KLKN
KLKN, channel 8, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by Citadel Communications (not related to the defunct radio station operator Citadel Broadcasting). Studios are located south of downtown Lincoln, while its transmitter is located in Utica, Nebraska.
History
Channel 8 was originally licensed to Albion, Nebraska, and began broadcasting December 3, 1964 as KHQL-TV, a satellite of KHOL-TV (now KHGI-TV) in Kearney and the Nebraska Television Network (NTN, later known as NTV) owned by Bi-States Company. The station served as the ABC affiliate for much of the Nebraska side of the Sioux City market. NTV Enterprises acquired the NTV stations in 1974; on June 4, the station's call letters were changed to KCNA-TV (for the largest towns in its service area, Columbus, Norfolk, and Albion).
Joseph Amaturo bought the NTV stations in 1979 in a deal funded by the sale of KQTV in St. Joseph, Missouri. Amaturo split KCNA from NTV on November 1, 1983 and relaunched it as Nebraska's first independent station, KBGT-TV (Big 8—named for the Big Eight Conference, of which the Nebraska Cornhuskers were a member). KBGT's programming during this time included movies, syndicated programming, newscasts (both locally produced and from CNN Headline News), and sports; it also operated 24/7, a rarity for small-market stations at that time. However, there weren't nearly enough viewers for an independent station to be viable. By 1986, massive financial losses compelled Amaturo to sell the station. Citadel Communications then acquired KBGT and turned it into a satellite of co-owned Sioux City ABC affiliate KCAU-TV; in January 1987, the call letters were changed to KCAN.