KLKN
Channel 8 at Albion: The NTV years
### Channel 8 at Albion: The NTV years

In January 1961, a plan was released proposing the use of five additional [very high frequency](/wiki/Very_high_frequency "Very high frequency") (VHF) channels for educational use in the state of Nebraska to expand the coverage of [KUON\-TV](/wiki/KUON-TV "KUON-TV") in Lincoln to 90 percent of the state population: channel 13 at [Alliance](/wiki/Alliance%2C_Nebraska "Alliance, Nebraska"), channel 8 at Albion, channel 3 at [Bassett](/wiki/Bassett%2C_Nebraska "Bassett, Nebraska"), channel 4 at [Kearney](/wiki/Kearney%2C_Nebraska "Kearney, Nebraska"), and channel 9 at [North Platte](/wiki/North_Platte "North Platte"). KHOL\-TV, an [ABC](/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company "American Broadcasting Company") affiliate in [Kearney](/wiki/Kearney%2C_Nebraska "Kearney, Nebraska"), also expressed interest in the allocation at Albion,  northwest of Lincoln, and began to survey the area as part of plans to locate a [satellite](/wiki/Broadcast_relay_station%23Satellite_stations "Broadcast relay station#Satellite stations") of its station in Albion. The matter became entangled in several other channel allocation proceedings, but in November 1962, the [Federal Communications Commission](/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission "Federal Communications Commission") (FCC) approved most of the educational television plan—except it protected channel 8 as a commercial station and assigned a UHF channel for educational use in Albion.

In the wake of the decision, the Bi\-States Company, owner of KHOL\-TV, applied for stations in Albion and [Superior](/wiki/Superior%2C_Nebraska "Superior, Nebraska") to repeat the Kearney outlet, which the FCC approved in February 1964\. With the call sign KHQL\-TV—matching KHOL\-TV and its satellite KHPL\-TV—the station was constructed and began telecasting on December 3, 1964\.

In 1974, NTV Enterprises acquired the network; on June 4, concurrent with changes at all of the NTV stations, KHQL\-TV became KCNA\-TV (for the largest towns in its service area, [Columbus](/wiki/Columbus%2C_Nebraska "Columbus, Nebraska"), [Norfolk](/wiki/Norfolk%2C_Nebraska "Norfolk, Nebraska"), and Albion). Joseph Amaturo bought the NTV stations in 1979 in a deal funded by the sale of [KQTV](/wiki/KQTV "KQTV") in [St. Joseph, Missouri](/wiki/St._Joseph%2C_Missouri "St. Joseph, Missouri").


What is Channel 8 at Albion?