TV MARKET RANKINGS:
Many Upper Midwest TV markets are seeing large changes in ranking amid a continued national decline in the number of TV households. According to Nielsen's local television market universe estimates for the 2018-2019 TV season, only four of the 25 TV markets serving the Upper Midwest gained households over the past year. Omaha was the biggest beneficiary of increased households, rising five spots in the rankings to become market #69. Cedar Rapids-Waterloo and the Quad Cities each rose four positions and Green Bay rose two. Meanwhile, Des Moines showed the biggest decline, dropping seven positions to #75. Madison, Lincoln, Bismarck, and Sioux Falls each dropped five positions; Duluth and Fargo each dropped four positions; Marquette, Traverse City, and Quincy dropped two positions, and Rapid City, Sioux City, Rochester-Austin-Mason City, and La Crosse-Eau Claire each dropped one position. Minneapolis remained #15 nationally despite a 1 percent drop in TV households in the market. Overall, the Upper Midwest lost about 3.1 percent of its TV households, compared with a national decline of about 1.7 percent. (9/30/2018)
WISCONSIN:
Morgan Murphy Media, which owns the CBS-TV affiliates in Madison and La Crosse and a radio group in Platteville, is among several investors joining Good Karma Brand's purchase of two radio stations in Milwaukee. Good Karma Brands Milwaukee, LLC, reached a deal to buy WTMJ/620 and WKTI/94.5 from Scripps Broadcasting earlier this year. It filed a new FCC application last week showing that Craig Karmazin's Good Karma Broadcasting, LLC will keep 52 percent of the Milwaukee company, with the other 48 percent going to new investors. An FCC filing says they include Gale Klappa (10 percent), Judith Klappa (10 percent), the Gruber family's nj2wi LLC (4 percent), Marcus Equity Partners LLC (2 percent), and "insulated members" (22 percent). A report by Morgan Murphy Media's WISC-TV suggests the insulated partners are Morgan Murphy Media and Ted Kellner. The FCC filing says the insulated members "will have no material involvement, directly or indirectly, in the management or operation of the Company's media activities." (9/26/2018)
MINNESOTA (UPDATED):
After a brief return to the far northern Twin Cities metro airwaves, it appears the "Big Q" Oldies format is now HD3/online-only. Three weeks ago, "The Big Q" simulcast on WLKX/95.9 (Forest Lake), W298CE/107.5 (Big Lake-Princeton), and WQPM/1300 (Princeton) had switched to Rock-based Classic Hits as "Killer Bee Radio." The change to "Killer Bee" has elicited numerous complaints on the station's Facebook page. Last week, WQPM switched back to "The Big Q," but then returned to "Killer Bee" by Saturday (9/29). Meanwhile, the HD3 signal of KLCI/106.1 (Elk River) had initially switched over to "Killer Bee" but is now back to "Big Q," which is also again streaming at bigqradio.com. W298CE is required to relay WQPM as a condition of its most recent facility change since it was obtained using an AM revitalization waiver. (9/25/2018, updated 9/30)
NEW FM TRANSLATORS ON THE AIR:
The following new FM translators, granted as part of the FCC's AM Revitalization effort, are now on the air:
NEW FM TRANSLATORS GRANTED:
The FCC recently granted the following new FM translators. The Sauk Rapids application was part of the AM Revitalization filing windows, while the others are a result of an auction resolving conflicting 15-year-old applications:
DTV RF CHANNEL CHANGES:
The following RF channel changes have recently occurred due to the national TV band repack:
WISCONSIN:
A pair of shared-time low-power FM stations in Milwaukee has gone off the air after losing their tower site. Faith Community Development Corporation's WPJQ-LP/101.3 and Inner City Development Project's WKJJ-LP/101.3 carry a mixture of Gospel, R&B, Hip-Hop, and Jazz. Notifications of suspension of operations filed with the FCC say the stations went silent on Sept. 10 and they are working to find a new tower site. (9/20/2018)
MINNESOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA/WISCONSIN:
Numerous stations have recently informed the FCC that they are operating at reduced power for various reasons:
NEBRASKA:
The owner of four small non-commercial stations in Nebraska and three other states has surrendered their licenses after an FCC inquiry into their operational status. They include KTTE/90.1 (Humboldt, NE) and other stations Better Public Broadcasting Association had owned in Colorado and Oklahoma.
The FCC began an investigation into KTTE's status after the owner of the station's licensed tower site alleged that it hadn't had a transmitter there since 2013. Last month, the FCC sent a letter asking Better Public Broadcasting to provide documentation of the station's operation since 2014. A trustee for the organization then sent a letter surrendering the licenses of KTTE and the other three stations, saying that they had left the air due to "health issues with the primary member of the licensee."
It doesn't appear KTTE ever offered any long-term programming - it had applied for its license to cover in 2012 and, a month later, filed what would be the first in a series of requests for special temporary authority to remain silent. Its existence as a licensed station allowed KIMI/107.9 to move from Humboldt to Malvern, IA, since FCC rules wouldn't otherwise have allowed a change that removed a community's only license. (9/19/2018)
MINNESOTA:
Christensen Broadcasting has signed on two FM translators in southwestern Minnesota with large coverage areas, using one to relay an AM station and the other to carry a format originating on an HD Radio subchannel. K231DG/94.1 and K257FP/99.3 both transmit from the KSMN-TV tower near Chandler with 250 Watts and antennas at about 343 meters above average terrain, giving them coverage roughly equivalent to that of a 3kW/91m station (the original maximum for class A stations). The translators have strong signals to Slayton and fringe coverage of Worthington, Luverne, and Pipestone. K231DG relays the Farm/Country format of Christensen's KLOH/1050 (Pipestone). K257FP had previously transmitted from Pipestone and relayed KLOH, but now carries a Contemporary Christian format originating on the HD3 signal of Christensen's KJOE/106.1 (Slayton) as "KD Radio." KJOE as well as Christensen's KISD/98.7 (Pipestone), which carries Oldies, also transmit from the Chandler tower. (9/15/2018)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Midwest Communications' KQSF/95.7 (Dell Rapids-Sioux Falls) has switched to Contemporary Hits, dropping its previous Classic Hits format but keeping the "Q95.7" name with an updated logo. The syndicated format debut came after a few days of stunting with dramatic readings of well-known song lyrics. The new "Q95.7" competes directly with Townsquare Media's "Hot 104.7" (KKLS-FM Sioux Falls), which has been operating at reduced power since April due to storm damage. This is apparently the first time since the early 1980's that the city has had two competing local Top 40 stations. KQSF rimshots Sioux Falls with a 25kW signal from north of town and is part of a seven-station cluster that also includes Country, Adult Contemporary, Rock, Talk, and Sports formats. (9/13/2018)
NORTH DAKOTA:
The University of North Dakota is selling its pair of Grand Forks radio stations to Prairie Public Broadcasting, which has been providing programming on the stations for nearly two decades. The sale price is $220,000. KUND-FM/89.3 carries Prairie Public's main network of NPR News and Classical music, while KFJM/90.7 is the flagship for an Adult Alternative, Folk, and Jazz format heard mostly on HD2 signals elsewhere in the state. The sale also includes translator K202BK/88.3 (Thief River Falls, MN). The stations compete for public radio listeners with Minnesota Public Radio's News and Classical networks. (9/13/2018)
MINNESOTA:
A network of signals in the far northern Twin Cities metro area has switched from "Big Q" Oldies to a Rock-based Classic Hits format as "The Killer Bee." The format is heard on WLKX/95.9 (Forest Lake), W298CE/107.5 (Big Lake-Princeton), WQPM/1300 (Princeton), and the HD3 signals of KLCI/106.1 (Elk River) and KDDG/105.5 (Albany). Outside of morning drive, the format runs without announcers and promises no more than one commercial break per hour. "The Big Q" had first launched on KLCI-HD4 in 2013 and was added on WQPM and the translator in 2014 and WLKX in 2015. The stations are co-owned with the Country "Bob FM" network heard on KLCI, KDDG, and KBGY/107.5 (Faribault). (9/12/2018)
IOWA:
KYOU-TV (Ottumwa) has added CW on channel 15.4, replacing Escape. The change happened on Sept. 1. KYOU also carries FOX on 15.1, NBC on 15.2, and Grit on 15.3. The CW didn't have a previous over-the-air home in the small Kirksville-Ottumwa market, which has only two stations. KYOU is owned by American Spirit Media and operated by Raycom, which is in the process of buying the station outright as Raycom itself is sold to Gray TV. (9/11/2018)
MINNESOTA:
After the cancellation of Joe Soucheray and Patrick Reusse's afternoon shows, "1500 ESPN" (KSTP) has moved its former midday team to afternoon drive. Phil Mackey and Judd Zulgad, who had previously been heard from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., are now joined by Manny Hill and doing a show from 3 to 6 p.m. "until further notice," it was announced Monday afternoon. KSTP is running ESPN Radio at other times. The Hubbard Radio station also has several full-time positions open which Mackey Tweeted are for a "new digital, Minnesota sports media platform."
Soucheray and Reusse's show had also been syndicated regionally. KDAL/610 (Duluth), WNMT/650 (Nashwauk-Hibbing), WJON/1240 (St. Cloud), and KWLM/1340 (Willmar) have all replaced Soucheray and Reusse with the syndicated Markley and Van Camp, airing from 1 to 4 p.m. on KDAL and KWLM and 2 to 5 on WNMT and WJON. (9/10/2018, added KDAL/WNMT info 9/11)
IOWA:
A non-profit group headed by the general manager of a commercial radio station in south-central Iowa is buying a financially-challenged non-commercial station in northeastern Iowa. The Postville Chamber of Commerce signed on KPVL/89.1 (Postville) in 2002 with a goal of unifying the diverse meatpacking community, but long-term funding failed to materialize and the station ended most programming efforts in 2015. Recently, KPVL has been operating at reduced power with a mix of Classic Hits. Now, Community Public Media is buying the station for $100. The buyer is headed by Rick Watts, who is also the GM of KBOE/KMZN in Oskaloosa, with his wife Elisa Watts as well as Alex Watts also involved in the organization. Its mission statement says it intends to reflect the diversity of the community and serve its "education, information, cultural, and entertainment needs." (9/9/2018)
WISCONSIN:
The FCC has approved the sale of WBJZ/104.7 (Berlin) to Woodward Communications, dismissing a petition to deny from a company that had formerly operated the station. Martini Broadcasting had programmed WBJZ with a Hot Adult Contemporary format since 2008, but owner Caxambas Corporation reached a deal to sell the station to Woodward earlier this year. Woodward is now using the station to rebroadcast Rocker "Razor 94.7" (WZOR Mishicot-Green Bay). Martini contended that it had the right of first refusal to buy the station, but Caxambas says that right expired in 2013. Now, the FCC's Audio Division says that Martini lacks standing to file a petition to deny and instead treated the complaint as an informal objection, but says Martini failed to show that Woodward is not a qualified licensee or that the sale would not be in the public interest. The letter notes that the Commission leaves contractual disputes to the local courts and that there has been no court order preventing the transfer of the license. (9/9/2018)
IOWA:
UNW Media Holdings is spinning off a pair of western Iowa small-town stations it bought earlier this year. Crawford County Broadcasting, which has ties to two other stations in the region, is buying KDSN/1530 and KDSN-FM/107.1 (Denison) for $1.15 million.
That's $100,000 less than UNW Media Holdings, a subsidiary of the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, paid for the stations when it bought them from Mikadety Radio Corporation earlier this year.
UNW bought the stations as it proposed moving KDSN-FM to 104.9, retaining its current 6kW, so that Northwestern's KNWI/107.1 (Osceola-Des Moines) can upgrade. Closing will not take place until the FCC has approved the modification applications for both KDSN-FM and KNWI, though the buyers began operating the stations under a time brokerage agreement on Sept. 1.
Crawford County Broadcasting is owned by J.C. Van Ginkel, James M. Field, and Rodney R. Christensen, who also own KNOD/105.3 (Harlan) and KJAN/1220 (Atlantic) through different companies. (9/5/2018)
DTV CHANNEL CHANGES:
The transition to fall has brought changes to digital TV lineups in several markets:
Quad Cities: Gray TV's KWQC added H&I TV on channel 6.4.
Marquette: H&I's website says the network is "coming soon" to WZMQ/19.5.
Milwaukee: Channel 12.2 of WISN-TV made its anticipated switch from Movies! Network to Justice Network. Movies! moved to WYTU-LD/63.3, which is owned by Movies! distributor Weigel Broadcasting. Meanwhile, the new Start TV network launched on WDJT/58.5 and WYTU-LD/63.2. WYTU-LD2 had previously carried This TV; Weigel Vice Chairman Neil Sabin told the Journal Sentinel that ThisTV was not renewed.
Minneapolis: Channel 4.2 of CBS' WCCO-TV, and satellite KCCW/12.2 (Walker), made their anticipated switch from Decades to Start TV. Decades' website says a Minneapolis new affiliate is "coming soon." (9/4/2018)
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