View source for KFVS-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Cape Girardeau, Missouri}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KFVS-TV
| city = Cape Girardeau, Missouri
| logo = KFVS 2024.svg
| logo_size = 125px
| image = KFVS-DT2 2024.png
| image_size = 125px
| branding = KFVS 12; ''Heartland News''; Heartland's CW (DT2)
| digital = 11 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 12
| translators = K17LV-D 17 (UHF) [[Poplar Bluff, MO]]
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''12.1:''' [[CBS]]|'''12.2:''' [[The CW]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1954|10|3|p=y|br=yes}}
| location = {{ubl|[[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]|[[Harrisburg, Illinois]]|[[Paducah, Kentucky]]}}
| callsign_meaning = from former radio sister [[KZIM|KFVS (AM)]]
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 12 (VHF, 1954–2009)|'''Digital:''' 57 (UHF, 2002–2009), 12 (VHF, 2009–2020)}}
| owner = [[Gray Media]]
| licensee = Gray Television Licensee, [[LLC]]
| sister_stations = [[WQWQ-LD]]
| erp = 11.8 kW
| haat = {{convert|609|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 592
| class = 
| coordinates = {{coord|37|25|46|N|89|30|14|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.kfvs12.com/}}
}}

'''KFVS-TV''' (channel 12) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]], United States, serving Southeastern [[Missouri]], the [[Jackson Purchase|Purchase]] area of [[Western Kentucky]], [[Southern Illinois]], and [[West Tennessee|Northwest Tennessee]] as an affiliate of [[CBS]] and [[The CW]]. The station is owned by [[Gray Media]] alongside [[Paducah, Kentucky]]–licensed [[Telemundo]] affiliate [[WQWQ-LD]] (channel 18). The two stations share studios in the Hirsch Tower on Broadway Avenue in Downtown Cape Girardeau; KFVS-TV's transmitter is located northwest of [[Egypt Mills, Missouri|Egypt Mills]], in [[unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated]] [[Cape Girardeau County]].

KFVS-TV had previously served the [[Jonesboro, Arkansas]], media market as the default CBS station on cable, until the sign-on of the Jonesboro area's first locally based CBS affiliate August 1, 2015, on a second digital subchannel of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[KJNB-LD|KJNB-LD/KJNE-LD]].<ref>[http://classictvmoark.blogspot.com/2015/08/cbs-makes-debut-in-northeast-arkansas.html "CBS makes debut in northeast Arkansas"]</ref>

==History==
[[File:Hirsch Tower, Cape Girardeau.jpg|thumb|left|Hirsch Tower is the home of KFVS and WQTV/WQWQ.]]
KFVS began broadcasting on October 3, 1954, and aired an analog signal on VHF channel 12. It was owned by broadcasting pioneer Oscar C. Hirsch, who had signed-on the area's first [[radio station]], KFVS radio (AM 960, now [[KZIM]]) in his radio shop in 1925. Although the KFVS call letters appear to stand for "Five States", they were actually randomly assigned by then-[[Secretary of Commerce]] [[Herbert Hoover]]. At the start, channel 12 did not have any video cameras. Instead, its first broadcast showed slides of its new transmitter tower that was under construction at the time.<ref name=towersoverky>{{Cite book|last=Nash|first=Francis M.|date=1995|title=Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State|publisher=HOST Communications|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Towers-Over-Kentucky-Nash-1995.pdf|via=World Radio History|isbn=9781879688933|page=268}}</ref> Channel 12 was housed along with its radio sister until 1968 when it moved to its present location on Broadway Avenue. Hirsch sold the station to [[AFLAC]] in 1979,{{r|towersoverky}} but his family retained the radio station until 1985.

In 1997, AFLAC sold its entire broadcasting division, including KFVS, to a group headed by [[Retirement Systems of Alabama]]. It, in turn, merged with Ellis Communications a few months later to form [[Raycom Media]]. KFVS offered [[The Tube Music Network]] (a 24-hour digital music video channel) on its third [[digital subchannel]] which ceased operations on October 1, 2007.

===Sale to Gray Television===
On June 25, 2018, [[Atlanta]]-based [[Gray Television]] announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including KFVS and WQTV/WQWQ), and Gray's 93 television stations under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion—in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom—resulted in KFVS and WQTV/WQWQ gaining new [[sister station]]s in nearby markets, including [[NBC]]/[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliates [[KYTV (TV)|KYTV]] and [[KSPR-LD]] in [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] and ABC/Fox affiliate [[WBKO]] in [[Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green]], in addition to its current Raycom sister stations.<ref>{{cite press release|title=GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION|url=https://www.raycommedia.com/gray-and-raycom-to-combine-in-a-3-6-billion-transaction/#amnewsers|website=[[Raycom Media]]|date=June 25, 2018|access-date=June 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161249/https://www.raycommedia.com/gray-and-raycom-to-combine-in-a-3-6-billion-transaction/#amnewsers|archive-date=June 25, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="graycom">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/114556/gray-to-buy-raycom-for-36-billion|title=Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion|last=Miller|first=Mark K.|work=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheckMedia|date=June 25, 2018|access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B|url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/gray-buying-raycom-for-3-6b|author=John Eggerton|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media|date=June 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group|url=https://deadline.com/2018/06/grey-acquiring-raycom-for-3-65-billion-forming-no-3-local-tv-group-1202416667/|author=Dade Hayes|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|date=June 25, 2018}}</ref> The sale was approved on December 20,<ref>[https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/fcc-ok-with-gray-raycom-merger "FCC OK with Gray/Raycom Merger"], [[Broadcasting & Cable]], December 20, 2018, Retrieved December 20, 2018.</ref> and was completed on January 2, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/227754/gray-closes-3-6-billion-raycom-merger/|title=Gray Closes On $3.6 Billion Raycom Merger|work=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheckMedia|date=January 2, 2019|access-date=January 3, 2019|archive-date=January 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103060110/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/227754/gray-closes-3-6-billion-raycom-merger/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==News operation==
Compared with the other [[Big Three (American television)|big four stations]] in the [[media market|market]], KFVS has traditionally covered Southeastern Missouri. The newscasts of ABC affiliate [[WSIL-TV]] focus exclusively on Southern Illinois, from studios in [[Carterville, Illinois|Carterville]], and it does not even mention the market's other two primary cities (Cape Girardeau and Paducah) in its on-air legal identification. This is despite the fact that WSIL operates a full-time [[Broadcast relay station|satellite]], KPOB, in [[Poplar Bluff, Missouri]]. KFVS offers secondary coverage of Southern Illinois from a newsroom on East Plaza Drive in Carterville near WSIL. NBC affiliate [[WPSD-TV]], based in Paducah, focuses more on the Western Kentucky side although that station operates a bureau in [[Marion, Illinois]] and barely even covered the northern [[West Tennessee]] side of the market. [[KBSI]] later debuted its own newscasts in 2022, outsourced from ABC affiliate [[KLKN]] in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]].

At one point in time, KFVS produced a nightly prime time newscast on WQTV/WQWQ. Known as ''Heartland News at 9'', the show could be seen for a half-hour and was targeted specifically at a Southeastern Missouri audience.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kfvs12.com/story/5413465/heartland-news-at-900-has-a-new-focus/|title=Heartland News at 9:00 Has a New Focus!|date=September 15, 2006 }}</ref> It competed with another broadcast in the time slot on Fox affiliate [[KBSI]] which also aired every night for thirty minutes. However, that program was produced by WPSD, so it featured more of a regional summary of headlines since it originated from the NBC outlet's facility in Kentucky. The WQTV/WQWQ newscast was dropped on July 29, 2007, after nearly eight years. KFVS-DT2 currently replays three weekday newscasts from KFVS including the 6 a.m. hour of ''The Breakfast Show'' (at 7), ''Heartland News at Noon'' (at 1 p.m.), and ''Heartland News at 10'' (at 11 p.m.). The Sunday edition of ''The Breakfast Show'' is also repeated on the subchannel.

On October 1, 2010, ''Heartland News at 9'' was brought back after a news share agreement was established with KBSI, which offers a nightly hour-long prime time newscast originating from the KFVS studios. With that addition, this station offers more than thirty hours of local news each week.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2010/07/30/daily.7/|title=KFVS, KBSI Partner For 9 P.M. Hour News|author=Mark K. Miller|work=tvnewscheck.com}}</ref> Unlike other outsourced news arrangements at Sinclair-owned television stations, KBSI features the same graphics scheme and music package as seen on this CBS outlet. Also, there are no on-air [[duratrans]] separately identifying the KBSI newscast. In instances of [[severe weather]] (most notably during a [[tornado warning]] in the viewing area), KBSI may simulcast live coverage from KFVS if an event occurs outside the prime time newscast. On October 3, 2010, WPSD brought back its own newscast at 9 p.m. known as ''The Nine'' to both of its digital subchannels which is seen every night, except Saturdays, for a half-hour, until it was canceled in 2019.

In July 2011, KFVS became the second news operation in the market to upgrade local news production to high definition level. Included with the switch was the debut of a new studio and updated graphics (the KBSI newscast was included in the change).

During weather segments, the station uses live [[NOAA]] [[National Weather Service]] radar data from several regional sites. This system is known on-air as "First Alert Doppler Network". KFVS also operates its own [[Doppler weather radar]], called "Live StormTeam Radar", that is located on top of the Hirsch building. It is a Collins radar sold by ADC in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], and is the only live radar source in the market since the National Weather Service data seen on rival stations is delayed.

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KFVS-TV<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KFVS#station|title=RabbitEars listing for KFVS-TV|website=RabbitEars}}</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" | 12.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=6| [[16:9]] || KFVS DT || [[CBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.2
| [[720p]] || CW || [[The CW]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.3
| rowspan=4|[[480i]] || KFVSOUT || [[Free TV Networks|Outlaw]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.4
| MeTV || [[MeTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.5
| Grit || [[Grit (TV network)|Grit]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.6
| Oxygen || [[Oxygen (TV channel)|Oxygen]]
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KFVS-TV shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 12, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 57, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era VHF channel 12.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |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 }}</ref>

==Coverage area==
KFVS refers to its viewing area as "[[Heartland (United States)|The Heartland]]", which is included in KFVS-DT2's on-air branding. KFVS serves more than fifty counties in four states including all of southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and northwestern [[Tennessee]]. KFVS considers [[Clay County, Arkansas|Clay County]] as the only northeastern Arkansas county in its viewing area as shown during its nightly weather segments which be seen in the local temperature graphic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kfvs.com/story/1226376/stormteam-graphics-heartland-current-temperatures|title=StormTeam Graphics - Heartland Current Temperatures|date=April 10, 2003|work=kfvs.com}}</ref> [[cable television|Cable]] systems in [[Corning, Arkansas|Corning]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?zipcode=72422&lineupId=AR03463%3AX|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130412052550/http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?zipcode=72422&lineupId=AR03463:X|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2013|title=TV Listings Guide and TV Schedule, where to watch TV shows - Zap2it.com|work=Zap2it}}</ref> [[Piggott, Arkansas|Piggott]], [[Rector, Arkansas|Rector]], [[Marmaduke, Arkansas|Marmaduke]], [[Pollard, Arkansas|Pollard]], [[Greenway, Arkansas|Greenway]], [[St. Francis, Arkansas|St. Francis]], and [[Lafe, Arkansas]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newwavecom.com/pdf/arkansas/Piggott_2013_web.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 21, 2013 |archive-date=October 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008043105/http://www.newwavecom.com/pdf/arkansas/Piggott_2013_web.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> list KFVS on their local cable lineups. However, Jonesboro<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ws.suddenlink.com/lineup/fileDownLoad?fd_fileId=2271 |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714123338/https://ws.suddenlink.com/lineup/fileDownLoad?fd_fileId=2271 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Lake City, Arkansas|Lake City]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.getritter.info/residential/communities/options.php?cid=30&sid=206&section=cable&step=o&return=/residential/community/lake-city/cable|title=Ritter Communications|work=getritter.info}}</ref> cable systems do not carry the station. According to [[DirecTV]], KFVS is still carried on its Jonesboro area lineup as a local channel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/new_customer/base_packages.jsp?footernavtype=-1|title=DIRECTV Packages and Pricing - Call 855-849-4388|work=DIRECTV}}</ref>

While broadcasting an analog signal, a portion of its off-air signal reached into the [[Missouri Bootheel]] overlapping with sister stations [[WMC-TV]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], and [[KAIT]] in Jonesboro. During the analog era, KFVS' coverage area overlapped with [[KMOV]] in [[St. Louis]], extending as north as [[Belleville, Illinois]], with cable systems on the edge of both markets providing both stations until CBS forced carriage of only the market's given affiliate on those systems in the early 2010s.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.kfvs12.com/}}
*[https://kbsi23.com/ KBSI "Fox 23" website]

{{Paducah TV}}
{{Missouri TV}}
{{Illinois TV}}
{{Kentucky TV}}
{{Tennessee TV}}
{{Gray TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kfvs-Tv}}
[[Category:1954 establishments in Missouri]]
[[Category:Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]
[[Category:CBS affiliates]]
[[Category:The CW affiliates]]
[[Category:Gray Media]]
[[Category:Grit (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1954]]
[[Category:Television stations in the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg market]]

[[fr:KFVS TV Mast]]