 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Osage Beach, Missouri |
| Channels | |
| Branding | Fox 49;Ozarks First News |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KOZL-TV,KOLR | |
| History | |
| Founded | September 22, 2006 (2006-9-22) |
First air date | August 1, 2009 (15 years ago) (2009-08-01) |
Former channel number(s) | Digital: 49 (UHF, 2009–2018) |
| MyNetworkTV (2009–2014; secondary from 2011) | |
Call sign meaning | founding owner Robert B. Koplar |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 166319 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 590 m (1,936 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°13′9.4″N92°56′57.4″W / 37.219278°N 92.949278°W /37.219278; -92.949278 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KRBK (channel 49) is atelevision station licensed toOsage Beach, Missouri, United States, serving theSpringfield area as an affiliate of theFox network. It is owned byNexstar Media Group alongsideMyNetworkTV affiliateKOZL-TV (channel 27); Nexstar also provides certain services toCBS affiliateKOLR (channel 10) under alocal marketing agreement (LMA) withMission Broadcasting. The stations share studios on East Division Street in Springfield, while KRBK's transmitter is located on Switchgrass Road, north ofFordland.
The station first signed on the air on August 1, 2009; prior to signing on KRBK, Koplar Communications served as the founding owner ofKPLR-TV inSt. Louis—which it sold toACME Communications in 1997 (it is now a sister station to KRBK)—and formerly ownedKMAX-TV inSacramento—which once bore the KRBK-TV call letters and which Koplar sold toPappas Telecasting in 1994 (it is now owned byCBS News and Stations). It immediately became the MyNetworkTV affiliate for the Ozarks. At the time KRBK signed on, MyNetworkTV programming had not been available in themarket for several months, afterHarrison, Arkansas–basedKWBM (channel 31) switched toDaystar upon being sold to the network as part ofEquity Media Holdings's auction of its television stations. The station originally branded as "KRBK-HD".
KRBK's transmitter was originally plotted to be located halfway between Springfield andJefferson City in northernLaclede County, giving itrimshot (Grade B) signals within Springfield and Jefferson City. This is possible because Osage Beach spills into bothCamden andMiller counties, and is thus split between the two markets. Most of the city is in Camden County, part of the Springfield market. However, a small sliver in the north is in Miller County, part of theColumbia–Jefferson City market. The transmitter was later moved toEldridge, in northeastern Laclede County, firmly in the Springfield market.
On June 20, 2011,Fox announced that it would end its affiliation with the network's Springfield charter affiliate, KSFX-TV (channel 27) following a dispute between the network and that station's ownerNexstar Broadcasting Group over Fox's proposal to increase the amount ofretransmission consent fees that its stations must divide with the network;[2][3] on that same day, Koplar signed an affiliation agreement with Fox to make KRBK the market's new affiliate.
The switch became official on September 1, 2011, with KSFX-TV changing its call letters toKOZL-TV and became anindependent station. With the addition of Fox programming on the station, KRBK relegated MyNetworkTV to a secondary affiliation, delaying its programming by two hours to 9:00 to 11:00 p.m.; as a result, KRBK was one of the few Fox-MyNetworkTV hybrid affiliates that carry both networks on the station's main channel (most Fox affiliates that also carry MyNetworkTV programming usually air the latter service on an additionaldigital subchannel). The station also changed its on-air branding to "FOX KRBK".[2]
On September 8, 2014, MyNetworkTV programming moved from KRBK to KOZL. On that same date, KRBK rebranded as "Fox 5," in reference to its primary channel position in the market onMediacom's Springfield-area system and on other localcable and satellite providers within the Springfield market; the rollout of the branding also included a logo based on that of the Fox owned-and-operated stations as well as the network'sSan Diego affiliateKSWB-TV (which also brands as "Fox 5," but uses its former UHF analog allocation of channel 69 as its virtual channel).
On August 2, 2018, as part of a press release formally announcing its $2.25-million purchase ofCW affiliateWHDF/Florence–Huntsville, Alabama fromLockwood Broadcast Group, Nexstar announced its intent to acquire KRBK from Koplar Communications for $16.45 million; the move will mark the second time that Koplar has exited from television station ownership. Nexstar concurrently assumed the station's operations through atime brokerage agreement that took effect the day prior.[4][5][6][7][8][9] The transaction resulted in the formation of a virtualtriopoly with Nexstar-owned KOZL-TV—putting KRBK under common ownership with the station from which it assumed the Fox affiliation seven years earlier—andCBS affiliateKOLR (channel 10), which Nexstar manages through a local marketing agreement withMission Broadcasting.[4]
In October 2018, KRBK relocated its primary transmitter to theFordland antenna farm, which provides over-the-air coverage comparable to the market's other full-power stations.[10][11] Subsequently, on October 22, KRBK's operations were integrated into KOZL/KOLR's studio facilities on East Division Street (near the Webster Park/Shady Dell subdivision); the station also changed its branding to "Ozarks Fox," utilizing a logo similar in resemblance to that used since 2012 by Nexstar-operated/Mission-owned Fox affiliateKJTL inWichita Falls, Texas. The sale was finalized on November 1. The arrangement—including the preceding time brokerage agreement—placed KRBK in the unusual position of being the senior partner as a Fox-affiliated station in a virtual triopoly involving a CBS affiliate (in most virtual or legal operational arrangements involving a Fox affiliate and a Big Three-affiliated station, the Fox station normally serves as the junior partner).[12]
KRBK currently broadcasts the full Fox network schedule, with the only programming preemptions occurring for situations in which preemption of the network's daytime and prime time programs is necessary to allow the main channel to provide extended coverage ofbreaking news orsevere weather events (in some instances, these programs may either be rebroadcast on KRBK on tape delay in place of the station's regular overnight programming, however, cable and satellite subscribers have the option of watching the affected shows on Fox's desktop and mobile streaming platforms or its cable/satellitevideo-on-demand service the day after their initial airing).Syndicated programs broadcast by KRBK as of September 2017[update] includeMaury,Right This Minute,Mom,The Steve Wilkos Show,TMZ on TV,Access andFamily Feud.[13]
As of October 2018[update], KRBK presently broadcasts 17½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 3½ hours each weekday); the station does not presently produce newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays, opting to carry syndicated programming following Fox prime time programming on those days.
From 2010 to 2012, KRBK aired wraparound segments throughout its broadcast day featuring the "KRBK Street Team," who provided entertainment, sports and event-related stories. KRBK began offering conventional news programming in November 2012, consisting mainly of 90-second newsbriefs (originally titled theFox KRBK News Break) that aired weeknights each hour between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. during select commercial breaks within daytime and evening programs, featuringAssociated Press wire reports and a short local weather forecast.
Full-scale newscasts on the station began in September 2013, with the launch of a full in-house news department; that month, KRBK debutedFox KRBK News at 9:00, an abbreviated prime time newscast that began as a 10-minute broadcast leading into the tape-delayed MyNetworkTV prime time lineup. (As a result, the programming service's local ad time was largely taken up by the newscast.) The program—which has aired only on Monday through Friday nights since its premiere—directly competes against a half-hour prime time newscast in that timeslot produced by KOLR for its MyNetworkTV-affiliated sister KOZL-TV (which debuted in 2005, during that station's tenure as the Springfield market's original Fox affiliate, as the area's first local prime time news program), and an hour-long newscast produced by NBC affiliateKYTV (channel 3) for its CW-affiliated sister K15CZ (now primary ABC affiliateKSPR-LD, which continues to carry CW programming on its DT2 feed) that premiered on August 22, 2011. The newscast was initially anchored by Janelle Brandom, alongside chief meteorologist David Koeller.[14]
In September 2015, the station expanded the 9:00 p.m. newscast—which, by then, had been retitledFox 5 News at Nine—to a half-hour, an expansion which coincided with the transfer of the MyNetworkTV affiliation to KOZL-TV. Subsequently, on August 4, 1997, the 9:00 newscast was expanded to one hour, with the addition of a companion half-hour program at 9:30 p.m.,Fox 5 News Edge at 9:30; the program—which is similar to the format of former Fox affiliateWCCB/Charlotte's weeknightlyWCCB News Edge—maintains a mix of traditional news, entertainment and lifestyle segments.[15][16] The station began programming regular newscasts outside its established 9:00 slot in March 2018, when KRBK premiered a half-hour 6:30 p.m. newscast on Monday through Friday evenings.[17]
On October 22, 2018, KRBK rebranded its news operation asOzarks Fox News. At the same time, the station debuted a two-hour weekday morning hybrid newscast/lifestyle talk show titledOzarks Fox AM, airing from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and hosted by Jeremy Rabe and Kelly Smith. The station also began simulcasting the 6:00 a.m. hour ofKOLR 10 News Daybreak and relaunched its 6:30 p.m. newscast asOzarks Tonight. With the rebranded newscasts, KRBK began broadcasting its newscasts from KOLR's studios on East Division Street in Springfield.
The 201420th Century Fox filmGone Girl features KRBK's pre-September 2014 logo within the film's preview poster, variouskey art and other online presences with news stories around the events depicted in the film (whose setting takes place in KRBK's market area), along with a false search coordination website with the same logo. No real staff members were used, and in the actual film, the fictional KRBK news organization seems to have a glossy tabloid image unlike what is seen in reality.[18]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KRBK-DT | Fox |
| 49.2 | 480i | Ant-TV | Antenna TV | |
| 49.3 | Charge! | Charge! | ||
| 49.4 | ION | Ion Television |
On January 1, 2014, KRBK launched a second digital subchannel carrying MeTV. On March 1, 2017,Ion Television was added to KRBK's 49.4 subchannel. On January 1, 2021, KRBK replaced its MeTV subchannel with Nexstar-owned network Antenna TV, with MeTV moving to KSPR-LD subchannel 33.3 which previously carried Antenna TV.
In April 2013, KRBK improved its signal coverage in this vast and mostly mountainous market through the implementation of adistributedsingle-frequency network, consisting of five specially engineeredslot antennas positioned throughout the Ozarks. All of the repeaters broadcasthigh definitiondigital signals on UHF channel 49.[20] Due to the single-frequency system, the station was unavailable over-the-air inSalem (located in the northeast part of the market), and was only available on cable television in that town.
Since the main KRBK signal missed Springfield itself, Koplar leased two subchannels of KWBM from its owner, Daystar, in order to provide a full-power signal of their Fox and MeTV channels to the southern portion of the market. This arrangement ended in 2020 with the launch of the Daystar Español channel on KWBM-DT2.
| City | HAAT | ERP | Coordinates | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eldridge | 100 m (328 ft) | 92.3 kW | 37°49′10″N92°44′52″W / 37.81944°N 92.74778°W /37.81944; -92.74778 | Northwest ofLebanon, just south of Eldridge |
| Polk | 122 m (400 ft) | 42.9 kW | 37°43′26″N93°16′32″W / 37.72389°N 93.27556°W /37.72389; -93.27556 | Southwest ofPomme de Terre Lake |
| Springfield | 191.8 m (629 ft) | 170.9 kW | 37°13′24.63″N93°14′29.83″W / 37.2235083°N 93.2416194°W /37.2235083; -93.2416194 | theKOLRstudio-transmitter link tower behind the KOLR/KOZL-TV studios on Springfield's northeast side, nearDowntown Airport |
| Stockton | 104.4 m (343 ft) | 88.8 kW | 37°45′17.4″N93°50′7.2″W / 37.754833°N 93.835333°W /37.754833; -93.835333 | North of Stockton |
| Warsaw | 119.1 m (391 ft) | 43.7 kW | 38°14′17.3″N93°19′6.23″W / 38.238139°N 93.3183972°W /38.238139; -93.3183972 | West of Warsaw, near theTruman Reservoir |
.svg){kind=logo}