Channel 6 went on the air as KMMT on August 17, 1953. It was built by a consortium of Austin radio stationKAUS and other investors and operated from the same facility as KAUS radio. The station became a sole ABC affiliate the next year, having originally also carriedCBS andDuMont programs. From 1958 to 1980, the station was owned by Black Hawk Broadcasting ofWaterloo, Iowa; it was renamed KAUS-TV in 1967, and then KAAL in 1974, when Black Hawk sold off the KAUS radio stations.
After a series of other out-of-state owners in the 1980s and 1990s, including theNews-Press & Gazette Company, Dix Broadcasting, and Grapevine Communications, KAAL was acquired by Hubbard Broadcasting in 2001. The purchase completed Hubbard's ownership of every ABC affiliate in the state of Minnesota. To better compete with market leaderKTTC in the growing Rochester area, the station expanded its existing Rochester offices in 2008 and then moved its studios to a new facility there in 2015.
As theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) neared the end of its multiple-year freeze on TV station awards,Austin radio stationKAUS announced in February 1952 that it had filed for a construction permit and acquired an antenna and tower, which were shipped fromSt. Paul.[2] KAUS's application remained pending when the South Central Minnesota Television Company, associated with stationsKATE inAlbert Lea andKOBK inOwatonna, filed a competing application for channel 6 in January 1953.[3] Facing the prospect of a lengthycomparative hearing to determine who should be allocated the channel, KAUS and the South Central Minnesota Television Company combined their applications in March 1953, joining as the Minnesota-Iowa Television Company and winning the channel 6 permit.[4] The station took the call sign KMMT, the only proposed call sign that was available of a list submitted by the company to the FCC;[5] the KAUS-TV call sign was not available because of the separate ownership.[6]
From studios south of Austin onMN 105, shared with KAUS radio, KMMT signed on the air on August 17, 1953.[7] The station was originally an affiliate ofCBS,[8]ABC,[9] and theDuMont Television Network.[6] It also broadcast local news and sports coverage; one early program,Circle 6 Ranch, featured country music artist Johnny Western singing songs and presenting films.[10] The CBS and DuMont affiliations in the area moved toKGLO-TV inMason City, Iowa, when that station began in May 1954.[11] The station also briefly affiliated with theNTA Film Network, which began in 1956.[12]
Black Hawk Broadcasting ofWaterloo, Iowa, assumed management control of KAUS and KMMT on October 1, 1954;[13] the deal included an option to buy the stations, which Black Hawk exercised in 1957.[14] During this time, the station began airing the long-runningFamily Hour, a Christian program hosted by pastor Joe Matt; the 15-minute show remained on the air on channel 6 until 2001, ending its run as the longest-running local TV show in the United States.[15] In 1959, KMMT increased its power to the maximum of 100,000 watts; this expanded the station's coverage area as well as that of ABC, which had no nearby affiliates.[16][17]
Its call letters became KAUS-TV (for Austin) on June 1, 1967, to match its radio sisters;[18] at that time, the station built a new, 1,000-foot (300 m) tower west of Austin for KMMT and to support a new FM station,KAUS-FM 99.9, which launched on May 30, 1968.[19][20] The old tower was purchased byKTCA-TV and reassembled in theRushford area for use as part of a translator setup for that station.[21] That same year, KAUS-TV discontinued its translators in La Crosse and Winona after the FCC approved a new La Crosse station,WXOW, which would become an ABC affiliate;[22] KMMT had been transmitting to La Crosse since January 1967.[23] The Winona transmitter was sold toKROC-TV ofRochester, Minnesota, and switched to provide itsNBC programming.[24]
Black Hawk Broadcasting sold its Austin radio stations to Withers Broadcasting in 1974. As KAUS-TV and KAUS AM could not share a call sign under separate owners, an exchange was developed. KAUS-TV became KAAL-TV, adopting a call sign which for two years had been used on KAUS-FM.[25][26] Withers retained the radio studio facility, and KAAL moved the next year to a new site in Austin, a formerVolkswagen dealership located on 10th Place NE.[27]
TheNews-Press & Gazette Company ofSt. Joseph, Missouri, acquired KAAL for $11.25 million in 1980. The sale was a required divestiture to allow Black Hawk Broadcasting to merge intoAmerican Family Corporation; to meet FCC ownership regulations, Black Hawk needed to spin off more than half of the seven broadcast properties it owned.[28][29] During this time, KAAL originated the telecast of theMiss Minnesota pageant, seen statewide.[30] NPG owned the station for five years, selling for $13.5 million to the Wooster Republican Printing Company ofWooster, Ohio—the Dix family—in 1985.[31] During Dix ownership, KAAL signed a secondary affiliation agreement withFox.[32] It was also among the first ABC affiliates to agree to carry theNFL on Fox when football left CBS for Fox in 1994.[33]
Eastern Broadcasting acquired KAAL andKTWO-TV inCasper, Wyoming, from the Dix family in 1995; the owner of Eastern, Roger Neuhoff, came out of retirement to run the two stations.[34] In 1997, Eastern sold its four stations—KAAL, KTWO-TV and repeater KKTU, andKODE-TV in Joplin, Missouri—for $40 million to Atlanta-based Grapevine Communications;[35] two years later, Grapevine acquired GOCOM,[36] though the GOCOM name and corporate offices inCharlotte, North Carolina, were retained.[37]
Hubbard Broadcasting agreed to purchase KAAL from GOCOM in October 2000; it was the last ABC affiliate in Minnesota that Hubbard did not already own.[38] The station began digital broadcasting on February 20, 2002;[39] the analog signal was turned off on June 12, 2009.[40]
Under Hubbard, KAAL has invested resources and shifted the bulk of its operation from Austin to Rochester in an effort to increase news ratings against market-leadingKTTC and shed its reputation as a station solely focused on the Austin area. In 2008, the station opened a new Rochester office on Superior Drive NW, which included equipment allowing for a newscast to be presented from both cities.[41] In 2015, it moved to a new and larger southwest Rochester facility, which became the main studio.[42][43]
^"KAUS May Go on Channel 6 Within Year".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. February 8, 1952. p. 11.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"OK Awaited on TV, Radio Station Sale".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. February 12, 1957. p. 1. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Kmmt Plans Power Boost to 100,000".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. July 6, 1959. p. 2. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Kmmt to Build 100,000-Watt TV Facilities".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. August 12, 1959. p. 1.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"KAUS FM Station to Go on Air Soon".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. May 23, 1968. p. 11.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Education TV Channel Buys Tower in Area".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. October 26, 1968. p. 6.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"To Our La Crosse and Winona Viewers".The Winona Daily News. Winona, Minnesota. October 17, 1968. p. 8.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"KMMT, Austin, Ch. 6, Starts New Service".The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. January 21, 1967. p. 16.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Channel 10 Buys Homer Translator".The Winona Daily News. Winona, Minnesota. November 7, 1968. p. 18.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Radio, television letters changed".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. November 20, 1974. p. 9.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Business notes".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. October 11, 1980. p. 2.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"History".KAAL. Archived fromthe original on October 12, 2007. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023.
^"KAAL sold to Ohio firm".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. October 25, 1985. p. 2.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Chunovic, Louis (February 2, 1987). "7 ABC affiliates sign with FBC for Rivers in latenight".The Hollywood Reporter. pp. 3, 19.ProQuest2594619097.
^McClellan, Steve (April 11, 1994). "Tough talk over Fox football".Broadcasting & Cable. p. 18.ProQuest1016953590.
^"Eastern Broadcasting purchases KAAL".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. February 14, 1995. p. 1.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"KAAL-TV to be sold".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. March 21, 1997. p. 9.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Torpey-Kemph, Anne (May 17, 1999). "Grapevine, Gocom to forge $300Mil group".Mediaweek. p. 39.ProQuest213658296.
^"Channel 6 operates as GOCOM".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. March 2, 2000. p. 3.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Gysi, Chuck (October 4, 2000)."KAAL to get a new owner".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. p. 1,16.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Kiger, Jeff (June 24, 2014)."KAAL-TV to build facility".Rochester Post-Bulletin.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedJuly 14, 2014.
^Sievers, Scott (November 28, 1993)."KAAL undergoes personnel shakeup".The Austin Daily Herald. Austin, Minnesota. p. 2A.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Greenidge, Jim (August 18, 1996)."Stearns feels right at home at Ch. 68".The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. C4.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Facts on Weir".Globe-Gazette. Mason City, Iowa. November 7, 2004. p. A4.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Gerds, Warren (November 13, 1992)."WLUK promotes Conner".Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. p. C-3.Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. RetrievedDecember 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
