A construction permit for operation on channel 17 in Grand Island was granted on February 27, 1986; on April 10, it was assigned the call letters KTVG. However, the station did not take to the air until April 2, 1993. Two months later, original owner Family Broadcasting Company agreed to sell KTVG to Hill Broadcasting; the sale was completed on July 14, 1993. That month, the station suspended operations due to flood damage, returning to the air that September. Early on, KTVG was an independent station with a limited schedule, at one point only operating from 3–11 p.m. and devoting much of its broadcast day to cartoons and old movies; by February 1994, it had expanded to a 7 a.m.–midnight schedule and had secured a deal to broadcast Kansas City Royals games in the market.