The NBC affiliate, WNKY 40, is under new ownership and working to develop its reputation in the community. The goal is to become part of this community, said John Trinder, president and chief operating officer of Max Media, the Virginia Beach, Va.-based owner of WNKY. Its very important for everyday viewers that we are the NBC station. And for the local business people, we hope to provide a source to advertise for the good of local business. The market for television in Bowling Green is expanding, and the ability to build upon the services of the previous station made it a prime candidate for the $7 million purchase in March, Trinder said. When you look at it as a broadcasting market, it is very beautiful, he said. Two advertising stations for the local merchants are very attractive. Trinder and Edwin Groves, the Bowling Green president and general manager, discussed their future plans for the locally controlled NBC affiliate during a recent visit. Their first order of business entails finding a new location for the television station. Currently, employees work in two places, in an inherited downtown office and Smiths Grove under the broadcast tower. Ive tried to tell everybody I could that we were looking, Groves said. The new facility will require more employees. Since the stations purchase, Max Media added five full-time employees, bringing the number to 19. Three also work part time. If plans go ahead as scheduled, the station will add another 10 jobs. One step taken care of is adhering to Federal Communication Commission regulations to broadcast the signal in High Definition Television. They noted that WBKO and Western Kentucky University are broadcasting using the new bandwidth. The biggest step ahead is making the station known as the NBC of Bowling Green by spending money on promotion and bringing in new shows. Beyond existing NBC programming, including the upcoming Summer Olympics in Athens, the Daytona 500, the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown, the station will add Dr. Phil, and a show they describe as similar to Oprah run by former Today show host Jane Pauley. The channel also plans to provide news service in the future. We do it at most of the stations we own, so eventually, yes, Trinder said. We realize ABC has a long tradition; they do an excellent job. One approach they might consider is differentiating NBCs local news service from ABCs so that there would be less direct competition between the new station and WBKO, though Trinder admits, you cant help being a competitor. The two men welcome the competition. I think its good we have to come up, Groves said. No one gets 100 percent of the viewers. Having local control is part of the stations approach to growing its share of Bowling Greens market, ranked 180th in the country. Groves describes Max Media as one without corporate bureaucracy. Ninety percent of the decisions are made on site, 10 percent I can get him on the phone, he said. That flexibility allowed NBC to air two Western Kentucky University football games this season, because Groves had Trinders trust.