KIMT

Last updated

KIMT
Kimt 2014.png
Kimt dt2 2010.PNG
City Mason City, Iowa
Channels
BrandingKIMT 3; KIMT News 3
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
Cable: Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Wisconsin, Bally Sports Midwest
History
First air date
May 15, 1954(70 years ago) (1954-05-15)
Former call signs
KGLO-TV (1954−1977)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 3 (VHF, 1954–2009)
  • Digital: 42 (UHF, 2002–2019)
  • Both secondary:
  • DuMont (1954–1956)
  • UPN (1995−2006)
Call sign meaning
"Iowa Minnesota Television"
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 66402
ERP 472 kW
HAAT 465.7 m (1,528 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 43°28′32″N92°42′30″W / 43.47556°N 92.70833°W / 43.47556; -92.70833
Links
Public license information
Website www.kimt.com

KIMT (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Mason City, Iowa, United States, serving North Central Iowa and Southeast Minnesota as an affiliate of CBS and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Allen Media Group, the station maintains studios on North Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Mason City, with a news bureau on Highway 52 North in Rochester, Minnesota, and a sales office on East William Street in downtown Albert Lea, Minnesota. Its transmitter is located near Meyer, Iowa (between Stacyville and McIntire) south of the Minnesota state line.

Contents

History

The station signed on for the first time on May 15, 1954, as KGLO-TV, owned by Lee Enterprises along with the Globe Gazette and KGLO radio (1300 AM and 101.1 FM). On the station's first day, reception of its analog signal on VHF channel 3 was reported as far away as Gary, Indiana. The original effective radiated power of 100,000 watts was the maximum amount permitted on the heritage allotment. It was affiliated with CBS owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS Radio, but also carried a secondary relation with DuMont until 1956, when that network ceased operations.

In August 1977, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that one company could not own all the media outlets in a city, forcing Lee Enterprises to break up its cluster in Mason City. As a result, KGLO radio was sold to BY Communications in 1977 and the television station was renamed KIMT (standing for "Iowa Minnesota Television") on August 1. In 1980, it was sold to the Shott family of Bluefield, West Virginia, and their Daily Telegraph Printing Company. However, in 1984, they sold KIMT and WBTW in Florence, South Carolina, to Spartan Radiocasting Company (later to become Spartan Communications).

Early in the morning on June 27, 1995, KIMT news anchor Jodi Huisentruit was abducted outside her apartment while on her way to work. She has not been found and the case remains unsolved to this day.

Spartan merged with Media General in 2000. KIMT's digital signal on UHF channel 42 launched in May 2002 and added high definition capabilities from the network during that summer. KIMT celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 15, 2004, with flashbacks and other special programming. On October 18, 2018, KIMT moved to channel 24 as part of the FCC repack.

On April 6, 2006, Media General announced it would sell KIMT as part of the company's acquisition of four NBC owned-and-operated stations. [3] On August 2, New Vision Television made public it had bought KIMT and sister station WIAT in Birmingham, Alabama, for $35 million. That company's acquisition of the two outlets was finalized on October 12, 2006. [4] As part of the analog to digital transition in 2009, the station opted to keep its analog channel on-air until the revised June 12 deadline. [5] After the transition (which occurred at 12:12 p.m.), KIMT planned to continue using digital channel 42 and filed paperwork with the FCC to eventually increase that signal's output power from 200 to 800 kW which would more effectively fill its coverage footprint.

On May 7, 2012, LIN TV Corporation announced that it would acquire the New Vision Television station group, including KIMT, for $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million in debt. [6] On October 2, the FCC approved the proposed sale to LIN TV. [7] The transaction was finalized on October 12, 2012.

On March 21, 2014, Media General announced that it would acquire LIN. [8] The merger was completed on December 19, making KIMT a Media General property once again, and marking the third ownership change for the station in less than a decade. [9]

In September 2015, Media General announced the acquisition of Meredith Corporation in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.4 billion. [10] Upon completion of the deal, KIMT, along with Davenport sister station and NBC affiliate KWQC-TV, would have become Meredith's first television stations in its home state of Iowa. However, on January 27, 2016, it was announced that the Nexstar Broadcasting Group would buy Media General for $4.6 billion. KIMT would have become part of "Nexstar Media Group", joining a cluster of Nexstar stations serving Iowa including ABC affiliates WOI-DT in Des Moines and KCAU-TV in Sioux City, and CBS affiliate WHBF-TV in the Quad Cities. [11] On June 13, 2016, Nexstar announced that it would sell KIMT and four other stations to Heartland Media, through its USA Television MidAmerica Holdings joint venture with MSouth Equity Partners, for $115 million; the sale was required to allow Nexstar to comply with FCC ownership caps following the merger. [12]

July 2015 carriage dispute with Mediacom

On July 14, 2015, KIMT and its digital subchannels were pulled from the North Iowa region's Mediacom cable systems due to a carriage dispute over retransmission consent fees between Mediacom and KIMT owner Media General. [13] This carriage dispute was part of an ongoing disagreement nationwide between Mediacom and Media General, which saw Media General stations in 14 television markets in the United States pulled from Mediacom cable systems and even three Fox affiliates owned by Media General were lost to Mediacom subscribers in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Topeka, Kansas just before the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. [14] On July 30, 2015, Mediacom and Media General reached a new agreement, thereby restoring KIMT and its digital subchannels to North Iowa area Mediacom subscribers. [15]

News operation

Since KIMT is the only major station licensed to the Iowa side of the market, its newscasts have traditionally focused on Iowa issues.[ citation needed ] On June 12, 2009, KIMT became the first outlet to upgrade newscasts to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen with some parts in full high definition. Although not truly HD, the aspect ratio matches that of high definition television screens.

Also at some point that year, KIMT added three newscasts to its MyNetworkTV-affiliated subchannel. This included a half-hour extension to its weekday morning show at 7 (known as My Morning News on My 3.2), a repeat of the thirty-minute weekday noon broadcast at 12:30 (called KIMT News 3 Midday on My 3.2), and prime time newscast weeknights at 9 (known as My Primetime News at 9). Eventually, the half-hour weeknight show was reduced to a five-minute cut-in featuring an updated weather forecast.

On March 20, 2011, rival NBC affiliate KTTC (channel 10) in Rochester upgraded its local news to full high definition becoming the first outlet to do so. KIMT has expanded its weekday morning news show, airing 2+12 hours of news from 4:30 to 7 a.m. and an additional half hour, My Morning News on My 3.2, starting at 7 a.m. on KIMT-DT2.

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KIMT [16]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
3.1 1080i 16:9 KIMTCBS CBS
3.2 720p KIMTMyN MyNetworkTV
3.3 480i KIMTION Ion Television
3.4 4:3 KIMTANT Antenna TV

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTTC</span> NBC/CW affiliate in Rochester, Minnesota

KTTC is a television station licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, United States, serving Southeast Minnesota and Northern Iowa as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to Fox affiliate KXLT-TV and Telemundo affiliate KXSH-LD under a shared services agreement (SSA) with SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The stations share studios in Rochester on Bandel Road Northwest along US 52, and also maintain an advertising sales office on Lakeview Drive in Clear Lake, Iowa, that serves Mason City. KTTC's transmitter is located south of Ostrander, Minnesota, near the Fillmore–Mower county line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKRG-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Mobile, Alabama

WKRG-TV is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving southwest Alabama and northwest Florida as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Gulf Shores, Alabama–licensed CW owned-and-operated station WFNA. The two stations share studios with several radio stations owned by iHeartMedia on Broadcast Drive in southwest Mobile; WKRG-TV's transmitter is located in unincorporated Baldwin County near Spanish Fort, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFLA-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Tampa, Florida

WFLA-TV is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside St. Petersburg–licensed CW owned-and-operated station WTTA and Sarasota-based low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate WSNN-LD. WFLA-TV and WTTA share studios on South Parker Street in downtown Tampa; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WFLA-TV's spectrum from a transmitter in Riverview, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOOD-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan

WOOD-TV is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed dual ABC/CW affiliate WOTV and Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate WXSP-CD. The three stations share studios on College Avenue Southeast in Grand Rapids; WOOD-TV's transmitter is located southwest of Middleville.

WBTW is a television station licensed to Florence, South Carolina, United States, serving the Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions of South Carolina as an affiliate of CBS. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on McDonald Court in the unincorporated community of Socastee ; its transmitter is located near Dillon, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFNA (TV)</span> CW TV station in Gulf Shores, Alabama

WFNA is a television station licensed to Gulf Shores, Alabama, United States, serving as the CW outlet for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside Mobile-licensed CBS affiliate WKRG-TV. The two stations share studios with several radio stations owned by iHeartMedia on Broadcast Drive in southwest Mobile; WFNA's transmitter is located in unincorporated Baldwin County near Spanish Fort, Alabama.

KXAN-TV is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Llano-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KBVO ; Nexstar also provides certain services to KNVA, a de facto owned-and-operated station of The CW, under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Vaughan Media. The three stations share studios on West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the Old West Austin section, just west of the University of Texas at Austin campus and just north of downtown; the studios and offices consist of a setup which includes the main studio and newsroom, and an unconnected auxiliary office building across the street. KXAN-TV's transmitter is located at the West Austin Antenna Farm north of West Lake Hills.

WISH-TV is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV and low-power, Class A getTV affiliate WIIH-CD. The stations share studios on North Meridian Street on the near north side of Indianapolis; WISH-TV and WNDY-TV also share transmitter facilities on Walnut Drive in the Augusta section of the city's northwest side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNDY-TV</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Marion, Indiana

WNDY-TV is a television station licensed to Marion, Indiana, United States, serving the Indianapolis area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Indianapolis-licensed CW affiliate WISH-TV and low-power, Class A getTV affiliate WIIH-CD. The stations share studios on North Meridian Street on the near north side of Indianapolis; WNDY-TV and WISH-TV also share transmitter facilities on Walnut Drive in the Augusta section of the city's northwest side. Despite Marion being WNDY-TV's city of license, the station maintains no physical presence there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRQE</span> CBS/Fox affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico

KRQE is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister to Santa Fe–licensed CW affiliate KWBQ and MyNetworkTV affiliate KASY-TV, both owned by Mission Broadcasting with certain services provided by Nexstar through shared services agreements. The three stations share studios on Broadcast Plaza in Albuquerque; KRQE's transmitter is located on Sandia Crest, east of Albuquerque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCTX</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in New Haven, Connecticut

WCTX is a television station licensed to New Haven, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside ABC affiliate WTNH, also licensed to New Haven. WCTX and WTNH share studios on Elm Street in downtown New Haven; per a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WTNH's spectrum from a tower in Hamden, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WYFX-LD</span> Fox affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio

WYFX-LD is a low-power television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate WKBN-TV ; Nexstar also provides certain services to ABC affiliate WYTV through joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Vaughan Media, LLC. The three stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown's Pleasant Grove neighborhood, where WYFX-LD's transmitter is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWBQ</span> CW TV station in Santa Fe, New Mexico

KWBQ is a television station licensed to Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, serving the Albuquerque area as a de facto owned-and-operated station of The CW. The station's transmitter is located atop Sandia Crest. KWBQ is owned by Mission Broadcasting alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KASY-TV. The two stations share studios with dual CBS/Fox affiliate KRQE on Broadcast Plaza in Albuquerque. Nexstar Media Group, which owns KRQE and holds a majority stake in The CW, provides master control, technical, engineering and accounting services for KWBQ and KASY-TV through a shared services agreement (SSA), though the two stations are otherwise operated separately from KRQE as Mission handles programming, advertising sales and retransmission consent negotiations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPRI-TV</span> CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island

WPRI-TV is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual Fox/CW affiliate WNAC-TV under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Mission Broadcasting. The two stations share studios on Catamore Boulevard in East Providence, Rhode Island; WPRI-TV's transmitter is located on Pine Street in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

WNLO is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate WIVB-TV. WNLO and WIVB-TV share studios on Elmwood Avenue in North Buffalo; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WNLO's spectrum from a tower in Colden, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVBT</span> Fox/CW affiliate in Virginia Beach, Virginia

WVBT is a television station licensed to Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of the Fox network. Its second digital subchannel serves as an owned-and-operated station of The CW. WVBT is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Portsmouth-licensed NBC affiliate WAVY-TV. The two stations share studios on Wavy Street in downtown Portsmouth; WVBT's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLFI-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Lafayette, Indiana

WLFI-TV is a television station in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on Yeager Road in West Lafayette; its transmitter is located on County Road 700 in rural northwestern Clinton County.

KBVO is a television station licensed to Llano, Texas, United States, serving the Austin area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside NBC affiliate KXAN-TV ; Nexstar also provides certain services to KNVA, a de facto owned-and-operated station of The CW, under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Vaughan Media. The three stations share studios on West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and San Gabriel Street ; KBVO's transmitter is located near the intersection of TX 71 and Llano County Road 307 in unincorporated Llano County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSNT</span> NBC affiliate in Topeka, Kansas

KSNT is a television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power, Class A Fox affiliate KTMJ-CD ; Nexstar also provides certain services to dual ABC/CW+ affiliate KTKA-TV under joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Vaughan Media, LLC. The stations share studios on Northwest 25th Street, near the unincorporated community of Kiro, where KSNT's transmitter is also located.

KWQC-TV is a television station licensed to Davenport, Iowa, United States, serving the Quad Cities area as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Brady Street in downtown Davenport, and its transmitter is located near Orion, Illinois.

References

  1. Miller, Mark K. (October 1, 2019). "Byron Allen Buying 11 Stations For $290M". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for KIMT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. "Media General to Acquire Four NBC Owned and Operated Television Stations" Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Media General, April 6, 2006
  4. "Media General Completes Sale of WIAT-TV in Birmingham, Ala., and KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, to New Vision Television", Media General, October 12, 2006
  5. "Analog Turn Off Delayed", KIMT News, February 9, 2009
  6. Malone, Michael (May 7, 2012). "LIN Acquiring New Vision Stations for $330 Million". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1499211.pdf [ dead link ]
  8. Ramakrishnan, Sruthi (March 21, 2014). "Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion". Reuters. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  9. Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , Press Release, Media General, Retrieved December 19, 2014
  10. "Media General to Buy Meredith Corp. for $2.4 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  11. "Nexstar Broadcasting Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Media General for $4.6 Billion in Accretive Cash and Stock Transaction". Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  12. "Prather Buys 5 TVs From Nexstar-Media Gen". TVNewsCheck. June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  13. Skipper, John (July 14, 2015). "Mediacom drops CBS in contract impasse". Mason City Globe Gazette . Lee Enterprises . Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  14. Farrell, Mike (July 15, 2015). "Media General Stations Go Dark on Mediacom". Multichannel News . NewBay Media . Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  15. Skipper, John (July 30, 2015). "Mediacom, Media General reach agreement; KIMT returns to Cable TV lineup". Mason City Globe Gazette . Lee Enterprises . Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  16. "RabbitEars TV Query for KIMT". RabbitEars.info .