Local TV, LLC buys again: Group to acquire second Ft. Smith station

[T.L. Hughes 753]

Local TV, LLC is buying another station, only this time it is seeking a failing station waiver to purchase it. The station in question is KPBI in Fort Smith, Arkansas (though it is licensed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, technically part of the Springfield, Missouri market). KPBI is an affiliate of the Retro Television Network, if Local TV's purchase of KPBI is granted. The failing station waiver is needed for two reasons: besides being the only legal way to circumvent FCC rules on duopolies in markets with fewer than 10 full-power stations (Fort Smith-Fayetteville has only seven "unique" full-power stations, not counting KHOG, which being a satellite of ABC affiliate KHBS, the FCC counts KHBS/KHOG as one station), KPBI is losing money under ownership with Riverside Media; since Riverside bought KPBI in November 2009 from Equity Media Holdings, it suffered net losses of $100,000+ between mid-August and December of 2010, and lost $150,000+ in the first seven months of 2011.

 

RTV stands to potentially lose another affiliate (RTV has lost far more affiliates than it has gained over the past three years) with the purchase, as under Local TV ownership, the following scenarios could occur:

* 1. (most likely scenario): As CBS affiliate KFSM-TV, which would be KPBI's duopoly partner when the sale is approved, carries MyNetworkTV on a digital subchannel, Local TV could get an affiliation agreement with KPBI that would return MNTV to the station (which was the Fort Smith market's affiliate from its 2006 launch until 2009). KFSM, meanwhile could replace MNTV on digital subchannel 5.2 with Antenna TV (which does not have an affiliate in the market proper, the only market where Local TV owns a station that does not carry the network) or depending on the location of KPBI's transmitter (which may or may not cover a sizable portion of the market), do like NBC affiliate KNWA and Fox affiliate KFTA (which simulcast the other's signal on a digital subchannel) and simulcast KPBI's signal on 5.2.

*2. (debatable depending on circumstances): Barring that Fox and Nexstar/Mission do not hammer out affiliation renewals with Nexstar/Mission's remaining Fox stations whose contracts with the network are on the verge of expiration or have already expired, take the Fox affiliation from KFTA (which affiliated with the network in 2006, if the initial agreement and previous renewal are four-year agreements, this may not happen at the time being due to contractual obligations) and move it to KPBI, either as a primary affiliation with MyNetworkTV as a secondary, or as an exclusive affiliation.

*3. (unlikely scenario): KPBI could end up as the first main channel affiliate of Antenna TV.

[effseesee 101]

Local TV, LLC is buying another station, only this time it is seeking a failing station waiver to purchase it. The station in question is KPBI in Fort Smith, Arkansas (though it is licensed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, technically part of the Springfield, Missouri market). KPBI is an affiliate of the Retro Television Network, if Local TV's purchase of KPBI is granted. The failing station waiver is needed for two reasons: besides being the only legal way to circumvent FCC rules on duopolies in markets with fewer than 10 full-power stations (Fort Smith-Fayetteville has only seven "unique" full-power stations, not counting KHOG, which being a satellite of ABC affiliate KHBS, the FCC counts KHBS/KHOG as one station), KPBI is losing money under ownership with Riverside Media; since Riverside bought KPBI in November 2009 from Equity Media Holdings, it suffered net losses of $100,000+ between mid-August and December of 2010, and lost $150,000+ in the first seven months of 2011.

 

RTV stands to potentially lose another affiliate (RTV has lost far more affiliates than it has gained over the past three years) with the purchase, as under Local TV ownership, the following scenarios could occur:

* 1. (most likely scenario): As CBS affiliate KFSM-TV, which would be KPBI's duopoly partner when the sale is approved, carries MyNetworkTV on a digital subchannel, Local TV could get an affiliation agreement with KPBI that would return MNTV to the station (which was the Fort Smith market's affiliate from its 2006 launch until 2009). KFSM, meanwhile could replace MNTV on digital subchannel 5.2 with Antenna TV (which does not have an affiliate in the market proper, the only market where Local TV owns a station that does not carry the network) or depending on the location of KPBI's transmitter (which may or may not cover a sizable portion of the market), do like NBC affiliate KNWA and Fox affiliate KFTA (which simulcast the other's signal on a digital subchannel) and simulcast KPBI's signal on 5.2.

*2. (debatable depending on circumstances): Barring that Fox and Nexstar/Mission do not hammer out affiliation renewals with Nexstar/Mission's remaining Fox stations whose contracts with the network are on the verge of expiration or have already expired, take the Fox affiliation from KFTA (which affiliated with the network in 2006, if the initial agreement and previous renewal are four-year agreements, this may not happen at the time being due to contractual obligations) and move it to KPBI, either as a primary affiliation with MyNetworkTV as a secondary, or as an exclusive affiliation.

*3. (unlikely scenario): KPBI could end up as the first main channel affiliate of Antenna TV.

 

In today's FCC Media Bureau call sign changes memo, Local TV has reserved the callsign KXNW for KPBI upon completion of the sale. Could we soon be seeing FOX moving off of KFTA?

[T.L. Hughes 753]

 

In today's FCC Media Bureau call sign changes memo, Local TV has reserved the callsign KXNW for KPBI upon completion of the sale. Could we soon be seeing FOX moving off of KFTA?

 

KFTA's contract with Fox won't expire until sometime next year, since the station affiliated with Fox in 2006, and probably renewed its affiliation agreement a couple of years ago (plus there hasn't been any removals of Fox affiliations from Nexstar/Mission stations since WAWV, WTVW, KOZL and WFFT lost theirs over the summer). The KXNW callsign itself doesn't seem to point to a possible affiliation with Fox, if "FX" were part of the callsign (which several Fox stations use as part of their callsigns), it could be something to speculate about (though a lot of Fox stations don't allude to the network in its callsign). I'm still going with MyNetworkTV possibly ending up on what will be KXNW, but given it is licensed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas (pretty close to the Missouri border, but barely within the Fort Smith market), if MyNetworkTV does end up on KXNW, it would be relayed on KFSM-DT2 (where MNTV airs now), depending on how far away from Fort Smith the transmitter is.

[effseesee 101]

 

KFTA's contract with Fox won't expire until sometime next year, since the station affiliated with Fox in 2006, and probably renewed its affiliation agreement a couple of years ago (plus there hasn't been any removals of Fox affiliations from Nexstar/Mission stations since WAWV, WTVW, KOZL and WFFT lost theirs over the summer). The KXNW callsign itself doesn't seem to point to a possible affiliation with Fox, if "FX" were part of the callsign (which several Fox stations use as part of their callsigns), it could be something to speculate about (though a lot of Fox stations don't allude to the network in its callsign). I'm still going with MyNetworkTV possibly ending up on what will be KXNW, but given it is licensed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas (pretty close to the Missouri border, but barely within the Fort Smith market), if MyNetworkTV does end up on KXNW, it would be relayed on KFSM-DT2 (where MNTV airs now), depending on how far away from Fort Smith the transmitter is.

 

KFTA does not have an affiliation agreement at this point. It is continuing under the old affiliation that expired in June 2010. Most of Nexstar's FOX affiliation agreements expired in June 2010. That includes the former affiliates in Evansville, Fort Wayne, Springfield and Terre Haute.