KMOT
KMOT, virtual and VHF digital channel 10, is a dual NBC/Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Minot, North Dakota, United States. The station is owned by Gray Television. KMOT's studios and transmitter are located at the intersection of 16th Street and 18th Avenue SW in Minot. On cable, the station is available on Midcontinent Communications channel 7 in the Minot area, cable channel 5 in most other areas and SRT channel 9. There is a high definition feed provided on Midco digital channel 607 and SRT digital channel 509.
| Semi-satellite of KFYR-TV, Bismarck, North Dakota | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Minot, North Dakota United States | |
| Channels | Digital: 10 (VHF) Virtual: 10 (PSIP) |
| Branding | KMOT-TV (general) NBC North Dakota (regional) West Dakota Fox (on DT2) MeTV North Dakota (on DT3) |
| Slogan | Your News Leader |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | 10.1: NBC 10.2: Fox 10.3: MeTV 10.4: Circle (soon) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Gray Television (Gray Television Licensee, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KFYR-TV, KQCD-TV, KUMV-TV, KVLY-TV |
| History | |
| First air date | January 23, 1958 |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 10 (VHF, 1958–2009) Digital: 58 (UHF, until 2009) |
| Former affiliations | Secondary: ABC (1958–1986) |
| Call sign meaning | MinOT |
| Technical information | |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 41425 |
| ERP | 7.69 kW |
| HAAT | 207 m (679 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 48°12′56″N 101°19′7″W |
| Links | |
| Public license information | Profile LMS |
| Website | www |
KMOT is one of two full-fledged NBC stations in the NBC North Dakota regional network of NBC affiliates in central and western North Dakota, along with flagship station KFYR-TV (channel 5) in Bismarck. The NBC North Dakota network relays NBC network and other programming across central and western North Dakota, as well as bordering counties in Montana and South Dakota. The four stations along with fellow NBC affiliate KVLY-TV in Fargo often share news stories. Master control and some internal operations of KMOT are based at KFYR's facilities on North 4th Street and East Broadway Avenue in downtown Bismarck. The four stations are counted as a single unit for ratings purposes.
KMOT also operates a semi-satellite in Williston, North Dakota, KUMV-TV (channel 8), which airs local advertising and weekday newscast inserts focusing on the northwestern portion of the Minot–Bismarck market, but otherwise airs the same programming as KMOT. Although operated as a separate station in its own right, KMOT is actually considered a semi-satellite of KFYR-TV in Bismarck, which also has semi-satellite KQCD-TV (channel 7) in Dickinson. It clears all network and syndicated programming as provided through its parent but airs separate local newscasts, legal identifications, and commercial inserts. KFYR and KQCD serve the southern portion of the Bismarck–Minot/Dickinson–Williston market while KMOT and KUMV serve the northern portion.
The over-the-air signal of KMOT reaches portions of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, but is no longer available on any cable systems there.
KMOT's Fox-affiliated second digital subchannel can be seen on cable channel 4 in most areas. There is a high definition feed provided on Midco digital channel 604 (603 in Williston) and SRT digital channel 504. The cable channels previously carried KXND until their programming moved to the NBC North Dakota network's subchannels. Dish Network and DirecTV only provide only KFYR as central and western North Dakota's NBC affiliate.
History
KUMV signed on February 6, 1957. The Upper Missouri Valley Television Corporation won the initial license in 1955, but soon afterward the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) collapsed all of central and western North Dakota into one giant television market. Accordingly, the station was sold to the Meyer family of Bismarck, owners of KFYR-TV, just before it signed on. It was a semi-satellite of KFYR for a year, until it became a semi-satellite of KMOT.
KMOT signed on January 23, 1958 as the third station in the Meyer group, and KUMV became a semi-satellite of KMOT.
Until KBMY/KMCY signed on in 1986, the Meyer stations carried a secondary affiliation with ABC. Until KXMD signed on in 1969, KUMV carried CBS on a per-program basis.
In the late 1970s, KUMV became one of the first stations to be transmitted via terrestrial cable television into most of Saskatchewan; it even maintained a sales office in Saskatoon, as did KXMD and ABC affiliate KFBB-TV of Great Falls, Montana. This arrangement continued until 1986 when the signal was replaced by a satellite signal from WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit.
The Meyers sold off their broadcast holdings in 1997, with the television stations going to Sunrise Television Corporation. Sunrise sold them to The Wicks Group of Companies of New York City in 2002.
Hoak Media bought KFYR-TV, KMOT, KUMV, and KQCD in July 2006, as well as KVLY-TV in Fargo and KSFY in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and its satellite stations. On November 17, 2006, the sale was approved by the FCC.
On January 19, 2009, KMOT began operation as a digital-only station on its existing channel frequency.
KMOT picked up MeTV in April 2013, with an official launch date of May 1, 2013.[1]
On November 20, 2013, Hoak announced the sale of most of its stations, including KMOT, to Gray Television. Gray initially planned, through Excalibur Broadcasting, to also acquire Fox affiliate KXND from Prime Cities Broadcasting and operate it under a shared services agreement, which would have made it a sister station to KMOT.[2] On March 25, 2014, Prime Cities Broadcasting requested that the FCC dismiss the sale of KXND to Excalibur;[3] Gray would instead acquire the non-license assets of KXND, as well as the license of Williston repeater KXND-LP.[4] The sale of the Hoak stations was completed on June 13;[5] at that time, Gray shut down KXND's full-power signal and moved Fox programming to the second digital subchannel of KMOT.[6]
Sports director
In late May 2015 KMOT hired Ben Barr[7] as the new Sports Director for the station.[8]
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KMOT-DT | Main KMOT programming / NBC |
| 10.2 | 720p | WD FOX | Fox | |
| 10.3 | 480i | MeTV ND | MeTV | |
| 10.4 | Circle | Circle (soon) |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KMOT shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 10, on January 19, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 58, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era VHF channel 10 for post-transition operations.[10]
Programming
Syndicated programming on KMOT includes Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Dr. Oz Show, The Doctors, Jeopardy!, and Wheel of Fortune, among others.
Newscasts
KMOT produces its own newscasts from Monday through Friday weekdays at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and rebroadcasts KFYR-TV's other newscasts.
KUMV airs its own newscasts from Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. The first 10 minutes (which includes regional news and weather) originate at KMOT. KUMV has its own news and sports anchor who fill the remaining 20 minutes. It simulcasts KMOT/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 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, much as KUMV does now. In January 2007, KMOT began broadcasting a full half-hour of news at 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m once again. It also added a weatherman and photographer/reporter to the staff.
The stations occasionally share stories with co-owned KVLY-TV. The five stations simulcast key North Dakota sporting events under the NBC North Dakota brand name and share certain equipment, such as remote broadcasting vehicles.
NBC North Dakota has long dominated the ratings in western North Dakota as a whole; the main stations and their semi-satellites count as one station for ratings and regulatory purposes. However, KMOT has spent most of its history as a distant runner-up to KXMC-TV in the northern half of the market.
The Fox-affiliated subchannel debuted West Dakota Fox News at Nine during October 2014, originating from KFYR's studios in Bismarck.
References
- http://northpine.com/
- "Gray Buying Hoak, Prime Stations For $342.5M". TVNewsCheck. November 20, 2013. 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 closes Hoak deal; completes refinancing., rbr.com, Retrieved June 13, 2014.
- "Gray Completes Hoak-Prime Station Buy". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- http://media.graytvinc.com/images/Ben+Barr.jpg
- http://www.kfyrtv.com/kmot/station/news/306665541.html
- RabbitEars TV Query for KMOT
- "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
- Official website
- KMOT in the FCC's TV station database
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KMOT-TV