KCPM (TV)
| Grand Forks, North Dakota United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
KCPM (localized) Central Plains Media (regional) |
| Slogan | Something For Everyone |
| Channels |
Digital: 27 (UHF) Virtual: 27 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
27.1 MyNetworkTV 27.3 Retro TV |
| Affiliations |
Silent (cable-only) MyNetworkTV (2006–present) |
| Owner |
Central Plains Media (G.I.G. of North Dakota, LLC) |
| First air date | 2003 |
| Call letters' meaning | Central Plains Media |
| Sister station(s) | KCPO-LP |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 27 (UHF, 2003–2009) |
| Former affiliations | UPN (2003–2006) |
| Transmitter power | 11.1 kW |
| Height | 55.8 m |
| Facility ID | 86208 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°57′45.2″N 97°3′13.1″W / 47.962556°N 97.053639°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | http://www.kcpm.tv/ |
KCPM, channel 27, is a silent MyNetworkTV affiliate in Grand Forks, North Dakota, serving eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. The station broadcasts on UHF channel 27 from the Midco cable headend tower northwest of East Grand Forks, Minnesota.
KCPM is owned by Chuck Poppen's Central Plains Media of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The station's broadcast signal has been only been on the air intermittently since 2014, and was removed from Midco cable channel 9 in Grand Forks and Midco cable channel 3 in Fargo-Moorhead in December 2014. The station is only reportedly carried on Cable One channel 27 in the Fargo-Moorhead area, Charter Communications cable channel 9 in Fergus Falls, and Sjoberg's Cable channel 5 in Thief River Falls.
Syndicated programming on KCPM includes Access Hollywood, Family Guy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Jerry Springer Show, Maury, The Wendy Williams Show, among others. Overnights consist of The Shepherd's Chapel and other religious programming. The station does not air any local newscasts. KCPM also simulcasts KSTC broadcasts of Minnesota State High School League tournaments.
KCPM is a semi-satellite of independent station KCPO-LP in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, although it airs separate commercials, station identifications and sometimes different programming due to FCC market regulations and KCPM's MyNetworkTV affiliation. KCPM has also reported adding Retro TV on digital subchannel 27.3 since the summer of 2015.
History
KCPM was a UPN affiliate launched to fill the void when Minneapolis/St. Paul KMSP-TV was being dropped by area cable television systems due to its affiliation switch from UPN to Fox. Originally, KCPM was to go on air in 2000, but the station construction permit was sold to Catamount Broadcasting of Fargo and became KXJC-LP. KCPM eventually launched in 2003, at full power on channel 27.
KCPM was the first full-time UPN affiliate in North Dakota; At the time, UPN programming was being carried after primetime by former Fox affiliates KNDX & KXND. KVRR had not done the same since 1998, as UPN affiliate KMSP-TV was commonly available on cable in the Fargo-Grand Forks market.
The KVNJ call sign was previously used in Fargo by KVRR. The call sign KCPM was previously used in California by current KNVN from 1995 to 1998.
MyNetworkTV
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN networks announced they would merge. The newly combined network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. The merger would take effect on-the-air on September 18, 2006. In response to the merger, News Corporation (the owner of Fox) launched another network called MyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006.
KCPM rejected The CW and affiliated with MyNetworkTV. In September 2005, KCPM replaced the UPN logo in its logo with the logo of Central Plains Media. The new KCPM MyNetworkTV logo was introduced in August 2006, and KCPM dropped UPN entirely on September 4, 2006. WDAY-TV launched a digital subchannel to carry The CW, which replaced cable-only station WBFG on September 18, 2006.
Intermittent broadcast operations
The station filed a notice to the FCC to cease terrestrial operations February 15, 2008 and filed notice on May 22, 2008 to suspend operations. According to FCC records, the station's owners have suspended operations on financial grounds, due to the economy.[1] According to reports from viewers,[2] KCPM remained available on cable, although not available over the air. By November 2008, the station resumed over-the-air broadcasting after the FCC rejected the notice to cease terrestrial operations. On June 12, 2009, the station turned off their digital signal because of financial hardship.[3] On May 10, 2010, the station filed a new application to operate at 11.1 kW.[4] and resumed broadcasting over-the-air in June 2010.
RabbitEars.info listed KCPM as off-air since 2012[5] KCPM did not file for its 2014 license renewal prior to the deadline.[6]
The station has reportedly only broadcast intermittently since its license renewal in 2014, and has been silent for the majority of the time. Retro TV has also been carried intermittently on 27.3 since early 2015. Combined with the loss of most of the market's cable carriage through Midco in December 2015 (including Fargo and Grand Forks), the station is only available on Cable One in the Fargo-Moorhead area, Charter Communications in Fergus Falls, and Sjoberg's Cable channel 5 in Thief River Falls.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27.1 | 480i | 4:3 | KCPM-DT | Main KCPM programming / MyNetworkTV |
| 27.3 | RETRO | Retro TV | ||
Analog-to-digital conversion
KCPM shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 27, on February 17, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 27.[8][9] Because its original construction permit was granted after the FCC finalized the digital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997, the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. KNVJ-LP was assigned channel 2 during the analog-era, and would have been relocated to channel 33 for digital operations.
Translators
KCPM was rebroadcast on the following translators (low-powered rebroadcasters):
- KVNJ-LP Channel 2 Fargo, North Dakota (construction permit for digital on channel 33, never built)
- K35HT Channel 35 Jamestown, North Dakota (construction permit, never built)
References
- ↑ "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". FCC CDBS database. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ↑ My Blur KCPM - Your Midwest Media Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ↑ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101367320&formid=910&fac_num=86208
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1365061&Service=DT&Form_id=301&Facility_id=86208
- ↑ Digital TV Market Listings - RabbitEars.Info Version from 17 June 2012, Retrieved from the Internet Archive 2 March 2014.
- ↑ FCC.gov, Applications List, Facility 86208 Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KCPM
- ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ↑
- NorthPine.com: North Dakota TV Translators and Satellite Stations
- North Dakota Broadcasting
- northpine.com Screengrabs of KCPM
External links
- KCPM official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KCPM
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCPM-TV