KHQA-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-States area of Western Illinois, Northeastern Missouri, and extreme Southeastern Iowa. It is licensed to Hannibal, Missouri. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter northeast of Quincy, Illinois on Cannonball Road near I-172. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station has studios on South 36th Street in Quincy. Syndicated programming on KHQA includes: Wheel of Fortune, Oprah, The Dr. Oz Show, Ellen, and Jeopardy!.
| |
| Hannibal, Missouri / Quincy, Illinois /Keokuk, Iowa | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Hannibal |
| Branding | KHQA-TV 7 (general)
KHQA-TV 7 News KHQA ABC 7.2 (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Because Accuracy Matters |
| Channels | Digital: 7 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | 7.1 CBS7.2 ABC (primary)
America One (secondary) |
| Owner | Barrington Broadcasting
(Barrington Quincy License, LLC) |
| First air date | September 23, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | Keokuk HannibalQuincy Area |
| Sister station(s) | KTVO, KYOU-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog:
7 (VHF, 1953-2009) Digital: 29 (UHF, 1995-2009) |
| Former affiliations | DuMont (1953-1955)ABC (1960-1969)
UPN (1995-2006) all secondary |
| Transmitter power | 13.6 kW |
| Height | 271 m |
| Facility ID | 4690 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°58′25.4″N 91°19′50.1″W / 39.973722°N 91.330583°W / 39.973722; -91.330583 |
| Website | connecttristates.com |
Digital programming[]
Its signal is multiplexed. On KHQA-DT2 is the area's ABC affiliate. Known on-air as KHQA ABC 7.2, it can also be seen in Quincy on Comcast channel 3 and in high definition on digital channel 380. The channel is currently not offered on US Cable in Hannibal or Mediacom in Keokuk, Iowa. Outside of ABC programming, KHQA-DT2 airs shows from America One as a secondary affiliate.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 3.1 | main KHQA programming / CBS HD |
| 3.2 | KHQA-DT2 ABC / America One |
History[]
KHQA went on-the-air September 23, 1953. Although licensed to Hannibal, its studios have long been located across the Mississippi River in Quincy. It has always been a CBS affiliate although it had a secondary affiliation with DuMont between 1953 and 1956. The station shared secondary ABC affiliation with WGEM-TV in the 1960s. KHQA also aired a number of UPN programs during late-night hours between 1995 and 2006. The station was originally owned by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa along with the Hannibal Courier-Post. Lee sold the Courier-Post in 1969, but held onto KHQA until December 1986 when the company sold the station to A. Richard Benedek whose television holdings eventually became Benedek Broadcasting.
Benedek merged with Gray Television in 2002, but KHQA was not part of the merger. It was sold to Chelsey Broadcasting. KHQA and WHOI in Peoria became the first two stations owned by the newly-formed Barrington Broadcasting in April 2004. In early-1998, KHQA left its longtime home in the Western Catholic Union building in Downtown Quincy. The station moved into a new state-of-the-art facility located on South 36th Street. On August 28, 2007, KHQA announced that a new second digital subchannel would begin carrying ABC for the Tri-States. This was launched on September 30.
Before KHQA-DT2 started, sister station KTVO in Kirksville, Missouri had served as the default analog ABC affiliate for the area. That station remains on cable systems even after the addition of the ABC subchanel. KTVO launched a CBS-affiliated second digital subchannel on May 15, 2010 effectively marking the network's return to that station after a 36 year absence. Like KHQA-DT2, KTVO-DT2 airs America One programming outside of primary network affiliation. KHQA-DT2 simulcasts the weekday morning show and weeknight 6 o'clock broadcast from the main channel.
News team[]
Anchors
- Sarah Deien - weekday mornings
- Rajah Maples - weeknights at 6 & 10 and "Get Fit, Get Healthy" segment producer
- reporter and weekday morning producer
- TBD - weeknights at 5
- Carol Sowers - News Director seen weeknights at 6 and 10
- Chad Douglas - weekday mornings
- reporter
- TBD - weekends
7 Storm Team
- Landon Mitchell - Chief seen weeknights
- Tegan Orpet - weekday mornings and reporter
- Melissa Shriver - weekends and reporter
Sports
- Chris Duerr - Director seen weeknights at 6 and 10
- Overtime host and "Student Athletes of the Week" segment producer
- Joe Murano - weekends and sports reporter
Reporters
- Jim Whitfield - Assignment Editor and "Crimewatch 7" segment producer
- fill-in weather
- Jim Robesky - producer and webcast
- Jarod Wells - producer and fill-in weather
- Stephen Johnson
Former on-air staff[]
- Rick Albin - weeknight news anchor at 6 and 10
- now at WOOD-TV
- Justen Arnold - weekend weather
- Hal Barton - former St. Louis Cardinals prospect
- Faith Feagans - weekday morning weather
- Larry Grubb
- Ron Heller - News Director and news anchor
- Audrey Hoenig
- Amy Holm
- Alexis Hunt - weekend news anchor
- Mark Kulda
- Don Nicholson - former Quincy Mayor and friend of Otis Campbell
- Rick Thurtle
Newscast titles[]
- KHQA-TV News (1953-1962)
- The Big News (1962-1967)
- TV 7 News (1967-1978)
- KHQA News / Channel 7 News (1978-1983)
- Eyewitness News (1983-1997)
- KHQA-TV 7 News (1997-present)
Station slogans[]
- "We've Got the Touch" (1983-1986, localized versions of CBS ad campaigns)
- "Share the Spirit" (1986-1987, localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- "People Make the Difference" (1987-1995)
- "People You Can Count On" (1995-2007)
- "Because Accuracy Matters" (2007-present)