IOWA:
One of Des Moines' four Country stations has changed frequency and rebranded. What was "96.5 Country" (K243CA Millman) is now "96.9 The Bull, Des Moines' New Country" (K245CO), with an upgrade from 102 to 250 Watts in the process. The format originates on the HD2 signal of iHeartMedia's KDRB/100.3 (Des Moines). "The Bull" competes with Cumulus Media's heritage full-power outlets "92.5 Nash Icon" (KJJY) and "97.3 Nash FM" (KHKI), along with Saga Broadcasting's HD2-translator outlet "93.7 The Outlaw." Regular readers may recall that iHeartMedia had originally applied to move a translator from Iowa City to Des Moines on 96.9 to relay an AM station, but the application was dismissed when the underlying permit expired. iHeartRadio then applied for the K243CA move. (1/30/2017)
IOWA:
SagamoreHill Broadcasting is buying the construction permit for KGLU-LD/17 (Ottumwa) from DTV America for $71,000. SagamoreHill does not have any existing stations in the Kirksville-Ottumwa market, nor do any of the companies SagamoreHill partners with in other markets. (1/29/2017)
NEBRASKA:
New Bott Radio Network station KCVG/89.9 (Hastings-Grand Island) is on the air. The station transmits with 16kW/99m (class C3) from a tower south of Grand Island. It may appear to be a new station to many listeners in the area, but it's actually the license of Hastings College's former KFKX/90.1 (Hastings), which the college sold to Bott parent Community Broadcasting after the college ended its radio program earlier this year. Bott changed the callsign and frequency of the station, and moved it to a different tower site with more power. (1/29/2017)
WISCONSIN:
A new owner has announced plans to flip WRRD/1510 (Waukesha-Milwaukee) from ESPN Deportes to Liberal Talk. Mike Crute, co-host of the nationally-syndicated Devil's Advocates Radio, is buying the station from Good Karma Broadcasting, which has operated WRRD alongside ESPN affiliate WAUK/540 (Jackson-Milwaukee). Details of the sale are not yet available in the FCC's public database. According to a Facebook page created for the new format, "News/Talk 1510" will debut Feb. 1 with a lineup including Stephanie Miller from 8 to 11 a.m., Thom Hartmann from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., a Wisconsin-only version of Devil's Advocates Radio at 2, the national version of the Devil's Advocates from 3 to 5 p.m. The lineup also includes WestwoodOne newscasts and a three-hour show from Earl Ingram on Saturdays. Crute discussed his plans in a Citizen Action of Wisconsin podcast. The Devil's Advocates were previously heard on "92.1 The Mic" (WXXM Sun Prairie-Madison) until iHeartRadio dropped the format in November; WRRD's 23kW daytime signal has fringe coverage of Madison as well as the Fox Valley. The station is off the air at night, but its Facebook page says it will stream online 24/7. (1/27/2017)
WISCONSIN:
For the first time in the Upper Midwest, and possibly the first time nationally, the FCC has granted a market modification expanding a station's satellite coverage area. Distribution of the CBS and FOX channels from Gray TV's WSAW/7 (Wausau) will be extended north into Ashland and Iron Counties after the FCC granted a market modification under the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization (STELAR) Act of 2014. Gray argued that the counties, which are within the Duluth-Superior market, are "orphan counties" because the majority of the TV signals in the market are from Minnesota. The decision shows that counties can be declared "orphans" even if one of their market's major network affiliates (in this case, KBJR-TV Superior) is licensed in the same state. Two Duluth stations unsuccessfully argued against Gray's proposal, citing their own coverage of news, weather, and sports in the area. (Full disclosure: your reporter is employed at one of those stations, WDIO). Under the FCC decision, DISH Network will be required to offer WSAW throughout Ashland and Iron Counties; DirecTV will be required to offer the station in all of Iron County but only in the southern part of Ashland County after showing that its Wausau spotbeam could not adequately reach northern Ashland County. (1/27/2017)
MICHIGAN/NORTH DAKOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA/WISCONSIN:
In what's becoming a somewhat regular feature, here's a look at recently-launched digital TV subchannels:
WISCONSIN:
WMZK/104.1 (Merrill-Wausau) and WJMT/730 (Merrill) have gone silent following WRVM, Inc. closing on its deal to buy the stations from Quicksilver Broadcasting. According to a press release provided to RadioInsight, WMZK will join WRVM's non-commercial Christian teaching and preaching network, which originates on WRVM/102.7 (Suring). It's quite a change for WMZK, which has carried Rock formats as "Z104" for decades, except for a brief flip to Hot Adult Contemporary a few years ago. WMZK has quite a bit of signal overlap with WRVM's existing WHJL/88.1 (Merrill), though WMZK's signal is stronger to Wausau and WHJL is stronger in Rhinelander. Meanwhile, the press relase says WRVM, Inc. is flipping WJMT to Sunrise Broadcasting, which owns an existing AM-FM combo in the Wausau market. WJMT will continue its local information elements but switch its music from Classic Country to Oldies as "Bluejay 730" when it returns to the air later this week. (1/25/2017)
MINNESOTA:
The FM translator poised to relay the Oldies format of WDGY/740 (Hudson-St. Paul) has received permission for an upgrade. The FCC has granted W221BS/92.1 a construction permit to move its transmitter a few miles west to Wells Fargo Place in downtown St. Paul and upgrade from 55 to 80 Watts, which will allow the translator to deliver a good signal to all of St. Paul and some east metro suburbs, with fringe coverage of Minneapolis. With the move, W221BS will change its community of license from the non-existent "Waite" to St. Paul. (Since our last musing here about "Waite," a reader has pointed out that there is a neighborhood in the northeastern corner of Minneapolis named Waite Park that may be the source of the name "Waite.") As previously reported here, WDGY owner Greg Borgen is getting W221BS from the Educational Media Foundation in exchange for K288GR/105.5 (Bayport-Hudson), a deal which has received FCC approval. (1/23/2017)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
KWSD/36.1 (Sioux Falls) remains off the air, according to FCC filings. The station first went silent in December 2014 citing transmitter problems. It has briefly returned to the air a few times since then, meeting the requirements of a licensed station, but told the FCC in a December 2016 filing that it had again suspended operations due to equipment problems. KWSD had most recently carried MeTV but lost that affiliation to Gray TV's KSFY/13.3 (Sioux Falls). KWSD is owned by James F. Simpson's JF Broadcasting, a sister company to the licensee of the Rapid City NBC affiliate, and has also carried PAX, WB, and CW in its 16-year history. (1/23/2017)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Gray TV's KABY/9 (Aberdeen) has again gone silent after a very brief return to the air. The station, which relays sister ABC affiliate KSFY/13 (Sioux Falls), had first gone silent two years ago citing a need to demolish its longtime tower between Aberdeen and Watertown. Filings indicate it then returned to the air at full power for two weeks in January 2016, meeting the requirements of a licensed station, and again from Jan. 10 to Jan. 12 of this year using a temporary 340-Watt facility at its Aberdeen office. No explanation was given for the latest silence. KSFY is the only TV station with a news bureau in Aberdeen and most viewers in the area are can still receive the station via cable or satellite. The three other major network affiliates in the Sioux Falls market have translators in Aberdeen. (1/23/2017)
SPECTRUM AUCTION REACHES BALANCE:
It now appears TV broadcasters will be left with 35 channels after the FCC's spectrum auction reached balance in round four, leaving TV with seven more channels than it would have had if the auction had succeeded in the first round. TV Technology reports the magic moment happened Wednesday, Jan. 18, when the price wireless companies were willing to pay for the spectrum finally matched the price some broadcasters want to sell their spectrum, plus other expenses of station relocations. It appears channel 38 and up will be removed from the TV dial to free up 84 MHz of spectrum, leaving channels 2 to 36 for TV broadcasting (channel 37 has long been reserved for radio astronomy). Stations will still be able to remap to "virtual" channel numbers above 36. All remaining stations above RF channel 36 will have to be relocated to lower channels, and the remaining stations could also have to change channel as part of the national repack. It's not yet known which stations have agreed to sell their spectrum or move from UHF to VHF, since the process has been confidential. Stations that sell their spectrum will still have the option of retaining their license by sharing a channel with another broadcaster. (1/18/2017)
IOWA/SOUTH DAKOTA/WISCONSIN:
A half-dozen Upper Midwest TV stations officially changed hands Tuesday, Jan. 17, as Nexstar closed on its purchase of Media General, with several stations being spun off to comply with ownership caps. KELO-TV (CBS, Sioux Falls) and KCLO (CBS, Rapid City) are now owned by Nexstar; WBAY (ABC, Green Bay) and KWQC (NBC, Davenport) are now owned by Gray TV; and KIMT (CBS, Mason City) is now owned by Heartland Media. Nexstar was unable to keep WBAY and KWQC because it already owns other top-four stations in those cities, while KIMT was sold off to comply with national ownership caps as part of a five-station deal. (1/17/2017)
MINNESOTA:
KCUE/1250 (Red Wing) has signed on 250-Watt FM translator K255CZ/98.9, serving the Mississippi River valley southeast of the Twin Cities. KCUE runs Classic Country and is owned by Q Media Group, along with Classic Hits outlet "K-Wing 106" (KWNG/105.9 Red Wing) and stations in Lake City and Wabasha. K255CZ was formerly Refuge Radio translator K263AL/100.5 (Madison) and was moved across the state under the FCC's AM revitalization window. (1/16/2017)
IOWA:
Saga Broadcasting as signed on translator K271CO/102.1 (Des Moines), relaying ESPN Radio from KRNT/1350. The 99-Watt translator broadcasts from downtown Des Moines was moved south from Minnesota under the FCC's AM revitalization window. It's Saga's eight FM signal in the capital city, with a group now consisting of four full-power FM stations, four FM translators, and two AM stations. (1/15/2017)
NEBRASKA:
KNLV-FM/103.9 (Ord) has upgraded to 100kW/286m (class C1), expanding its coverage across an area of north-central Nebraska with few other FM signals. The station moved its transmitter to a site about 20 miles northwest of Ord, adding rimshot coverage of O'Neil and improving its signal to Broken Bow. KNLV-FM is owned by MWB Broadcasting II and carries a Country format that recently changed its name from "V103.9" to "King FM," according to its Facebook page. (1/10/2017)
MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
A number of new digital TV subchannels are launching in the Twin Cities and Wisconsin:
IOWA/NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN: (UPDATED)
CBS affiliate KCCI (Des Moines) and ABC affiliates WISN-TV (Milwaukee) and KETV (Omaha) have returned to DirecTV after a week-long retransmission consent dispute between Hearst Communications and DirecTV. The dispute affected dozens of Hearst stations nationwide beginning Jan. 1. Most mentions of the dispute, and its resolution, now seem to have been scrubbed from Hearst station websites. (1/1/2017, updated 1/9)
IOWA:
KMZN/740 (Oskaloosa) and its FM translator, K258BG/99.5, have dropped Sports in favor of Classic Hits. The Sports format had launched with the FM translator about two years ago; prior to that, 740 had simulcast the Country format of sister station KBOE-FM/104.9. 740's 229-Watt daytime signal has a wide coverage area across south-central and southeastern Iowa, but its 10-Watt nighttime signal is mostly limited to the Oskaloosa area. (1/8/2017)
MANITOBA:
Canadian regulators have given approval for a western Manitoba AM station to move its format to a major FM signal while keeping the AM transmitter on the air. The Country format of CKLQ/880 (Brandon) will move to 91.5 FM, assuming the 100kW facility of Native Communications Incorporated's CIWM-FM. NCI's station had already received approval to move to 107.5 and operate at lower power in a cost-saving effort. CKLQ is owned by Riding Mountain Broadcasting, which also owns CKLF-FM/94.7; the stations compete with Bell Media's two FM signals in Brandon, which include one Country format. Bell, Corus Entertainment, and Rogers Broadcasting (all three of which have stations in Winnipeg) objected to CKLQ's plans for an indefinite AM-FM simulcast. The CRTC found that the AM-FM simulcast is allowed because the 10kW AM signal will be considered a rebroadcasting transmitter rather than a separate license, similar to the conversion of three northern Manitoba stations several years ago. From an economic standpoint, profits in the market have been rising but Riding Mountain said CKLQ has generated a net loss, and the CRTC concluded that its conversion to FM would not have an undue economic impact on the market. (1/8/2017)
MINNESOTA:
The Twin Cities' "Go 96.3" has switched its callsign from KTWN-FM to KQGO, marking the third* time the KTWN callsign has departed the Twin Cities. FCC records indicate the change for the Edina-licensed station was effective Jan. 1. Northern Lights Broadcasting owns KQGO and "Go 95.3" (KZGO St. Paul), with Hip-Hop running on KZGO and Adult Alternative on KQGO. Trivia buffs will note that KQGO is the fourth station in the Twin Cities to start with KQ, joining KQRS/92.5, KQQL/107.9, and KQSP/1530. *A reader informs your reporter that the KTWN callsign had also been used on 1400 in the 1960's, prior to its use on 1470/107.9. (1/4/2017)
MINNESOTA:
VCY America has signed on new translator W259CV/99.7 (Duluth), relaying VCY's Christian programming from WQRM/850. The 250-Watt signal broadcasts from the Duluth antenna farm and was moved in from Wisconsin under the AM revitalization window. It's the sixth FM translator in Duluth, and its sign-on comes just a few weeks after Midwest Communications activated its two new translators in the city. (1/2/2017)
MINNESOTA:
Midwest Communications has made a few changes to start the new year on the Iron Range: First, its "Duke FM" Classic Country format is now running on KGPZ/96.1 (Coleraine-Hibbing). Midwest bought KGPZ, formerly mainstream Country outlet "Z96," from Red Rock Radio as part of a five-station deal. The new "Duke" format works in tandem with Midwest Country outlet "Radio USA" (WUSZ/99.9 Virginia-Hibbing). KGPZ has carried Country formats for its entire history, starting with the "Real Country" network in 1995.
Meanwhile, Midwest's WMFG-FM/106.3 (Hibbing) has dropped a syndicated Classic Hits format in favor of a rebroadcast of Classic Rocker KQDS-FM/94.9 (Duluth), which was also included in Midwest's five-station purchase from Red Rock. The KQDS-FM rebroadcast had previously been heard on the western Iron Range on KBAJ/105.5 (Deer River), which was sold to a separate buyer and continues a Classic Rock format under a different identity. Midwest divested its previous Iron Range Classic Rocker, KMFG/102.9 (Nashwauk), to comply with ownership caps (see earlier reports on changes at KBAJ and KMFG). WMFG-FM is adjacent on the dial to KAOD/106.7 (Babbitt), which relays KQ on the eastern Iron Range. (1/1/2017)
MINNESOTA:
KFGI/101.5 (Crosby-Brainerd) has moved to Classic Hits as "Skeeter 101-5," dropping the syndicated "Jack FM" Variety Hits format. The new playlist runs from the 1950's to 2000's and is quite broad, with Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" heard a few minutes apart on Saturday afternoon. The switch came sometime in December and follows R&J Broadcasting's purchase of KFGI, and five others in the Brainerd/Aitkin area, from Red Rock Radio. (1/1/2017)
MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
If you've lost track, there have been a total of ten format changes in recent months related to Red Rock Radio's selloff of stations in north-central and northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin:
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