KPTH

KPTH
Channels
Branding
  • Fox Siouxland
  • My KPTH (44.2)
  • CBS Siouxland (44.3)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KMEG
History
First air date
May 9, 1999 (25 years ago) (1999-05-09)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 44 (UHF, 1999–2009)
  • Digital: 49 (UHF, 2009–2018)
Call sign meaning
Pappas Telecasting of the Heartland, from founding owner[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID77451
ERP871 kW
HAAT613 m (2,011 ft)
Transmitter coordinates42°35′12″N 96°13′19″W / 42.58667°N 96.22194°W / 42.58667; -96.22194
Links
Public license information
Websitesiouxlandnews.com

KPTH (channel 44) is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, United States, affiliated with Fox and CBS. It is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Dabl affiliate KMEG (channel 14) under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Waitt Broadcasting. The two stations share studios along I-29 (postal address says Gold Circle) in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; KPTH's transmitter is located in unincorporated Plymouth County, Iowa, east of James and US 75 along the Woodbury County line.

KPTH has been the Fox affiliate for Sioux City since its construction by Pappas Telecasting in 1999. Its operations were merged with KMEG, then the CBS affiliate, in 2005. After Pappas filed for bankruptcy protection, the station was sold to Titan TV Broadcast Management in 2009 and again to Sinclair in 2013. KPTH absorbed the CBS programming previously on KMEG in 2021. KPTH aired local news from 2006 to 2023.

History

Pappas Telecasting received a construction permit to build a new station in Sioux City on February 25, 1997, immediately announcing that it planned to put KPTH on the air as a Fox affiliate in early 1998.[3] Work on the tower site in Plymouth County began that October.[4]

KPTH began broadcasting May 9, 1999. It operated from offices in South Sioux City, Nebraska, and broadcast from an interim antenna at the 1,500-foot (460 m) level of its planned 2,000-foot (610 m) tower for the first five months.[5] The high-power facility was necessary because two thirds of television households in the Sioux City market lived outside the metropolitan area.[1] It also provided tower space for KMEG and for the digital facilities of KTIV and Iowa Public Television transmitter KSIN.[6]

In May 2005, Waitt Broadcasting (owner of KMEG) entered into a shared services agreement with Pappas Telecasting. Pappas assumed operations of KMEG and moved KPTH into the former's studios in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.[7] In November 2007, Waitt announced it would sell KMEG to Siouxland Television, LLC, with Pappas continuing to operate it as part of the deal. However, Pappas' Sioux City duopoly was among the company's thirteen stations which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2008.[8] As a result, the sale of KMEG to Siouxland Television fell through. On January 16, 2009, it was announced that several of the Pappas stations involved in the bankruptcy (including KPTH) would be sold to New World TV Group (also known as Titan Broadcast Management or Titan TV Broadcast Group) after the transaction received United States bankruptcy court approval; New World/Titan also took over their operations while the sale was completed.[9]

Titan announced the sale of most of its stations, including KPTH, to the Sinclair Broadcast Group on June 3, 2013.[10] Sinclair announced the closing of the sale on October 3.[11]

In January 2021, Sinclair renewed its CBS affiliation agreement, with KPTH—instead of KMEG—listed as the Sioux City affiliate.[12] On February 4, the CBS 14 subchannel of KMEG, including its programming and local news, moved to KPTH 44.3; KMEG's 14.1 subchannel began broadcasting Dabl.[13]

News operation

Further information: KMEG § News operation

KPTH had promised newscasts at launch, but a 2000 attempt by Pappas to sell the station led to the postponement of any plans to launch local news.[14] The 2005 merger of KMEG and KPTH's operations led to the announcement that KMEG would extend its news operation to channel 44.[7] Weekend newscasts were eliminated on both stations as a cost-cutting move when Titan assumed control of the Pappas stations in March 2009; the KPTH newscast had only just been expanded to weekends in January.[15][8]

In April 2023, it was reported that Sinclair would cut its local newscasts in five markets, including Sioux City, effective in May; the lost newscasts would be replaced with Sinclair's syndicated The National Desk.[16][17]

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KPTH[18]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
44.1 720p 16:9 FOX Fox
44.2 480i 4:3 MyNet TBD & MyNetworkTV
44.3 1080i 16:9 CBS 14 CBS

Analog-to-digital conversion

KPTH shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 44, at noon on February 17, 2009, to conclude the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[19][20]

The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 49, using virtual channel 44.[21] The station switched to broadcasting on channel 30 on November 30, 2018, as a result of the 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction.[22]

Translators

KPTH's signal is repeated over translator KBVK-LD (channel 20) in Spencer, Iowa.[18] It was formerly relayed on KPTP-LD (channel 31) in Norfolk, Nebraska; this translator's license was canceled on August 5, 2010.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b Linck, Michele (May 2, 1999). "OutFoxing the competition: Siouxland gains fourth local TV station as new Fox affiliate hits airwave". Sioux City Journal. pp. F1, F4. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KPTH". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Fox-TV channel planned in Siouxland". Sioux City Journal. March 4, 1997. p. A7. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Fox broadcast station still a year away". Sioux City Journal. October 15, 1997. p. A3. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "KPTH-TV installs new tower, antenna". Sioux City Journal. October 2, 1999. p. A10. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Linck, Michele (December 12, 1998). "1,980-foot tower for new FOX affiliate going up near Hinton". Sioux City Journal. pp. A1, A3. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Pappas will begin operating KMEG". Sioux City Journal. May 3, 2005. p. A4. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Dreeszen, Dave (December 21, 2008). "Stations look to emerge from bankruptcy: KMEG, KPTH, eight other Pappas affiliates auctioned for". Sioux City Journal. pp. D1, D7. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "New World Gets Pappas TVs for $260M". TVnewsday. January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
  10. ^ "Sinclair Buys 6 Titan Television Stations". TVNewsCheck. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  11. ^ "Sinclair Broadcast Group Closes on Acquisition of the Titan Stations" (PDF) (Press release). Sinclair Broadcast Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  12. ^ Lafayette, Jon (January 13, 2021). "ViacomCBS, Sinclair Sign New Affiliation Agreements". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  13. ^ "Siouxland's CBS channel moving to a new home February 4th". siouxlandnews.com. January 20, 2021. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  14. ^ Linck, Michele (March 26, 2000). "KPTH Fox 44 reaches milestones". Sioux City Journal. p. H12. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "KMEG and KPTH cut staffs, end weekend newscasts". Sioux City Journal. March 19, 2009. p. A7. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Local TV News to End on CBS-14 & KPTH". Talk Radio 1360 (KSCJ). April 28, 2023. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  17. ^ Stahl, Michael (May 1, 2023). "Sinclair Shutters Five News Markets: 'We Just Turned Off The Lights For Many'". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Digital TV Market Listing for KPTH". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  19. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (February 17, 2009). "Today is the day for digital TV switch". Sioux City Journal.
  20. ^ "About KMEG 14". KMEG. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  21. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  22. ^ "FCC TV Spectrum Phase Assignment Table" (CSV). Federal Communications Commission. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  23. ^ Hashemzadeh, Hossein (August 5, 2010). "KPTP-LD Cancellation Letter". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 14, 2024.