NORTH DAKOTA:
iHeartRadio's KBMR/1130 (Bismarck) is transmitting at reduced power after a Friday, May 25, fire at its transmitter site. No one was hurt. The station, which normally uses 10kW day and 24 Watts night, returned to the air Saturday at 400 Watts and then got up to 5kW on Wednesday. It also continues to stream its Classic Country format online. (5/30/2018)
NEBRASKA: (UPDATED)
Salem Media has announced plans to sell Contemporary Christian outlet "100.7 The Fish" (KGBI-FM Omaha) to the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. The sale price is $3.15 million, according to the asset purchase agreement filed with the FCC. UNWSP has also applied to convert KGBI-FM to non-commercial status. The deal will split KGBI from KCRO/660 and KOTK/1420 and their FM translators, which will remain owned by Salem. UNWSP operates a regional chain of non-commerical Contemporary Christian outlets, including stations in Kansas City, Des Moines, and Sioux Falls. Northwestern subsidiary UNW Media Holdings LLC is also in the process of buying KDSN AM-FM in Denison, Iowa, which is about 60 miles northeast of Omaha. (5/22/2018, updated with sale price 5/24)
IOWA/MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
FOX affiliate KXLT/47 (Rochester) and CW affiliate KDLH/3 (Duluth) are off DISH Network amid a dispute between the provider and station owner SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The outage began Monday evening. Each side is urging viewers to call the other site to complain. KXLT is operated by Quincy Media's KTTC (Rochester), while KDLH receives some services from Quincy's KBJR (Superior-Duluth). (KDLH is actually carried on DISH channel 11 as a result of the market's 2016 affiliation swap.) (5/22/2018)
MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Quincy Media is seeking FCC approval for a Duluth duopoly. Quincy currently owns NBC/CBS affliate KBJR/6 (Superior-Duluth) and would buy CW affiliate KDLH/3 (Duluth) from SagamoreHill Broadcasting for $792,577, subject to adjustment. KDLH has been located in KBJR's building since 2005, though KDLH's longtime CBS affiliation was moved to a KBJR subchannel in 2016 when a new agreement limited KBJR's ability to sell ads on KDLH. (The 2016 agreement was needed to comply with ownership rules in place when Quincy purchased KBJR.) Since KDLH's affiliation change, Quincy says KDLH's ratings have now fallen to fifth place in the market, allowing KBJR and KDLH to be co-owned. Documents filed with the FCC say the CW affiliation is included in the deal but provide no other clues about Quincy's plans for KDLH. (5/22/2018)
NEW FM TRANSLATORS GRANTED (5/1-5/16):
The FCC began granting construction permits for new FM translators from the most recent AM revitalization window this past week but stopped issuing permits Thursday after a group of low-power FM advocates filed an informal objection to (what appears to be) every pending application for a new FM translator nationwide. First, here are those that were granted:
The granting came to a halt after the Center for International Media Action, Common Frequency Inc., and Prometheus Radio Project filed an informal objection to about 1,000 pending applications nationwide (those marked with an asterisk above were granted despite having objections filed against them, apparently because they were being granted the same day the objection was filed.) The petitioners allege that the applicants are required under the Local Community Radio Act of 2011 to show that there would still be room on the band for LPFM stations, but failed to do so. Being a blanket objection, the filing hits all types of groups, including both commercial and non-commercial operators, large corporations and mom-and-pop broadcasters, major market and isolated small town stations, and a few Spanish-language stations. Most of the translators subject to the informal objection were filed during this year's AM Revitalization filing window, but a few are from last year's window and some are dormant applications from 2003 that are due to go up for auction next month. The FCC dismissed the objection as moot on Tuesday, May 22.
The full list of this year's applications is posted on the 2018 AM Revitalization Translator Applications page. (5/20/2018, updated 5/23)
MINNESOTA/ONTARIO:
Two would-be Thunder Bay border blasters have received FCC permission to be constructed at much lower power, though the licensee says it intends to eventually increase the stations' power.
Multi-Cultural Diversity Radio won the stations on 92.7 and 98.1 at Grand Portage, Minn., in a 2013 FCC auction with bids of $1,400 each (the low bid prices reflected the small population on the U.S. side of the border). MCDR had originally proposed using 100kW/468m (class C) from a new tower on Mount Maud, which would have delivered a strong signal to Thunder Bay's 100,000+ residents. However, nearly five years later, the FCC had still not issued construction permits for the stations, presumably because construction of the new tower itself had not been approved.
Now, the FCC has granted initial CP's for the stations to operate with 100 Watts, the minimum allowed for full-power stations, from an existing tower, reaching the immediate Grand Portage area. Though the permitted facilities are class A, MCDR's applications stated that it intends to pursue a full class C facility asked the FCC to maintain the allocations as class C so that Canadian coordination would be maintained at that level.
Multi-Cultural Diversity Radio is headed by Samir Abumayyaleh of Minneapolis, who also owns WPAK/106.9 (Tigerton, WI).
Longtime readers may recall that a CP for 96.9 at Grand Portage was also issued in the 2013 auction. An existing tower was proposed for that station and a CP was issued promptly, but the station was not built by the three-year deadline. (5/20/2018)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Two weeks after announcing plans to create an ABC-NBC duopoly in Sioux Falls, Gray TV has submitted documentation to the FCC explaining why it believes the number two and three stations in the market should be allowed to merge under one roof. FCC rules ban co-ownership of two top-four stations, but a recent rule change will allow waivers to be issued in some cases. This is the first such waiver sought in the Upper Midwest.
Gray owns ABC affiliate KSFY/13.1 and is seeking to buy NBC affiliate KDLT-TV/46.1 from Red River Broadcast Corp. The $32.5 million deal also includes KDLT satellite KDLV/5.1 (Mitchell) and a network of translators. Unlike "virtual duopolies" using shared service agreements or subchannel/low-power TV combinations, which became commonplace in small markets over the past decade, this deal would result in full ownership of two full-power, core-city licenses.
Gray argues that Nexstar CBS affiliate KELO-TV has long dominated ratings and revenue in the market and that there is a "dire need for an effective competitor." Though exact figures are redacted from the multiple ownership showing submitted for public inspection, Gray says KELO has been the top-ranked news station for the entire history of Sioux Falls TV and has the market's largest news staff. In terms of revenue, Gray's filing says KELO's market share has never fallen below 56.6 percent in the past five years, while the combined share of KDLT and KSFY never exceeded 35.7 percent over that period. (Locally-owned FOX affiliate KTTW, which does not have a news department, accounts for less than 10 percent of the market's revenue.)
Gray's filing also says it is considering the creation of a state capitol news bureau to serve its stations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, upgrades to KSFY's weather computer system and other equipment, and expanding coverage of local sports and events. It says it may add NBC to existing KSFY satellite KPRY (Pierre) and ABC to KDLV and the existing KDLT translators. The latter move would restore ABC broadcast coverage of northeastern South Dakota lost when Gray returned the license of KABY/9 (Aberdeen).
The asset purchase agreement says KDLT's existing studio and a tower or towers are excluded from the deal, but it's not clear if that includes the station's main transmission tower since the section detailing excluded towers was omitted from the filing. Gray's earlier news release mentioned plans to move KDLT into KSFY's new facility. (5/17/2018)
MINNESOTA:
KZJZ/106.7 (Babbitt-Ely) and WVVE/95.3 (Grand Marais), along with translator W288AI/105.5 (Ely), have launched an Adult Alternative format. "Radio North of Ordinary" includes Minnesota artists every hour and vintage vinyl. The stations, formerly KAOD and WXXZ, had been stunting with a mix of radio-themed songs for several weeks. The change comes after Aurora Broadcasting purchased the stations last year from Midwest Communications. They had previously relayed the Classic Rock format of Midwest's KQDS-FM/94.9 (Duluth). Commercially, KZJZ's only local competitors are WELY/1450 and WELY-FM/94.5 (Ely), the latter of which recently reverted from Classic Rock to its previous broad Folk/Adult Alternative format. Minnesota Public Radio's Adult Alternative service, "The Current," also serves Ely via a translator. Meanwhile, WVVE is the only commercial radio station on the North Shore. (5/15/2018)
MINNESOTA:
United Communications' K38MY-D (St. James) has applied for an upgrade that could add Mankato coverage. United owns KEYC/12 (Mankato) and had previously used K38MY as a translator for its CBS/FOX affiliate KEYC/12 (Mankato), but took the translator off the air last December after failing to come to an agreement with the owners of the Godahl tower from which it had transmitted. Now, K38MY has applied to move to channel 13, transmitting with 3kW from the KEYC tower near Lewisville. K38MY's reach would not be as large as KEYC's 52.7kW coverage area but would theoretically be strong enough to reach viewers with rooftop antennas in Mankato, New Ulm, and Fairmont. The application does not make any mention of what programming the new K38MY would carry.
Meanwhile, the Cooperative TV Association of Southern Minnesota has removed CBS affiliate WCCO-TV/4.1 (Minneapolis) from K41IZ-D, one of 18 CTV translators and low-power TV stations transmitting from the Godahl tower. A notice airing on the CTV system says WCCO was removed on April 16 because CBS no longer allows its network programming from WCCO to be retransmitted on the Godahl tower. (The translator continues to carry Decades from WCCO-DT2). WCCO-CBS remains available on CTV translators in Frost and Jackson, both of which are considered to be in the Minneapolis market. (5/14/2018)
NEBRASKA:
Gray TV has named Andrew Stewart the new General Manager of NBC affiliate WOWT/6.1 (Omaha). Stewart has 35 years of industry experience, including a corporate position at the former Lee Enterprises and several GM and sales management positions. He will start at WOWT in June. (5/10/2018)
IOWA/MINNESOTA:
Several new FM translators granted during recent AM revitalization windows have recently signed on:
WISCONSIN:
Broadcast TV viewers in the Madison and Milwaukee markets now have more channels to choose from. In Madison, WIFS (Janesville) has added Laff on channel 57.6, Escape on 57.7, and Grit on 57.8. In Milwaukee, WIWN (Fond du Lac) has added getTV on 68.4; LATV has moved from 68.4 to 68.7, replacing Shop LC. getTV had previously been carried on WVTV-DT2 until Sinclair Broadcast Group returned the license of WCGV-TV and consolidated WVTV and WCGV's channels on one transmitter. (5/7/2018)
WISCONSIN:
The company that's been running WBJZ/104.7 (Berlin) for the past decade has filed a petition to deny the station's proposed sale to Woodward Communications. As previously reported here, Woodward has a deal to buy WBJZ from Caxambas Corporation for $720,000. Martini Broadcasting's petition alleges that it had the right to purchase WBJZ, saying it had discussed the possible sale as recently as December and was working to line up financing when Caxambas reached its deal with Woodward. However, Caxambas says in an opposition to the petition to deny that Martin's option to buy WBJZ expired in 2013. The FCC has not yet decided on the application. (5/3/2018)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
The groups that first brought Catholic radio to eastern South Dakota are transferring their stations to a larger regional network that's expanding into the area. Agnus Dei Communications' KSJP/88.9 (Ipswich-Aberdeen) and K233BR/94.5 (Brookings), as well as Catholic Chancery Office's KSTJ/91.3 (Hartford-Sioux Falls), will join Real Presence Radio. As reported here last week, RPR is also in the process of buying KBAD-FM/94.5 (Sioux Falls). An asset purchase agreement filed with the FCC says KSTJ's sale price is $1, while the agreement for KSJP/K233BR was apparently inadvertently omitted from the FCC filing. KSTJ, KSJP, K233BR, and KSTJ-LP/104.3 (Sioux Falls) had operated as "The Lamb Cathlic Radio," but the network's website and social media feeds have already been taken down. KSTJ and KSJP are already listed on Real Presence Radio's website, but it's not known if they are currently on the air. KSTJ-LP is not included in the transfer. (5/2/2018)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Gray TV is adding a second major network affiliation in Sioux Falls with the purchase of NBC affiliate KDLT/46.1. Gray, which owns ABC affiliate KSFY/13.1, announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to buy KDLT from Red River Broadcast Corp. for $32.5 million. Gray also runs CW+ and Me-TV on KSFY subchannels and also owns a low-power TV license in Sioux Falls, while KDLT carries Antenna TV on a subchannel.
Gray's news release indicated plans to move KDLT into KSFY's new facility, which was built to include room for a second station's news and sales staffs. In a similar circumstance, the company recently combined the Rapid City ABC and FOX affiliates under one roof. The company also holds multiple network affiliations in Fargo, Bismarck, Lincoln/Hastings, and North Platte, among other markets.
It was not immediately clear whether Gray intends to seek a waiver to own both the KSFY and KDLT licenses, or if NBC programming would be moved to a current Gray station. In other markets, Gray has divested second licenses and moved new network affiliations and legacy callsigns to subchannels and low-power stations, but those deals were made before the FCC announced that it may consider waivers for ownership of two top-four stations. It was also not immediately clear if the deal includes KDLT satellite KDLV/5.1 (Mitchell).
KSFY and KDLT compete with Nexstar CBS affiliate KELO-TV and locally-owned FOX affiliate KTTW, the latter of which does not have a news department.
Fargo-based Red River Broadcast Corp. retains its FOX affiliates in Fargo and Duluth. Its sister company, Red Rock Radio, divested all of its two dozen radio licenses in recent years. (5/1/2018)
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