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KOLN, channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials. The station also serves as the default CBS affiliate for North Platte; it airs its programming on two translators in that city.

Combined, the two stations serve one of the largest coverage areas in the nation, stretching across 42 counties in central and western Nebraska--almost two-thirds of the state's land mass--and an additional four counties in Kansas. The stations, branded together on-air as 10/11 (pronounced ten-eleven), are owned by Gray Television.

The station is officially part of the Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney television market. However, this market has no basis in television reality. KOLN and CW affiliate KCWL are the only full-power stations shared by the entire market. Lincoln and the far eastern portions of the market receive ABC from KLKN-TV in Lincoln, NBC from WOWT-TV in Omaha and Fox from KPTM-TV in Omaha. The rest of the market receives ABC from KHGI-TV in Kearney, NBC from KHAS-TV in Hastings and Fox from KSNB-TV in Superior (which operates a low-powered translator in Lincoln). Four counties in north central Kansas which border Nebraska (Jewell, Phillips, Republic and Smith) are also part of the Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney market and receive programming from the Hastings/Kearney side of the market as well as satellites of Wichita stations.

KOLN/KGIN also operated a UPN affiliate on its digital subchannels. Beginning on September 5, 2006, those digital subchannels switched to MyNetworkTV programming.

Station history

KOLN signed on for the first time on February 18, 1953 as Nebraska's third television station and the first outside Omaha. It was owned by broadcasting pioneer John Fetzer along with KOLN-AM 1400 (now KLIN). Originally broadcasting on channel 12, it moved to channel 10 in 1954 after donating the channel 12 facilities to the University of Nebraska for its educational station, KUON-TV.

The station was originally the DuMont Television Network affiliate for the Omaha/Lincoln market. Later in 1953, it became a primary affiliate of ABC. However, after only a year on the air, Fetzer persuaded the Federal Communications Commission to merge Lincoln with the Hastings/Kearney market in central Nebraska. Lincoln has long been the cultural center for central Nebraska, and Fetzer felt that Lincoln had more in common with this area than Omaha. He also wanted an affiliation with a stronger network. Although Fetzer had a very good relationship with CBS, there was little prospect of taking the affiliation from Omaha's KMTV.

Soon after the FCC made Lincoln the center of the new Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney market, KOLN became a primary CBS affiliate. DuMont shut down in 1956, and KOLN dropped the remaining ABC shows from the schedule in 1957.

Over the next few years, KOLN signed on translator after translator across its huge and mostly rural coverage area, cementing a dominance that continues to this day. KGIN debuted on October 1, 1961.

Until KLKN signed on in 1996, KOLN was the only commercial station in Lincoln, making it was one of the largest cities in the country with only one full-power commercial station. However, KOLN had no need to air other networks' programming. Most of the Omaha stations provide at least secondary coverage of Lincoln (with WOWT providing city-grade coverage), and all of them are available on cable.

Well into the 1980s, when nearly every other local television news broadcast began with the latest news, KOLN began its newscasts with the weather report. According to A. James Ebel, KOLN's general manager from 1954 to 1985, "The first thing I learned when I arrived here in 1954 is that the weather is the No. 1 story in Nebraska." [1]

Mel Mains served as KOLN's main news anchor for 34 years, from 1961 to 1995.[2]

UPN Nebraska / My Network TV

File:Koln kgin mntv.PNG
"My TV" logo, seen on KOLN's website; however, this logo is unofficial, used only for Gray-owned My Network TV affiliates (WCTV and WSAW-TV are the others).

UPN was broadcast on DT2 subcarriers of KOLN and KGIN under the banner UPN Nebraska; the service switched to MyNetworkTV in September 2006. It not only airs syndicated programs and the entire network schedule, it offers rebroadcasts of KOLN/KGIN news and The Oprah Winfrey Show in primetime.

Personalities/Programming

On September 15th, 2007, KOLN/KGIN started airing a Saturday and Sunday from 7am-8am. It now competes with WOWT's "Channel 6 News Weekend Daybreak" (8am-9am) and KETV's "First News Saturday and Sunday" (7am-8:30am) in Omaha.

Morning Show/Midday Personnel

5,6 & 10 Personnel

Saturday & Sunday Morning Personnel

Weekend Evening Personnel

Reporters

  • Melanie Bloom (occasionally anchors on the weekend)
  • Lance Schwartz (occasionally the sports anchor)
  • Sara Geake (does her reporting from the Grand Island bureau)
  • Kiki Nichols
  • Alicia Meyers
  • Karina Kling

Translators

KOLN/KGIN serves its large coverage area with 13 translators. Repeaters in bold are owned by Gray Television; all others are owned by local municipalities or organizations.

Six of the translators directly repeat the KOLN signal, while seven directly repeat the KGIN signal.

KOLN translators

KGIN translators

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