Nexstar Nixes Joplin Over Push for KNWA
by October 11, 2004 12:00 am 85 views
NBC-affiliate KSNF, Channel 16, in Joplin, Mo., was recently removed from Cox Communication’s local cable programming lineup. A Cox spokesman said the change was made at the request of Nexstar Broadcasting Inc. of Irving, Texas, which owns KSNF and has entered into an agreement to purchase Fayetteville NBC-affiliate KNWA.
The deal with JDG Television Inc. of Muskogee, Okla., is pending regulatory approval and also includes the acquisition of the Fort Smith signal (KFTA). KNWA was formerly known as NBC 24/51, KPOM/KFAA, but Nexstar launched a rebranding effort on Aug. 13 that included the name change as part of a strategic focus on Northwest Arkansas.
Brian Jones, a senior vice president and regional manager with Nexstar, said the Fayetteville station has the exclusive NBC rights for Northwest Arkansas.
“We didn’t want there to be any confusion for viewers as to their local source of NBC programming,” Jones said. “We didn’t want Joplin diluting that recognition.”
Nexstar bought KSNF in January 1998 and launched a 6 a.m. and a 5 p.m. newscast. In 1999, KSNF won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for the best small-market newscast in the Midwest region, and its newscasts had been part of Northwest Arkansas programming since the late 1990s.
The Fort Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Market, as defined by Nielsen Media Research, is the No. 107 largest market in America. The Joplin-Pittsburg, Kan., market is No. 145.