="LincS911211">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712276/lincoln-could-get-second-tv-station-if-f/|date=December 11, 1991|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712584/ 4]|first=Maureen|last=Bogues|title=Lincoln could get second TV station if FCC OKs move of Albion's KCAN|newspaper=The Lincoln Star|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215111/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712276/lincoln-could-get-second-tv-station-if/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> [[KOLN]], the existing commercial station in Lincoln, and several stations in [[Omaha]] challenged the proposal, but the FCC gave initial approval in April 1993<ref name="Linc931009">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712480/second-commercial-tv-station-may-be-comi/|date=October 9, 1993|page=1|title=Second commercial TV station may be coming to Capital City|newspaper=The Lincoln Star|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215111/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712480/second-commercial-tv-station-may-be/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> and final approval in June 1995.<ref name="Linc950630">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712866/abc-satellite-television-station-allowed/|date=June 30, 1995|page=1|first=Daniel R.|last=Moser|title=ABC satellite television station allowed to relocate in Lincoln|newspaper=The Lincoln Star|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215112/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102712866/abc-satellite-television-station/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> It became a standalone station, [[KLKN]], on April 1, 1996.<ref name="Linc960402">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102713117/its-showtime/|date=April 2, 1996|page=1B|title=It's Showtime|newspaper=Lincoln Journal Star|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215114/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102713117/its-showtime/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue -->
[[File:Kcau 2011.png|upright=0.79|thumb|Logo during Citadel ownership from 2006 to 2017|alt=A silvery 9 in a blue circle with silver trim, with the ABC logo to the left]]
KCAU-TV was the initial advertising sales and marketing partner for the local [[The WB 100+ Station Group]] station, "KXWB", when it launched in 1998.<ref name="Siou990328">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-new-area-cable-statio/123946690/|date=March 28, 1999|page=F2|title=New area cable station carries WB network|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sun --> However, KXWB was not carried on [[Cable One]]'s Sioux City system. In October 1999, when The WB removed its programming from [[NewsNation|Superstation WGN]], WB CEO [[Jamie Kellner]] and two of the network's stars visited town to lobby for the addition of KXWB to the local cable lineup.<ref name="Siou991007">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-stars-will-lobby-for/123946609/|date=October 7, 1999|pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-charmed-buffy-wi/123946562/ A3]|first=Bruce R.|last=Miller|title=Stars will lobby for Sioux City WB|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref><!-- Thu --> Cable One did not add "KXWB" to its lineup until October 2001, when it agreed to begin carriage of WB 100+ services on its cable systems.<ref name="Siou010908">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-after-long-wait-wb-c/123947739/|date=September 8, 2001|pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-wb-is-coming/123947759/ A2]|first=Bruce|last=Miller|title=After long wait, WB coming to Sioux City|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sat --> On January 1, 2003, KTIV assumed ad sales responsibility for "KXWB".<ref name="Siou021222">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-wb-station-group-sele/123946887/|date=December 22, 2002|page=F5|title=WB station group selects KTIV as new local broadcast partners|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sun --> 

===Nexstar ownership===
On September 16, 2013, Citadel announced that it would sell KCAU-TV, along with [[WOI-DT]] in [[Des Moines]] and [[WHBF-TV]] in [[Rock Island, Illinois]], to the [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] for $88 million. Nexstar immediately took over the station's operations through a [[Local marketing agreement|time brokerage agreement]]. The deal separated KCAU from KLKN, which Citadel retained.<ref name=b&c-saletonexstar>{{cite news|last=Malone|first=Michael|title=Nexstar to Acquire Citadel's Iowa Stations for $88 Million|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/495521-Nexstar_to_Acquire_Citadel_s_Iowa_Stations_for_88_Million.php|access-date=September 16, 2013|newspaper=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=September 16, 2013|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921205431/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/495521-Nexstar_to_Acquire_Citadel_s_Iowa_Stations_for_88_Million.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Citadel's sale of the three stations followed Phil Lombardo's decision to "slow down", as well as a desire by Lynch Entertainment, an investor in WOI and WHBF, to sell.<ref name=dmr-nexstardeal>{{cite news|last=Hicks|first=Lynn|title=Nexstar buys WOI, other Citadel TV stations in Iowa|url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/09/16/nexstar-buys-woi-other-citadel-tv-stations-in-iowa/article|access-date=September 16, 2013|newspaper=[[Des Moines Register]]|date=September 16, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130916223551/http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/09/16/nexstar-buys-woi-other-citadel-tv-stations-in-iowa/article|archive-date=September 16, 2013}}</ref> The sale was completed on March 13, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1629756&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=11265|title=Consummation Notice|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=March 17, 2014|archive-date=March 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323053327/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1629756&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=11265|url-status=live}}</ref>

Soon after the acquisition, the new ownership deemed the downtown studio inadequate for the station's needs and began a search for a new site.<ref name="Siou161129">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680488/kcau-station-to-move-studios-from-downto/|date=November 29, 2016|page=C1|title=KCAU station to move studios from downtown to Gordon Drive site|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215113/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680488/kcau-station-to-move-studios-from/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> In February 2017, the station relocated to a state-of-the-art facility located on the city's east side.<ref>{{cite news|title=For KCAU staffers an old door closes, a new one opens|url=http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/columnists/gallagher/gallagher-for-kcau-staffers-an-old-door-closes-a-new/article_2545bd8a-f28b-57c2-9004-26c150f020ff.html|last=Gallagher|first=Tim|newspaper=[[Sioux City Journal]]|publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]]|date=February 22, 2017|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225145551/http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/columnists/gallagher/gallagher-for-kcau-staffers-an-old-door-closes-a-new/article_2545bd8a-f28b-57c2-9004-26c150f020ff.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==News operation==
Citadel's first priority upon taking ownership of KCAU-TV in 1985 was to stabilize the newsroom. It was able to lure popular anchor Greg Lund back to the market from a job in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], in 1986.<ref name="Siou851220">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102720435/former-anchor-to-return-to-kcau/|date=December 20, 1985|page=A3|first=Mark|last=Reinders|title=Former anchor to return to KCAU|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215108/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102720435/former-anchor-to-return-to-kcau/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> A decline in agricultural advertising and the difficulties of airing a noon newscast for an ABC station in the Central Time Zone prompted the station to shelve its midday news in 1987.<ref name="Siou870531">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102720801/kcau-drops-show-lists-staff-changes/|date=May 31, 1987|page=B4|title=KCAU drops show, lists staff changes|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215109/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102720801/kcau-drops-show-lists-staff-changes/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> A local 5 p.m. newscast was added in 1999.<ref name="Siou990117">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721097/mirarchi-to-anchor-kcau-newscast/|date=January 17, 1999|page=60|title=Mirarchi to anchor KCAU newscast|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215109/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721097/mirarchi-to-anchor-kcau-newscast/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun -->

In 1994, popular weather presenter Tom Peterson died in a car crash in Minnesota.<ref name="Siou940103">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721470/crash-kills-t-peterson-popular-tv-figu/|date=January 3, 1994|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721597/ A12]|first=Lynn|last=Zerschling|title=Crash kills T. Peterson: Popular TV figure dies in collision in Minnesota|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215110/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721470/crash-kills-t-peterson-popular-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> Some 1,000 people attended his funeral.<ref name="Siou940107">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721620/audience-celebrates-petersons-life/|date=January 7, 1994|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721735/ A10]|first=Bill|last=Zahren|title=Audience celebrates Peterson's life|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215109/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721620/audience-celebrates-petersons-life/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The station also revived the weather ball in 1995, this time atop the Terra Centre (now Ho-Chunk Centre) office building.<ref name="Siou121021">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102680465/weather-ball-staying-put-on-downtown/|date=October 21, 2012|page=A5|title=Weather ball staying put on downtown Sioux City building|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 29, 2022|first=Dave|last=Dreeszen}}</ref><!-- Sun -->

===Notable former on-air staff===
* [[John Behring]]<ref name="Siou200619">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102713610/broadcast-titan-dies-at-90/|date=June 19, 2020|page=C3|title=Broadcast titan dies at 90|first=Earl|last=Horlyk|newspaper=Sioux City Journal|location=Sioux City, Iowa|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215112/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102713610/broadcast-titan-dies-at-90/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri -->
* [[Ron Clements]]<ref name="Clements, Sherman, Peterson">{{cite web|last=Dreeszen|first=Dave|title=Sioux City's first television station, KCAU, marks 50 years on the air|url=http://siouxcityjournal.com/business/sioux-city-s-first-television-station-kcau-marks-years-on/article_df4cfd83-7aa0-5fb8-9b3d-e4f17477030c.html|publisher=Sioux City Journal|access-date=March 27, 2014|date=March 29, 2003|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215114/https://siouxcityjournal.com/business/sioux-city-s-first-television-station-kcau-marks-years-on/article_df4cfd83-7aa0-5fb8-9b3d-e4f17477030c.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* [[Gene Sherman (sportscaster)|Gene Sherman]]<ref name="Clements, Sherman, Peterson" />
* [[Kent Shocknek]]<ref name="LosA860126">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721936/talkback/|date=January 26, 1986|page=Television Times 8|title=Talkback|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles, California|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528215132/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102721936/talkback/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun -->

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KCAU-TV<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KCAU#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KCAU-TV|access-date=May 28, 2022|website=rabbitears.info|archive-date=March 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316040157/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KCAU#station|url-status=live}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan="4"|[[16:9]] || KCAU-TV || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.2 
| rowspan="3"|[[480i]] || Escape || [[Ion Mystery]] 
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.3 
| Laff || [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.4 
| Bounce || [[Bounce TV]] 
|-
|}

At the start of July 2021, Flood Communications, the owner of the low-power [[News Channel Nebraska]] system, began to simulcast KCAU's main channel as a subchannel of KNEN-LD (channel 35), which serves [[Norfolk, Nebraska]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/kcau-9-expands-over-the-air-coverage-in-norfolk-nebraska/|title=KCAU 9 expands over-the-air coverage in Norfolk, Nebraska|last=Feenstra|first=Danielle|date=July 1, 2021|publisher=KCAU-TV|access-date=July 27, 2021|archive-date=July 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727205121/https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/kcau-9-expands-over-the-air-coverage-in-norfolk-nebraska/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KCAU-TV shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 9, at noon on February 17, 2009, which had been the official date of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]] until it was changed earlier that month to June 12.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2009/02/17/news/local/559211bae0111b0d8625755f007f2829.txt|title=Today is the day for digital TV switch|first=Dave|last=Dreeszen|work=[[Sioux City Journal]]|date=February 17, 2009}}</ref> The station's digital transmissions moved from UHF channel 30 to channel 9.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2006 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=August 29, 2021 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of masts]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.siouxlandproud.com}}
*{{ASR|key=120947|number=1018564}}
*{{Structurae|id=20015731|title=KCAU TV Tower}}

{{SUX TV}}
{{ABC Iowa}}
{{Nebraska TV}}
{{South Dakota TV}}
{{NXST TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kcau-Tv}}
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:Bounce TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Mystery affiliates]]
[[Category:Laff (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Nationwide Communications]]
[[Category:Nexstar Media Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953]]
[[Category:Television stations in Sioux City, Iowa|CAU-TV]]