Nexstar’s KCLO/15 (Rapid City) has announced plans to continue simulcasting newscasts from sister station KELO-TV/11 (Sioux Falls) after KCLO switches from CBS to the CW on Aug. 1.
As previously reported, KCLO is one of a half-dozen Nexstar stations that did not renew with CBS. KELO-TV will remain the CBS station for eastern South Dakota while the CBS affiliation in western South Dakota moves to Forum’s KNBN/21.2 (Rapid City).
KCLO has long served as a semi-satellite of KELO-TV and did not air its own newscasts. Instead, KCLO has a news bureau providing reports for the statewide “KELOLAND News” broadcasts.
A video announcement indicates the local staff in Rapid City will remain the same and the station plans to air more local programming, including parades and football games, and expand weather coverage.
According to updated program listings, KCLO’s new lineup will continue to include simulcasts of KELO-TV’s local news and lifestyle programming. The schedule also adds a two-hour repeat of the morning newscast from 6 to 8 a.m. Mountain time as well as a 90-minute midday block of “KELOLAND Inside the Newsroom” and “KELOLAND Weather or Not.” All told, KCLO will air ten hours of “KELOLAND” content each weekday.
The rest of the new KCLO schedule includes CW’s two-hour prime-time block from 7 to 9 p.m., syndicated programming including “Family Feud” and “Entertainment Tonight,” and reruns.
The station’s announcement also indicates KELO-TV’s “KELOXTRA” subchannel will be added on KCLO/15.2, which had previously been the CW affiliate. “KELOXTRA” carries the MyNetworkTV prime-time block in Sioux Falls but it’s not immediately clear if KCLO-DT2 will also air MNT as program listings for the channel have not yet been updated.
Meanwhile, the Black Hills’ CBS affiliation is moving to Forum’s KNBN/21.2 (Rapid City), which will continue to carry NBC on channel 21.1. The station announced that its existing “NewsCenter1” newscasts will simulcast on both the NBC and CBS channels from 5:30 to 7 a.m., 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and at 10 p.m.
KNBN-DT2 had previously been the MyNetworkTV station in the Rapid City market.
Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Media Group. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.