KCPM (TV)

KCPM
Grand Forks, North Dakota
United States
Branding KCPM (localized)
Central Plains Media (regional)
Slogan Something for Everyone
Channels Digital: 27 (UHF)
Virtual: 27 (PSIP)
Subchannels 27.1 MyNetworkTV
27.3 Retro TV
Affiliations MyNetworkTV (2006–present)
Owner Central Plains Media
(sale to Gray Television pending[1])
(G.I.G. of North Dakota, LLC)
First air date 2003 (2003)
Call letters' meaning Central Plains Media
Sister station(s) KCPO-LP
Former channel number(s) Analog:
27 (UHF, 2003–2009)
Former affiliations UPN (2003–2006)
Transmitter power 11.1 kW
Height 55.8 m (183 ft)
Class DT
Facility ID 86208
Transmitter coordinates 47°57′45.2″N 97°3′13.1″W / 47.962556°N 97.053639°W / 47.962556; -97.053639
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website www.kcpm.tv

KCPM is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States, serving eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. The station broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on virtual and UHF channel 27 from the Midco cable headend tower northwest of East Grand Forks, Minnesota.

KCPM is owned by Chuck Poppen's Central Plains Media of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The station's broadcast signal has only been on the air intermittently since 2014, and was removed from Midco cable channel 9 in Grand Forks and Midco cable channel 3 in the Fargo–Moorhead area in December 2014. The station is only reportedly carried on Cable One channel 27 in Fargo–Moorhead, Charter Spectrum cable channel 9 in Fergus Falls, and Sjoberg's Cable channel 5 in Thief River Falls.

KCPM is a semi-satellite of independent station KCPO-LP in Sioux Falls, although it airs separate commercials, station identifications and sometimes different syndicated programming due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) market regulations and KCPM's MyNetworkTV affiliation. KCPM has also reported adding Retro TV on digital subchannel 27.3 since summer 2015.

History

KCPM was a UPN affiliate launched to fill the void when Minneapolis–Saint Paul's KMSP-TV was being dropped by area cable television systems due to its affiliation switch from UPN to Fox. Originally, KCPM was to go on air in 2000, but the station construction permit was sold to Catamount Broadcasting of Fargo and became KXJC-LP. KCPM eventually launched in 2003, at full power on channel 27.

KCPM was the first full-time UPN affiliate in North Dakota. At the time, UPN programming was being carried after primetime by former Fox affiliates KNDX and KXND. KVRR had not done the same since 1998, as UPN affiliate KMSP-TV was commonly available on cable in the Fargo-Grand Forks market.

The KVNJ call sign was previously used in Fargo by KVRR. The call sign KCPM was previously used in California by current NBC affiliate KNVN from 1995 to 1998.

MyNetworkTV

KCPM's former MyNetworkTV logo

On January 24, 2006, the UPN and WB networks announced they would merge. The newly combined network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. The merger would take effect on-the-air on September 18, 2006. In response to the merger, News Corporation (the owner of Fox) launched another network called MyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006.

KCPM rejected The CW and affiliated with MyNetworkTV. In September 2005, KCPM replaced the UPN logo in its logo with the logo of Central Plains Media. The new KCPM MyNetworkTV logo was introduced in August 2006, and KCPM dropped UPN entirely on September 4, 2006. WDAY-TV launched a digital subchannel to carry The CW, which replaced cable-only station WBFG on September 18, 2006.

Intermittent broadcast operations

The station filed a notice to the FCC to cease terrestrial operations February 15, 2008 and filed notice on May 22, 2008 to suspend operations. According to FCC records, the station's owners have suspended operations on financial grounds, due to the economy.[2] According to reports from viewers,[3] KCPM remained available on cable, although not available over the air. By November 2008, the station resumed over-the-air broadcasting after the FCC rejected the notice to cease terrestrial operations. On June 12, 2009, the station turned off their digital signal because of financial hardship.[4] On May 10, 2010, the station filed a new application to operate at 11.1 kW.[5] and resumed broadcasting over-the-air in June 2010.

RabbitEars.info listed KCPM as off-air since 2012[6] KCPM did not file for its 2014 license renewal prior to the deadline.[7]

The station has reportedly only broadcast intermittently since its license renewal in 2014, and has been silent for the majority of the time. Retro TV has also been carried intermittently on 27.3 since early 2015.

Pending sale to Gray Television

On February 11, 2018, it was announced that KCPM would be sold to Gray Television, pending FCC approval. The purchase price was not disclosed. This would make KCPM a sister station to NBC affiliate KVLY-TV (channel 11) and low-powered CBS affiliate KXJB-LD (channel 30). Gray intends to rebuild and upgrade KCPM's transmitter to provide full-market coverage, and has reserved the call letters KXQK for use when it takes control.[1][8]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[9]
27.1480i4:3KCPM-DTMain KCPM programming / MyNetworkTV
27.3RETRORetro TV

Analog-to-digital conversion

KCPM shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 27, on February 17, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 27.[10][11] Because its original construction permit was granted after the FCC finalized the digital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997, the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. KVNJ-LP was assigned channel 2 during the analog-era, and would have been relocated to channel 33 for digital operations.

Programming

Syndicated programming on KCPM includes Access, Family Guy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Jerry Springer Show, Maury, and The Wendy Williams Show, among others. Overnights consist of The Shepherd's Chapel and other religious programming. The station does not air any local newscasts. KCPM also simulcasts KSTC broadcasts of Minnesota State High School League tournaments.

Translators

KCPM was rebroadcast on the following translators (low-powered rebroadcasters):

References

  1. 1 2 "Gray Creating Fargo Duopoly With KCPM Buy". TVNewsCheck. February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". FCC CDBS database. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  3. ↑ My Blur KCPM - Your Midwest Media Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  4. ↑ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101367320&formid=910&fac_num=86208
  5. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1365061&Service=DT&Form_id=301&Facility_id=86208
  6. ↑ Digital TV Market Listings - RabbitEars.Info Version from 17 June 2012, Retrieved from the Internet Archive 2 March 2014.
  7. ↑ FCC.gov, Applications List, Facility 86208 Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Media Bureau Call Sign Actions (March 8, 2018)" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission.
  9. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KCPM
  10. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  11. ↑
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