KVLY-TV

Last updated

KVLY-TV
KVLY 11 logo 2024.svg
MeTVFargo.png
City Fargo, North Dakota
Channels
Branding
  • KVLY TV 11; Valley News Live
  • KX4 (on DT2)
  • MeTV Fargo (on DT3)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KXJB-LD
History
First air date
October 11, 1959(64 years ago) (1959-10-11)
Former call signs
  • KXGO-TV (1959–1963)
  • KEND-TV (1963–1964)
  • KTHI-TV (1964–1995)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 11 (VHF, 1959–2009)
  • Digital: 44 (UHF, until 2019)
ABC (1959–1983)
Call sign meaning
 Red River Valley
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 61961
ERP 330 kW
HAAT 593.9 m (1,948 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 47°20′32″N97°17′21″W / 47.34222°N 97.28917°W / 47.34222; -97.28917
Translator(s) see § Translators
Links
Public license information
Website www.valleynewslive.com

KVLY-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Horace-licensed low-power dual CBS/CW+ affiliate KXJB-LD (channel 30). The two stations share studios on 21st Avenue South in Fargo; KVLY-TV's transmitter is located near Blanchard. In addition to its main studio in Fargo, KVLY-TV operates a news bureau and sales office in the US Bank building in downtown Grand Forks.

Contents

KVLY-TV is considered a part of the NBC North Dakota state network of NBC affiliates, although it airs separate newscasts and syndicated programming from flagship and sister station KFYR-TV in Bismarck.

KVLY-TV is most notable for its broadcast tower, which was the fourth tallest above-ground structure in the world at 2,063 feet (629 m). The tower was at one time the tallest structure in the world and was the tallest broadcast structure in the Western Hemisphere. In 2019, the top mount antenna was removed for the FCC spectrum repack, dropping the overall height to 1,987 feet (606 m). [2] The KRDK-TV tower is located just six miles (9.7 km) from the KVLY-TV tower, and now holds the record noted here.

History

The station signed on the air on October 11, 1959, as KXGO-TV (the "GO" for Fargo), an ABC affiliate. It was originally owned by J. B. Fuqua through North Dakota Broadcasting. In 1963, the call letters were changed to KEND-TV (for "Eastern North Dakota"). On August 13, 1963, channel 11 moved to its current tower near Blanchard. In 1964, the call letters were changed to as KTHI-TV (for "Tower-Hi"). Fuqua sold the station to Morgan Murphy Stations in 1968. On August 22, 1983, KTHI became an NBC affiliate, swapping affiliations with longtime NBC outlet WDAY-TV (channel 6). The current call sign, adopted on May 2, 1995, represents the station's slogan, "The Valley's Choice for Local News", as it serves the communities along the Red River of the North and its tributaries.

From 1968 until the mid-1980s, channel 11 was carried by cable systems across Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, including the Winnipeg area. When KTHI switched affiliation to NBC, it was replaced by ABC affiliate WDAZ-TV (channel 8) in Grand Forks, until Canadian cable companies were granted permission to replace most of the North Dakota stations with network affiliates from Detroit.

Meyer Broadcasting of Bismarck, North Dakota, owner of KFYR-TV in Bismarck and its network of satellites in western North Dakota, bought the station in 1995. It sold its television stations to Sunrise Television in 1997. In 2002, Sunrise sold its North Dakota stations to the Wicks Group of New York City. Hoak Media bought all of Wicks' television stations, including KVLY, in January 2007.

Previous KVLY logo used from 2006 until 2014, still used as secondary KVLY2006.png
Previous KVLY logo used from 2006 until 2014, still used as secondary

In September 2005, ten years after changing its call sign from KTHI, KVLY became the first major network affiliate in Fargo to broadcast in high-definition. In May 2006, KVLY made its logo bolder to reflect the change to HDTV. KVLY is the second-most-watched television station in the Red River Valley, behind WDAY/WDAZ, which are owned by Forum Communications Company.

In 2003, KVLY began operating CBS affiliate KXJB-TV under a local marketing agreement (LMA), and the two stations began sharing facilities. In April 2007, KVLY-TV and KXJB-TV began simulcasting weekend newscasts, and in November 2007, the stations began simulcasting news during weekdays rebranded as Valley News Live . [3]

In January 2010, KVLY added classic movie network This TV to subchannel 11.2. It was replaced by classic television network MeTV on January 1, 2013.

On November 20, 2013, Hoak announced the sale of most of its stations, including KVLY-TV, to Gray Television. Sister station KXJB-TV was to be sold by Parker Broadcasting to Excalibur Broadcasting and would have continued to be operated by KVLY under an LMA. [4] The sale was completed on June 13, but upon the closing of the sale, and in the wake of the new FCC rules restricting LMAs, Excalibur abandoned its plans to acquire the station. [5]

Gray would continue to provide certain services to KXJB in the interim, and later moved its CBS programming to a multicast subchannel of KVLY. If a buyer was not found for KXJB, the station would cease broadcasting in the interim. KXJB would then be spun off to minority interests, which under this arrangement would allow the station to continue operating on the conditions that it operated independently (under minority, female and/or non-profit ownership) and not make any partnerships or sharing arrangements with other broadcasters. [6]

On November 12, 2014, CBS affiliate KXJB-TV's programming began being simulcast on KVLY's second digital subchannel, displacing MeTV to the third subchannel, as KXJB was sold to Major Market Broadcasting. [7] KXJB signed off at midnight on December 1, 2014, as its programming moved to KVLY's subchannel. [8] KVLY-DT2 began simulcasting in full 1080i HD on KXJB-LD 30.1 in September 2016, along with translators K28MA-D 28.1 in Argusville (covering north and west of Fargo) and K30LR-D 30.1 in Grand Forks. CBS programming remains on KVLY-DT2 in downconverted 720p to provide full-market access to CBS in HD. KXJB-TV would return to the air as KRDK-TV in January 2015, carrying various networks on its subchannels.

On May 28, 2019, KVLY moved from UHF channel 44 to UHF channel 36. [9]

Programming

Sports programming

KVLY has been home to North Dakota State Bison football games in recent years. The station broadcasts regular season games and produces a pregame show. In the 2019–2020 season the pregame show featured former NFL player and Bison alum Kyle Emanuel as one of the hosts. [10]

News operation

Valley News Live logo ValleyNewsLive.png
Valley News Live logo

Valley News Live is the name of the news department shared by KVLY and KXJB. KVLY and KXJB started simulcasting weekend news in April 2007. The same news is broadcast on both channels. KXJB uses its "4" digital on-screen graphic, while KVLY uses the "11" bug during newscasts.[ citation needed ] Beginning November 5, 2007, KVLY and KXJB expanded their simulcasting to weekdays.

KVLY broadcasts 26+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday, one hour on Saturdays and a half-hour on Sundays). It also broadcasts an additional 13+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week for KVLY-DT 11.2 and KXJB-LD 30.1 and 30.2, consisting of the noon and 5:30 p.m. newscasts, an hour-long extension of KVLY's morning newscast The Valley Today at 7 a.m. on weekdays and a half-hour nightly prime time newscast at 9 p.m. Combined across the four channels, KVLY produces a total of 40 hours of newscasts each week.

Ratings

Recently, KVLY has been the ratings leader for the immediate Fargo–Moorhead metro area and the southern part of the market, however WDAZ's dominance in the Grand Forks metro area and the northern part of the market make the WDAY/WDAZ combo the ratings leader for the Fargo–Grand Forks market as a whole. [11]

Due to many of KVLY's newscasts being simulcast on KXJB, KVLY and KXJB's ratings are combined. However, until recently, KVLY and KXJB were not counted as one station due to different network and syndicated programming. CBS and KXJB's programming moved to KVLY's second subchannel in December 2014 (and later KXJB-LD), therefore KVLY can now count all of its subchannels as one station for ratings purposes.

Former on-air staff

  • Dennis Bounds – news anchor (later evening news anchor for KING 5 in Seattle; retired in 2016)
  • Robert Ivers – news anchor and talk-show host; deceased
  • Jim Lounsbury – news anchor (early 1980s; pioneer rock and roll DJ earlier in his career); deceased
  • Ed Schultz – sports anchor (1982; was Fargo-based syndicated radio host); deceased

Technical information

The KVLY-TV mast KVLYFromBase.jpeg
The KVLY-TV mast
Comparison of the KVLY-TV mast to the tallest structures in the world Tallest Structures in the world.png
Comparison of the KVLY-TV mast to the tallest structures in the world

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KVLY-TV [12]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
11.1 1080i 16:9 KVLYNBC NBC
11.2 720p KXJBCBS CBS (KXJB-LD)
11.3 480i MeTV MeTV
11.4The365 The365
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

In January 2010, KVLY-TV began broadcasting the This TV network on subchannel 11.2. On January 1, 2013, This TV programming was replaced on digital channel 11.2 with its former sister network MeTV (both networks were owned at the time by Weigel Broadcasting; This TV was later taken over by Tribune Broadcasting and is now owned by Allen Media Group). [13] In addition to the main MeTV programming, KVLY used the subchannel for live events (including NDSU Bison basketball), and to repeat its morning newscast, The Valley Today, in the late morning. On November 12, 2014, KXJB's programming was moved to KVLY's second digital subchannel (now also carried as KXJB-LD's main channel), displacing MeTV to the third. Heroes & Icons was added during November 2016 to KVLY's fourth subchannel, bringing a full-market coverage simulcast of KXJB-LD's third subchannel. KVLY's fourth subchannel was switched to Circle in 2021, while Heroes & Icons continues to be carried on KXJB-LD's third subchannel.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KVLY-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on February 16, 2009, the day prior to the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were set to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later rescheduled for June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 44, [14] [15] using virtual channel 11.

Translators

KVLY-TV serves its large coverage area with three translators. All are owned by local municipalities.

Active translators

Defunct translators

Some of the defunct translators were actually in the western part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, broadcast television market.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVLY-TV mast</span> Television-transmitting mast in Blanchard, North Dakota

The KVLY-TV mast is a television-transmitting mast in Blanchard, North Dakota. It is used by Fargo station KVLY-TV and KXJB-LD's Argusville/Valley City/Mayville translator K28MA-D, along with KNGF. Completed in 1963, it was once the tallest structure in the world, and stood at 2,063 feet until 2019, when the top mount VHF antenna was removed for the FCC spectrum repack, dropping the height to 1,987 feet (605.6 m).

NBC North Dakota is a network of four television stations that serve most of central and western North Dakota, along with parts of South Dakota and Montana. All four stations are dual NBC/Fox affiliates, and the flagship station is KFYR-TV in Bismarck. All four are owned by Gray Television. Sister station KVLY-TV in Fargo/Grand Forks is also considered a member of the network covering eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, but originates its own programming and newscasts. Fox programming is also not shown on KVLY-TV. KVLY's sister station CBS affiliate KXJB-LD is not available outside of the KVLY viewing area. In 2023 as part of a rebranding, all four stations rebranded under their respective call letters.

KFYR-TV is a television station in Bismarck, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC and Fox. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on North 4th Street and East Broadway Avenue in downtown Bismarck, and its transmitter is located near St. Anthony, North Dakota.

KMOT is a television station in Minot, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC and Fox. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities at the intersection of 16th Street and 18th Avenue SW in Minot.

KUMV-TV is a television station licensed to Williston, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC and Fox. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains a news studio and advertising sales office at the intersection of Main Street and 6th Street East in Williston, and its transmitter is located west of the city near the North Dakota–Montana border.

KQCD-TV is a television station in Dickinson, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC and Fox. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains a news bureau and advertising sales office on 21st Street East in Dickinson; its transmitter is located near South Heart, North Dakota.

KRDK-TV is a television station licensed to Valley City, North Dakota, United States, serving the Fargo–Grand Forks market. Owned by Major Market Broadcasting, it is affiliated with multiple networks on various digital subchannels, with Cozi TV and MyNetworkTV on its main channel. KRDK-TV's offices are located on Winter Show Road in Valley City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KBMY</span> ABC/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Bismarck, North Dakota

KBMY is a television station in Bismarck, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Forum Communications Company, the station maintains a news bureau and advertising sales office on North 15th Street in Bismarck, and its transmitter is located near St. Anthony, North Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVRR</span> Fox affiliate in Fargo, North Dakota

KVRR is a television station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is the flagship television property of locally based Red River Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception. KVRR's studios are located on South 40th Street and South 9th Avenue in Fargo, and its transmitter is located near Tansem, Minnesota. KVRR also handles master control and some internal operations for sister station and fellow Fox affiliate KQDS-TV in Duluth, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDAZ-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Devils Lake–Grand Forks, North Dakota

WDAZ-TV is a television station licensed to Devils Lake, North Dakota, United States, serving the Grand Forks area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by the Forum Communications Company, which also owns the Grand Forks Herald. WDAZ-TV's news bureau and advertising sales office are located on South Washington Street in Grand Forks, and its transmitter is located near Dahlen, North Dakota. Despite Devils Lake being WDAZ-TV's city of license, the station maintains no physical presence there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Grand Forks</span> Metropolitan statistical area in the United States

"Greater Grand Forks" is the name used by some people to designate the twin cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, together with their surrounding areas. The two cities lie directly across from each other on both sides of the Red River of the North, but Grand Forks, with a population of 59,166, is more than five times larger than East Grand Forks, with a population of 9,176. The metropolitan area includes all of the related two counties in the two states: Grand Forks County in North Dakota and Polk County in Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 104,362, and in 2021 estimates placed the total population at 103,462.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCPM (TV)</span> TV station in Grand Forks, North Dakota (2003–2020)

KCPM was a television station licensed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States, which served eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Owned by Chuck Poppen's Central Plains Media of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it was last affiliated with MyNetworkTV. KCPM's transmitter was located on the Midco cable headend tower northwest of East Grand Forks, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KQDS-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Duluth, Minnesota

KQDS-TV is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Red River Broadcasting, the station has studios on London Road in Duluth, and its transmitter is located west of downtown in Hilltop Park. Master control and some internal operations are based out of the studio facilities of sister station, fellow Fox affiliate and Red River flagship KVRR on South 40th Street and South 9th Avenue in Fargo, North Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNOE-TV</span> CBS/ABC/CW affiliate in Monroe, Louisiana

KNOE-TV is a television station licensed to Monroe, Louisiana, United States, serving the Monroe, Louisiana–El Dorado, Arkansas market as an affiliate of CBS and ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power dual CW+/MyNetworkTV affiliate KCWL-LD. KNOE-TV's studios are located on Oliver Road north of Louisville Avenue in Monroe, and its transmitter is located north of Columbia off Seay Road near LA 847

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSFY-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

KSFY-TV is a television station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual NBC and Fox affiliate KDLT-TV. The two stations share studios in Courthouse Square on 1st Avenue South in Sioux Falls; KSFY-TV's transmitter is located near Rowena, South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDAY-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Fargo, North Dakota

WDAY-TV is a television station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC. It serves as the flagship television property of locally based Forum Communications Company, which also owns WDAY radio and The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. The television and radio stations share studios on South 8th Street in downtown Fargo, while WDAY-TV's transmitter is located near Amenia.

A regional variation generally refers to times when a radio station or television station simultaneously broadcasts different programs, continuity or advertisements to different parts of its coverage area. This may be so as to provide programming specific to a particular region, such as local news, or may be so as to allow advertisements to be targeted to a particular area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNDB</span> TV station in Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S.

KNDB is a television station in Bismarck, North Dakota, United States. Owned by BEK Sports Network, Inc., a subsidiary of BEK Communications Cooperative, it is affiliated with multiple networks on various digital subchannels, with Heroes & Icons and BEK Prime on its main channel. KNDB's studios are located on East Interstate Avenue in Bismarck, and its transmitter is located near St. Anthony, North Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNOX-TV</span> TV station in Grand Forks, North Dakota (1955–1964)

KNOX-TV, channel 10, was a VHF television station in Grand Forks, North Dakota, owned by Community Radio Corporation. The station operated from December 11, 1955, to February 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXJB-LD</span> CBS/CW affiliate in Horace–Fargo, North Dakota

KXJB-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Horace, North Dakota, United States, serving the Fargo–Grand Forks market as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KVLY-TV. The two stations share studios on 21st Avenue South in Fargo, where KXJB-LD's transmitter is also located.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KVLY-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results".
  3. ↑ TV station stokes hate and fear in outrageous report on refugees – Reverb Press
  4. ↑ "Gray Buying Hoak, Prime Stations For $342.5M". TVNewsCheck. November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. ↑ Gray closes Hoak deal; completes refinancing., rbr.com, Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Gray retains MMTC as broker for former SSA’d stations, rbr.com, Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  7. ↑ "KXJB sold: CBS programming will live on as KX4 | Prairie Business Magazine | Grand Forks, ND". Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  8. ↑ "A look back on the last 60 years of KXJB Television". www.valleynewslive.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ "TV Rescan Required: KVLY - KXJB - MeTV Viewer Notification". valleynewslive.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Kyle Emanuel to join the TV broadcast crew during NDSU Football Pre-Game Shows". June 17, 2019.
  11. ↑ "KVLY takes lead in metro ratings; WDAY maintains lead in RRV | Prairie Business Magazine | Grand Forks, ND". Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for KVLY". RabbitEars. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  13. ↑ Me-TV Adds WPTZ Burlington, KVLY Fargo, TVNewsCheck, November 14, 2012.
  14. ↑ Congress delays digital TV conversion, The Forum, Fargo ND, February 5, 2009
  15. ↑ "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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.