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NEWS
Council Bluffs/ Omaha
iHeartMedia has launched a Rock format
on two recently-launched translators in
Omaha after a couple of months stunting
with Christmas music, but the way the
translators are set up suggests another
format may eventually be headed for one
of them. K235CD/94.9 (Omaha) and
K272FE/102.3 (Council Bluffs-Omaha) are
now "Rock 94-9 and 102-3," with 94.9's
programming originating on the HD2
channel of KISO/96.1 (Omaha) and 102.3
coming from the HD2 of KFFF/93.3
(Bennington-Omaha). The new format
primarily competes with Journal
Broadcasting's "Z92" (KEZO/92.3 Omaha).
K235CD and K272FE carry separate
iterations of the same playlist, with
imaging mentioning "Rock 94-9 and 102-3"
on both frequencies but separate
top-of-the-hour ID's. Both transmit from
a tower at the WOWT-TV building with
virtually identical coverage areas,
though
K235CD's 110 Watts go slightly
farther than
K272FE's 99 Watts. The similar
coverage areas and separate feeds for
each translator suggest that "Rock" may
not be the long-term plan for both.
(12/27/2014)
Ames/Des Moines
Nexstar Broadcasting has
announced plans to rebrand ABC
affiliate WOI-DT/5 (Ames-Des Moines) as
"Local 5 News" starting Jan. 5. The
station will debut a new anchor team:
Jack Miller, who once worked in Cedar
Rapids, will anchor evening newscasts
alongside station veteran Stephanie
Angleson, who currently anchors the
morning newscast. The new "Good Morning
Iowa" will be anchored by Sabrina Ahmed
and Elias Johnson. WOI is also gettig
equipment upgrades and a refreshed news
set. Nexstar recently bought the
station, currently branded as "ABC5,"
from Citadel Communications, which
failed to pull the station out of a
decades-long ratings drought. Nexstar is
also in the process of buying Pappas CW
affiliate KCWI/23 (Ames-Des Moines),
which does not have a full news
department but does run a local morning
show. (12/11/2014)
ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
Santa's list got longer Monday (12/8) as
Westwood One's syndicated Adult
Standards format and the non-commercial
Family Radio network both switched to
all-Christmas formats. The Westwood One
network, which has affiliates including
KLBB/1220 (Stillwater-Minneapolis),
WNAM/1280 (Neenah-Menasha-Appleton), and
KRNT/1350 (Des Moines), had already been
playing a significant amount of
Christmas music since Thanksgiving along
with some songs from its regular Soft
Oldies playlist. Meanwhile, Family Radio
has set aside most of its regular
schedule of Christian teaching and
preaching in favor of traditional
Christmas music. Follow the full list of
this year's flips
here.
(12/8/2014)
Omaha/Council
Bluffs
Classic TV network Antenna TV is coming
to Omaha in January, according to an
announcement on the
network's Facebook page. Antenna TV
will be carried on KMTV/3.2, replacing
Live Well Network, which is leaving the
air nationally. KMTV, owned by Journal
Broadcasting, carries CBS on its main
channel.
(12/6/2014)
Cedar Rapids
The Antenna TV affiliation in the Cedar
Rapids market is moving from KWKB/20.2
(Iowa City) to KCRG-DT/9.3 (Cedar
Rapids). The Gazette, which is co-owned
with KCRG, reported in Monday's print
edition that KCRG-DT3 will begin
carrying the classic TV network on Jan.
19, 2015. 9.3 will carry news and
weather updates from KCRG-TV9 News
during Antenna TV programming. KCRG-DT3
currently carries Live Well Network,
which is leaving the air nationally.
(12/3/2014)
Ames/Des Moines
Saga Broadcasting has brought more
"More" to Iowa: The former "Lite 104.9"
(KLLT Spencer) is now "More 104.9," with
a freshened-up version of Adult
Contemporary. The move came Monday, a
month after the FCC database says its
callsign was changed to KMRR. Saga also
runs "More 104" (KMYR/104.1 Ames-Des
Moines).
(12/3/2014)
Dunkerton(Waterloo)
The FCC has deleted what might've been a
new rimshot FM station for the Waterloo
market. Commission records indicate
KCOO/103.9 (Dunkerton) had been off the
air since at least Feb. 29, 2012, far
longer than the one year maximum set by
federal law. On Oct. 7, the FCC Media
Bureau's Audio Division sent a letter to
KCOO owner Magnolia Radio Corp. giving
it 30 days to prove that KCOO had been
on the air. The license was deleted on
Nov. 21. It doesn't appear KCOO was ever
on the air for anything other than
testing. Ace Radio Corp. won the
construction permit for the 6kW/95m
station in 2006 with a $455,000 bid. Ace
sold the CP to Magnolia as part of a
nine-station deal in 2009; Magnolia
applied for KCOO's license to cover in
2011, followed by a series of requests
for special temporary authority to
remain silent. A 2012 plan to sell the
station to Matinee Media was never
consummated.
(12/1/2014)
ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
At least eight Upper Midwest radio
stations celebrated Thanksgiving by
starting up the Christmas music. Flips
to the all-Christmas format on Thursday
morning included "B107.3" (KBBK
Lincoln), "92.7 The Drive" (KZDR
Kindred-Fargo), KRIB/1490 (Mason City),
"Super Hits 106" (KIYX
Sageville-Dubuque), and "Lake 98.1"
(WLKN Cleveland-Sheboygan). Several
other stations made the switch earlier
in the week, bringing the total to at
least 35 all-Christmas stations in the
Upper Midwest by Thanksgiving morning.
Follow the full list of this year's
flips
here.
(11/27/2014)
Des Moines
Hearst CBS affiliate KCCI/8 (Des Moines)
already carries "Me," and soon it'll be
home to "My" as well. The station has
announced plans to launch "My Des
Moines" on channel 8.3 on Monday, Dec.
1, apparently carrying programming from
MyNetworkTV and the Heroes & Icons
network. H&I is a relatively new classic
TV network launched by Weigel
Broadcasting, operator of the classic
Me-TV network already seen on KCCI/8.2.
MyNetworkTV was previously seen in the
market on Pappas' KDMI/19.1 (Des
Moines), which continues to carry
ThisTV.
(11/26/2014)
ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
The Friday before Thanksgiving has
proven to be a big day for all-Christmas
flips this year. Those making the flip
include:
Journal's "Star 104.5" (KSRZ Omaha)
Saga's "More 104" (KMYR/104.1
Ames-Des Moines)
(11/21/2014)
ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
Saga Broadcasting's "More
104" (KMYR Ames-Des Moines) is promoting
a Christmas preview weekend beginning
Friday."Life 101.9" (KNWS-FM
Waterloo-Cedar Rapids) will have two
all-Christmas weekends before a full
flip on Dec. 13.
(11/13/2014)
SIOUX City
Quincy Newspapers
NBC affiliate KTIV/4.1 (Sioux City) is
operating at reduced power due to a
burnout in its transmission line. The
station
reports that the burnout happened
early Friday morning, and that it
returned to the air Sunday with about 20
percent of normal power from an antenna
mounted about 700 feet up its 1,987-foot
tower northeast of Sioux City. Nexstar
ABC affiliate KCAU/9 (Sioux City) began
temporarily carrying KTIV programming on
channel 9.2, which normally carries Live
Well Network, on Saturday. KTIV also
carries CW+ on 4.2 and Me-TV on 4.3.
(11/10/2014)
Sioux City &
Dubuque
iHeartMedia's
"KG95" (KGLI/95.5 Sioux City) joined the
all-Christmas list over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Dubuque's "Super Hits
106" (KIYX/106.1 Sageville) are
promoting pending flips...
(11/9/2014)
Cedar
Rapids/Iowa City
Calvary Chapel Iowa has signed on new
low-power FM station
KEWR-LP/97.5 (Cedar Rapids), which
is carrying the syndicated HeartSong
Radio format. KEWR-LP transmits with
67 Watts from northeast Cedar Rapids
and is apparently being rebroadcast on
the larger signal of Edgewater
Broadcasting's new K286BY/105.1, which
is licensed to Iowa City but transmits
from southwest Cedar Rapids with
250 Watts.
(11/9/2014)
Webster City
FM translator K225BZ/92.9 (Webster City)
has signed on, relaying the
Oldies/Classic Hits format of KQWC/1570.
The station reports the 250-Watt
translator signed on Oct. 31. Riverfront
Broadcasting of Iowa, LLC is in the
process of buying the KQWC, K225BZ,
KQWC-FM/95.7, and stations in three
other communities from NRG Media.
(11/9/2014)
Clinton:
Christmas has come to the Quad Cities on
iHeartMedia's "Mix 96" (KMXG Clinton).
The flip happened at Midnight early
Nov.5, which is several days earlier
than last year. Prior to last year, "Mix
96" had run Christmas preview weekends
until making the full transition later
in the month. Follow the full list of
this year's flips
here.
(11/5/2014)
Ames/Des Moines:
Nexstar Broadcasting is forming an
ABC/CW duopoly in the Des Moines market
with the
purchase of KCWI-TV/23 (Ames) from
Pappas Telecasting for $3.5 million.
Nexstar recently purchased WOI-TV/5
(Ames). The sale will split up a current
duopoly of KCWI and My/This affiliate
KDMI/19 (Des Moines), maintaining the
FCC minimum of eight full-power
ownership groups in the market.
(11/4/2014)
Kensett
KIMT-TV
reports
that new station KWGH-LP/97.1 (Kensett)
will officially sign on Saturday, Nov.
1. The
28-Watt station is owned by Elk
Creek Lutheran Church and transmits from
a site west of Kensett near I-35. The TV
report says KWGH will carry a variety of
music and talk.
(10/31/2014)
Omaha/Council Bluffs
iHeartMedia has brought Christmas to
Omaha at the earliest date on record:
New FM translator K272FE/102.3 has
become "Christmas 102.3." The translator
signed on a few weeks ago and first
relayed News/Talker KFAB/1110 before
switching through several other
iHeartMedia stations this week.
RadioInsight reports the Christmas
format is originating on the HD2 signal
of KFFF/93.3 (Bennington-Omaha). K272FE
is licensed to Council Bluffs and
transmits from a tower at the WOWT-TV
building in Omaha with
99 Watts. Let the speculation begin
about what format will come to the
frequency on Dec. 26.
(10/31/2014)
MINNESOTA/IOWA/SOUTH DAKOTA/WISCONSIN:
DTV America
Corporation is buying the construction
permits for 18 low-power TV stations in
the Upper Midwest in separate
transactions. It'll
pay Casey C. Jones $68,000 for CP's
to serve Rochester, St. Cloud, Sioux
City, Sioux Falls, and Rapid City for
$68,000, and separately
pay John D. Roehrs $16,000 for a CP
in Wausau and three in Georgia. The
transactions value each CP at $4,000.
DTV America and DTV America II have 33
other CP's for new LPTV stations in the
Upper Midwest and earlier this year
announced plans to buy an existing
Minneapolis LPTV station and convert it
to a Telemundo affiliate.
(10/28/2014)
Otttumwa
KLEE/1480
(Ottumwa) has signed on 50-Watt FM
translator K299BA/107.7, relaying its
Oldies format. The station's
Facebook page announced the
translator launch on Oct. 21. KLEE is
owned by O-Town Communications along
with one other AM station and four FM
stations in the market.
(10/27/2014)
Muscatine
KWPC/860
(Muscatine) has switched from Oldies to
Classic-based Country following the
launch of FM translator K236CF/95.1. The
station continues to run local news,
sports, and other information
programming. KWPC, along with "Vintage
Sound 93.1" (KMCS Muscatine), is owned
by Wayne W. Whalen's WPW Broadcasting.
(10/22/2014)
IOWA:
NRG Media is
selling six stations in central and
north-central Iowa to Riverfront
Broadcasting of Iowa, LLC for $3.5
million. The stations include KWBG/1590
(Boone), KQWC/1570 (Webster City),
KQWC-FM/95.7 (Webster City), KHBT/97.7
(Humboldt), KLGZ/1600 (Algona) and its
FM translator, and KLGA-FM/92.7
(Algona). The deal also includes a
construction permit for an FM translator
to relay KQWC, which NRG is in the
process of buying from iHeartMedia.
Riverfront Broadcasting, LLC is owned by
Carolyn and Doyle Becker of Yankton, SD,
and is the licensee of nine stations in
South Dakota. Riverfront Broadcasting of
Iowa, LLC is owned 60% by Riverfront
Broadcasting, LLC and 40% by Fieldview
Broadcasting, LLC, which is held by
Danette and Kirk Graeve of Dallas
Center, Iowa.
(10/14/2014)
IOWA/MICHIGAN/MINNESOTA/NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN:
New
subchannel Grit is coming to nine
more Upper Midwest markets thanks
to an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast
Group. According to a post on
the network's Facebook page, cities
getting Grit include Minneapolis,
Milwaukee, Madison,
Cedar Rapids,
Des Moines, Sioux City, Omaha,
Quincy, and Marquette. Currently, Grit
is only available on stations in Lincoln
and Ottumwa in the region. The network
features war, western, and crime movies
targetting men. Its sister network,
Escape, carries movies and other
programming aimed at women, but Sinclair
has not agreed to carry that network.
(10/9/2014)
Mason City
Digity 3E Corp. is
buying the construction
permit for a new FM translator to
relay KRIB/1490 (Mason City). Digity
will pay David M. Stout $25,000 for
K244FA/96.7, which is currently
permitted for
250 Watts from a tower owned by the
University of Northern Iowa near the
North Iowa
Area
Community College.
KRIB carries
Westwood One's Adult Standards format.
(9/25/2014)
Boone/Des Moines
After first
denying the application, the FCC has now
approved Truth Broadcasting's plan
to move Christian Talker KTIA-FM/99.3
(Boone) closer to Des Moines.
KTIA will change
its community of license to Huxley and
transmit from a tower near Sheldahl,
using 5.3kW/95m (class A). Its
protected contour will include Ames
and much of Des Moines. KTIA's
current facility covers Boone and
Ames.
Commission staff
had first denied the application last
December, saying that if the Huxley
application was approved, KTIA could
theoretically apply for a facility
covering more than half of the Ames
Urbanized Area. Such a move would go
against rules intended to preserve rural
radio service. The FCC has later
conceded that it failed to consider the
existence of KDAO-FM/99.5
(Eldora-Marshalltown), which would need
to be protected, when looking at
theoretical sites.
In approving the
application, the FCC said it didn't
agree with competitor Saga
Broadcasting's assessment that the
proposed Huxley facility would provide a
city-grade (70 dbu) signal to 52 percent
of the Ames Urbanized Area, 2 percentage
points more than allowed under the rural
radio rules. The FCC said its own
calculation found the figure is 49
percent.
This is KTIA's
second attempt to move closer to Des
Moines. The original application
would've changed the community of
license to Johnston and given the
station city-grade coverage of most of
the capital city, but it was rejected
due to the rural radio rules.
KTIA's move
will require KPUL-FM/99.5 (Winterset) to
move to 101.7, which, in turn, will
displace Iowa Public Radio translator
K269EJ/101.7 (Des Moines). The
translator already has a construction
permit to move to 97.7. Truth will have
to pay KPUL's cost for changing
frequency.
(9/21/2014)
Three Eagles - DIGITY 3E LICENSE, LLC
Three Eagles is no more. The sale to DIGITY 3E LICENSE, LLC has
been finalized. (09/12/2014)
KARE, KMSP WIN EMMY AWARDS
FOR EXCELLENCE:
TV journalists from across the Upper
Midwest gathered at Target Field
Saturday night for the 2014 Upper
Midwest Regional Emmy Awards. KARE/11
(Minneapolis) took home the award for
station excellence, while FOX 9 (KMSP
Minneapolis) won the award for news
excellence. Stations winning awards in
best newcast categories included KMSP (2
awards), WCCO-TV/4 (Minneapolis),
WDIO/10 (Duluth, 2 awards), KTIV/4
(Sioux City, 2 awards), KCCI/8 (Des
Moines), WHO-TV/13 (Des Moines), KTTC/10
(Rochester), and
KIMT/3 (Mason City).
WDAZ/8 (Devils Lake-Grand Forks) took
home its first-ever Emmy Award, winning
in the team coverage category. The
ceremony included Silver Circle honors
for longtime KCCI anchor/reporters Kevin
and Mollie Cooney as well as political
reporters Pat Kessler of WCCO-TV and Tom
Hauser of KSTP-TV/5 (St. Paul). A
complete list of winners is available
here.
(9/14/2014)
Webster
City
Clear Channel is selling the
construction permit for a new FM
translator in Webster City to NRG Media,
which owns the two full-power radio
stations in the city. NRG will pay
$15,000 for 250-Watt
translator K225BZ/92.9,
which had already specified NRG's
KQWC/1570 as its primary station.(9/12/2014)
Davenport
The FCC has proposed a
$2,000 fine against Media General
subsidiary Young Broadcasting for
allegedly "failing to publicize the
existence and location of the Station's
Children’s Television Programming
Reports" at NBC affiliate KWQC/6
(Davenport). Young has 90 days to either
pay the fine or seek a reduction or
cancellation. The regulator had also
considered a fine over NBC's inadvertent
inclusion of a website URL in the
closing credits for a children's TV show
that aired on KWQC, but it was
ultimately decided to leave the
punishment at an
admonishment. (9/10/2014)
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