KCNC-TV

It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios on Lincoln Street (between East 10th and 11th Avenues) in downtown Denver; its transmitter is based on Lookout Mountain, near Golden.[2] Founded by Metropolitan TV Company (partly owned by famed comedian Bob Hope, and not to be confused with a similarly named company later known as Metromedia),[3] owners of KOA radio (850 AM and 103.5 FM, now KRFX), channel 4 immediately assumed the NBC affiliation from KBTV (channel 9, now KUSA), due to KOA radio's longtime affiliation with and ownership by the NBC Red Network.In 1986, General Electric acquired NBC, resulting in GE's return to broadcasting and KCNC becoming the first owned-and-operated station of a major network in the state of Colorado.(Gannett had already owned several NBC affiliates at the time, as is the case in the present day with successor company Tegna Inc.) Under the terms of the CBS/Westinghouse deal, CBS a sold controlling ownership interest (55%) in KCNC to Westinghouse's broadcasting division Group W. The previous month on August 1, Westinghouse had acquired CBS for $5.4 billion; once the merger was finalized on November 24, 1995, KCNC-TV became a CBS-owned-and-operated station, making it one of a handful of television stations that have been owned by two different networks at separate points in its history.[9] As of 2025[update], KCNC, along with CW outlet KWGN-TV (through its owner Nexstar Media Group) are the only television stations in the Denver market that are owned-and-operated stations of one of the five major English language broadcast networks (concurrent to the CBS-Westinghouse merger, Fox had acquired KDVR (channel 31), which it would eventually sell to Local TV in 2008; it is now owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside KWGN-TV).On the evening of June 18, 1984, Alan Berg—an attorney who hosted programs on both KOA radio and KOA-TV and was known for taking a largely liberal stand on issues, using an abrasive and combative demeanor to callers and guests with opposing views at times—was shot and killed in the driveway of his home by members of a White Nationalist group called The Order.In 2003, Molly Hughes and Bill Stuart served as KCNC's primary evening news team for its 10 p.m. newscast, with Brian Maass and Rick Sallinger as reporters.On April 21, 2008, Karen Leigh (who previously worked at Minneapolis sister station WCCO-TV) replaced Molly Hughes as co-anchor of the weeknight newscasts.[26] As part of the SAFER Act,[27] KCNC kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.