lead south dakota united states branding metv rapid city channels digital khme 2 vhf kqme 10 vhf virtual khme 23 psip kqme 5 psip 1 subchannels xx .1 metv xx .2 heroes & icons translators 18 uhf rapid city affiliations metv 2016 present owner legacy broadcasting legacy broadcasting of rapid city llc founded december 8 1954 1954 12 08 2 first air date khme june 1 1955 ; 61 years ago 1955 06 01 kqme november 2 1966 ; 49 years ago 1966 11 02 call letters meaning k black hills me tv former callsigns khme kota tv 1955 2016 kqme khsd tv 1966 2016 former channel number s analog khme 3 vhf 1955 2009 kqme 11 vhf 1966 2009 virtual khme 3 psip until 2016 kqme 11 psip until 2016 former affiliations primary cbs 1955 1970 nbc joint primary with abc 1970 1976 primary 1976 1981 full time 1981 1984 abc 1984 2016 secondary nbc 1955 1958 abc 1955 1965 cbs 1976 1981 fox 1994 1996 transmitter power khme 18.2 kw kqme 34.8 kw height khme 174 m kqme 576 m facility id khme 17688 kqme 17686 transmitter coordinates khme 44 4 7.7 n 103 15 5 w 44.068806 n 103.25139 w 44.068806 ; 103.25139 kqme 44 19 35.1 n 103 50 9 w 44.326417 n 103.83583 w 44.326417 ; 103.83583 kqme tv licensing authority fcc public license information kqme profile kqme cdbs khme virtual channel 23 vhf digital rf channel 2 is an metv affiliate based in rapid city south dakota usa . the station is owned by legacy broadcasting . its transmitter is located in rapid city ; its studios are located on st. joseph street in downtown rapid city . khme also operates a full power satellite in lead south dakota kqme virtual channel 5 vhf digital rf channel 10 3 which can also be seen over the air in rapid city . khme s transmitter is located near spearfish south dakota . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 references 4 external links history edit khme debuted on the air as kota tv with test operations on june 1 1955 with regular programming beginning one month later on july 1 . it was the second television station in south dakota and the first in the western part of the state . the station was owned by rapid city businesswoman helen duhamel and was a sister station to cbs radio network affiliate kota 1380 am . duhamel bought a minority stake in the radio station in 1943 and gradually expanded her holdings until she bought full control in 1954 . channel 3 originally carried programming from all three networks though it was a primary cbs television affiliate . helen s son william bill duhamel would become kota tv s president and general manager in 1976 . when krsd tv the original channel 7 in rapid city signed on in 1958 it took the nbc affiliation sharing abc with kota tv . in 1965 channel 3 took on an unusual joint primary affiliation with cbs and abc slightly favoring cbs . it was certainly quite a struggle to fit as many network shows as possible onto the schedule especially in the daytime so krsd tv had to take up some of the slack . but channel 7 always had a painfully weak signal which by 1966 had deteriorated to the point of unacceptability . for this reason and at nbc s insistence the two stations switched affiliations on september 13 1970 making kota tv a joint primary affiliate of abc and nbc . 4 a year later the federal communications commission fcc would yank krsd tv s license due to its inadequate technical quality ; that station s owner would fight the decision but finally gave up and ceased operations on february 29 1976 . for the next several months kota tv had only pbs station kbhe tv channel 9 as a competitor . but when the new channel 7 kevn tv opened on july 11 1976 it took all abc programming ; kota tv kept its nbc primary afiiliation and added a secondary affiliation with cbs . 5 meanwhile in scottsbluff kstf along with its parent station kycu tv now kgwn tv in cheyenne both had to switch their primary affiliations to abc to make up for the loss of abc programming on kduh . channel 3 lost cbs in 1981 after the fcc authorized k15ac channel 15 a translator of kplo tv from reliance itself a satellite of kelo tv the cbs affiliate in sioux falls over the objections of kota tv 6 k15ac was supplanted in 1988 by kclo tv a semi satellite of kelo . kota tv continued to carry nbc programming until 1984 when the network chose to part ways with the station . 7 abc then moved its programming to channel 3 from kevn tv which took the nbc affiliation ; 8 this made kota tv one of the few stations to be a primary affiliate of each of the big three television networks . kota added a secondary affiliation with fox in 1994 primarily to carry the network s coverage of the national football league ; 9 this ended in 1996 when kevn switched from nbc to fox as part of the u.s. television network affiliate switches of 1994 . after 58 years under family ownership bill duhamel announced on october 31 2013 that kota tv and its satellites would be sold to schurz communications pending fcc approval . the sale separated kota tv from its longtime sister radio stations which the duhamels retained as schurz already owns a group of black hills radio stations under the new rushmore radio banner . 10 11 the fcc granted the sale on march 31 2014 ; and it was completed on april 28 2014 . 12 13 14 15 on september 14 2015 schurz announced that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations including kota tv and its satellites to gray television for 442.5 million . gray already owns kevn tv in rapid city and intends to consolidate the two stations operations . 16 17 in its original filing with the fcc gray said that it would either sell or surrender the license for kota tv while retaining its three present satellite stations . khsd tv channel 11 in lead and ksgw tv channel 12 in sheridan wyoming were proposed to become satellites of kevn ld channel 23 a new low power station in rapid city owned by gray while kduh tv channel 4 in scottsbluff nebraska would be converted to a satellite of knop tv a gray owned nbc affiliate in north platte . 18 19 on october 1 gray announced that the kota tv license would be acquired by legacy broadcasting for 1 ; while gray will retain the abc affiliation and transfer it to kevn tv most of the station s other assets including its present subchannel affiliations with metv and this tv will be transferred to legacy as part of the deal . 20 the khsd license will also be acquired by legacy . 21 in a subsequent filing with the fcc gray disclosed that it now planned to convert ksgw tv to a semi satellite of nbc affiliate kcwy dt in casper wyoming while kduh tv will change its call letters to knep following its conversion to a knop tv satellite ; gray will also propose to change kduh knep s city of license to sidney nebraska which will move it from the cheyenne scottsbluff market to the denver market eliminating an ownership conflict with kstf in scottsbluff . 22 23 the fcc approved the schurz sale on february 12 2016 24 the sale was completed on february 16 2016 . 25 the fcc approved the kduh knep city of license change on may 16 . 26 on february 1 2016 kota tv changed their call letters to khme . northpine reported that this was done as gray television awaits fcc approval of its black hills tv merger . the kota tv callsign was moved to kevn the area fox affiliate on february 1 2016 with virtual channel 3 and the abc affiliation moving there by february 24 . the kevn callsign and virtual channel 7 continues on kevn ld channel 23 . 27 khme retained the metv and this tv subchannels from the previous kota . digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital signal is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 28 xx .1 480i 4 3 khme dt1 metv xx .2 khme dt2 heroes & icons in 2009 kota tv and its satellite stations added the retro television network and this tv on their digital subchannels . in 2011 retro television was replaced by metv on kota tv and its satellite stations . 29 analog to digital conversion edit as kota tv the station shut down its analog signal over vhf channel 3 on june 12 2009 the official date in which full power television stations in the united states transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate . the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition vhf channel 2 . 30 through the use of psip digital television receivers display the station s virtual channel as its former vhf analog channel 3 . khme also operates a fill in translator on channel 18 that serves the immediate part of the rapid city area . 31 references edit where to watch khme tupelo rapid city tvs granted by commission . broadcasting telecasting december 13 1954 pg . 80 . where to watch khme cbs and nbc trade places pdf . broadcasting . august 17 1970 . p. 33 . retrieved february 14 2015 . broadcasting yearbook 1978 pdf . 1978 . p. b 128 . retrieved february 17 2015 . for the record pdf . broadcasting . august 31 1981 . p. 53 . retrieved february 17 2015 . tale of two cities pdf . broadcasting . february 20 1984 . p. 35 . retrieved february 17 2015 . in brief pdf . broadcasting . may 14 1984 . pp. 114 5 . retrieved february 17 2015 . mcclellan steve april 18 1994 . fox s latest four add up to 96 % pdf . broadcasting & cable . p. 16 . retrieved march 29 2015 . http www.kotatv.com story 23843835 kota tv sold to schurz communications inc malone michael october 31 2013 . schurz to acquire kota rapid city . broadcasting & cable . retrieved october 31 2013 . http www.kotatv.com story 25133718 fcc approves sale of kota tv notice federal communications commission 31 march 2014 retrieved 3 april 2014 . fcc approves sale of kota territory tv kota tv 1 april 2014 retrieved 3 april 2014 . consummation notice cdbs public access federal communications commission 28 april 2014 retrieved 30 april 2014 . schurz communications to sell wsbt and other tv radio stations . south bend tribune . september 14 2015 . retrieved september 14 2015 . kuperberg jonathan september 14 2015 . gray acquiring tv radio stations from schurz for 442.5 million . broadcasting & cable . retrieved september 14 2015 . comprehensive exhibit pdf . cdbs public access . federal communications commission . retrieved september 18 2015 . gray television unveils some changes for scottsbluff station . . kota tv 17 february 2016 retrieved 23 february 2016 . gray television sells some buys some . tvnewscheck . october 1 2015 . retrieved october 1 2015 . summary of interrelated transactions pdf . cdbs public access . federal communications commission . october 8 2015 . comprehensive exhibit pdf . cdbs public access . federal communications commission . october 2015 . retrieved october 24 2015 . kota territory news to bring more statewide coverage . scottsbluff star herald 19 february 2016 . retrieved 18 may 2016 . fcc approves gray schurz tv station