FCC Monitor: New FM Signing On in Waterloo

NRG Media reported that new FM translator K263BZ/100.5 (Waterloo) is operating pursuant to program test authority. The 250-Watt translator was granted during the AM Revitalization window to relay KXEL/1540.

The FCC cancelled the license of KQCT-LD/32 (Davenport), saying the former analog low-power TV station did not apply for a license to cover for its digital facility before its construction permit expired. The license was most recently owned by Digital Networks-Midwest.

Walnut Radio submitted modified plans to move KIBM/1490 (Omaha) to the KCRO/660 transmitter site, now applying for 970 Watts day and 900 Watts night. KIBM had previously been granted a move to the KCRO tower with 900 Watts day and 240 Watts night. The station recently reported that it had to leave its previous site, where it had used 1kW day and night, due to copper theft, and is operating from the KCRO site under special temporary authority. (12/27/2021)

FCC Begins Granting New Non-Commercial FM Stations

The FCC has started to grant applications for new non-commercial FM stations that have been identified as “singletons,” meaning they are not in competition with any other stations.

Here is a list of the new stations granted in Iowa:

Hampton: Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting, 90.5, 25kW/72m, class C3 (granted Monday 12/20)
Kalona: Mary’s Holy Voice, 89.5, 5.5kW/45m, class A (granted Monday 12/20)
Wapello: The Association for Community Education, 90.7, 200W/133m, class A (granted Monday 12/20) (12/21/2021)

FCC Monitor: Iowa Station Back to 100kW

Saga Communications’ KOEZ/104.1 (Ames-Des Moines) submitted a license to cover application confirming that it is now back up to 100kW after a partial tower collapse earlier this year. The station’s antenna had previously been at 308 meters above average terrain; it is now slightly lower at 277 meters, resulting in a change in class from C0 to C1. It had temporarily used 58kW at 166m while work was underway.

M&M Broadcasting’s KGRA/98.9 (Jefferson) is operating at reduced power due to a transmitter failure. Replacement parts have been ordered. The exact power being used is not specified in a request for special temporary authority, which notes that KGRA is operating at less than 90% of its licensed 11kW.

DTV America submitted a license to cover application informing the FCC that new low-power TV station K17MH-D (Cedar Falls) has been constructed as permitted, and a license was granted on Dec. 16.

Edge Spectrum asked the FCC to waive its tolling rules to give the construction permit for future low-power TV station K31PP-D (Sioux City) another six-month extension, until July 9, 2022. Edge says it has been working with ARK Multicasting for more than a year to construct dozens of LPTV stations in ATSC 3.0 format but says it has faced a lack of available transmitters, delays in antenna deliveries, and limited availability for people to install the equipment. Edge’s filing says they have experienced a high failure rate and interference issues with the transmitters they have been able to obtain.

Fieldview Broadcasting submitted a license to cover application telling the FCC that new FM translator K268DS/101.5 (Boone) is now ready for regular operation. It was granted during the AM Revitalization window to relay KWBG/1590.

M&M Broadcasting submitted a license to cover application telling the FCC that new FM translator K232FX/94.3 (Dallas Center) is ready for regular operation. It was granted during the AM Revitalization window to relay KDLS/1310 (Perry). KDLS is also relayed on K259AT/99.7, which is licensed to Boone but transmits from near Perry.

Walnut Radio says the “theft of the copper ground system” from the licensed site for KIBM/1490 (Omaha) has made it unusable. It requested special temporary authority for KIBM to transmit from the site of co-owned KCRO/660. KIBM already has a construction permit to move to the KCRO site permanently. (12/20/2021)

FCC Monitor: Late License Applications

The FCC continues to propose fines over late license renewal applications but cancelled one in Iowa after just a few days. On March 9, it issued notice of apparent liability proposing a $3,000 fine against licensee Fairfield Educational Radio Station, saying the license renewal application for KHOE/90.5 (Fairfield) was due Oct. 1 but not filed until Nov. 2. However, three days later the FCC issued an order noting that Media Bureau staff had told the licensee that they could file an application until Nov. 2 with no adverse action taken, so the fine was cancelled. (3/14/2021)

Scripps to Launch Another Two Subchannel Networks

After taking over the ION network and its group of stations, Scripps Broadcasting has announced plans to launch another two subchannel networks repurposing shows that first ran on cable channels

. Doozy and Defy TV will launch on July 1 and will bring Scripps to a total of nine networks. They’ll reach 75% of the nation’s households at launch.

Regionally, Scripps owns stations in the Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Wausau, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Omaha markets. Exact channel placement has not yet been announced.

Both networks will target viewers 25-54, with Doozy focusing on women and Defy focusing on men.

Doozy’s lineup will include “Storage Wars,” “Married at First Sight,” “Hoarders,” and “Little Women: LA.” Defy will carry “Pawn Stars,” “Forged in Fire,” “American Pickers,” and “The Curse of Oak Island,” among others.

“By creating compelling new network programming to distribute through ION’s spectrum, Scripps is expanding the ways it creates value from our ownership of ION and its powerful distribution platform,” Scripps Networks President Lisa Knutson said in a news release.

Many of the ION stations Scripps recently purchased have been rearranging their subchannels to add Scripps’ Court TV, Court TV Mystery, Grit, Laff, and Bounce. The company also owns Newsy, which does not have broadcast affiliates. (3/3/2021)

Extension of Construction Permits

Landover 2 LLC requested an extension of the construction permits for K24KD-D (Salix) and K27LD-D (Salix). Landover 2 cites a provision in an FCC public notice that allows low-power TV permittees to seek a one-time extension due to an unforeseeable circumstance such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes extensions to Jan. 13, 2022.

Scripps Broadcasting submitted a notification that it has moved the master control point for KMTV/3.1 (Omaha) to WTKR in Norfolk, Virginia. KMTV’s studio remains in Omaha. (2/28/2021)

Subchannel Shuffle Begins following ION Sale

Several subchannel networks are now receiving full-power carriage in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and several other Upper Midwest markets following Scripps’ purchase of the ION network and its stations.

As Scripps had announced earlier this year, national networks owned by the company are being moved to the ION stations. The company is discontinuing ION’s former qubo, ION Plus, and ShopTV subchannel networks effective Feb. 28.

Scripps owns Court TV, Court TV Mystery, Grit, Bounce, and Laff. The networks are being moved as contracts with existing affiliates expire, upgrading from low-power stations in many cases.

Channel placement varies by market. According to listings at RabbitEars and TVTV and reports from viewers and a translator operator, the following changes have been made or are coming soon:

KPXM St. Cloud-Minneapolis: Bounce 41.2, Grit 41.3, Mystery 41.4 WPXE Kenosha-Milwaukee: Bounce 55.2, Court TV 55.3, Grit 55.4 (Court and Grit are also carried on Scripps’ WTMJ-TV) WTPX Antigo-Wausau: Grit 46.2, Mystery 46.3, Laff 46.4, Bounce 46.5 KPXR Cedar Rapids: Grit 48.2, Bounce 48.3, Laff 48.4 (HC2’s KWKB Iowa City continues to carry the networks as well as of Feb. 28.) KFPX Newton-Des Moines: Court TV 39.2, Laff 39.3, Mystery 39.4 The main ION network continues on the stations’ DT1 channels.

KPXM is relayed on several TV translator systems outside of the Twin Cities metro area. The Selective TV system in Alexandria said it is considering new programming for LPTV channels that had already carried Bounce and Grit. (2/28/2021)

Tegna to Launch New Lifestyle/Reality Channel

TV station owner Tegna, which has several stations in the Upper Midwest, has announced plans to launch a third subchannel network this spring.

“Twist” will carry lifestyle and reality programming targeting women. The channel is named for the reveals, or “twists,” at the end of most of the shows it will air.

Initial programming includes Clean House, Top Chef Masters, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Dance Moms, Tabatha Takes Over, Tiny House Nation, and Flipping Out.

The network will launch sometime this spring.

Tegna said Twist will be carried in all of its markets, which include Minneapolis (KARE), Des Moines (WOI-DT/KCWI), and the Quad Cities (WQAD). Exact channel placement has not been announced. Twist will also be carried on some stations owned by HC2 Broadcasting that have yet to be listed.

Tegna also runs True Crime Network and Quest. (2/24/2021)

FCC Monitor: Minn. FM at Reduced Power

Community Public Media’s KPVL/89.1 (Postville) was granted another extension of special temporary authority to operate at an unknown reduced power. The station’s latest filing repeats the narrative presented in an extension request last August. The latest extension is through Aug. 18.

Townsquare Media’s KROC-FM/106.9 (Rochester) is operating at about 10 percent of its usual 100kW following antenna damage. Its request for special temporary authority says the station has not yet been able to thoroughly inspect and troubleshoot the problem due to winter weather. KROC-FM transmits from the KTTC(TV) tower about 30 miles south of Rochester and is also heard on K293CV/106.5 (Rochester). (2/21/2021)

FCC Monitor: Iowa VHF to UHF Moves Progress

The FCC moved forward with a proposal to move Gray TV ABC affiliate KCRG-TV/9 (Cedar Rapids) to a UHF frequency, issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking for the move to RF channel 32.

iHeartMedia’s WMT/600 (Cedar Rapids) continues to transmit with reduced nighttime power following the collapse of one of its towers during last August’s Iowa Derecho. The station says a recent rezoning of its tower site in Marion Township slowed the project, but a variance to reconstruct the fallen tower was recently approved. WMT continues to transmit with its usual 5kW non-directional daytime but is transmitting at about a quarter of its normal power, non-directional, at night.

PBS member station KSMQ-TV/15.1 (Austin) has returned to full power after a transmitter problem that had begun late last year. (2/14/2021)

FCC Filings Provide Details of Gray TV’s Plans for Quincy Media Stations

Documents filed with the FCC on Feb. 12 for Gray TV’s purchase of Quincy Media indicate Gray plans to keep the FOX affiliation in Rochester, consider expanding its news operation in Duluth, and switch a northern Wisconsin satellite station to a different network.

Gray announced plans to buy Quincy Media for $925 million on Feb. 1, a deal which will include divestitures of overlapping stations in six markets, including four in the Upper Midwest. Buyers for the stations to be divested have not been announced.

The applications to transfer Quincy Media’s licenses to Gray reveal several items not included in the initial announcement:

Quincy NBC/CW affiliate KTTC (Rochester) will continue to operate SagamoreHill FOX affiliate KXLT (Rochester) through a shared services agreement after the sale to Gray. Gray says it will seek opportunities to expand local news production in Duluth, where it is seeking a failing station waiver to buy CW affiliate KDLH alongside NBC/CBS affiliate KBJR-TV. A failing station waiver is required because there are fewer than eight ownership voices in the market. (Gray is also seeking failing station waivers in the Fort Wayne and South Bend markets.) Gray will divest ABC affiliate WAOW (Wausau) but plans to keep WAOW satellite WYOW (Eagle River), switching it over to Gray’s existing CBS/FOX affiliate WSAW (Wausau). It will still divest WAOW’s other satellite, WMOW (Crandon).

As previously reported, Gray will divest NBC/CW affiliate KWWL (Waterloo) and ABC affiliates WKOW (Madison), WXOW (La Crosse), and WQOW (Eau Claire), along with WAOW and stations in Tucson and Paducah, where Gray already owns stations. (La Crosse and Eau Claire are considered one market for regulatory purposes, but WXOW and WQOW operate with separate identities and newsrooms.)

Besides the stations already mentioned above, regional stations Gray is buying also include NBC/CW affiliate KTIV (Sioux City), NBC/FOX/CW affiliate WGEM-TV (Quincy), NBC/CW affiliate WREX (Rockford), and KBJR satellite KRII (Chisholm). The other stations are in the Peoria, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Binghamton, and Bluefield markets.

Once the deal closes, Gray will own stations in every Upper Midwest market except Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Des Moines.

As part of its filing, Gray details its history of building award-winning news operations across the country. The company operates its own Washington news bureau, has a national investigative unit, and produces a national news program hosted by Greta Van Susteren. (2/12/2021)

Numerous FM Allotments Up for Auction This Summer

If you’ve ever wanted your own radio station, you have another chance to get one – as long as it’s in one of the small or unrated markets up for auction.

The FCC has set July 27 as the tentative start date for FCC Auction 109, which will include 136 FM allotments nationwide and four AM frequencies in the St. Louis area. Most of the FM allotments are in unrated and small markets and were to have been included in an auction last year that was canceled due to the pandemic.

Iowa stations include:

Dunkerton, IA: 103.9, class A (6kW/100m), $60,000 opening bid. Potential Waterloo coverage.
Rockford, IA: 92.9, class A (6kW/100m), $25,000 opening bid. Potential Mason City coverage.

The FCC is accepting comments on the proposed bidding procedures through March 15.

The commission has also frozen applications from existing stations that would require changes to the allotments that are scheduled for auction. (2/9/2021)

FCC Monitor: Partial Tower Collapse, Two Iowa LPFM’s Deleted

Saga Communications’ KOEZ/104.1 (Ames-Des Moines) is transmitting at reduced power after a partial tower collapse. The top 100 feet of its tower fell during a winter storm on Jan. 31 but a station filing says the rest of the tower appears to be structurally sound. KOEZ is using 58kW/166m from a four-bay antenna that was already side-mounted on the tower; it’s licensed for 100kW/308m (class C0). FCC records indicate the tower in Boone County, which was previously 1,025 feet tall, was constructed in 1985. Radio World has more on the collapse.

The FCC deleted the licenses of low-power FM stations KBOL-LP/100.1 (Waterloo) and KRUU-LP/100.1 (Fairfield) after the stations did not apply for license renewal. KRUU’s website says it ended regular programming three years ago and that its licensee, Fairfield Youth Advocacy, was interested in transferring the station to a different group, but no application to transfer the license was filed. KBOL-LP had been owned by The Community Outreach, Inc. Here’s KBOL in 2012:

Jomast Corp. signed on 250-Watt K280GT/103.9 (Sigourney), relaying the Classic Hits format of KMZN/740 (Oskaloosa). K280GT was granted as part of the AM revitalization effort. KMZN is also relayed on K258BG/99.5 (Oskaloosa), which existed prior to the AM revitalization windows. (2/7/2021)

Gray TV to Buy Quincy Media, With Several Divestitures

Weeks after Quincy Media confirmed that it had put itself up for sale, Gray TV has announced that it is the buyer.

Gray is buying Quincy for $925 million but will have to divest many of its stations due to overlap with existing Gray stations, splitting up Quincy’s current group. Wells Fargo Securities is looking for buyers for the stations to be divested.

In the Upper Midwest, Gray will keep:
Duluth: KBJR (NBC/CBS) and KDLH (CW); the company will have to obtain a failing station waiver to retain KDLH under current FCC rules. Many people still mistakenly refer to KDLH as the market’s CBS affiliate even though the network was moved to KBJR-DT2 five years ago.
Quincy: WGEM (NBC/FOX/CW), with its market including southeastern Iowa.
Rochester: KTTC (NBC/CW); the news release does not mention KXLT (FOX), which KTTC runs under a shared services agreement.
Sioux City: KTIV (NBC/CW)

but Gray will divest:

Cedar Rapids-Waterloo: KWWL (NBC/CW), where Gray already owns KCRG (ABC)
La Crosse-Eau Claire: WXOW/WQOW (ABC/CW), where Gray already owns WEAU (NBC)
Madison: WKOW (ABC), where Gray already owns WMTV (NBC/CW)
Wausau: WAOW (ABC/CW), where Gray already owns WSAW (CBS/FOX)

The deal also includes several stations in Illinois and other states, creating a new duopoly in the Rockford market that will combine low-power CBS affiliate WIFR-LD with NBC affiliate WREX. See the news release for the complete list.

The deal also includes WGEM/1440 and WGEM-FM/105.1 (Quincy), but Quincy Media’s print assets will be sold before the sale to Gray closes. Gray’s only other radio holding is a station in Texas that it acquired as part of its purchase of Raycom.

Gray will own TV stations in 102 markets once the deal is complete.

Regionally, the deal will give Gray a presence in almost every Upper Midwest market. Besides the markets already listed above, Gray owns stations in Davenport, Ottumwa, Mankato, Green Bay, Marquette, Fargo, Bismarck, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Omaha, Lincoln, and North Platte, with multiple big-four network affiliations in more than half of its regional markets. (2/1/2021)

Alpha Media under goes Reorganization

Alpha Media, which owns stations in 44 markets including many in the Upper Midwest, filed to transfer its licenses to itself as a debtor in possession. The company says the reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will not result in any interruption to its operations.

Youngers Colorado Broadcasting’s K295CB/106.9 (Des Moines) was granted a frequency change to 94.1 under the new callsign K231DI. It will remain 132 Watts.

KROS Broadcasting says it’s continuing to work on plans for a new tower for KROS/1340 and K290CL/105.9 (Clinton) after the August Iowa Derecho downed their previous structure. It requested extensions of special temporary authority to operate KROS with 300 Watts from a wire antenna and K290CL with 250 Watts from a shorter tower.

DTV America’s KAJS-LD/32 (Lincoln-Omaha) returned to the air Jan. 20. It has withdrawn a request for special temporary authority to remain silent that had been filed earlier this month. (1/31/2021)

FCC Monitor: Objection to Iowa Renewal

Dave Vickers, the general manager and minority owner of KROS/1340 (Clinton), has submitted informal objections to license renewal for Gendreau Broadcast’s KCLN/1390 (Clinton) and KMCN/94.7 (Clinton). Vickers alleges that his competitors’ online public files are incomplete and that KCLN is not reducing power at night.

The FCC cancelled the construction permit for K241CX/96.1 (Independence), which was not built by its Jan. 16 deadline. The translator had been granted during the AM revitalization effort to relay KQMG/1220.

The FCC granted KLOX/90.9 (Creston) a construction permit to replace its expired permit to upgrade from 500 Watts to 100kW. (1/24/2021)

Sinclair to Move CBS to Sioux City Subchannel

Sinclair Broadcast Group’s operation in Sioux City has announced plans to move the CBS affiliation in the market to a subchannel of its FOX affiliate.

On Feb. 4, CBS will move from KMEG/14.1 to channel 44.3 of KPTH, which will continue to carry FOX on 44.1. The CBS channel will continue to brand as “CBS14” despite no longer being seen on broadcast channel 14. The stations’ announcement suggests the CBS channel placement will remain unchanged on cable and satellite systems.

Sinclair owns KPTH and operates KMEG through an agreement with Waitt Broadcasting. KMEG has been a CBS affiliate since it signed on in 1967 and has been operated by KPTH since 2005.

The change will come a month after Sinclair made a similar move in Cedar Rapids, moving the market’s FOX affiliation from its longtime home to a subchannel of the CBS affiliate that Sinclair owns.

The Sioux City change will also result in a subchannel shuffle. 44.2 will continue to carry the MyNetworkTV prime time block, but the rest of its schedule will switch from DABL to TBD. DABL will move full-time to 14.1. Charge! will move from 44.3 to 14.2, replacing TBD, and Stadium will move from 44.4 to 14.4. Comet will remain on 14.3. (1/23/2021)

New Owner to End Three ION Subchannels

The E.W. Scripps Company says it will discontinue three ION subchannels at the end of February following its purchase of the main ION network and its owned-and-operated affiliates.

ION Plus, Qubo, and Shop ION will end broadcasting by Feb. 28. Thursday’s announcement is not a surprise because Scripps had said when it purchased ION that it intended to move its Bounce, Court TV, Court TV Mystery, Grit, and Laff networks to the ION stations.

The networks will move to ION subchannels as contracts with existing affiliates expire.

The ION owned-and-operated stations include KPXM (St. Cloud-Minneapolis), WPXE (Kenosha-Milwaukee), WTPX (Antigo-Wausau), KPXR (Cedar Rapids), and KFPX (Newton-Des Moines).

The affected networks are currently carried on the DT2, DT3, and DT4 signals of ION’s O&O’s. The Scripps announcement did not mention the fate of QVC on DT5 and HSN on DT6, but TV listings indicate Laff has already replaced QVC in some markets.

ION Plus is mostly carried on the O&O’s but also has a few independently-owned affiliates, including Byrne Acquisition Group’s WIFS/57.1 (Janesville-Madison) and Magnum Communications’ KQEG-CD/23.3 (La Crescent-La Crosse). (1/14/2021)

FCC Monitor: ION Sale Closes; Iowa DOT Returns LPFM Licenses

Scripps Media closed on its purchase of the ION owned-and-operated stations on Jan. 7. Stations in the deal include KPXR/48.1 (Cedar Rapids), KFPX/39.1 (Newton-Des Moines), KPXM/41.1 (St. Cloud-Minneapolis), WPXE/55.1 (Kenosha-Milwaukee), and WTPX/46.1 (Antigo-Wausau). 23 stations, none in the Upper Midwest, were divested to Inyo Broadcast Holdings.

The Iowa Department of Transportation returned the licenses of its four low-power FM stations, which had carried automated traffic and road construction information along interstates in rural Iowa. The 100-Watt stations were: KDDI-LP/102.9 (Adair), KSDE-LP/104.9 (De Soto), KSOA-LP/94.5 (Sloane), and KUBH-LP/99.9 (Urbana). Iowa DOT Communication Technology Bureau Director Peter Huffman said they cancelled the licenses because they no longer share road information via LPFM stations.

Meanwhile, the FCC formally deleted the license of Drake University’s KDRA-LP/94.1 (Des Moines) on Jan. 5, more than 18 months after the university requested cancellation. Drake had notified the FCC of its decision to surrender the license in a June 2019 letter but said at that time that it might continue operations until Aug. 15, 2019.

Wennes Communications Stations’ KDEC/1240 (Decorah), which was forced to leave its licensed site last year, says its new transmitter site is not yet ready. KDEC will co-locate with 1kW time-share partner KWLC/1240 and says in a request for extension of special temporary authority that it anticipates beginning testing within three to four months. KDEC is temporarily operating at reduced power of 250 Watts with a longwire antenna. (1/10/2021)

TV Station Owner Quincy Media Up for Sale

Quincy Media, an owner of more than a dozen network affiliates in the Midwest, confirmed Thursday that it has put itself up for sale.

“We think the timing is right for our shareholders,” President and CEO Ralph M. Oakley said in a news release.

Quincy owns or operates 21 network affiliates in 15 markets, all but three of them in small and medium Midwestern markets. It holds two major network affiliations in five of the markets.

The company got its start in the newspaper business in 1926 and still owns two newspapers, as well as two radio stations in Quincy, Ill. It has more than 1,000 employees. (1/7/2021)

FCC Monitor: Iowa Transmitter back at full power

Gray TV NBC affiliate KWQC/6.1 (Davenport) is back to full power of 1,000kW after transmitter problems that began in late November.

Family Radio’s KYFR/920 (Shenandoah) is operating at reduced power due to a transmitter problem. The station says it has been using 3.5kW daytime, instead of its usual 5kW, since Dec. 2. KYFR continues to use its licensed 2.5kW at night, with different directional antenna patterns for day and night. (1/3/2021)

FOX Moves to Subchannel in Cedar Rapids

Sinclair Broadcast Group has moved its FOX affiliation in the Cedar Rapids market to a subchannel of its CBS affiliate.

Second Generation of Iowa’s KFXA/28.1 (Cedar Rapids) had been the market’s primary FOX affiliate since it signed on in 1988, except for a period of silence in the mid-`90s.

On New Year’s Day, FOX programming was moved to channel 2.2 of Sinclair’s KGAN (Cedar Rapids) but is also still being simulcast on KFXA-DT1. It’s unclear from the station’s brief announcement if FOX will remain on both stations permanently or if it will leave KFXA eventually.

Sinclair has operated KFXA since the early 2000s and purchased its programming and equipment in 2008, but Second Generation of Iowa retained the KFXA license due to FCC ownership rules that prohibit the owner of one top-four station from buying another top-four station. However, ownership rules do not count subchannels as separate licenses, so KGAN-DT1 (CBS) and KGAN-DT2 (FOX) are considered to be the same license for regulatory purposes.

The stations switched to a joint news brand of “Iowa’s News Now” in early 2020.

The New Year’s Day change also resulted in a subchannel shuffle: getTV moved from 2.2 to 2.3, Comet moved from 2.3 to 28.5, and DABL moved from 2.4 to 28.6. Charge!, Grit, and Stadium continue on KFXA’s other subchannels. (1/1/2021)