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KNWA-TV
KNWA-TV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Rogers, Arkansas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate KFSM-TV (channel 5), Fox affiliate KFTA-TV (channel 24), and MyNetworkTV affiliate KXNW (channel 34). KNWA-TV, KFTA-TV and KXNW share studios on Dickson Street in downtown Fayetteville. KNWA-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Garfield, Arkansas; its programming is also broadcast from KFTA-TV's transmitter south of Artist Point as one of its subchannels and vice versa.
Channel 51 began broadcasting as KFAA on August 23, 1989. It served as a satellite station of channel 24, then KPOM-TV, owned by Griffin TV. The addition of channel 51 resolved a coverage shortfall for KPOM-TV in fast-growing, affluent Northwest Arkansas that had hindered its competitive position. The two stations carried the same NBC programming and local news, though they had separate advertisements and promotions; KFAA had its own studios in Rogers and eventually originated Northwest Arkansas news inserts for the shared newscasts. The expanded coverage did not improve channel 24/51's news ratings, which had long been in third place, and Griffin discontinued the news department in 1992. Northwest Arkansas's growth in the 1990s made it possible for Griffin to restore a newscast in 2000. As part of the effort, Griffin built new studios in the Campbell-Bell building in downtown Fayetteville.
When Nexstar assumed control of KPOM–KFAA in 2004, it reoriented the news department to primarily serve Northwest Arkansas, changing the stations' call signs to KFTA-TV and KNWA-TV, respectively; moving station operations from Fort Smith to Fayetteville; and reallocating news resources to focus on the Fayetteville area. In 2006, Nexstar split the signals of the two stations, with Fox programming on KFTA, NBC on KNWA, and both services broadcast market-wide as digital subchannels. Even though the stations had separate programming, they were considered one program service by the Federal Communications Commission as a legacy of their prior configuration, enabling Nexstar to own KXNW.
On March 20, 2026, it was announced that KNWA would be sold as part of Nexstar's acquisition of Tegna, owner of KFSM-TV.
Channel 51 was allocated to Rogers, Arkansas, in 1984. The only application for the channel came from MCC Communications, a company owned by John McCutcheon, which was granted the permit in 1985. McCutcheon struggled to find financing to construct the station as a standalone operation, and in February 1986, Griffin TV agreed to acquire the permit to serve as a semi-satellite of KPOM-TV (channel 24), the NBC affiliate in Fort Smith, for Northwest Arkansas. KPOM-TV's penetration of the area—rapidly growing and affluent—was poor.
Over an objection from KSNF-TV in Joplin, Missouri, which claimed the combination would have excessive overlap and signal loss issues, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the transfer in December 1988. KFAA began broadcasting on August 23, 1989, and the station's newscasts were retitled Newsline 24/51. The 12-person Fayetteville bureau was replaced with a partially separate, 25- to 30-person operation in Rogers, and the station began presenting its newscasts in a dual-city format with an anchor in both cities, an approach already used by channels 40/29. Except for Mike Nail, the Fayetteville-based sports director who doubled as the voice of Arkansas Razorbacks athletics, most of the on-air news staff turned over.
One thing that did not change was that KPOM–KFAA rated third in the full market, often by distant margins compared to KFSM and KHBS/KHOG. However, its ratings status was higher in Benton County, the county containing Rogers, which was reassigned to the Fort Smith–Fayetteville market from Joplin, Missouri, in 1989. In 1991, Griffin agreed to sell KPOM–KFAA to Newark Broadcasting; it had been attempting to sell the pair since late 1989. In anticipation of the move, the station relaunched its newscasts as Eyewitness News in September. The new format included a split segment of news for Northwest Arkansas viewers, though most of the program still originated from Fort Smith. Citing a lack of demand for their news product, Griffin shuttered the KPOM–KFAA news operation effective June 12, 1992, resulting in the dismissal of 22 employees in Fort Smith and Rogers.
A proposed transfer of KPOM and KFAA to Northwest Arkansas Broadcasting was filed with the FCC in September 1992. The buyer's owners were beneficiaries of the Robert Hernreich family trust; Robert was the son of George Hernreich, primary owner of KHBS/KHOG. The New York Times Company objected, believing this created an ownership complication that gave the Hernreichs a then-illegal duopoly and control over both stations. The application was never acted on by the FCC and was withdrawn in March 1993.
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KNWA-TV
KNWA-TV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Rogers, Arkansas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate KFSM-TV (channel 5), Fox affiliate KFTA-TV (channel 24), and MyNetworkTV affiliate KXNW (channel 34). KNWA-TV, KFTA-TV and KXNW share studios on Dickson Street in downtown Fayetteville. KNWA-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Garfield, Arkansas; its programming is also broadcast from KFTA-TV's transmitter south of Artist Point as one of its subchannels and vice versa.
Channel 51 began broadcasting as KFAA on August 23, 1989. It served as a satellite station of channel 24, then KPOM-TV, owned by Griffin TV. The addition of channel 51 resolved a coverage shortfall for KPOM-TV in fast-growing, affluent Northwest Arkansas that had hindered its competitive position. The two stations carried the same NBC programming and local news, though they had separate advertisements and promotions; KFAA had its own studios in Rogers and eventually originated Northwest Arkansas news inserts for the shared newscasts. The expanded coverage did not improve channel 24/51's news ratings, which had long been in third place, and Griffin discontinued the news department in 1992. Northwest Arkansas's growth in the 1990s made it possible for Griffin to restore a newscast in 2000. As part of the effort, Griffin built new studios in the Campbell-Bell building in downtown Fayetteville.
When Nexstar assumed control of KPOM–KFAA in 2004, it reoriented the news department to primarily serve Northwest Arkansas, changing the stations' call signs to KFTA-TV and KNWA-TV, respectively; moving station operations from Fort Smith to Fayetteville; and reallocating news resources to focus on the Fayetteville area. In 2006, Nexstar split the signals of the two stations, with Fox programming on KFTA, NBC on KNWA, and both services broadcast market-wide as digital subchannels. Even though the stations had separate programming, they were considered one program service by the Federal Communications Commission as a legacy of their prior configuration, enabling Nexstar to own KXNW.
On March 20, 2026, it was announced that KNWA would be sold as part of Nexstar's acquisition of Tegna, owner of KFSM-TV.
Channel 51 was allocated to Rogers, Arkansas, in 1984. The only application for the channel came from MCC Communications, a company owned by John McCutcheon, which was granted the permit in 1985. McCutcheon struggled to find financing to construct the station as a standalone operation, and in February 1986, Griffin TV agreed to acquire the permit to serve as a semi-satellite of KPOM-TV (channel 24), the NBC affiliate in Fort Smith, for Northwest Arkansas. KPOM-TV's penetration of the area—rapidly growing and affluent—was poor.
Over an objection from KSNF-TV in Joplin, Missouri, which claimed the combination would have excessive overlap and signal loss issues, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the transfer in December 1988. KFAA began broadcasting on August 23, 1989, and the station's newscasts were retitled Newsline 24/51. The 12-person Fayetteville bureau was replaced with a partially separate, 25- to 30-person operation in Rogers, and the station began presenting its newscasts in a dual-city format with an anchor in both cities, an approach already used by channels 40/29. Except for Mike Nail, the Fayetteville-based sports director who doubled as the voice of Arkansas Razorbacks athletics, most of the on-air news staff turned over.
One thing that did not change was that KPOM–KFAA rated third in the full market, often by distant margins compared to KFSM and KHBS/KHOG. However, its ratings status was higher in Benton County, the county containing Rogers, which was reassigned to the Fort Smith–Fayetteville market from Joplin, Missouri, in 1989. In 1991, Griffin agreed to sell KPOM–KFAA to Newark Broadcasting; it had been attempting to sell the pair since late 1989. In anticipation of the move, the station relaunched its newscasts as Eyewitness News in September. The new format included a split segment of news for Northwest Arkansas viewers, though most of the program still originated from Fort Smith. Citing a lack of demand for their news product, Griffin shuttered the KPOM–KFAA news operation effective June 12, 1992, resulting in the dismissal of 22 employees in Fort Smith and Rogers.
A proposed transfer of KPOM and KFAA to Northwest Arkansas Broadcasting was filed with the FCC in September 1992. The buyer's owners were beneficiaries of the Robert Hernreich family trust; Robert was the son of George Hernreich, primary owner of KHBS/KHOG. The New York Times Company objected, believing this created an ownership complication that gave the Hernreichs a then-illegal duopoly and control over both stations. The application was never acted on by the FCC and was withdrawn in March 1993.