KNBN


KNBN, virtual and UHF digital channel 21, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Owned by Jim Simpson's Rapid Broadcasting, it is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KWBH-LP, channel 27. The two stations share studios on South Plaza Drive in Rapid City; KNBN's transmitter is located on Cowboy Hill west of downtown.
KNBN can also be seen on translators KKRA-LP in Rapid City and K35MW-D in Lead.

History

In March 1996, KEVN-TV's owner, Blackstar, announced plans to affiliate the longtime NBC outlet for the Rapid City area with the Fox network; Fox held an equity stake in Blackstar. This presented the possibility that Rapid City would be left without an NBC affiliate. Locally based Rapid Broadcasting, whose president Gilbert Moyle had been a part-owner of KEVN from 1973 to 1985, bought low-power TV station K24AM, a primarily Christian outlet which had broadcast since the mid-1980s, and increased its transmitter power. It also obtained the NBC affiliation for Rapid City for the low-power outlet, all with a month to go. KNBN-LP channel 24 officially launched July 15, the date that KEVN switched to Fox, and immediately appeared on local cable systems.
KNBN launched without a local news presence. In December 1996, it began producing news cut-ins during Today. A full news service debuted September 22, 1997 as "NewsCenter1", airing at 6 and 10 p.m. nightly; the early evening time slot contrasted with KOTA and KEVN, who presented their main news at 5:30. By the time that newscast had debuted, KNBN-LP—call sign and programming—had moved from the channel 24 station to channel 27 in Rapid City with a translator on channel 31 in Lead; the next year, KKRA became an affiliate of Pax. The channel 27 and 31 construction permits had been held by the Plaza Boulevard Wesleyan Church.
Rapid Broadcasting had been one of 11 applicants seeking to obtain a full-power license on channel 21. The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 forced the Federal Communications Commission to scrap the comparative hearing process and auction the assignment. Rapid made the winning bid, holding off four other hopefuls, notably including Sunbelt Communications Company. KNBN began broadcasting at full power on channel 21 on May 14, 2000.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
21.11080iKNBNNBCMain KNBN programming / NBC
21.2720pKNBN MYSimulcast of KWBH-LP / MyNetworkTV

Analog-to-digital conversion

KNBN shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 21, on February 1, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on channel 21. The "flash-cut" was necessary as the station had its original construction permit granted after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 27, 1997; as a result, the station did not have a companion channel for a digital signal.

News operation

KNBN presently broadcasts 16 hours of locally produced newscasts each week.