KSPR originally signed on-the-air March 9, 1983 as Springfield's first independent station. However in 1986, ABC dropped its affiliation with KDEB-TV (now KSFX-TV) and gave it to KSPR. On September 21, 2006, Piedmont Television announced that it would sell KSPR to Perkin Media, LLC. Under the agreement, Schurz Communications took over KSPR's operations under a shared services agreement. It remained at its studios on East Saint Louis Street in Springfield. Perkin Media took over ownership of the station on August 28, 2007.