KNDB

KNDB
Bismarck, North Dakota
United States
Branding H&I North Dakota
Channels Digital: 26 (UHF)
Virtual: 26 (PSIP)
Subchannels 26.1 H&I/BEK Prime
26.2 BEK Sports 24/7
26.3 Grit
26.6 Quest
Affiliations H&I (2015–present)
Owner BEK Sports Network, Inc.
First air date November 7, 1999 (1999-11-07)
Call letters' meaning North Dakota Bismarck
Former callsigns KNDX (1999–2014)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
26 (UHF, 1999–2009)
Former affiliations Primary:
Fox (1999–2014)
Dark (2014–2015)
Secondary:
UPN (1999–2006)
Transmitter power 50 kW
Height 300 m (984 ft)
Facility ID 82611
Transmitter coordinates 46°35′23″N 100°47′40″W / 46.58972°N 100.79444°W / 46.58972; -100.79444 (KNDB)
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
KNDM
(semi-satellite of KNDB)
Minot, North Dakota
United States
Branding see KNDB infobox
Channels Digital: 24 (UHF)
Virtual: 24 (PSIP)
Subchannels 24.1 H&I/Bek Prime
24.2 Bek Sports 24/7
24.3 Grit
24.6 Quest
Affiliations H&I (2015–present)
Owner BEK Sports Network, Inc.
First air date November 15, 1999 (1999-11-15)
Call letters' meaning North Dakota Minot
Former callsigns KXND (1999–2014)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
24 (UHF, 1999–2009)
Former affiliations see KNDB infobox
Transmitter power 50 kW
Height 238.9 m (784 ft)
Facility ID 82615
Transmitter coordinates 48°3′14″N 101°26′5″W / 48.05389°N 101.43472°W / 48.05389; -101.43472 (KNDM)
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information:
(semi-satellite of KNDB) Profile

(semi-satellite of KNDB) CDBS

KNDB, virtual and UHF digital channel 26, is a Heroes & Icons-affiliated television station licensed to Bismarck, North Dakota, United States. The station is owned by BEK Sports Network, Inc. KNDB's offices are located on East Broadway Avenue in Bismarck, and its transmitter is located near St. Anthony, North Dakota.

KNDM (virtual and UHF digital channel 24) in Minot, North Dakota operates as a semi-satellite of KNDB for the northern portion of the Bismarck–Minot market. KNDM simulcasts all programming from KNDB, but airs separate commercials and station identifications. KNDM maintains an advertising sales office on 32nd Avenue SW in Minot; its transmitter is located southwest of Minot.

From 1999 until 2014, KNDB was known as KNDX, and KNDM was known as KXND. Collectively, the stations were affiliates of Fox and were founded and previously owned by Prime Cities Broadcasting; in 2014, as part of Gray Television's acquisition of the NBC North Dakota chain from Hoak Media, Excalibur Broadcasting—a shell company affiliated with Gray, attempted to acquire KNDX/KXND from Prime Cities, and have Gray operate them under shared services agreements. However, due to growing scrutiny surrounding such agreements and virtual duopoly operations, Gray instead acquired the stations' non-license assets and moved Fox programming to sub-channels of its statewide network of NBC affiliates on June 13, 2014, at which point KNDX and KXND went dark pending their sale to a minority owned broadcaster. The subchannels inherited KNDX/KXND's slots on area cable systems.

The stations' translators—KNDX-LD (virtual and UHF digital channel 38) in Dickinson (previously K38HS) and KXND-LP (virtual and UHF digital channel 38) in Williston (previously K38HA)—were sold outright to Gray and continue to carry Fox programming as a simulcast of the subchannels of KQCD-TV (channel 7) and KUMV-TV (channel 8), respectively.

History

KNDX and KXND's logos as Fox affiliates

The stations signed on in November 1999 as KNDX and KXND, bringing Fox network programming to Western North Dakota for the first time. Prior to KNDX/KXND's inception, cable television subscribers in Bismarck, Minot and Dickinson received now-defunct Foxnet on cable for Fox programming, while areas east of Bismarck received Fox from KJRR in Jamestown. Prior to K38HA's inception, cable television subscribers in the Williston area received Denver's KDVR on cable for Fox programming. Rural cable subscribers south of Dickinson received KEVN-TV from Rapid City, South Dakota for Fox programming, and continue to receive Fox from KEVN-LD. At the outset, KNDX and KXND also carried UPN programming during late nights; this ended when UPN shut down in 2006.

Until 2005, KNDX and KXND were known collectively as West Dakota Fox. That year, the stations changed their monikers in favor of the station identities for their area. The West Dakota Fox moniker is now currently being used on the second digital subchannels of the NBC North Dakota network (KFYR-TV/KMOT).

LMA with KBMY/KMCY

From 2002 until 2008, KNDX/KXND was in a local marketing agreement (LMA), with KBMY and KMCY, the ABC affiliates of Bismarck and Minot respectively. The LMA between both stations allowed KBMY/KMCY to share the facilities, staff, and some equipment of KNDX/KXND.

The LMA with Forum Communications Company (the owners of KBMY/KMCY) ended in 2008, when Forum decided to originate programming for KBMY/KMCY remotely from their television facilities of WDAY-TV, Forum's flagship ABC station in Fargo.

Aborted sale to Excalibur Broadcasting; sale to Legacy Broadcasting

On November 20, 2013, Excalibur Broadcasting announced it would purchase KNDX/KXND for $7.5 million. Gray Television also announced its purchase of Hoak Media, owners of the NBC North Dakota chain; Gray Television was to have operated KNDX/KXND under an LMA following the sale, making them sister stations to KFYR-TV.[1] On March 25, 2014, Prime Cities requested that the FCC dismiss the sale to Excalibur;[2] this occurred the next day.[3] On May 1, 2014, Gray purchased KNDX/KXND's non-license assets and assumed control of the stations through a local marketing agreement. The LMA was designed to end for the full-power KNDX and KXND licenses if Gray purchases another television station in the market, but remained in place for repeaters KNDX-LD and KXND-LP, which Gray chose to acquire outright.[4]

At midnight on June 13, 2014, the full power signals of KNDX and KXND went off the air, and Fox programming were moved to a DT2 subchannel of KFYR-TV and its NBC North Dakota satellite stations.[5] KNDX and KXND were then put up for sale on the stipulation that they be acquired by minority interests, which would allow the stations to continue operating on the conditions that they be operated independently of other stations (under minority, female and/or non-profit ownership) and not make any partnerships or sharing arrangements with other broadcasters.[6]

On August 27, 2014, Gray announced that it would sell KNDX and KXND to Legacy Broadcasting, a new broadcasting company controlled by Sherry Nelson and daughter Sara Jane Ingram.[7] In preparation for the sale, on December 2, 2014 KXND changed its call letters to KNDM;[8] two weeks later, on December 15, KNDX became KNDB.[9] The sale was completed on December 15.[10]

The stations added BEK Sports in 2015, carrying area high school sports, in collaboration with KRDK-TV in Fargo/Grand Forks.

Sale to BEK Sports Network

On April 6, 2018, it was announced that BEK Sports Network would acquire KNDB and KNDM for $950,000;[11] the sale was completed on July 31.[12]

Digital television

Digital channels

Both stations' digital signals are multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[13][14]
26.1
24.1		720p16:9KNDB-DT
KNDM-DT		Heroes & Icons / BEK Prime
26.2
24.2		480i4:3KNDB-DT
KNDM-DT		BEK Sports Plus
26.3
24.3		GritGrit
26.4
24.4		Cozi TVCozi TV
26.5
24.5		Bounce TVBounce TV
26.6
24.6		16:9QuestQuest
26.7
24.7		4:3Comet TVComet

Analog-to-digital conversion

Both stations shut down their analog signals on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:[15]

  • KNDB shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 26; the station "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 26.
  • KNDM shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 24; the station "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 24.

Retransmission controversies

Prime Cities was involved in retransmission consent negotiations with Midcontinent Communications and Dish Network, along with DirecTV which were described by those providers as contentious, and resulted in removals of the channels from each of the services, including DirecTV, which discontinued their carriage. The stations were removed from Midcontinent on April 8, 2012, and were kept off that system for a month until a new carriage agreement was signed on May 16.

References

  1. ↑ "Gray Buying Hoak, Prime Stations For $342.5M". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Application Search Details". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Gray Adds North And South Dakota TVs". TVNewsCheck. May 1, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ "KNDX/KNDX website notice of channel changes". Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Gray retains MMTC as broker for former SSA’d stations, rbr.com, Retrieved 13 June, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Gray Sets Buyers For Its Six SSA Stations". TVNewsCheck. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Call Sign History (KNDM)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Call Sign History (KNDB)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ Consummation Notice. CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  12. ↑ Tillotson, David (July 31, 2018). "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  13. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KNDB
  14. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KNDM
  15. ↑ "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.
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