FCC Monitor: One FM Returns To Air, Two Others Go Silent
The following are updates to previously-reported items and other recent regulatory filings and actions concerning Upper Midwest broadcast stations. This report is created by the author and is not an official report of the FCC.
Iowa
American Christian Radio’s KPVL/89.1 (Postville) returned to the air on Jan. 9. A listener in the area reports it is carrying VCY America.
St. Gabriel Communications’ KQBV/88.5 (Adel) reports that it left the air Jan. 6 due to the loss of its transmitter site. KQBV had carried Iowa Catholic Radio, which can also be heard in the area on KIHS/105.5 (Perry-Des Moines).
Minnesota
iHeartMedia’s KFAN/1270 (Rochester) has requested special temporary authority to operate at reduced power at night due to a failure in the system that switches between daytime and nighttime antenna patterns. Normally 5kW day and 1kW night, KFAN has requested to use 250 Watts at night with the daytime pattern.
Weekly Log: Sinclair Switches Provider of Des Moines Newscast
Hearst CBS affiliate KCCI/8 (Des Moines) is now supplying a 9 p.m. newscast for Sinclair FOX affiliate KDSM/17, replacing Nexstar NBC affiliate WHO-DT/13 in producing the newscast. As noted a few weeks ago, WHO-DT has continued the 9 p.m. newscast as a streaming-only program. The change marks an expansion of a 9 p.m. newscast that had already been airing for years on KCCI’s MeTV channel.
Nexstar NBC affiliate WHO-DT/13 (Des Moines) has promoted Katie Kaplan to 4 p.m. anchor.
Yacht Rock Docks on Omaha AM Station after “Santa” Stunt
An Omaha AM radio station has debuted a new Light Classic Hits format after seven weeks stunting with Christmas music as “Santa Baby.”
NRG Media’s KZOT/1180 (Bellevue-Omaha) became “Yacht Rock 1180” on Jan. 2. The playlist features Light Rock hits of the 1970s and ‘80s.
The new format competes partly with Walnut Radio’s “Boomer Radio,” heard on KIBM/1490 (Omaha), KOBM-FM/97.3 (Blair), and several FM translators.
Since 2012, KZOT had run syndicated Sports Talk in tandem with co-owned “The Zone” (KOZN/1620 Bellevue-Omaha), which continues with Sports Talk.
NRG’s other stations in the market carry Conservative Talk, Sports, Hot Adult Contemporary, Classic Hits, and Hip-Hop/R&B formats.
KZOT transmits with 25kW daytime and 1kW nighttime, using different directional patterns day and night. It does not have an FM translator.