KHBS

Channel 40 began as KFPW-TV on July 28, 1971. It was owned by local businessman Bob Hernreich along with KFPW radio (1230 AM). The station was a primary CBS affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. Before channel 40's arrival, all three networks had been shoehorned on primary NBC affiliate KFSA-TV (channel 5, now CBS affiliate KFSM-TV).

KFPW-TV found the going difficult against channel 5 largely because of the difficulties experienced by UHF stations operating in rugged terrain. Most seriously, it was all but unviewable in Fayetteville and the surrounding area—a problem exacerbated by its transmitter being located in Oklahoma. Many viewers in the northern part of the market watched CBS on KTVJ in Joplin, Missouri (now NBC affiliate KSNF).

To solve this problem, on December 8, 1977, KTVP channel 29 in Fayetteville signed on as a satellite station of KFPW. It was Fayetteville's second attempt at a commercial television station—in fact, on the same license—after KGTO-TV. That station aired NBC (primary) and CBS programming in the area on channel 36 from February 8, 1969 to December 23, 1973.[3] The two stations became full-time ABC affiliates in 1978 after KLMN-TV (channel 24, now KFTA-TV) signed on and took the CBS affiliation.

In 1983, the Hernreich family sold off its radio stations, KFPW and KXXI-FM. The Hernreichs changed channel 40's call letters to KHBS on March 21. Two years later, in 1985, Bob Hernreich bought a stake in Sigma Broadcasting (becoming its chairman and CEO in 1989), merging KHBS and KTVP into Sigma. On September 1, 1987, KTVP became KHOG-TV. Argyle Television bought the stations in 1996. A year later, Argyle merged with Hearst. In October 2007, KHBS and KHOG-TV moved their operations to new, state of the art studios in Rogers.

KHBS/KHOG currently broadcasts the complete ABC network schedule, although it does not clear the ABC News Brief that airs during ABC Daytime programming in order to run additional local advertising. The station airs the Litton's Weekend Adventure block on a one-hour delay from its "live feed" due to the third hour of its Saturday morning newscast, although midday college football games carried by ABC during the fall may subject Weekend Adventure programs normally aired on Saturdays in the 11:00 a.m. hour to be deferred to Sunday mornings to fulfill educational programming obligations. Syndicated programs broadcast by KHBS/KHOG as of September 2019 include Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Dr. Oz Show, Tamron Hall, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Modern Family.[13]

The station may preempt some ABC programs in order to air long-form breaking news or severe weather coverage, or occasional specials produced by KHBS/KHOG's news department. However, Power Rangers, which was part of the now-defunct ABC Kids block until August 28, 2010, was preempted by the station, and most of the other Hearst-owned ABC affiliates of the time, for lacking E/I content. As well, in 2004, KHBS and the other Hearst-owned ABC affiliates ran Far and Away instead of an unedited broadcast of Saving Private Ryan.[14]

ABC shows preempted or otherwise interrupted by such content may either be rebroadcast on tape delay over KHBS/KHOG's main channel in place of regular overnight programs or diverted to its DT3 subchannel in place of MeTV programming. Station personnel also gives viewers who subscribe to AT&T U-verse, DirecTV, Dish Network and other pay television providers within the KHBS/KHOG viewing area that do not carry its DT3 feed the option of watching the affected shows on ABC's desktop and mobile streaming platforms or its cable/satellite video-on-demand service the day after their initial airing.

As of September 2017, KHBS/KHOG presently broadcasts 32½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays, and 3½ hours on Sundays). In addition, the station produces 9½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week for its CW-affiliated DT2 subchannel (with 1½ hours on weekdays, and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station may also simulcast long-form severe weather coverage on KHBS-DT2/KHOG-DT2 in the event that a tornado warning is issued for any county in its viewing area within northwest Arkansas and east-central Oklahoma.

Craig Cannon has been the station's main anchorman since 1983—a post he has held despite a long battle with Bell's palsy. On April 18, 2011, KHBS/KHOG expanded its weekday morning newscast 40/29 News Sunrise, to 2½ hours from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m., becoming one of the smallest stations in terms of market size to extend its morning newscast to a 4:30 a.m. start time.[15] On September 13, 2011, the stations became the first in the Fort Smith–Fayetteville television market to begin broadcasting its newscasts in 16:9 widescreen standard definition. The station is currently broadcast in full 1080i high definition.

On August 20, 2012, KHBS/KHOG debuted a half-hour prime time newscast at 9:00 p.m. for its DT2 subchannel, titled 40/29 News at 9:00 on The CW Arkansas. The nightly program – which airs in place of syndicated programs shown on The CW Plus's national feed during that slot – competes against two existing nightly prime time newscasts on other area stations; its strongest competition is an hour-long 9:00 p.m. newscast produced by KNWA for its sister station KFTA-TV (channel 24), which has been the leader in the time period since it launched upon Channel 24's conversion from a full-time KNWA satellite into a separately programmed Fox affiliate on August 31, 2006; it also competes against a half-hour newscast on KXNW (channel 34) that CBS affiliate KFSM-TV began producing for its MyNetworkTV-affiliated sister since March 12, 2012.[16]

Additional news expansion on "The CW Arkansas" took place on September 6, 2016, when KHBS/KHOG began producing a half-hour 7:00 a.m. extension of its weekday morning newscast for the subchannel, under the title 40/29 News Sunrise on The CW Arkansas. In addition to airing opposite Good Morning America on KHBS/KHOG, the program competes against the first half-hour of KFTA's two-hour newscast, which has been the ratings leader in the time slot since the program launched upon that station's switch to Fox, and an hour-long extension of KFSM's morning newscast for sister station KXNW. The program features the same team that anchors 40/29 News Sunrise (initially consisting of anchors Daniel Armbruster and Yuna Lee, meteorologist Laura Huckabee and traffic reporter Allison Wise). The newscast expanded to a full hour on September 11, 2017.[17][18] The following year, on September 23, 2017, the station began producing a half-hour Saturday and Sunday edition of its 5:00 p.m. newscast for KHBS-DT2/KHOG-DT2.[19][20]

• www.4029tv.com - KHBS-KHOG official website
• www.thearkansascwcrew.com - KHBS-DT2/KHOG-DT2 ("The Arkansas CW") official website
• www.metvfortsmith.com - KHBS-DT3/KHOG-DT3 ("MeTV Arkansas") official website
• KHBS in the FCC's TV station database
• KHOG-TV in the FCC's TV station database