View source for KWCH-DT

{{good article}}
{{Short description|Television station in Hutchinson, Kansas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{distinguish|KCWH-LD}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KWCH-DT
| city = Hutchinson, Kansas
| logo = KWCH-DT logo 2022.svg
| logo_alt = An italicized 12 in a sans serif cut out from a circle.
| logo_size = 200px
| branding = 12 News
| digital = 19 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 12
| network = Kansas Broadcasting System
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''12.1:''' [[CBS]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[Gray Media]]
| licensee = Gray Television Licensee, [[LLC]]
| location = [[Hutchinson, Kansas|Hutchinson]]–[[Wichita, Kansas]]
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1953|7|1|p=y|br=yes}}
| callsign_meaning = "Wichita"
| sister_stations = {{hlist|[[KSCW-DT]]|[[KBSD-DT]]|[[KBSH-DT]]|[[KBSL-DT]]}}
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|KTVH (1952–1983)|KWCH-TV (1983–2009)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 12 ([[VHF]], 1953–2009)|'''Digital:''' 12 (VHF, February−September 2009)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|'''All secondary:'''|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1953–1954)|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1953–1955)|[[NBC]] (1953–1956)}}
| erp = 1,000 kW
| haat = {{convert|421|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 66413
| coordinates = {{coord|38|3|37.6|N|97|45|49.7|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{url|www.kwch.com}}
}}

'''KWCH-DT''' (channel 12) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Hutchinson, Kansas]], United States, serving the [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]] area as an affiliate of [[CBS]]. It is owned by [[Gray Media]] alongside [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[KSCW-DT]] (channel 33) and maintains studios on 37th Street North in northeast Wichita and a transmitter facility located east of Hutchinson in rural northeastern [[Reno County]]. KWCH-DT serves as the [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] of the '''Kansas Broadcasting System''' ('''KBS'''), a network of four full-power stations that relay CBS network and other programming provided by KWCH across central and western [[Kansas]], as well as bordering counties in [[Colorado]], [[Nebraska]], and [[Oklahoma]].

The station was established as KTVH in Hutchinson on July 1, 1953, and was the first television station built within the state. Though based in Hutchinson until 1978, when the main studio was officially moved to Wichita, it has had a presence in that city since 1954. The KBS network took its present form in the early 1960s. KTVH was the third-rated news outlet in the area until the owners of two of the other three KBS stations purchased it, changed the call letters to KWCH in 1983, and successfully led it to first place in the local ratings.

==History==
===KTVH===
On June 30, 1952,<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=85524 |title= History Cards for KWCH-DT|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}} ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Radio Stations/History Cards|Guide to reading History Cards]])<!--Converted from {{FCC letter}}--></ref> Wichita-Hutchinson Company, Inc., filed an application for a construction permit to build channel 12 in Hutchinson, which the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) granted on January 7, 1953.{{r|hc}} The company was composed of several shareholders from Hutchinson and other Kansas cities, including Ray Dillon of the [[Dillons]] grocery store family; local car dealer J. C. Child; W. D. P. Carey, whose family owned salt mines; the publisher of ''[[The Hutchinson News|The Hutchinson News-Herald]]''; and the owner of radio station [[KWBW]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87711698/|title=Television Permit Granted For Channel 12 at Hutchinson|page=1|work=The Wichita Eagle|edition=Evening|date=January 8, 1953|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220245/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87711698/television-permit-granted-for-channel/|url-status=live}}</ref> The call letters KTVH were selected; a tract of land on Plum Street was purchased for studio facilities; and a tower site was acquired selected east of town.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87330973/|title=Hutchinson TV Sets Starting Date in July|page=1E|work=The Wichita Eagle|date=March 8, 1953|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024071332/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87330973/telecasts-due-for-wichita-in-may-kedd/|url-status=live}}</ref> The first test pattern went out on June 24, 1953,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87591076/|page=6E|work=The Wichita Eagle|title=Pre-cast Came in Clear and Clean Wednesday|date=June 28, 1953|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220236/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87591076/pre-cast-came-in-clear-and-clean/|url-status=live}}</ref> ahead of July 1, when the station launched as the first commercial television station based in Kansas.<ref>{{cite news|page=4A|work=The Wichita Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712048/|title=KTVH Starting Schedule Today|date=July 1, 1953|edition=Morning|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220224/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712048/ktvh-starting-schedule-today/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|On June 6, Kansas City, Missouri's [[KCTY (Kansas City)|KCTY]] had gone on air from a transmitter in [[Overland Park]].<ref name="Kans530607">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108620009/kcty-makes-its-debut-new-tv-station-goe/|date=June 7, 1953|page=2A|title=KCTY Makes Its Debut: New TV Station Goes On Air With Motion Picture.|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|location=Kansas City, Missouri|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 30, 2022|archive-date=August 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830204905/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108620009/kcty-makes-its-debut-new-tv-station/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --><ref name="Miss530514">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123759072/kcty-station-nearing-completion/|date=May 14, 1953|page=1|title=KCTY Station Nearing Completion|newspaper=The Missourian|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 29, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429220050/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123759072/kcty-station-nearing-completion/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->}}

KTVH was the first television station to open that covered Wichita, the state's largest city. In August 1954, channel 12 opened a satellite studio in Wichita's [[Lassen Hotel (Wichita, Kansas)|Lassen Hotel]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712254/|page=13|work=The Wichita Eagle|edition=Evening|date=August 20, 1954|title=Color Test Will Be Made Sunday Night|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220235/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712254/color-test-will-be-made-sunday-night/|url-status=live}}</ref> Its attempts to identify as a station serving both Hutchinson and Wichita, in what would become a running theme in the first three decades of station history, rankled the stations licensed there. [[KAKE]] radio and television petitioned the FCC in November 1954 to order KTVH to stop identifying as a "Wichita station";<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712341/|title=KAKE Files Petition Against Station KTVH|date=November 19, 1954|agency=Associated Press|page=6D|edition=Morning|work=The Wichita Eagle|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220231/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712341/kake-files-petition-against-station-ktvh/|url-status=live}}</ref> it declined to do so.{{r|hc}}

In 1955, Wichita-Hutchinson Company sold 80 percent of KTVH to the [[Des Moines]]-based [[Cowles Media Company|Minneapolis Star & Tribune Company]], owned by the Cowles family, for $1.07 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=$1,070,000 Paid By Corporation For Station KTVH|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712634/|work=The Wichita Eagle|edition=Evening|page=3A|date=June 30, 1955|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220238/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87712634/1070000-paid-by-corporation-for/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Star & Tribune Company expanded channel 12's Wichita presence in 1956 by purchasing the former studios of [[KEDD (TV)|KEDD]], the first station to be built in that city, which had just closed.<ref name="redesignation">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87653289/|title=KTVH Seeks Re-designation: Says Double Title Confuses Ad Men|page=10A|date=February 22, 1958|work=The Wichita Eagle|access-date=October 24, 2021|archive-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024071337/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87653289/ktvh-seeks-re-designation-says-double/|url-status=live}}</ref> A power increase from 240,000 watts to the class-maximum 316,000 watts followed in 1957.{{r|hc}} The new owners also made a second effort at seeking permission to identify more closely with Wichita in 1958; the station's president, Joyce Swan, cited confusion from national advertisers, who thought the dual designation of Wichita and Hutchinson signified separate markets, and stated that "it is obvious that an advertising media that covers a large area must cater to the largest metropolitan market".{{r|redesignation}} The FCC allowed it to identify as "Hutchinson–Wichita" in 1959 and further tossed out petitions for reconsideration from the two Wichita commercial stations.{{r|hc}}

As KTVH grew, other television stations were set up in western and central Kansas. [[KBSD-DT|KTVC]] at [[Ensign, Kansas|Ensign]], serving communities in southwestern Kansas including [[Dodge City]] and [[Garden City, Kansas|Garden City]], launched in 1957; in 1958, television stations were established at Goodland ([[KBSL-DT|KWGB-TV]]) and Hays ([[KAYS-TV]]) in the northwestern part of the state. KWGB-TV aired CBS and NBC programs, while KTVC and KAYS-TV were ABC affiliates engaged in a regional hookup with KAKE-TV known as the "Golden K Network". In 1961, KTVC switched affiliations from ABC to CBS.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52629448/|date=May 8, 1961|title=Channel 6 to Join CBS-TV|work=Garden City Telegram|access-date=June 1, 2020|page=2|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220232/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52629448/channel-6-to-join-cbs-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref> The owners of KAYS-TV purchased the Goodland station,<ref>{{Cite news|pages=9, 10|id={{ProQuest|1014452407}}|title=At Deadline: WINS $10 million sale approved|work=Broadcasting|date=July 16, 1962|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1962/1962-07-16-BC.pdf|access-date=April 29, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429230930/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1962/1962-07-16-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> by then known as KWHT-TV.{{r|Hays620823}} Both stations underwent changes: KAYS-TV announced it would join CBS on September 1, 1962,<ref name="Hays620823">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52629345/|page=2|date=August 23, 1962|work=Hays Daily News|access-date=June 1, 2020|title=Hays Television Station To Become CBS Affiliate|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220238/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52629345/hays-television-station-to-become-cbs/|url-status=live}}</ref> and KWHT-TV changed its call letters in October to KLOE-TV, matching co-owned [[KLOE]] radio.<ref name="Citi621011">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123757613/goodland-television-change-is-completed/|date=October 11, 1962|page=3|title=Goodland Television Change Is Completed|newspaper=The Citizen-Patriot|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 29, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429215513/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123757613/goodland-television-change-is-completed/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> KTVC, KLOE, and KAYS then joined KTVH to form the Kansas Broadcasting System (KBS), with KTVH as the flagship. KBS claimed coverage of 66 Kansas counties as well as portions of Oklahoma and Colorado.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713129/|work=The Wichita Eagle|page=6B|title=TV Merger Joins 4 Kansas Stations With CBS Network|date=August 28, 1962|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220240/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713129/tv-merger-joins-4-kansas-stations-with/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1963, KTVH activated a new transmitter located northwest of [[Burrton]] and east of Hutchinson, operating from the tallest broadcast tower in the state at {{convert|1504|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713246/|title=Tall Tower Dedication Scheduled|page=12B|date=March 14, 1963|work=The Wichita Eagle|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220235/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713246/tall-tower-dedication-scheduled/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Star & Tribune Company announced the sale of KTVH to [[Gaylord Broadcasting|the WKY Television System]] of [[Oklahoma City]], owned by the Gaylord family, for $4.4 million in December 1968.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713478/|title=KTVH Bought By Oklahomans|page=1|work=The Wichita Eagle and The Beacon|date=December 22, 1968|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220241/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713478/ktvh-bought-by-oklahomans/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, much to both parties' surprise, the FCC voted 4–2 to designate the transaction for hearing in August 1969.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713548/|title=FCC Delays Approval of KTVH Sale|first=Howard|last=Inglish|pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713604/ 4A]|date=August 17, 1969|work=The Wichita Eagle and Beacon|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220241/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713548/fcc-delays-approval-of-ktvh-sale/|url-status=live}}</ref> The decision was met with dissension even from FCC chairman [[Rosel H. Hyde]], who complained that the majority's conclusions that the acquisition of the Hutchinson station would give the Gaylord interests too much media power and that it might downgrade program service were prejudicial.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713604/|title=Hyde rebukes FCC in KTVH sale case|id={{ProQuest|1016850429}}|page=21|work=Broadcasting|date=August 25, 1969|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220302/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87713604/approval-of-ktvh-sale-delayed-by-fcc/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hearings were set for November, but this was near the expiration date of the sale contract on December 31, and the Star & Tribune Company refused to extend it beyond that date.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-11-17-BC.pdf|date=November 17, 1969|title=KTVH(TV) sale hearing to begin|id={{ProQuest|1014525649}}|work=Broadcasting|page=65|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160501/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-11-17-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> During that time, the FCC also got a new chair, [[Dean Burch]], who chided the commission for taking nine months to designate the proposed sale for hearing; when the two parties asked for approval without such a hearing, the commission refused, preventing the sale from moving forward.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-12-22-BC.pdf|title=Sparks fly over KTVH|date=December 22, 1969|work=Broadcasting|page=10|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160439/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-12-22-BC.pdf|url-status=live|id={{ProQuest|1014538180}}}}</ref>

After the WKY sale bid collapsed, the Star & Tribune Company retained KTVH for another 14 years. In 1976, the FCC granted permission for KTVH to shift its main studio from Hutchinson to Wichita as long as it retained current staffing and service levels at its Hutchinson site.{{r|hc}} In response, channel 12 purchased the Wichita studio site outright after having leased it for 20 years; it also bought an adjacent tract of land and embarked on an expansion of the facility that more than doubled its size.<ref name="anniv25">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87653335/|title=Channel 12, Wichita–Hutchinson, Celebrating 25th Year on Air|first=Dorothy|last=Belden|work=The Wichita Eagle|page=7B|date=June 9, 1978|access-date=October 24, 2021|archive-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024071357/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87653335/channel-12-wichitahutchinson/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1978, KTVH originated 45 percent of its local programming from Hutchinson and 55 percent from Wichita.{{r|anniv25}}

==="The Look of a Leader"===
By 1982, Cowles Media—as the Minneapolis Star & Tribune Company was renamed that year to reflect its media diversification—owned two television properties: KTVH and [[WDRB]], an independent station in [[Louisville, Kentucky]]. The Hutchinson station was among its most profitable divisions. However, the company had suffered through an 89 percent decline in earnings in 1981, sparking rumors of a sale.<ref name="thistime">{{cite news|title=Manager Says KTVH Not for Sale, 'at This Time'|first=Bob|last=Curtright|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|date=June 26, 1982|page=7B|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714223/|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220254/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714223/manager-says-ktvh-not-for-sale-at/|url-status=live}}</ref> The rumors became reality at the end of July when Cowles agreed to sell KTVH for $12 million to Kansas Broadcasting System Inc., a partnership of Hays businessmen Ross Beach and Robert E. Schmidt of Hays, owners of KAYS and KLOE.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714341/|title='Price in Line' With Fiscal Position: KTVH Sold for $12 Million|page=6C|first=Bob|last=Curtright|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|date=July 31, 1982|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220302/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714341/price-in-line-with-fiscal-position/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The sale took effect in January 1983. Beach and Schmidt hired a new general manager, Ron Bergamo,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714416/|title=Executive From Texas Joins KTVH|date=January 22, 1983|page=10C|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220304/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714416/executive-from-texas-joins-ktvh/|url-status=live}}</ref> and set out to turn around a station stuck in third place in the local news ratings (particularly in the Wichita metro itself{{r|bust}}) and with a staid reputation.{{r|thistime}} This included major investments in new equipment and hiring consultants to plot a major image revamp, as well as a change of call letters from KTVH to KWCH, which took effect July 4.<ref name="serious">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714465/|title=KTVH Serious About Changing Image This Summer|page=15B|date=May 4, 1983|first=Bob|last=Curtright|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220242/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714465/ktvh-serious-about-changing-image-this/|url-status=live}}</ref> A goal was set to turn the station into a first-place finisher within 12 to 18 months,<ref name="bust">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68808989/|title=Wichita TV Cry: No. 1 or Bust|first=Jean|last=Hays|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|date=July 17, 1983|pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68809003/ 6C]|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220238/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68808989/wichita-tv-cry-no-1-or-bust/|url-status=live}}</ref> and coinciding with the new call letters, the motto "The Look of a Leader" was adopted.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68808886/|title=Changes at KWCH Revive Three-Way TV News Race|page=21B|date=September 21, 1983|first=Bob|last=Curtright|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220246/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68808886/changes-at-kwch-revive-three-way-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under Beach and Schmidt, the rebadged KWCH turned around its local news ratings and had become a serious and successful challenger to KAKE, the metro-area leader, by 1986. By 1988, it had dislodged KAKE from first place in a majority of time slots. In addition, Beach and Schmidt had acquired KTVC, the last television station in western Kansas not owned by a Wichita-area station, in 1988. The turnaround attracted the interest of Michigan-based [[Smith Media|Smith Broadcasting]], who made an unexpected and unsolicited $45 million purchase offer for KBS that Beach and Schmidt accepted that same year.<ref name="michigan">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714786/|title=Michigan firm buys KWCH, sister stations|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|date=July 15, 1988|page=8A|first1=Bob|last1=Curtright|first2=Ellen|last2=Dyer|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220247/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714786/michigan-firm-buys-kwch-sister-stations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Among Smith's first actions were to appoint part-owner [[Sandy DiPasquale]], who later became the CEO of [[Newport Television]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/newport-televisions-sandy-dipasquale-mend-30981|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=October 30, 2007|first=Michael|last=Malone|title=Newport Television's Sandy DiPasquale on the Mend|access-date=April 29, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429215051/https://www.nexttv.com/news/newport-televisions-sandy-dipasquale-mend-30981|url-status=live}}</ref> as president and general manager and to change the call letters on the western and central Kansas stations to designations that incorporated "KBS".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714903/|first=Bob|last=Curtright|title=KWCH has new general manager|page=2C|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|date=February 17, 1989|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220249/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714903/kwch-has-new-general-manager/|url-status=live}}</ref> DiPasquale became the majority owner in 1992 as Smith sold his interests in KBS to buy other broadcast properties.<ref name="dipasquale">{{cite news|title=Ch. 12 chief DiPasquale gaining control of station|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714984/|work=The Wichita Eagle|page=6C|date=August 29, 1992|first=Bob|last=Curtright|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220245/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87714984/ch-12-chief-dipasquale-gaining-control/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Spartan Communications]] of [[Spartanburg, South Carolina]], purchased KBS from DiPasquale in 1994 for $58 million.<ref name="spartan">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68809394/|first=David|last=Algeo|title=Ch. 12 to be sold soon|pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68809390/ 6A]|work=The Wichita Eagle|date=June 16, 1994|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220248/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68809394/channel-12-to-be-sold-soon/|url-status=live}}</ref> Spartan merged with [[Media General]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|page=73|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=April 10, 2000|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-2000/BC-2000-04-10.pdf|first=Elizabeth A.|last=Rathbun|access-date=March 17, 2022|via=World Radio History|title=Down in deregulation dumps|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108160449/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-2000/BC-2000-04-10.pdf|url-status=live|id={{ProQuest|1014777385}}}}</ref>

===Schurz and Gray ownership===
On April 6, 2006, Media General announced that it would sell KWCH, its satellites, and four other stations as a result of its purchase of four former NBC owned-and-operated stations ([[WVTM-TV]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]]; [[WCMH-TV]] in [[Columbus, Ohio]]; [[WNCN]] serving [[Raleigh, North Carolina]]; and [[WJAR]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]]). [[South Bend, Indiana]]–based [[Schurz Communications]] eventually emerged as the winner and took over on September 25, at which time Schurz formed a new subsidiary known as "Sunflower Broadcasting, Inc.", which became the licensee for its Wichita media market broadcasting properties.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/schurz-snaps-kansas-affil/40359|title=Schurz Snaps Up Kansas Affil|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=July 28, 2006|access-date=July 7, 2014|archive-date=May 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513041843/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/schurz-snaps-kansas-affil/40359|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/april6_06.htm|title=For Immediate Release|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043222/http://mediageneral.com/press/2006/april6_06.htm |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |publisher=Media General|date= April 6, 2006|access-date= July 7, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/sep25_06.html|title=News Releases|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103195937/http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/sep25_06.html |archive-date=January 3, 2013 |publisher= Media General|date=September 25, 2006|access-date=July 7, 2014}}</ref> In July 2007, KSCW became a sister station to KWCH after Schurz bought the station through a failing station waiver.{{efn|The FCC can issue a failing station waiver allowing for the creation of a duopoly in markets otherwise too small to permit one legally (as is the case in Wichita), or involving two stations rated in the top four, under certain circumstances relating to lack of other suitable buyers; low ratings; three years of negative cash flow; and public interest benefit of the merger.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/25076f9171cd42990171d0a568a90026|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=May 1, 2020|first=Barbara A.|last=Kreisman|title=Re: WDRB(DT), Louisville, KY; WBKI(DT), Salem, Indiana|access-date=April 29, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429222055/https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/25076f9171cd42990171d0a568a90026|url-status=live}}</ref> }} In 2009, Schurz further expanded its operations by entering into an agreement with [[Entravision Communications]], which was preparing to launch [[Univision]] affiliate [[KDCU-DT]], to provide local advertising sales, technical functions, and transmitter tower space.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/api/manager/download/bbafbd14-c985-4286-9302-8b4dee9085a4/388457e7-9744-e7e5-9b1e-3e494960602d.pdf|access-date=March 17, 2022|date=August 11, 2009|title=Joint Sales Agreement|publisher=FCC Public Inspection File}}</ref> The partnership expanded in 2011 with the addition of a local newscast.<ref name=kwch-nightlynoticias>{{cite news|title=KDCU Univision to launch first local Spanish newscast in Kansas |url=http://articles.kwch.com/2011-04-20/hispanic-population_29453330 |access-date=April 24, 2011 |newspaper=KWCH |date=April 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811211344/http://articles.kwch.com/2011-04-20/hispanic-population_29453330 |archive-date=August 11, 2011 }}</ref>

Schurz announced on September 14, 2015, that it would exit from broadcasting and sell its entire broadcasting division, including KWCH (and its satellites), KSCW-DT, and the JSA with KDCU-DT, to [[Gray Television]] for approximately $442.5 million. Gray already owned KAKE, which it divested to [[Lockwood Broadcast Group]] in order to retain the higher-rated KWCH.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/gray-to-acquire-schurz-communications-inc-television-and-radio-stations-for-4425-million/35268144 |title=Gray to acquire Schurz Communications, Inc. television and radio stations for $442.5 million|work=KWCH-TV|access-date=October 23, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021072605/http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/gray-to-acquire-schurz-communications-inc-television-and-radio-stations-for-4425-million/35268144 |archive-date=October 21, 2015 }}</ref><ref name=tvnc-kakelockwood>{{cite news|title=Gray Television Sells Some, Buys Some|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/88873/gray-television-sells-some-buys-some|access-date=October 1, 2015|work=TVNewsCheck|date=October 1, 2015|archive-date=September 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916093444/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/88873/gray-television-sells-some-buys-some/|url-status=live}}</ref> The FCC approved the sale on February 12, 2016,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fcc-approves-gray-schurz-tv-station-deal/153781|title=FCC Approves Gray-Schurz TV Station Deal|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=February 12, 2016|access-date=February 13, 2016|archive-date=August 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804014705/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fcc-approves-gray-schurz-tv-station-deal/153781|url-status=live}}</ref> and the sale was completed on February 16.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gray.tv/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=105&cntnt01returnid=81|title=Gray Closes Schurz Acquisition, Related Transactions, And Incremental Term Loan Facility|publisher=Gray Television|date=February 16, 2016|access-date=February 16, 2016|archive-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709064554/https://www.gray.tv/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=105&cntnt01returnid=81|url-status=live}}</ref>

==News operation==
Prior to 1983, KTVH was generally an also-ran in local news. Viewers found it stodgy and conservative, and KAKE and KSNW both regularly trounced channel 12 in the ratings; KAKE drew three to four times as many households in the Wichita metro, while KTVH drew barely half the news ratings of KSN in the full market.{{r|bust}} In 1978, when the station overhauled its news product, it also had the market's smallest newsgathering staff with nine reporter-photographers where KARD had 12 and KAKE had 22.<ref name="Wich780525">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-ktvh-news-team-will-de/129692443/|date=May 25, 1978|page=12B|title=KTVH News Team Will Debut|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref><!-- Thu --><ref name="Wich780611">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-ktvhs-the-news-show/129692460/|date=June 11, 1978|page=TV Week 2|first=Dorothy|last=Belden|title=KTVH's 'The News' Shows Signs of Promise|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The KWCH overhaul orchestrated by Beach and Schmidt brought a series of changes, including the adoption of the [[Eyewitness News]] moniker; the station's first professionally built set;{{r|bust}} and a new female anchor, [[Susan Peters (TV anchor)|Susan Peters]], to present the news alongside market veteran Roger Cornish.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68809043/|title=KWCH Is Ready To Charge Into 'News Wars' Battle|page=11C|work=The Wichita Eagle-Beacon|date=August 26, 1983|first=Bob|last=Curtright|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220250/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68809043/kwch-is-ready-to-charge-into-news/|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the decade that followed, KWCH rose to the top of the local news ratings, first in the Wichita metro and then in the full market beginning in 1991.{{r|spartan}}

The other KBS stations, which were not co-owned with KWCH until the 1980s, produced their own local news programs. In 1991, KBSH in Hays abandoned its longstanding separate evening news and switched to inserting a segment of local news into the KWCH broadcasts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87959700/|title=TV station to cut news broadcasts|date=March 13, 1991|work=The Salina Journal|agency=Harris News Service|page=11|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220252/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87959700/tv-station-to-cut-news-broadcasts/|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2002, this was discontinued, and news stories from Hays were sent to Wichita for incorporation into KWCH's newscasts.<ref>{{cite news|page=A3|title=Two companies seek to fill TV news void|first=Phyllis J.|last=Zorn|work=Hays Daily News|date=March 10, 2002|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-mar-10-2002-2781904/|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029053442/https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-mar-10-2002-2781904/|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, the local news in Dodge City was trimmed back from a full program to inserts and then to reports in KWCH's own newscasts. In 2005, KWCH began producing an insert into its news for [[Cox Communications]] cable customers in [[Salina, Kansas|Salina]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2005/11/07/daily25.html|date=November 7, 2005|title=KWCH to add Salina newscasts|work=Wichita Business Journal|first=Jerry|last=Siebenmark|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220241/https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2005/11/07/daily25.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 19, 2004, KWCH began producing a half-hour prime time newscast at 9&nbsp;p.m. for [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[KSAS-TV]] through a news share agreement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2003/11/24/story2.html|title=Fox/KWCH ready to launch local 9 p.m. newscast|first=Lainie|last=Mazzullo|work=Wichita Business Journal|date=November 23, 2003|access-date=July 7, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191750/http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2003/11/24/story2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2007, after its acquisition of KSCW, KWCH began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast for KSCW; this later expanded on September 12, 2011, to include half-hour newscasts at 4&nbsp;p.m. weekdays and nightly at 9&nbsp;p.m. For the rest of 2011, KSAS and KSCW carried simultaneous and separate newscasts before KSNW assumed the KSAS news production contract at the start of 2012.<ref name="debut4">{{cite news|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/52598/kwch-to-debut-4--9-pm-news-on-kscw|work=TVNewsCheck|date=July 18, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927232439/http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/52598/kwch-to-debut-4--9-pm-news-on-kscw|archive-date=September 27, 2012|title=KWCH To Debut 4 & 9 P.M. News On KSCW}}</ref>{{r|WBizJ111007}}<ref>{{Cite news|work=TVSpy|first=Merrill|last=Knox|date=December 21, 2011|title=Wichita's KSN Hires Two Anchors, Expands Newscasts|url=https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wichitas-ksn-hires-two-anchors-expands-newscasts/34531/|access-date=April 30, 2023|archive-date=February 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202081705/https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wichitas-ksn-hires-two-anchors-expands-newscasts/34531/|url-status=live}}</ref> This resulted in a lawsuit where KSAS alleged a breach of contract because it was receiving a taped newscast instead of a live one; the suit was settled when KWCH agreed to air the Fox newscast live for the remainder of the contract.<ref name="WBizJ111007">{{cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/blog/2011/10/ksas-kwch-reach-agreement-ending.html|first=Nick|last=Jungman|work=Wichita Business Journal|title=KSAS, KWCH reach agreement, ending lawsuit|date=October 7, 2011|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=January 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112091209/http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/blog/2011/10/ksas-kwch-reach-agreement-ending.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Beyond local news programs, KWCH operates the high school sports outlet Catch It Kansas, which includes a website and a weekly show aired on KSCW.{{r|debut4}}

===Notable former on-air staff===
* [[David Bloom]] – reporter (1988–1990)<ref name="Wich030407">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97787130/ex-kwch-star-dies-david-bloom-was-stati/|date=April 7, 2003|page=4A|first=Alex|last=Branch|title=Ex-KWCH star dies: David Bloom was stationed with the 3rd Infantry in Iraq|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|location=Wichita, Kansas|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=March 17, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220252/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97787130/ex-kwch-star-dies-david-bloom-was/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->
* [[Cheryl Burton]] – anchor<ref name="Wich921007">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97787171/kwch-anchor-planning-to-head-home-to-chi/|date=October 7, 1992|page=C7|first=Bob|last=Curtright|title=KWCH anchor planning to head home to Chicago|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|location=Wichita, Kansas|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=March 17, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220253/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97787171/kwch-anchor-planning-to-head-home-to/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed -->
* [[Shon Gables]] – anchor/reporter<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bracht |first=Mel |date=March 5, 2000 |title=Shon Gables finally on track in TV news reporting career |language=en-US |work=The Daily Oklahoman |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2000/03/05/shon-gables-finally-on-track-in-tv-news-reporting-career/62208259007/ |access-date=March 17, 2022 |archive-date=March 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317220306/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2000/03/05/shon-gables-finally-on-track-in-tv-news-reporting-career/62208259007/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Andrea Joyce]] (Andi Joyce) – anchor<ref name="Wich881224">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97787232/ex-wichita-co-anchor-shining-in-new-york/|date=December 24, 1988|page=3B|first=Bob|last=Curtright|title=Ex-Wichita co-anchor shining in New York|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|location=Wichita, Kansas|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=March 17, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317061945/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97787232/ex-wichita-co-anchor-shining-in-new-york/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat -->
* [[Susan Peters (TV anchor)|Susan Peters]] – anchor (1983–1991){{r|Wich030407}}
* [[Don Woods (meteorologist)|Don Woods]] – weatherman (1953–1954)<ref name="Musk540826">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/muskogee-morning-news-ktvx-building-prog/136572313/|date=August 26, 1954|page=1|title=KTVX Building Progresses: High-Gain Antenna Arrives|newspaper=Muskogee Morning News|location=Muskogee, Oklahoma|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 10, 2023}}</ref><!-- Thu -->
* [[Lily Wu]] – anchor/reporter (2020–2023)<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Matthew|last2= Swaim|first2= Chance |date=March 1, 2023|url=https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article272630486.html|title=Television reporter Lily Wu resigns from KWCH to explore a run for mayor of Wichita|work=[[The Wichita Eagle]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksn.com/news/your-local-election-hq/wichita-mayor-election-results/|title=Lily Wu wins election for Wichita mayor|date=November 8, 2023|work=[[KSNW|KSN]]|access-date=November 23, 2023|archive-date=November 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122223915/https://www.ksn.com/news/your-local-election-hq/wichita-mayor-election-results/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KWCH-DT<ref name="re">{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWCH#station|title=RabbitEars query for KWCH|website=rabbitears.info|access-date=October 24, 2021|archive-date=March 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315021615/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWCH#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" | 12.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=4|[[16:9]] || KWCH-DT || [[CBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.2 
| rowspan=3|[[480i]] || KWCH-WX || Always on Storm Team 12 (weather)
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.3 
| Heroes || [[Heroes & Icons]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 12.4 
| Outlaw || [[Outlaw (TV network)|Outlaw]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope="row" | [[KSCW|33.1]]
| 1080i || rowspan=2|16:9 || KSCW-DT || [[The CW]] ([[KSCW-DT]])
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6;"
! scope="row" | [[KSCW|33.2]]
| 480i || Catchy || [[Catchy Comedy]] ([[KSCW-DT]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KWCH shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 12, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to [[Digital television transition in the United States|transition from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 19 to VHF channel 12.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 }}</ref>

After the transition, KWCH became one of four television stations that operated their digital signals on the VHF band that were granted a power increase later that month due to reception issues that the stations experienced as a result of moving their digital channel allocations from UHF to VHF.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/307121-Boise_Station_Gets_Power_Boost.php?rssid=20068&q=digital+tv |title=Boise Station Gets Power Boost |last=Eggerton |first=John |date=June 29, 2009 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]] |access-date=July 1, 2009 |archive-date=May 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510211347/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/307121-Boise_Station_Gets_Power_Boost.php?rssid=20068&q=digital+tv |url-status=live }}</ref> As reception problems continued even after the increase, the FCC granted KWCH-DT permission to swap transmitter facilities with sister station KSCW-DT; on September 29, 2009, KWCH-DT moved its digital signal back to UHF channel 19, with KSCW-DT moving its digital allocation to VHF channel 12.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101332713&formid=301&fac_num=66413|title=Application for Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast Station BPCDT-20090910ABG|date=September 10, 2009|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=April 4, 2022|archive-date=August 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802103954/https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101332713&formid=301&fac_num=66413|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, Schurz built a digital replacement translator of KSCW-DT in Wichita, broadcast from the studios. The 12.1 and 12.2 subchannels are also carried; this aids reception of KSCW and KWCH in parts of Wichita that may not get as strong a signal from the Hutchinson transmitters.{{r|re}}

===Satellites===
{{redirect-distinguish-text|Kansas Broadcasting System|the [[Korean Broadcasting System]]}}
{{Maplink|frame=yes|frame-width=300|frame-height=200|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Kansas Broadcasting System}} |text={{ubl|Kansas Broadcasting System stations|{{legend-col |{{legend|#c50000|KWCH-DT}} |{{legend|#000090|KBSD-DT}} |{{legend|#2E7734|KBSH-DT}} |{{legend|#e3ce3a|KBSL-DT}} }}}}}}
KWCH operates a network of three additional full-power [[broadcast relay station#Satellite stations|satellite stations]] covering central and western Kansas, which together with KWCH are branded as the '''Kansas Broadcasting System''' ('''KBS'''). These stations—KBSD-DT in southwestern Kansas and KBSH-DT and KBSL-DT serving northwestern Kansas—are counted as one outlet for ratings and regulatory purposes. KBS was formed in 1962 and provided network programming and advertising sales functions to the then-separately owned stations; trade advertising boasted that advertisers had the ease of "One Order, One Invoice, One Check" working with KBS.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-07-28-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=July 28, 1969|title=One Buy Delivers $3.5 Billion Kansas Television Market (advertisement)|id={{ProQuest|1014515181}}|page=15|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151342/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-07-28-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Other stations in the Kansas Broadcasting System
! scope="col" | Station
! scope="col" | [[City of license]]
! scope="col" | {{ubl|Channel|[[Virtual channel|TV]] ([[Digital terrestrial television|RF]])}}
! scope="col" | [[Facility ID]]
! scope="col" | [[effective radiated power|ERP]]
! scope="col" | [[HAAT]]
! scope="col" | First air date
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Transmitter coordinates
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | FCC info
|-
! scope="row" | [[KBSD-DT]]
| [[Ensign, Kansas|Ensign]] || 6 (6) || 66414 || style="text-align: right;" | 31&nbsp;[[kW]] || {{convert|219|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || {{dts|1957|7|24}} || {{coord|37|38|28.3|N|100|20|40.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KBSD-DT}} || {{ubl|{{FCC-TV-Station-profile|KBSD-DT|Public file}}|{{FCC-LMS-Facility|66414|3=LMS}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[KBSH-DT]]
| [[Hays, Kansas|Hays]] || 7 (7) || 66415 || style="text-align: right;" | 38.8&nbsp;kW || {{convert|216|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || {{dts|1958|9|2}} || {{coord|38|53|0.9|N|99|20|15.7|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KBSH-DT}} || {{ubl|{{FCC-TV-Station-profile|KBSH-DT|Public file}}|{{FCC-LMS-Facility|66415|3=LMS}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[KBSL-DT]]
| [[Goodland, Kansas|Goodland]] || 10 (10) || 66416 || style="text-align: right;" | 89.6&nbsp;kW || {{convert|299|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || {{dts|1958|9|11}} || {{coord|39|28|9.7|N|101|33|20.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KBSL-DT}} || {{ubl|{{FCC-TV-Station-profile|KBSL-DT|Public file}}|{{FCC-LMS-Facility|66416|3=LMS}}}}
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.kwch.com/}}
*[https://www.catchitkansas.com/ CatchItKansas website]

{{Wichita TV}}
{{CBS Kansas}}
{{Gray TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwch-Tv}}
[[Category:1953 establishments in Kansas]]
[[Category:CBS affiliates]]
[[Category:Gray Media]]
[[Category:Heroes & Icons affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953]]
[[Category:Television stations in Wichita, Kansas|WCH-DT]]