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| City | Bismarck, North Dakota |
| Channels | |
| Branding |
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| Programming | |
| Network | NBC North Dakota |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KMOT,KQCD-TV,KUMV-TV,KVLY-TV,KXJB-LD | |
| History | |
First air date | December 19, 1953 (1953-12-19) |
Former channel numbers | Analog: 5 (VHF, 1953–2009) |
Call sign meaning | P(F)hilip Meyer, founder ofKFYR radio[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 41427 |
| ERP | 500kW |
| HAAT | 389 m (1,276 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 46°36′20.3″N100°48′26.4″W / 46.605639°N 100.807333°W /46.605639; -100.807333 (KFYR-TV) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KFYR-TV (channel 5) is atelevision station inBismarck, North Dakota, United States, affiliated withNBC andFox. Owned byGray Media, the station has studios on North 4th Street and East Broadway Avenue in downtown Bismarck, and its transmitter is located nearSt. Anthony, North Dakota.
KFYR-TV serves as theflagship station ofNBC 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 inMontana andSouth Dakota. The threesatellite stations clear all network andsyndicated programming as provided through KFYR but air separatelegal identifications and commercial inserts.KQCD-TV (channel 7) inDickinson simulcasts all of KFYR's programming, whileKMOT (channel 10) inMinot also produces its own weekday local newscasts at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., andKUMV-TV (channel 8) inWilliston simulcasts KMOT's newscasts with local inserts. The four stations are counted as a single unit forratings purposes.
KFYR also serves as the only available NBC affiliate for central and western North Dakota for subscribers ofDish Network andDirecTV.
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 withKFYR 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.
After theFederal 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 fromMinot.[4] In February 1953, Rudman changed his application to specify the otherVHF channel in the city, channel 12,[5] clearing the way for both groups to be grantedconstruction permits on March 4.[6][a]
From a temporary transmission facility atop theNorth Dakota State Capitol,[8] KFYR-TV began broadcasting on December 19, 1953.[9] It held affiliations with NBC andCBS;[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 toKXMB-TV), which was a CBS affiliate and served as an extension ofKXJB-TV inValley City andKCJB-TV inMinot.[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 in 1998, KFYR-TV and its associated stations were sold toSunrise 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 asKSFY-TV inSioux Falls, South Dakota, and its satellites in 2006.[23]
The NBC North Dakota network picked upMeTV 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 affiliateKNDX/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]
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 includeMonica Hannan and Alan Miller.Country Morning Today,Noon Report, andFirst 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,[when?] KX Television'sKX News Morning has consistently beatenCountry Morning Today, often by wide margins. It is the only time in recent memory that NBC North Dakota has lostany 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 severalobscenities during his first broadcast on April 21, 2013, after mispronouncing the name ofLondon Marathon winnerTsegaye Kebede.[31] Even though he was unaware he wason air, Clemente was immediately suspended from KFYR following that evening's 5 p.m. newscast, according to a statement released bynews 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 byDavid Letterman on theLate Show'sTop 10 List on April 23, 2013 (then appeared as a guest the following day).[34] On April 24, 2013, Clemente appeared onToday 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 onInside Edition.[36]
The Fox-affiliated subchannel debutedWest Dakota Fox News at Nine during October 2014, originating from KFYR's studios in Bismarck.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KFYR-DT | NBC |
| 5.2 | 720p | WD FOX | Fox | |
| 5.3 | 480i | MeTV ND | MeTV | |
| 5.4 | Outlaw | Outlaw | ||
| 5.5 | Quest | Quest | ||
| 5.6 | Grit | Grit |
KFYR-TV shut down its analog signal, overVHF 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 totransition 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-transitionUHF channel 31, usingvirtual channel 5.[39][40]
KFYR-TV serves one of the largestmarkets 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 asNBC 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 inMountain Time for most of the day, except for identifications and commercials.
| Station | City of license | Channels TV (RF) | First air date | Call sign meaning | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KMOT | Minot | 10 10 (VHF) | January 23, 1958 | Minot | 7.69 kW | 207 m | 41425 | 48°12′55.3″N101°19′7.8″W / 48.215361°N 101.318833°W /48.215361; -101.318833 (KMOT) |
| KQCD-TV | Dickinson | 7 7 (VHF) | July 28, 1980 | Queen City Dickinson | 11.3 kW | 205 m | 41430 | 46°56′53″N102°59′25″W / 46.94806°N 102.99028°W /46.94806; -102.99028 (KQCD-TV) |
| KUMV-TV | Williston | 8 8 (VHF) | February 6, 1957 | Upper Missouri Valley | 6 kW | 323 m | 41429 | 48°8′2.3″N103°51′37.9″W / 48.133972°N 103.860528°W /48.133972; -103.860528 (KUMV-TV) |
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofNorth Dakota | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of North Dakota | ||
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| The CW | ||
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