NBC/Fox affiliate in Bismarck, North Dakota
KFYR-TV
(channel 5) 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
.
KFYR-TV serves as the
flagship station
of
NBC North Dakota
, a regional network of four stations relaying NBC network and other programming provided by KFYR across central and western North Dakota, as well as bordering counties in
Montana
and
South Dakota
. The three
satellite stations
clear all network and
syndicated
programming as provided through KFYR but air separate
legal identifications
and commercial inserts.
KQCD-TV
(channel 7) in
Dickinson
simulcasts all of KFYR's programming, while
KMOT
(channel 10) in
Minot
also produces its own weekday local newscasts at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and
KUMV-TV
(channel 8) in
Williston
simulcasts KMOT's newscasts with local inserts. The four stations are counted as a single unit for
ratings
purposes.
KFYR also serves as the only available NBC affiliate for central and western North Dakota for subscribers of
Dish Network
and
DirecTV
.
KFYR-TV was established in 1953 by the Meyer family as the first television station in Bismarck and third in the state. The Williston and Minot stations were set up in 1957 and 1958, with Dickinson being added in 1980. As with
KFYR radio
, "Meyer Television" became the market leader. The Meyer family owned KFYR-TV until it opted to exit broadcasting in the late 1990s; the stations have been sold four times since.
History
[
edit
]
After the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) lifted its freeze on television station grants in 1952, Meyer Broadcasting Company filed for channel 5 in Bismarck on November 28, 1952.
[3]
Also filing for channel 5 was M. B. Rudman, an oilman from
Minot
.
[4]
In February 1953, Rudman changed his application to specify the other
VHF
channel in the city, channel 12,
[5]
clearing the way for both groups to be granted
construction permits
on March 4.
[6]
[a]
From a temporary transmission facility atop the
North Dakota State Capitol
,
[8]
KFYR-TV began broadcasting on December 19, 1953.
[9]
It held affiliations with NBC and
CBS
;
[10]
KFYR's relationship with NBC in radio dated to 1931.
[11]
The State Capitol transmitter, said to be the only one of its kind in the country, was replaced in 1954 by the permanent facility, a more typical 503-foot (153 m) mast 11 miles (18 km) east of Bismarck.
[12]
A second television station came to Bismarck in 1955, KBMB-TV (channel 12, later changed to
KXMB-TV
), which was a CBS affiliate and served as an extension of
KXJB-TV
in
Valley City
and
KCJB-TV
in
Minot
.
[13]
Earlier that year, KFYR-TV began broadcasting live network programming to Bismarck.
[14]
KFYR-TV would continue to air some ABC programming until a full-time ABC service,
KBMY
, began broadcasting in 1985.
[15]
Meyer Broadcasting expanded its reach with the construction of two new stations in 1957 and 1958. The first application to be granted was that for channel 10 in Minot (KMOT-TV), in October 1955,
[16]
and Meyer was unopposed in its bid for channel 8 at Williston (KUMV-TV), which was approved in 1956.
[17]
Dickinson would have to wait much longer for its full-power station, KQCD, to begin in 1980. Local news inserts from Dickinson ended on December 31, 1991, with the station turning to rebroadcasting KFYR's Bismarck news.
[18]
In 1995, Meyer acquired KTHI-TV in Fargo, which it renamed KVLY-TV.
[19]
When Meyer opted to exit broadcasting, KFYR-TV and its associated stations were sold to
Sunrise Television Corporation
for $63.75 million; at that time, KFYR-TV accounted for 57 percent of all broadcast TV viewing in Bismarck.
[20]
The sale separated KFYR radio and television, which at the time shared several on-air personalities and a news director.
[21]
It was the first of several sales for KFYR-TV. In 2002, North Dakota Television LLC, a consortium of private equity firms The Wicks Group of Companies,
JP Morgan Partners
, and Halyard Capital acquired the KFYR system as well as KVLY-TV in Fargo.
[22]
Hoak Media
of Dallas acquired these stations, as well as
KSFY-TV
in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, and its satellites in 2006.
[23]
The NBC North Dakota network picked up
MeTV
in April 2013, with an official launch date of May 1, 2013.
[24]
On November 20, 2013,
Gray Television
announced it would purchase Hoak Media in a $335 million deal. Gray initially planned, through Excalibur Broadcasting, to also acquire Fox affiliate
KNDX
/KXND for $7.5 million and operate them under a local marketing agreement.
[25]
On March 25, 2014, Prime Cities Broadcasting, owner of KNDX/KXND, requested that the FCC dismiss the sale of that station to Excalibur.
[26]
Gray would instead acquire the stations' non-license assets;
[27]
upon the closure of the Hoak purchases on June 13, 2014, KNDX/KXND were shuttered and their Fox programs moved to subchannels of KFYR and its satellites.
[28]
News operation
[
edit
]
KFYR's newscasts have led the ratings in western North Dakota for as long as records have been kept. Early on, the Meyers devoted significant resources to KFYR's news department, resulting in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for such a small market. This tradition has continued today. The station broadcasts local newscasts at 5 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Central Time Monday through Friday; 6 and 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 5 and 10 p.m. on Sunday. KFYR-TV anchors include
Monica Hannan
and Alan Miller.
Country Morning Today
,
Noon Report
, and
First News at 5:00
are simulcast across the entire four-station network, along with all weekend newscasts.
While KFYR still dominates the television news scene, its dominance is not as absolute as it once was. In recent years, KX Television's
KX News Morning
has consistently beaten
Country Morning Today
, often by wide margins. It is the only time in recent memory that NBC North Dakota has lost
any
time slot for more than one ratings period.
KMOT produces its own newscasts from Monday through Friday weekdays at 6 and 10 p.m., and rebroadcasts KFYR-TV's other newscasts. KUMV airs its own newscasts from Monday through Friday at 6 and 10 p.m. The first 10 minutes (which includes regional news and weather) originate at KFYR in Bismarck. KUMV has its own news and sports anchor who fill the remaining 20 minutes. It simulcasts KFYR's other newscasts. From 2002 to 2007, KMOT was forced to cut its newscasts to 20 minutes while simulcasting the first 10 minutes of KFYR-TV's 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, much as KUMV does now. In January 2007, KMOT began airing full 30-minute newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. once again. It also added a weatherman and photographer/reporter to the staff.
KQCD once had its own news department consisting of bureau chief Brian Howell and reporter Cebe Schneider, whose stories aired on KFYR-TV's newscasts. They were the only reporters based in southwestern North Dakota. However, they were let go in 2012 due to budget cutbacks. KQCD currently has a reporter that contributes to KFYR-produced newscasts.
The stations occasionally share stories with co-owned KVLY-TV. The five stations simulcast major North Dakota sporting events and statewide political debates under the NBC North Dakota brand name and share certain equipment, such as remote broadcasting vehicles. On April 30, 2012, NBC North Dakota began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.
[29]
KFYR-TV received international
[30]
attention when newly hired weekend co-anchor A. J. Clemente uttered several
obscenities
during his first broadcast on April 21, 2013, after mispronouncing the name of
London Marathon
winner
Tsegaye Kebede
.
[31]
Even though he was unaware he was
on air
, Clemente was immediately suspended from KFYR following that evening's 5 p.m. newscast, according to a statement released by
news director
/anchor Monica Hannan. That night, co-anchor Van Tieu apologized on-air on behalf of the station.
[32]
Hannan fired Clemente the following day, according to a post from his Twitter account.
[33]
Clemente was mocked by
David Letterman
on the
Late Show
'
s
Top 10 List
on April 23, 2013 (then appeared as a guest the following day).
[34]
On April 24, 2013, Clemente appeared on
Today
to discuss the incident (seeking to redeem himself and hopeful for a second chance somewhere in addition to acknowledging he had no 'animosity' about being fired by KFYR).
[35]
The same day, he sought that "second chance" with an opportunity to speak on
Inside Edition
.
[36]
The Fox-affiliated subchannel debuted
West Dakota Fox News at Nine
during October 2014, originating from KFYR's studios in Bismarck.
Notable current on-air staff
[
edit
]
Technical information
[
edit
]
Subchannels
[
edit
]
The station's signal is
multiplexed
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
[
edit
]
KFYR-TV shut down its analog signal, over
VHF
channel 5, 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 31,
[39]
[40]
using
virtual channel
5.
Satellite stations
[
edit
]
KFYR-TV serves one of the largest
markets
in the country. It extends its over-the-air coverage area through a network of three full-power stations encompassing much of the western and central two-thirds of North Dakota and parts of eastern Montana and northwestern South Dakota, branded as
NBC North Dakota
.
These stations mostly rebroadcast KFYR. However, they all identify as separate stations in their own right, and air separate station identifications and local commercials, as well as different programming if desired. KMOT produces its own local 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts on weekdays, while KUMV airs 20-minute local inserts into KMOT's newscasts. KQCD airs a time-shifted feed of KFYR in
Mountain Time
for most of the day, except for identifications and commercials.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Rudman never followed through with a series of construction permits he had obtained for TV stations; finding that neither Bismarck nor Minot could not support more than one station and because of his expanding business activities, he opted to retain a permit for a station in
Billings, Montana
, and surrendered the others.
[7]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Station history
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for KFYR-TV"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
"KFYR Asks Permit For TV Station"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. December 1, 1952. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Cost of Bismarck TV Station Said $280,000"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. January 13, 1953. p. 8
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Bismarck TV Said Possible in 1953"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. February 23, 1953. p. 3
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR Makes Plans: TV Stations Okayed"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. March 5, 1953. p. 1,
3
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Rudman Drops TV Plans Here"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. September 19, 1953. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR-TV to Go On Air Dec. 1"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. November 2, 1953. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR-TV to Go On Air Saturday"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. December 18, 1953. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR-TV Signs With 2 Networks"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. November 12, 1953. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR radio planning to change news source"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Bismarck, North Dakota. December 28, 1983. p. 15
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR Completes Television Tower"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Bismarck, North Dakota. July 15, 1954. p. 6
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"New Television Station Here To Begin Operations Sunday: KBMB 3rd State Station by Firm Headed by Boler"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. November 18, 1955. p. 7
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"KFYR-TV to Go 'Live' Wednesday"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. September 27, 1955. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Quanrud, Ted (February 1, 1985).
"Finally! ABC on local airwaves: City gets 4th station"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. Fanfare 11
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Meyer Granted Minot Channel"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Associated Press. October 6, 1955. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Meyer Files"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Associated Press. May 29, 1956. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Fehr, Kris (December 7, 1991).
"Dickinson searches for new TV station"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. 9A
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Steinbach, Chris (November 10, 1994).
"Meyer Broadcasting to buy Fargo station: Purchase would give company 5 N.D. stations"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. 1B
. Retrieved
November 15,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Sunrise to continue tradition"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Bismarck, North Dakota. April 29, 1998. p. 1A,
12A
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Gardyasz, Joe (May 10, 1998).
"Sharing of Meyer's on-air personalities a question mark"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. 1F
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"New owners at five N.D. TV stations"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Associated Press. August 31, 2002. p. 4C
. Retrieved
November 15,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Hoak Media buys Dakotas stations"
.
Rapid City Journal
. Associated Press. July 19, 2006. p. A15
. Retrieved
November 15,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"NorthPine.com"
. NorthPine.com
. Retrieved
February 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Gray Buying Hoak, Prime Stations For $342.5M"
.
TVNewsCheck
. Retrieved
November 20,
2013
.
- ^
Paxson, Ann Thomas (March 25, 2014).
"Re: Prime Cities Broadcasting, Inc. Request for Dismissal of Group Application for Assignment of Broadcast Station License(s)…"
(PDF)
.
CDBS Public Access
.
Federal Communications Commission
. Retrieved
March 26,
2014
.
- ^
"Gray Adds North And South Dakota TVs"
.
TVNewsCheck
. May 1, 2014
. Retrieved
December 4,
2014
.
- ^
"Gray Completes Hoak-Prime Station Buy"
.
TVNewsCheck
. Retrieved
June 16,
2014
.
- ^
KFYR-TV Makes the Conversion to HD
- ^
"News anchor AJ Clemente's f-bomb on-air blunder"
.
NEWS.com.au
. April 22, 2013.
- ^
O'Reilly, Andrew (May 14, 2013).
"Fired Anchor A.J. Clemente Takes A Bartending Job At $2.23 An Hour"
.
Fox News
.
- ^
Shapiro, Rebecca (April 22, 2013).
"NBC's AJ Clemente Suspended After Saying 'F-cking Sh-t' On Air (VIDEO) ? Huffington Post"
.
Huffington Post
.
- ^
Clemente, A. J. [@ClementeAJ] (April 22, 2013).
"Unfortunately KFYRTV has decided to let me go. Thank you to them and everyone in ND for the opportunity and everyone for the support"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
- ^
"Letterman mocks fired anchor Clemente with Top 10"
.
- ^
Shapiro, Rebecca (April 24, 2013).
"WATCH: 'Today' Hosts Plead For Fired Anchor's Second Chance"
.
Huffington Post
.
- ^
"INSIDE EDITION Gives Fired Anchorman A.J. Clemente Second Chance"
. April 24, 2013.
- ^
"KFYR-TV is your local NBC Affiliate in Bismarck, North Dakota. We provide local news, weather and sports, as well as, NBC Network programming. | Meet the Team"
. Archived from
the original
on July 10, 2018
. Retrieved
July 9,
2018
.
- ^
"RabbitEars TV Query for KFYR"
.
RabbitEars
. Retrieved
August 19,
2022
.
- ^
"KFYR-TV - The Switch to Digital"
.
www.kfyrtv.com
. Archived from
the original
on December 31, 2007.
- ^
"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
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Bismarck
?
Mandan
|
- KBME-TV
(3.1
PBS
, 3.2
World
/Lifelong, 3.3
MN
, 3.4
PBS Kids
)
- KFYR-TV
(5.1
NBC
, 5.2
Fox
, 5.3
MeTV
, 5.4
Circle
, 5.5
Quest
)
- KXMB-TV
(12.1
CBS
, 12.2
CW+
, 12.3
Laff
, 12.4
Mystery
)
- KXBK-LD
(15.1 Shop LC, 15.2
QVC
, 15.3
JTV
)
- KBMY
(17.1
ABC
, 17.2
Crime
, 17.3
MNTV
, 17.4
Ion
, 17.5
Defy
, 17.6
Court
)
- KNDB
(26.1
H&I
/ BEK Prime /
NewsNet
, 26.2 BEK Sports Plus, 26.3
Grit
, 26.4
Cozi
, 26.5
Bounce
, 26.6
Quest
, 26.7
Comet
, 26.8
Get
, 26.9
Court
, 26.10
Buzzr
, 26.11
Scripps News
, 26.12
JTV
)
- K35PO-D
(35)
- K43JQ-D
(43.1
EICB
)
|
---|
Minot
|
- KSRE
(6.1
PBS
, 6.2
World
/Lifelong, 6.3
MN
, 6.4
PBS Kids
)
- KMOT
(10.1
NBC
, 10.2
Fox
, 10.3
MeTV
, 10.4
Circle
, 10.5
Quest
)
- KXMC-TV
(13.1
CBS
, 13.2
CW+
, 13.3
Laff
, 13.4
Mystery
)
- KMCY
(14.1
ABC
, 14.2
Crime
, 14.3
MNTV
, 14.4
Ion
, 14.5
Defy
, 14.6
Court
)
- K21GQ-D 21
(
Hillsong
)
- KNDM
(24.1
H&I
/ BEK Prime /
NewsNet
, 24.2 BEK Sports Plus, 24.3
Grit
, 24.4
Cozi
, 24.5
Bounce
, 24.6
Quest
, 24.7
Comet
, 24.8
Get
, 24.9
Court
, 24.10
Buzzr
, 24.11
Scripps News
, 24.12
JTV
)
- K42IM-D
(42.1
EICB
)
|
---|
Dickinson
|
- KXMA-TV
(2.1
CW+
, 2.2
CBS
, 2.3
Laff
, 2.4
Mystery
)
- KQCD-TV
(7.1
NBC
, 7.2
Fox
, 7.3
MeTV
, 7.4
Circle
, 7.5
Quest
)
- KDSE
(9.1
PBS
, 9.2
World
/Lifelong, 9.3
MN
, 9.4
PBS Kids
)
- K28QT-D
(28)
|
---|
Williston
|
- KWSE
(4.1
PBS
, 4.2
World
/Lifelong, 4.3
MN
, 4.4
PBS Kids
)
- KUMV-TV
(8.1
NBC
, 8.2
Fox
, 8.3
MeTV
, 8.4
Circle
, 8.5
Quest
)
- KXMD-TV
(11.1
CBS
, 11.2
CW+
, 11.3
Laff
, 11.4
Mystery
)
- K20PB-D
(20)
- K28QQ-D
(40)
|
---|
Cable
channels
| |
---|
Defunct
| |
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|