KLRT-TV

KLRT-TV, branded as Fox 16, is a commercial television station serving Little Rock and the wider Central Arkansas market. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 16 and is affiliated with the Fox network. Its license is held by Mission Broadcasting, while Nexstar Media Group supplies management and operational services through a local marketing agreement. KLRT operates in a shared station cluster with KASN, another Mission-owned station managed by Nexstar, and Nexstar-owned KARK-TV and KARZ-TV. The four stations share facilities in the Victory Building in downtown Little Rock, near the Arkansas State Capitol. KLRT's transmitter is located at the Shinall Mountain antenna farm. KLRT began broadcasting on June 26, 1983, as Little Rock's first independent television station and the first UHF station in central Arkansas in almost three decades. Its original programming mix consisted of syndicated situation comedies, movies, sports, and children's programming. The station was created by Little Rock Communications Associates, a consortium formed from several competing applicants for the channel-16 construction permit. MMT Sales, a national television advertising-representation company, held the dominant interest in the consortium. The station's call letters were derived from Little Rock Television. The station became connected with Fox during a complicated transition involving KJTM-TV, later renamed KASN. Fox programming briefly moved to KLRT in September 1989 during negotiations over a proposed acquisition of assets and programming associated with channel 38. That arrangement collapsed after several weeks, and Fox temporarily returned to KASN. On April 28, 1990, Fox moved permanently to KLRT, establishing the affiliation that remains central to the station's identity. Clear Channel Communications acquired KLRT in 1991 and subsequently obtained the non-license assets of KASN. Clear Channel first operated KASN through a joint sales agreement and then through a local marketing agreement, consolidating the stations' operations. Following regulatory changes that permitted additional television combinations, Clear Channel acquired KASN outright in 1999. The stations were later included in Clear Channel's 2007 television-station divestiture to Newport Television, a company controlled by Providence Equity Partners. Nexstar acquired the stations from Newport in 2012 but transferred KLRT and KASN to Mission Broadcasting because Nexstar already owned other Little Rock stations. Nexstar nonetheless continued to manage the Mission stations under an LMA. The resulting four-station operation led to substantial consolidation in 2013: KLRT and KASN moved from the former Clear Channel facility to the Victory Building, and many functions were combined with KARK and KARZ. KLRT retained selected local newscasts and continued operating as a Fox affiliate. KLRT historically supplied only short news and weather updates. It developed a full news department in the early 2000s and launched Fox 16 News at Nine in March 2004, followed by additional early-evening and late-evening broadcasts. After the 2013 consolidation, the station's news schedule was reorganized. The current station identity combines Fox network programming, locally produced news and weather, syndicated programming, and digital and over-the-air multicast services. Since 2016, KLRT has carried Ion Mystery as a digital subchannel. In 2021, it also participated in the Little Rock market's ATSC 3.0 deployment by carrying partner-station programming through the NextGen TV arrangement.

The first serious proposal for a television station on Little Rock's channel 16 emerged in the 1960s. The Federal Communications Commission granted a construction permit in March 1966 to Victor Broadcasting Company, controlled by industrialist Victor Muscat and associated with radio station KMYO. The proposed station was delayed while its owners sought permission for greater effective radiated power. The permit remained outstanding for several years and was eventually deleted before the station was built. Interest revived in the late 1970s, when multiple groups sought to use channel 16 for Christian programming, subscription television, or general commercial broadcasting. Eight applicants initially competed for the channel. Among them were Arkansas Christian Television, Grant Broadcasting Corporation, a group associated with former KARK anchor Deborah Mathis, Central Arkansas Television, and LRTV Limited Partnership, which was controlled by MMT Sales executive Gary Scollard. Arkansas Christian Television withdrew rather than enter what it regarded as a potentially protracted comparative hearing. In late 1981, the remaining applicants agreed to combine into a limited partnership dominated by MMT. An FCC administrative law judge initially objected to the unequal ownership structure, but an FCC review board later approved the settlement. The resulting Little Rock Communications Associates developed plans for a transmitter on Shinall Mountain and studios near Markham Street. The call letters KLRT-TV were assigned to represent Little Rock Television, despite objections from a local radio station using similar letters. KLRT signed on June 26, 1983. It was the first independent television station in Arkansas and the first commercial television station to launch in the region since KTHV began broadcasting in 1955. It was also Little Rock's first UHF station since the earlier KRTV operation on channel 17 had ended. KLRT's initial schedule relied on syndicated sitcoms, movies, sports and children's shows. Competition increased in 1986 when new independent stations appeared in the region, although one soon closed and another became the market's original Fox affiliate. Fox's affiliation history in Little Rock became complicated in 1989. KLRT management announced that Fox programming would move from KASN to channel 16 as part of a proposed transaction involving KASN assets and programming. The transaction failed to close, and Fox returned to KASN after a short period on KLRT. Fox nevertheless moved permanently to KLRT on April 28, 1990. KASN's owner, MMC Television, sued Little Rock Communications Associates in federal court, alleging conspiracy, trade-secret misappropriation, breach of contract and fraud in connection with the failed transaction. KLRT's owners denied the allegations and argued that MMC had misrepresented its conduct and concealed financial problems at KASN. The dispute is a notable legal episode in the station's affiliation history, but the available material does not establish a final outcome here. Clear Channel Communications purchased KLRT in 1991. That year it also acquired non-license assets associated with KASN and arranged for those assets to be leased back to the station. KASN later changed ownership, while Clear Channel handled advertising and promotional functions through a joint sales agreement. The arrangement became a local marketing agreement in 1995, bringing KASN's operations into KLRT's facilities. After the 1996 Telecommunications Act and subsequent regulatory changes enabled additional local television combinations, Clear Channel acquired KASN outright in 1999. The two stations later operated from the Clear Channel Metroplex in West Little Rock, which opened in 2001. In 2007, Clear Channel sold its television portfolio to Newport Television, controlled by Providence Equity Partners. KLRT and KASN remained paired under the new ownership. Nexstar Broadcasting Group acquired the stations from Newport in a 2012 transaction, but because Nexstar already owned KARK-TV and KARZ-TV in the same market, KLRT and KASN were transferred to Mission Broadcasting. Nexstar retained effective operational control through a local marketing agreement. The transfer was completed on January 1, 2013. The new four-station structure resulted in significant consolidation. On January 3, 2013, employees from the KLRT-KASN operation and the KARK-KARZ operation were dismissed, and KLRT-KASN general manager Chuck Spohn departed. The stations moved from the Clear Channel Metroplex to the Victory Building in downtown Little Rock. News production was integrated with KARK. KLRT's 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts were discontinued, while the 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. programs continued. A new morning program, Good Day Arkansas, replaced the earlier morning arrangement on KARZ. KLRT had long provided only short news and weather segments. Its early updates were known as Newscap 16 and included contributions from former KTHV anchor Bill Powell, Arkansas Radio Network personnel and radio personality Craig O'Neill. In 2000, the station introduced a brief late-night weather feature produced by AccuWeather. A full news department was assembled beginning in 2003, culminating in the launch of Fox 16 News at Nine on March 28, 2004. Additional 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts followed in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The news operation was substantially reconfigured after the Mission-Nexstar consolidation. KLRT's technical development included a digital signal launched on UHF channel 30 in 2002 and the shutdown of its analog channel-16 transmission on June 12, 2009. Its digital service retained virtual channel 16. The station later added Ion Mystery to its multicast lineup and joined the Little Rock ATSC 3.0 deployment in 2021. KLRT remains an active Fox affiliate serving Central Arkansas.

• 2021

  KLRT joins the Little Rock NextGen TV deployment

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station became part of the market's ATSC 3.0 rollout and carried partner-station services through the new transmission system.

• 2016

  Ion Mystery joins the digital lineup

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KLRT added Ion Mystery as a multicast subchannel through a Mission-Nexstar and Katz Broadcasting arrangement.

• 2013

  Mission ownership and Nexstar management begin

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Mission Broadcasting took ownership of KLRT, while Nexstar began managing the station and consolidated operations with KARK and KARZ.

• 2007

  Television assets move to Newport Television

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KLRT became part of Clear Channel's television-station divestiture to Newport Television.

• 2004

  Full-scale local news launches

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Fox 16 News at Nine debuted after the station developed a dedicated news department.

• 2002

  Digital broadcasting begins

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KLRT launched its digital signal on UHF channel 30.

• 1991

  Clear Channel acquires KLRT

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Clear Channel Communications purchased KLRT and began building an operational relationship with KASN.

• 1990

  Fox affiliation becomes permanent

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Fox moved its Little Rock affiliation to KLRT on April 28 after a temporary 1989 switch and a failed asset transaction involving KASN.

• 1983

  KLRT signs on

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KLRT began broadcasting on June 26 as Little Rock's first independent station and the region's first new commercial television station in decades.

• 1981

  Competing applicants form a consortium

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Seven applicants agreed to combine their bids into a limited partnership dominated by MMT Sales, clearing the way for the station's eventual construction.

• 1966

  FCC grants an early channel-16 construction permit

  [1]KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC granted a construction permit to Victor Broadcasting Company, although the proposed station was delayed and never launched under that permit.

A local Fox network affiliate focused on news, weather, sports and entertainment programming for the Little Rock and Central Arkansas television market.

• Local television news · 2004

  Fox 16 News

  KLRT's local news franchise, introduced in full form in 2004 as Fox 16 News at Nine. The operation later expanded to additional evening and morning broadcasts before being reorganized through Nexstar's shared-newsroom model.

• Local morning television · 2013

  Good Day Arkansas

  A locally produced morning news program introduced during the 2013 consolidation of KLRT's news operation with KARK-TV and related Little Rock stations.

• Digital multicast television · 2016

  Ion Mystery

  A multicast entertainment service carried by KLRT since 2016 through a group-level arrangement involving Mission, Nexstar and Katz Broadcasting.

• Broadcast transmission · 2002

  KLRT digital television service

  KLRT's digital over-the-air service, launched in 2002 on UHF channel 30 and retaining virtual channel 16 after analog broadcasting ended in 2009.

• 1990

  MMC Television lawsuit over the Fox affiliation dispute

  After Fox moved permanently from KASN to KLRT, MMC Television sued Little Rock Communications Associates in federal court. MMC alleged civil conspiracy, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and fraud related to the failed proposed asset transaction. KLRT's ownership disputed the allegations and asserted that MMC had misrepresented its conduct and concealed KASN's financial difficulties. The available reference does not specify the final disposition.

  Source

Read more

• Community-service partnership with Storer Cable

  Little Rock · Central Arkansas

  During the late 1980s, KLRT worked with Storer Cable's Little Rock system on occasional free previews of cable programming and on community-service projects.

  Outcome. The partnership provided promotional and community programming while KLRT was operating as an independent station.

  Source

• 2021

  Participation in ATSC 3.0 deploymentProduct launch

  Background

  Little Rock broadcasters began deploying the ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV standard through a market-wide cooperative arrangement.

  Action taken

  KLRT joined the deployment and carried two KARZ-TV subchannels while KARZ transmitted KLRT's service in ATSC 3.0.

  Aftermath

  KLRT became part of the market's emerging next-generation over-the-air television infrastructure.

  Source

• 2013

  Consolidation of KLRT's operations with Nexstar's Little Rock stationsStrategy

  Background

  Nexstar already owned KARK-TV and KARZ-TV when it acquired the Newport television assets that included KLRT and KASN.

  Action taken

  KLRT and KASN were transferred to Mission Broadcasting, Nexstar assumed management through an LMA, and the stations moved into the Victory Building with KARK and KARZ.

  Aftermath

  News and management functions were consolidated, numerous employees were dismissed, and KLRT's newscast schedule was reorganized.

  Source

• 2003

  Build-out of a dedicated news departmentStrategy

  Background

  KLRT had previously relied mainly on brief news and weather updates and lacked a full local news operation.

  Action taken

  The station hired a news director, renovated its facility and prepared a full evening newscast.

  Aftermath

  Fox 16 News at Nine launched in March 2004 and later expanded to additional time slots.

  Source

• 1989

  Temporary Fox affiliation switchOther

  Background

  KLRT and KASN were discussing a transaction involving channel-38 assets and Fox programming.

  Action taken

  Fox programming moved to KLRT for a short period, but the proposed transaction fell through and Fox returned to KASN under a separate arrangement.

  Aftermath

  Fox moved permanently to KLRT in April 1990, while MMC Television initiated litigation over the failed deal.

  Source

1. 1KLRT-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KLRT-TV official websitefox16.com