Founded as KFEQ-TV in 1953, KQTV came into being as the sister station to KFEQ radio in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was the only major network affiliate in the city for 59 years. The station changed its call sign to KQTV in 1969 when it separated from KFEQ radio, retaining the nickname "The Q" from its earlier branding, and has changed ownership multiple times since, with Heartland Media acquiring it in 2017 from Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Today, KQTV operates under Heartland Media in a shared services agreement with the News Press and Gazette Company, combining newsrooms to expand local coverage from their headquarters at 4000 Faraon Street in St. Joseph. KQTV is mainly focused on local northwest Missouri news, weather, sports, and community coverage, reaching over 100,000 households across 32 counties spanning Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. One interesting fact that might surprise people is that for nearly six decades, KQTV had no local television competition in St. Joseph, commanding 87 percent of the market's television revenue as recently as 2012 before new local affiliates finally entered the market.