KNDB

KNDB, channel 26, is a television station serving Bismarck, North Dakota. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 (or virtual channel 26.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter near St. Anthony. Owned by Legacy Broadcasting, the station's offices were located on East Broadway Avenue in Bismarck. It serves as an affiliate of Heroes & Icons.

KNDM, 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. This outlet broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 (or virtual channel 26.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter southwest of Minot. The station maintained an advertising sales office on 32nd Avenue SW in Minot. The station could also be seen on cable channel 4 in most areas and Midcontinent channel 3 in Williston. There was a high definition feed provided on Midcontinent digital channel 604 (603 in Williston) and SRT digital channel 504.

From 1999 until 2014, KNDB was known as KNDX, and KNDM as known as KXND. Collectively, the stations were affiliates of Fox; 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, 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 channel 38.1 via PSIP) in Dickinson (previously K38HS) and KXND-LP (virtual channel 38.1 via PSIP) in Williston (previously K38HA)—were sold outright to Gray and continue to carry Fox programming as a simulcast of the subchannels of KQCD-TV and KUMV-TV, 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 and Minot 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. Dickinson also received KDVR, especially as they were in Mountain Time Zone, until K38HS signed on. Rural cable subscribers south of Dickinson have received and continue to receive KOTA-TV from Rapid City for Fox programming. 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, or 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.

Sale

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 4 in Fargo/Grand Forks.

Digital television

Digital channels

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:^[13]

• 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

External links

• KNDB on Twitter
• KNDB on Facebook
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KNDB
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KNDM
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KNDB-TV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KNDM-TV