In 1996, World Broadcasting, Incorporated, a subsidiary of the Omaha World-Herald newspaper, applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking approval to build a station on channel 51 in Lincoln.

In the case of channel 51, World Broadcasting was competing with Anthony J. Fant, who at the same time was in the process of selling the Nebraska Television Network (NTV) to Pappas.

[3] By 1999, the field of applicants for channel 51 had grown to five with David M. Comisar, Prime Broadcasting Company, and Lincoln 51 LLC filing proposals.

[5] World then intended to transfer the license to CFM Communications, a company owned by Carol Miller which would contract with Pappas for construction, sales, and programming services.

The FCC initially approved the deal in 2005, over the objections of Gray Television (owner of the region's CBS affiliate, KOLN/KGIN) as to CFM's reliance on Pappas.

[9] Because it was granted an original construction permit after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997,[12] the station did not receive a companion digital channel.

[14] Steve Harry, general manager of NTV/KFXL, stated that the move was made to increase viewership of his station due to most viewers in Lincoln choosing KXVO, which Time Warner Cable had continued to carry, for CW programming.

[19] On June 9, 2010,[20] KFXL-TV was purchased from the World-Herald by T. Stanley Trapp of Visalia, California, in a $300,000 deal first reached in December 2006 but not approved until March 30, 2010.

[25] In August 2015, the liquidating trust for Pappas announced that it was soliciting bids for a bankruptcy auction of the company's central Nebraska stations, which took place October 27, 2015.

[26] Of the four companies that participated in the auction, Sinclair Broadcast Group emerged as the winning bidder and announced on November 4, 2015, that it had agreed to purchase NTV and KFXL for $31.25 million.