KTWO-TV

KTWO-TV

Casper, Wyoming
Branding	K2 TV K2 News
Slogan	Wyoming's News Leader
Channels	Digital: 17 (UHF)
Subchannels	2.1 KTWO / ABC
Translators	see below
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Silverton Broadcasting Company, LLC
First air date	March 1, 1957
Call letters' meaning	from former radio sister KTWO
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 2 (VHF, 1957-2009)
Former affiliations	Primary: CBS (1957-1978) NBC (1984-2003) independent (2003-2004) Secondary: ABC (1957-1978) NBC (1957-1984) CBS (1978-1980) Pax TV (2003-2004)
Transmitter power	741 kW
Height	587.8 m
Facility ID	18286
Transmitter coordinates	42°44′3″N 106°20′0″W
Website	www.k2tv.com

KTWO-TV is the ABC affiliate television station for most of the state of Wyoming. It is licensed to Casper owned by Silverton Broadcasting. The station broadcasts on digital channel 17, which redirects to former analog channel 2 via PSIP. It is also available on cable channels 6 and 706 (HD) on Bresnan Cable (now 506 under Optimum Cable) in Casper, as well as on the digital subcarrier of Cheyenne Fox affiliate KLWY and a network of UHF and VHF translators across the state. It had also been available on a free-to-air satellite uplink (as with all of Equity's stations, hubbed out of Little Rock, Arkansas and sent to the transmitter via FTA satellite) until Equity went bankrupt and the satellite was sold.

History

KTWO signed on the air on March 1, 1957 as Wyoming's second television station. It was co-owned with Wyoming's oldest radio station, KTWO (AM 1030). As the only station in Casper, it aired programming from all three major networks, but was a primary CBS affiliate owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS Radio. In 1978, KTWO-TV became a primary ABC affiliate; this was around the same time that ABC became the nation's highest rated network. In 1980, the CBS affiliation went to KGWC-TV, and KTWO became an ABC affiliate with a secondary NBC affiliation. In 1984, KFNB (now a satellite of KLWY) began carrying ABC, leaving KTWO with NBC. On August 28, 1987, KKTU signed on channel 33 as KTWO's satellite station in Cheyenne.

In July 2005, KTWO was added to the Dish Network line up of channels for customers in the Casper/Riverton designated market area. As of January 1st 2012 KTWO as well as the Casper/Riverton DMA FOX-KFNB and CBS-KGWC stations were dropped from the Dish Network Local into Local feed. Dish and Wyo-Media have failed to come to an agreement on a new contract. Dish claims Wyo-Media is asking for far more than fair market rates and that Wyo-Media is making a Monopoly against Dish, Wyo-Media claims Dish refuses to pay 1% of an average Dish bill for re-transmission rights. KCWY the NBC affiliate and PBS are unaffected by this dispute.

Until recently, KTWO's programming had always originated from a studio on East Second Street in Casper. Its lone presence on the east side of Casper continued for many years until major retail development occurred in the early 1980s. Its present location shares operations with KFNB and KGWC on Skyview Drive.

Affiliation transition from NBC to ABC

On September 1, 2003, NBC moved its affiliation from KTWO to KCWY. KTWO was planning on becoming an ABC affiliate before a change of ownership, but it had to wait until ABC's affiliation with KFNB expired in June 2004. During the interim period, KTWO operated as an independent station, but carried programming from Pax TV (now ION Television).

KKTU, the Cheyenne satellite of KTWO, immediately switched from NBC to ABC and began branding itself as "ABC 8", after its position on the Cheyenne cable system. After reaching an agreement with KTWO, KFNB agreed to end its ABC affiliation early. In March 2004, KTWO officially became an ABC affiliate, KFNB obtained the Fox affiliation from K26ES and K26ES became an affiliate of UPN. KKTU changed its call sign to KDEV in 2005.

On May 31, 2006, KTWO was sold by Equity Broadcasting Company to Silverton Media, headed by Barry Silverton. Equity retained ownership of KDEV and allowed KTWO to continue to operate it.

KTWO later moved its ABC programming in Cheyenne to a low-powered repeater, KKTU-LP channel 40, after KDEV dropped ABC in favor of programming from RTN. On June 24, 2008, KKTU-LP changed its call letters to KDEV-LP, after KDEV changed its call sign to KQCK.

In September 2009, KDEV dropped all ABC programming, and KTWO-TV was picked up on KLWY's digital subcarrier in early September, 2010.

Translators

• K16JM-D channel 16-1, Cheyenne
• KLWY channel 27-2, Cheyenne
• K47AD channel 47, Cody
• K34LH channel 34, Jackson
• K22CI channel 22, Lander
• K12IS channel 12, Lusk
• K55BL channel 55, Sheridan
• K13NZ channel 13, Shoshoni
• K35CV channel 35, Shoshoni

On-air staff

Current on-air staff

• Alex Batres- Good Morning Wyoming Anchor
• Megan Contreras - Good Morning Wyoming/Noon Anchor
• Chris Simmons - Morning & Noon Meteorologist
• Lindsay Joy - Weekday Anchor
• Taylor Viydo - Weekday Anchor
• Alan Holt - Meteorologist
• Jack Nokes - Sports Anchor
• Drew Engelbart - Sports Anchor
• Ophelia Young - Weekend Anchor/Reporter
• Cassandra Hager - Cheyenne Bureau Reporter
• Victoria Fregoso - Riverton Bureau Chief

Past on-air staff

• Pete Williams - now with NBC News
• Susan Burke - now with the Wyoming Medical Center Foundation
• Vicki Daniels
• Robert Geha - now with KGWN TV in Cheyenne, WY
• Andrew Kozak - now with KOKI TV in Tulsa, OK
• Blake Smith - now with KAKE TV in Wichita, KS
• Adam Behrman - now with KBOI TV in Boise, ID
• Eric Gardner - now with KOTA TV in Rapid City, SD
• Mick Birge - now with the Cowboy State News Network
• Frank Gambino - now with KTWO Radio and KCWY TV
• Charles Brown (from 1977 to 1996)
• George Kay - retired
• Matt Stafford - now with KOAA TV in Pueblo, CO
• Jason Aubry -now with KKTV TV in Colorado Springs, CO
• Flint Adam - no longer in television; currently works in the financial services industry in Franklin, TN
• Corey Rose - now with KUSA TV in Denver, CO
• Matt Trezza - now with RT in Moscow, Russia
• Kyle Gravlin - now with KIVI-TV in Boise, ID
• Jadiann Thompson - now with KPHO in Phoenix, AZ
• Briana Bermensolo - now with KION/KCBA in Salinas, CA
• Mike Mahoney - now with WGBA TV in Green Bay, WI
• Denise Pernula- now with KTLA TV, The Vegas Minute

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• Channel 2 Evening News (1970s)
• TV-2 News (1970s-1980s)
• K2 Nightly News (1980s)
• K2 Wyoming News (1980s-1990)
• K2 News (1990-present)

Station slogans

• Wyoming's News Team (1996-2000)
• Wyoming's News Leader (2000-present)

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External links

• K2TV Official Site
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KTWO
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KTWO-TV