KFPX-TV

Last updated

KFPX-TV
City Newton, Iowa
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 31, 1998(25 years ago) (1998-08-31)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 39 (UHF, 1998–2009)
  • Digital: 39 (UHF, 2009–2018)
Call sign meaning
Pax (reflecting network's former branding)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 81509
ERP 270 kW
HAAT 564 m (1,850 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 41°48′35″N93°37′17″W / 41.80972°N 93.62139°W / 41.80972; -93.62139
Links
Public license information
Website iontelevision.com

KFPX-TV (channel 39) is a television station licensed to Newton, Iowa, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Des Moines area. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains offices on 114th Street in Urbandale, [2] and its transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.

Contents

History

The station began broadcasting on August 31, 1998; it was built and signed on by Paxson Communications as a charter station of the family-oriented Pax TV network (later reformatted into a general entertainment service as i: Independent Television, now Ion Television), with religious programming from The Worship Network airing during the overnight hours.

On September 24, 2020, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company announced it would purchase KFPX-TV's owner, Ion Media, for $2.65 billion, with financing from Berkshire Hathaway. [3] Part of the deal included divesting 23 stations nationally to Inyo Broadcast Holdings (then-undisclosed at the time of the announcement) that would maintain Ion affiliations. [4]

Newscasts

For a short time in 2001, KFPX ran a prime time newscast produced by NBC affiliate WHO-TV (channel 13) to compete with Fox affiliate KDSM-TV (channel 17)'s Fox News at Nine (which WHO eventually took over from CBS affiliate KGAN in Cedar Rapids). After that newscast was canceled, KFPX reran WHO-TV's 10 p.m. newscasts on a 30-minute delay until early 2005.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KFPX-TV [5]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
39.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
39.2 480i CourtTV Court TV
39.3Laff Laff
39.4Mystery Ion Mystery
39.5IONPlus Ion Plus [6]
39.6SCRIPPS Scripps News
39.7Jewelry Jewelry TV
39.8HSN HSN
39.9HSN2 HSN2

Analog-to-digital conversion

KFPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 39, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 39. [7]

Former transmitter site

KFPX previously maintained transmitter facilities in Baxter, Iowa. Due to its short tower height, the station's broadcasting radius was largely confined to the immediate Des Moines area, although some southern and western suburbs may have had difficulty picking up the station's signal. [8] Therefore, KFPX relied on cable and satellite carriage to reach the entire market. With the move to Alleman, KFPX now provides over-the-air coverage comparable to the market's other stations.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDSM-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa

KDSM-TV is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and has studios on Fleur Drive in Des Moines; its transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.

WZPX-TV is a television station licensed to Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, serving as the Ion Television affiliate for West Michigan. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Horizon Drive in Grand Rapids and a transmitter on South Norris Road in Orangeville Township.

WPXX-TV is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, WPXX-TV maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Brother Boulevard in Bartlett, Tennessee. The station also serves as the de facto Ion outlet for the Jackson, Tennessee, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, markets.

KKPX-TV is a television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving as the Ion Television outlet for the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and has offices on Price Avenue in Redwood City; its transmitter is located atop San Bruno Mountain.

WHPX-TV is a television station licensed to New London, Connecticut, United States, serving as the Ion Television affiliate for the Hartford–New Haven market. The station is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, and maintains offices in New London and a transmitter on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut.

KPXE-TV is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Oak Street and Cleaver Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, and its transmitter is located in the city's Brown Estates section.

WGPX-TV is a television station licensed to Burlington, North Carolina, United States, serving the Piedmont Triad region as an affiliate of Ion Television. The station is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, and maintains offices on North O'Henry Boulevard in Greensboro; its transmitter is located in Randleman, North Carolina.

WPXJ-TV is a television station licensed to Batavia, New York, United States, serving the Buffalo area as an affiliate of Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Exchange Street in Buffalo, and its transmitter is located in Cowlesville, New York.

WUPX-TV is a television station licensed to Richmond, Kentucky, United States, serving the Lexington area as an affiliate of Ion Television. The station is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, and maintains a transmitter on High Bridge Road north of Bryantsville, Kentucky.

WXPX-TV is a television station licensed to Bradenton, Florida, United States, serving as the Tampa Bay area's Ion Television outlet. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Tampa-licensed ABC affiliate WFTS-TV. WXPX-TV's studios are located on 66th Street North in Clearwater, and its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.

KPXB-TV is a television station licensed to Conroe, Texas, United States, serving as the Houston area outlet for the Ion Television network. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains a transmitter near Missouri City, in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County.

WPXE-TV is a television station licensed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Milwaukee area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV, with engineering and some master control operations run out of WTMJ-TV's Radio City facility on East Capitol Drive in Milwaukee. WPXE's transmitter is located on the WITI TV Tower on East Capitol Drive in Shorewood, Wisconsin.

WSPX-TV is a television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, airing programming from the Ion Television network. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios on Basile Rowe in East Syracuse and a transmitter on Sevier Road in Pompey, New York.

WPXM-TV is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, serving as the market's Ion Television outlet. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside CW affiliate WSFL-TV, also licensed to Miami. WPXM-TV's offices are located on Northwest 14th Street in Sunrise, and its transmitter is located in Andover, Florida.

KPXL-TV is a television station licensed to Uvalde, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the San Antonio area. Owned by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, KPXL-TV maintains transmitter facilities off Highway 173/RM Road 689 on the Medina–Bandera county line.

KPXR-TV is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to Eastern Iowa. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains offices on Blairs Ferry Road Northeast in Cedar Rapids and a transmitter near Walker, Iowa.

KTPX-TV is a television station licensed to Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States, serving as the Ion Television outlet for the Tulsa area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside NBC affiliate KJRH-TV. KTPX-TV's offices are located on East Skelly Drive in Tulsa, and its transmitter is located near Mounds, Oklahoma.

WFPX-TV is a television station licensed to Archer Lodge, North Carolina, United States, broadcasting the digital multicast network Scripps News to the Research Triangle region. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Rocky Mount–licensed Ion Television outlet WRPX-TV. WFPX-TV and WRPX-TV share a sales office on Gresham Lake Road in Raleigh; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WRPX-TV's spectrum from a tower northeast of Middlesex, North Carolina.

WPXR-TV is a television station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Roanoke–Lynchburg market. The station is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains a transmitter atop Poor Mountain in unincorporated southwestern Roanoke County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMCC</span> Independent TV station in Laughlin, Nevada

KMCC, branded Vegas 34, is an independent television station licensed to Laughlin, Nevada, United States, serving the Las Vegas area. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside ABC affiliate KTNV-TV. The two stations share studios on South Valley View Boulevard in the nearby unincorporated community of Paradise. KMCC uses a distributed transmission system, with the main transmitter located near Dolan Springs, Arizona, and a secondary transmitter at the KTNV studios.

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for KFPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "ION - Positively Entertaining".
  3. Cimilluca, Dana (September 24, 2020). "E.W. Scripps nears $2.65B takeover of ION Media in Berkshire-backed deal". Fox Business. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  4. "Scripps creates national television networks business with acquisition of ION Media" (Press release).
  5. "RabbitEars TV Query for KFPX". www.rabbitears.info. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  6. Keys, Matthew (June 28, 2024). "Scripps replacing Defy TV with Ion Plus on broadcast TV". TheDesk.net. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  7. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  8. "RabbitEars.Info".