Duopoly (broadcasting)
Encyclopedia
In United States
broadcast television
and radio
, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community.
This usage is technically incompatible with the standard definition
of the word; in the field of economics
, a duopoly
refers to a marketplace in which most or all of the supply of a commodity is controlled by only two (comparable) vendors.
This leads to confusion inasmuch as there are generally more than two owners of broadcast television stations in markets with duopolies. Outside the US, the common ownership
of two local broadcast stations is therefore more commonly called a "twinstick
".
Duopolies were normally not allowed to television stations with overlapping coverage areas in the United States before 2001. The Federal Communications Commission
currently allows common ownership of two stations in a single market with two conditions:
There are at least two cases where a company has been accused of having television duopolies where they aren't legally permitted by using shell corporations to control a second station in a market.
Note that the rules governing radio stations are less restrictive than those for TV, allowing as many as six radio and two television stations under common ownership in the largest US markets.
Pittsburgh is rather in a unique situation as far as duopolies are concerned, as the city only has nine full-powered television stations. CBS Corporation
has a duopoly with CBS
O&O
KDKA-TV
and CW O&O WPCW
, while Sinclair Broadcast Group
owns Fox
affiliate WPGH-TV
and myNetworkTV
affiliate WPMY
. WQED Multimedia, which owns flagship PBS
station WQED
& NPR member WQED-FM
, also owns WQEX
, which currently simulcast
s ShopNBC
. The station previously operated WQEX as a second PBS station for shows that the main WQED couldn't fit on its own station before funding got tight and WQEX started simulcasting the main WQED feed preparing to sell the station. By request of WQED Multimedia, WQEX had its non-commercial license revoked by the FCC in 2002 so that WQED could possibly sell the station in the future after a failed attempt to sell the station to Cornerstone Television
in 1999 that would've also saw Cornerstone sell WPCB-TV
to Paxson Communications
and move its programming to WQEX directly related to WQEX's then-non-commercial status.
Stations listed are full-power terrestrial broadcasters in the same US market. Bold indicates O&O
:
is owned by Bonneville International
, and an educational station, KBYU-TV
, is owned by Brigham Young University
and carries PBS
programming. Bonneville is owned by the Deseret Management Corporation
, a for-profit arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; BYU is directly owned by the LDS Church. While Deseret and BYU are separate entities, the fact that both are owned by the LDS Church makes them a duopoly in a sense.
There are also examples of educational interests owning two stations in the same market, such as WNET
/WLIW
serving Newark
/Long Island, WQED
/WQEX
in Pittsburgh
and Milwaukee Public Television
's two stations. In some markets (such as Buffalo, New York
), secondary public stations are being sold and replaced by digital subchannel
s within the main station's ATSC
signal.
) exempt a broadcaster from some portion of the existing restrictions on common ownership in order to acquire and operate a station which otherwise would be economically non-viable or would be forced to cease operations
.
Requests for failing station waivers have historically met with variable reception; in general, a prospective buyer is on the same wavelength with the FCC on failing-station policies if it can demonstrate to the Commission that:
Waivers under these criteria were granted to sell WASV-TV (UHF 62
, UPN
Asheville
) to Media General
's WSPA-TV
and KWBA
(CW Tucson) to the Journal Broadcast Corporation's KGUN-TV. A similar waiver was refused to KNIN-TV
(CW Boise
) as the station appeared to have reasonable prospects of financial break-even without a takeover by Journal-owned KIVI-TV; that decision was subsequently appealed.
One notable example is Cunningham Broadcasting
, which holds licences for a group of six television stations, all of which are operated by Sinclair Broadcasting under local marketing agreements in communities in which Sinclair already is at the limit for concentration of media ownership.
Clear Channel Communications
subsidiary Citicasters was fined $25000 on February 12, 2001 for use of time brokerage agreements and litigation to unlawfully control WBTJ FM 101.9
in the Youngstown, Ohio
market; the company had also been the target of complaints for using KFJO FM
to rebroadcast KSJO
after it had nominally sold KFJO to minority-owned interests.
In some cases, the use of an adjacent-market city of license
has been used on a secondary station to avoid a limit on the number of stations controlled by the same broadcaster in the same market. Occasionally, those arrangements cross international borders. For instance, radio station
WLYK
in Cape Vincent, New York
in the United States is operated from the Canadian studios of Kingston, Ontario
's CIKR-FM
, a broadcaster already at the two-station limit in its own market, under an LMA. Broadcasters such as Entravision have often entered local marketing agreements with Mexican border stations (such as Tijuana's XETV
for content directed at San Diego
).
Other names to what is essentially a local marketing agreement can be used. In late 2007, New Vision Television
, which had just acquired CBS
affiliate WKBN-TV
and low-powered
Fox
affiliate WYFX-LP
in Youngstown, Ohio
, entered into a shared services agreement
with Parkin Broadcasting over its own recent acquisition, ABC
affiliate WYTV
. Despite Youngstown's small market size (ranked #108 by Nielsen Media Research
as of 2009), New Vision effectively controls all Youngstown-area TV stations except NBC
affiliate WFMJ-TV
and Western Reserve Public Media. While legally considered a "shared services" agreement, by practice it is a local marketing agreement.
On March 2, 2009, Barrington Broadcasting
and Granite Broadcasting Corporation
reached shared services
and joint sales agreements in markets where both companies owned stations, meaning the owner of Station "A" not only operates a station for owner "B" but provides advertising sales for both stations. The agreements placed Barrignton-owned WHOI
in Peoria, Illinois
under the control of Granite station WEEK-TV
, while at the same time placing Granite-owned WTVH
in Syracuse, New York
under the control of Barrington-owned competitor WTVH
; the Syracuse move effectively leaves Barrington in control of three Syracuse TV stations as it is also the proprietor of low-power TV station WSTQ
.
, one Telemundo
and a Spanish language
independent. Los Angeles and San Francisco are the only two US markets which can have a full-power triopoly (three stations) as the FCC allows common ownership if 18 television stations are in the market.
In Canada, at least one community (Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec
) has all three of its local French language
stations, CKRT-TV
, CIMT-TV
and CFTF-TV
, under common ownership, however such levels of common ownership are for the most part strongly discouraged unless the stations serve remote communities or are operated in different languages.
In Mexico, media concentration is endemic and it is not uncommon for as many as four stations to be operated by one entity. Televisa
owns four Mexico City
stations (2
• 4 • 5
• 9
) while TV Azteca
, México's second-largest broadcaster, owns three (7
• 13
• 40
). These broadcasts in turn feed large numbers of full-power affiliates. The largest Mexican network is Canal de las Estrellas
which feeds more than one hundred stations nationwide.
No television quadropolies exist in Canada (see twinstick
); in the United States quadropolies can be constructed using low-power TV stations.
) or low power digital
(-LD or -CD
).
UHF LPTV stations in the United States
may transmit up to 15kW digital or 150kW analogue. There is no limit on the number of LPTV stations that may be owned by any one entity, no prescribed amounts of non-entertainment programming or local programming, no limits on commercials and no minimum hours of operation.
For instance, on southern Lake Michigan
, Weigel Broadcasting
maintains triopolies in three markets (Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, and South Bend, Indiana
) using low power television stations. In Chicago, it maintains one full power signal (independent WCIU) and two low-power stations (classic TV channels WWME-CA
and WMEU-CA
). In Milwaukee, Weigel has two full power stations (CBS affiliate WDJT-TV
and classic TV channel WBME-TV) and two low-power stations (independent WMLW-CA
and WYTU-LD, a Telemundo
affiliate). Weigel also takes advantage of digital subchannel
broadcasting heavily and airs their This TV
network in both markets, along with time share agreements on other subchannels with ethnic broadcasters, and in Milwaukee, a local real estate group to air programming, along with a Telemundo
subchannel.
The South Bend low-power TV triopoly (ABC affiliate WBND-LP
, CW station WCWW-LP
and MyNetworkTV's WMYS-LP
) was to be sold to Schurz Communications
, owners of full power WSBT-TV
. If it had been approved, it would have created a US broadcast television quadropoly. However in mid-2009 Shurz and Weigel canceled the sale due to FCC inaction and subsequent criticism from local groups.
A similar situation exists in Lima, Ohio
, where the owners of full-power NBC affiliate WLIO
have filed to purchase three low-power network affiliated stations (Fox affiliate WOHL-CA
, CBS affiliate WLMO-LP
and ABC affiliate WLQP-LP
), as part of a four-station proposed purchase. The quadropoly, if approved, would make the group the sole over-air provider of secular network television programming in the Lima market, though area cable systems also carry out of town affiliates from Toledo
, Columbus
, and Dayton
. As of late 2009, it has since been approved.
A quadropoly already exists in McAllen, Texas
, where Entravision carries four networks (Univisión
,
Telefutura
, Fox, CW) by using a full-power station (KNVO-TV "nuevo 48
") with its four digital subchannel
s, simulcast onto a pair of analogue LPTV stations and (under an LMA) Mexican broadcaster XHRIO-TV
. Similarly in Laredo, Texas
, Entravision operates a triopoly as owner of full-service KLDO-TV
and Class A stations KETF-CA
and KXOF-CA
.
In metropolitan Watertown, New York
, two of the four largest local network affiliates (CBS
and Fox
) are operated from the same studios by the same owners. This is permitted only because the Fox station is a low-powered Class A; the Federal Communications Commission
does not allow common ownership of two of the four top-rated full-power stations in any US market, regardless of size.
Low power stations are exempt from the FCC's common ownership restrictions as their over-the-air signals do not reach as many homes as regular stations. In high-penetration cable areas, this distinction is essentially meaningless. LPTV stations are also exempt from digital television transition
requirements imposed on full-service broadcasters.
Often, the limitations of using LPTV are circumvented by combining an LPTV station and a digital subchannel
of a commonly-owned full-power station alongside a cable-only
HDTV channel which simulcasts the signal of the lower-powered affiliate. While cable operators are not legally required to carry the low-power TV stations, a station may request as a condition of cable retransmission consent
for their main signal that their compensation include the cable carriage of commonly-owned subchannels and LPTV stations.
stations, originally created by The WB as cable-only channels, are being sold to existing local terrestrial broadcasters. While cable-only (or LPTV) in their original analogue format, these now represent a simple way for full-power stations to fill empty digital subchannels on their main transmitters.
The use of subchannels
has been termed an "instant duopoly" because of the ease by which a single digital station can deliver multiple channels of programming from different networks into the same market at the same time. One station can carry four or more standard definition
digital channels. (Multiple HDTV feeds are typically too large to be carried on different subchannels of the same station simultaneously without loss of image quality.)
One possible approach is to use one full-power station, one or more low-power analogue stations and one or more low-power digital stations in the same market, with the low-power digital carrying the extra HDTV channels. For instance, one station could (in any size market) own two of the top four stations and operate both in HDTV as:
In theory, this mix of LPTV, digital TV and full-service TV could be taken to the extreme of one broadcaster joining every one of the four largest US commercial television networks and using a set of nine channels in the same market to deliver:
A nominally-unlimited number of additional analogue or digital LPTV stations could be then added as broadcast translators to extend the signal as needed. Cable or satellite could also be added to the mix, as the limits on market concentration apply to local terrestrial full-power stations only. Effectively, were such a simulcast constructed, one broadcaster could control an entire local television market.
, in the case where three stations deliver the same signal to different parts of the same market) to provide coverage rivalling one full-power station. WBGN-LP
, for instance, simulcasts using nine LPTV television stations located throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
area in order to get full-power sized coverage with only a combination of Class A and LPTV licenses and signals, each individually covering a small portion of the larger market area.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
broadcast television
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
and radio
Radio industry
The "radio industry" is a generic term for any companies or public service providers who are involved with the broadcast of radio stations or ancillary services.Radio broadcasters can be broken into at least two different groups:...
, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community.
This usage is technically incompatible with the standard definition
Duopoly
A true duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In reality, this definition is generally used where only two firms have dominant control over a market...
of the word; in the field of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, a duopoly
Duopoly
A true duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In reality, this definition is generally used where only two firms have dominant control over a market...
refers to a marketplace in which most or all of the supply of a commodity is controlled by only two (comparable) vendors.
This leads to confusion inasmuch as there are generally more than two owners of broadcast television stations in markets with duopolies. Outside the US, the common ownership
Common ownership
Common ownership is a principle according to which the assets of an enterprise or other organization are held indivisibly rather than in the names of the individual members or by a public institution such as a governmental body. It is therefore in contrast to public ownership...
of two local broadcast stations is therefore more commonly called a "twinstick
Twinstick
A twinstick, in Canadian broadcasting, is a term for two television stations, broadcasting in the same market, which are owned by the same company...
".
Regulatory issues
In the United States, the practice of duopoly has been frowned upon when using public airwaves, on the premise that it gives too much influence to one company.Duopolies were normally not allowed to television stations with overlapping coverage areas in the United States before 2001. The Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
currently allows common ownership of two stations in a single market with two conditions:
- There must be at least eight unique station owners left in the market once a duopoly is formed. In effect, duopolies are not allowed in any market with fewer than nine full-power stations (counting non-commercial stations).
- Two of the four highest-rated stations in a market cannot be owned by the same person.
There are at least two cases where a company has been accused of having television duopolies where they aren't legally permitted by using shell corporations to control a second station in a market.
- Sinclair Broadcast GroupSinclair Broadcast GroupThe Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
controls the operations of all six stations owned by Cunningham BroadcastingCunningham BroadcastingCunningham Broadcasting Corporation is an owner of television stations in the United States. The company currently owns six stations—four affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company , one affiliated with MyNetworkTV and one affiliated with The CW Television Network.Cunningham has very close ties to...
through local marketing agreementLocal marketing agreementIn U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
s. However, nearly all of Cunningham's stock is held by trusts in the name of Sinclair's founders and owners, the Smith family. In three markets, Cunningham owns the fourth-highest rated station while Sinclair owns one of the three highest-rated stations. In the three other markets, there are too few stations or unique owners to legally permit a duopoly. - Malara Broadcasting owns two stations--WPTA-TV in Fort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
and KDLH-TV in Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth, MinnesotaDuluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. Both stations' operations are controlled by Granite Broadcasting, which owns WISE-TVWISE-TVWISE-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Indiana licensed to Fort Wayne. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 18 from a transmitter at its studios on Butler Road in Northwest Fort Wayne. The station can also be seen on Frontier FiOS channel 4 and...
in Fort Wayne and KBJR-TVKBJR-TVKBJR-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin that is licensed to Superior, Wisconsin. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter west of Downtown Duluth in Hilltop Park...
in Duluth. Malara files its Securities and Exchange Commission reports jointly with Granite, leading to allegations that Malara is simply a shell for Granite. Neither Fort Wayne nor Duluth have enough stations to legally permit a duopoly. Hubbard Broadcasting, which runs ABC affiliate WDIO/WIRT in Duluth has asked the FCC to look at the arrangement in Duluth, along with a similar agreement in Rochester, MinnesotaRochester, MinnesotaRochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
between NBC affiliate KTTCKTTCKTTC is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa. Licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Ostrander, Minnesota near the Fillmore and Mower County line...
and Fox station KXLT-TVKXLT-TVKXLT-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southeastern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa. Licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 46 from a transmitter in Frankford Township, Minnesota. The station can also be seen on Mediacom and...
, both in markets Hubbard owns stations in .
Note that the rules governing radio stations are less restrictive than those for TV, allowing as many as six radio and two television stations under common ownership in the largest US markets.
Pittsburgh is rather in a unique situation as far as duopolies are concerned, as the city only has nine full-powered television stations. CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
has a duopoly with CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
O&O
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
and CW O&O WPCW
WPCW
WPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market...
, while Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
owns Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate WPGH-TV
WPGH-TV
WPGH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter at its studios on Ivory Avenue in the city's Summer Hill section. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS and Comcast channel 7...
and myNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WPMY
WPMY
WPMY is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WPMY is the sister station of...
. WQED Multimedia, which owns flagship PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station WQED
WQED (TV)
WQED is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Established April 1, 1954, it was the first community-sponsored television station in the United States as well as the fifth public TV station...
& NPR member WQED-FM
WQED-FM
WQED-FM is a listener-supported, public radio classical, fine arts, and news station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station, which is a sister station to both WQED-TV and WINP-TV, operates at 89.3 MHz with an ERP of 28 kW, and is a member station of National Public Radio and an affiliate of...
, also owns WQEX
WQEX
WINP-TV is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcasting on digital channel 38, but through the use of PSIP, uses virtual channel 16, its former analog television channel number. WINP is owned by ION Media Networks...
, which currently simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
s ShopNBC
ShopNBC
ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal...
. The station previously operated WQEX as a second PBS station for shows that the main WQED couldn't fit on its own station before funding got tight and WQEX started simulcasting the main WQED feed preparing to sell the station. By request of WQED Multimedia, WQEX had its non-commercial license revoked by the FCC in 2002 so that WQED could possibly sell the station in the future after a failed attempt to sell the station to Cornerstone Television
Cornerstone Television
The Cornerstone TeleVision Network is a non-commercial Christian broadcast and satellite television network based in Wall, Pennsylvania, United States. Its founder and CEO is Russ Bixler...
in 1999 that would've also saw Cornerstone sell WPCB-TV
WPCB-TV
WPCB-TV is a Christian television station in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA DMA. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 50. It is licensed to Greensburg with studios and transmitter in Wall and is the home of Cornerstone Television, which originates most of its programs from the station...
to Paxson Communications
ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...
and move its programming to WQEX directly related to WQEX's then-non-commercial status.
Examples in American television
See also List of television duopolies in the United StatesStations listed are full-power terrestrial broadcasters in the same US market. Bold indicates O&O
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
:
| City | Station | Station | Owner | ||
| Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border... |
WOIO WOIO WOIO, virtual channel 19 , is the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. It is licensed to the nearby suburb of Shaker Heights. WOIO is owned by Raycom Media and its sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate WUAB . The two stations share a studio facility in Cleveland and WOIO's transmitter is located in... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 19 |
WUAB WUAB WUAB, identified on-air as "My43 The Block, WUAB", is the MyNetworkTV affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. The station is licensed to the suburb of Lorain, and it shares a studio in downtown Cleveland with sister station WOIO, Cleveland's CBS affiliate. Its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio... |
My 43 | Raycom Media Raycom Media - History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations.... |
| Dayton Dayton, Ohio Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census... |
WKEF WKEF WKEF, virtual channel 22, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Miami Valley area of Ohio, which is licensed to Dayton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 51 from a transmitter at their Broadcast Plaza studios near the New Chicago section of the city... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... 22 |
WRGT WRGT-TV WRGT-TV, virtual channel 45, is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Miami Valley area of Ohio, which is licensed to Dayton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter at its Broadcast Plaza studios near the New Chicago section of the city. It can... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 45 |
Sinclair Sinclair Broadcast Group The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of... -Cunningham Cunningham Broadcasting Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation is an owner of television stations in the United States. The company currently owns six stations—four affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company , one affiliated with MyNetworkTV and one affiliated with The CW Television Network.Cunningham has very close ties to... (effectively a Sinclair duopoly in violation of FCC rules) |
| Detroit Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River... |
WWJ-TV WWJ-TV WWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 62 |
WKBD-TV | CW 50 | CBS Corporation CBS Corporation CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's... |
| Buffalo Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the... |
WIVB WIVB-TV WIVB-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Western New York that is licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter on Center Street in Colden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 4 |
WNLO WNLO WNLO is the CW-affiliated television station for Western New York licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter on the eastern side of Grand Island. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 11 and Verizon FiOS channel 23... |
CW 23 | LIN TV LIN TV LIN TV Corporation is an American holding company that operates 31 television stations.-History:LIN TV's roots trace back to the founding of its former parent, LIN Broadcasting Corporation, in 1961. LIN Broadcasting was engaged in radio, television, direct marketing, information and learning, music... |
| Buffalo Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the... |
WUTV WUTV WUTV, virtual channel 29, is the Fox-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 14. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a duopoly with the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 29 |
WNYO WNYO-TV WNYO-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York, serving the western region of New York state. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 49 from a transmitter at Ironwood Golf Course in Bennington's Cowlesville section. The station can also be seen... |
My 49 | Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of... |
| Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968... |
WJXX WJXX WJXX is the ABC-affiliated television station television for Jacksonville, Florida. The station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 10, identifying via PSIP as virtual channel 25 . The station is owned by Gannett as part of a duopoly with the area's NBC affiliate, WTLV... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... 25 |
WTLV WTLV WTLV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Jacksonville, Florida. The station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 13. The station is owned by Gannett as part of a duopoly with the area's ABC affiliate, WJXX. The two stations share studios located on East Adams Street in downtown near... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 12 |
Gannett |
| Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968... |
WTEV WTEV-TV WTEV-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Florida's First Coast licensed to Jacksonville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Hogan Road in the city's Southside section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 47 |
WAWS WAWS WAWS is the Fox-affiliated television station for Florida's First Coast licensed to Jacksonville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter on Hogan Road in the city's Southside section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 10 and in high... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 30 |
Newport Television Newport Television Newport Television, LLC is a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. In September 2007, Newport agreed to sell KFTY and KVOS-TV to LK Station Group LLC for $26.6... |
| Hartford Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making... |
WTNH | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... 8 |
WCTX WCTX WCTX is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the state of Connecticut that is licensed to New Haven. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter in Hamden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to ABC affiliate WTNH and the two... |
My 59 | LIN TV LIN TV LIN TV Corporation is an American holding company that operates 31 television stations.-History:LIN TV's roots trace back to the founding of its former parent, LIN Broadcasting Corporation, in 1961. LIN Broadcasting was engaged in radio, television, direct marketing, information and learning, music... |
| Hartford Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making... |
WCCT | CW 20 | WTIC WTIC-TV WTIC-TV, channel 61, is a television station in Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the Tribune Company, WTIC-TV is a charter affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 61 |
Tribune Company Tribune Company The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida... |
| Raleigh-Durham | WRAL WRAL-TV WRAL-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company since its inception, and is currently the CBS affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Fayetteville area, known collectively as the Triangle... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 5 |
WRAZ | Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 50 |
Capitol Broadcasting |
| Raleigh-Durham | WLFL WLFL WLFL is the CW-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Triangle licensed to Raleigh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter located in Auburn, North Carolina. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in high definition... |
CW 22 | WRDC | My 28 | Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of... |
| Washington, DC | WTTG WTTG WTTG, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 5 |
WDCA WDCA WDCA, virtual channel 20, is a television station in Washington, D.C.. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, WDCA is a sister station to Fox network outlet WTTG , and is affiliated with the co-owned MyNetworkTV programming service... |
My 20 | Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation... |
| New Orleans | WGNO WGNO WGNO, channel 26, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the greater New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan area, as well parts of southern and coastal Mississippi. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, and is the only Big Three network affiliate owned by the company.The station offers ABC... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... 26 |
WNOL | CW 38 | Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting... |
| New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population... |
WWL-TV WWL-TV WWL-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station serving New Orleans, Louisiana, southeast Louisiana and parts of southern and coastal Mississippi, and is the primary CBS station for South and Coastal Mississippi. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 36... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 4 |
WUPL WUPL WUPL, virtual channel 54, is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Greater New Orleans, Louisiana area. It is licensed to the Northshore community of Slidell. It is currently owned by the Belo Corporation, in a duopoly with CBS affiliate WWL-TV. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel... |
My 54 | Belo Belo Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the... |
| Norfolk Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach.... |
WAVY WAVY-TV WAVY-TV, channel 10, is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Hampton Roads area . WAVY is owned by LIN Television Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WVBT... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 10 |
WVBT WVBT WVBT is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Hampton Roads area of Southeastern Virginia that is licensed to Virginia Beach. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter in the Driver section of Suffolk... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 43 |
LIN TV LIN TV LIN TV Corporation is an American holding company that operates 31 television stations.-History:LIN TV's roots trace back to the founding of its former parent, LIN Broadcasting Corporation, in 1961. LIN Broadcasting was engaged in radio, television, direct marketing, information and learning, music... |
| New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
WNYW WNYW WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 5 |
WWOR WWOR-TV WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship... |
My 9 | Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation... |
| Syracuse Syracuse, New York Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603... |
WNYS WNYS-TV WNYS-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Central New York that is licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 7 and in high definition on digital... |
My 43 | WSYT WSYT WSYT is the Fox-affiliated television station for Central New York State that is licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter west of LaFayette. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station operates MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYS-TV ... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 68 |
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of... |
| Boston | WBZ-TV WBZ-TV WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 4 |
WSBK WSBK-TV WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128... |
My MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation... 38 |
CBS Corporation CBS Corporation CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's... |
| Boston | WHDH WHDH-TV WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 7 |
WLVI WLVI-TV WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at... |
CW 56 | Sunbeam Television Sunbeam Television Sunbeam Television Corporation is a broadcasting company based in Miami, Florida, and owns three television stations in the United States.-History:... |
| Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties... |
KMCI | Ind. Independent station An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network.... 38 |
KSHB KSHB-TV KSHB-TV, virtual channel 41, is the NBC-affiliated television station serving the entire Kansas City metropolitan area; the station is commonly known by its branding NBC Action News. It is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, alongside independent station KMCI as the company's only existing duopoly... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 41 |
Scripps-Howard Broadcasting |
| Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties... |
KCTV KCTV KCTV channel 5 is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area that is licensed to the Missouri side. Owned by the Meredith Corporation, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV and the two share facilities on Shawnee Mission Parkway KCTV channel 5 is... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 5 |
KSMO KSMO-TV KSMO-TV, virtual channel 62, is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area licensed to the Missouri side. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter in Independence, Missouri... |
My 62 | Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:... |
| Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties... |
KMBC-TV KMBC-TV KMBC-TV virtual channel 9 is a television station affiliated with the ABC television network, located in Kansas City, Missouri. KMBC-TV is owned by Hearst Television and its studios are located on Winchester Ave. near Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The station's high guyed mast broadcast... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... 9 |
KCWE KCWE KCWE is the CW-affiliated television station for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area licensed to the Missouri side. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter at the East 23rd Street/Topping Avenue intersection in Kansas City, Missouri's Blue Valley section... |
CW 29 | Hearst Television |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | KSTP KSTP-TV KSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States.... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... 5 |
KSTC KSTC-TV KSTC-TV is an Independent television station for the Twin Cities that is licensed to Minneapolis. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 45 from a transmitter at the Telefarm installation in Shoreview. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, the station is sister to ABC affiliate... |
Ind. Independent station An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network.... 45 |
Hubbard Broadcasting |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | KMSP KMSP-TV KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 9 |
WFTC WFTC WFTC, channel 29, is a MyNetworkTV owned and operated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area... |
My 29 | Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation... |
| Denver | KUSA KUSA-TV KUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 9 |
KTVD KTVD KTVD, virtual channel 20 is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station based in Denver, Colorado, and is owned by the Gannett Company. The station is a sister to KUSA, Denver's NBC affiliate and is housed and operated out of KUSA's high definition studios... |
My 20 | Gannett |
| Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
KCBS KCBS-TV KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 2 |
KCAL KCAL-TV KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital... |
Ind. Independent station An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network.... 9 |
CBS Corporation CBS Corporation CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's... |
| Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
KNBC KNBC KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 4 |
KWHY KVEA KVEA KVEA is a Spanish-language television station in the Los Angeles area owned and operated by NBC Universal and the West Coast flagship station of the Telemundo network. It was the first mainland U.S. station owned by Telemundo at the network's launch in the late 1980's... |
Spanish Ind. Independent station An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network.... 22 Telemundo Telemundo Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision.... 52 |
NBC Universal NBC Universal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base... |
| Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
KTTV KTTV KTTV, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Los Angeles, California. Serving the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area, KTTV is a sister station to KCOP , Los Angeles' MyNetworkTV station... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 11 |
KCOP | My 13 | Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation... |
| Chicago | WFLD WFLD WFLD, virtual channel 32 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation, the station is owned in a duopoly with area MyNetworkTV affiliate WPWR-TV... |
Fox 32 | WPWR | My 50 | Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation... |
| Little Rock Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census... |
KLRT KLRT-TV KLRT-TV, virtual channel 16 , branded as "FOX16", is the Fox-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 16 |
KASN KASN KASN, virtual channel 38, branded as "The CW Arkansas", is an affiliate of The CW Television Network in Little Rock, Arkansas. The station is owned by Newport Television, in a duopoly with Fox affiliate KLRT . The station shares studios with KLRT that are located east of I-430 on Colonel Glenn Rd... |
CW 38 | Newport Television Newport Television Newport Television, LLC is a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. In September 2007, Newport agreed to sell KFTY and KVOS-TV to LK Station Group LLC for $26.6... |
| Duluth Duluth, Minnesota Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,... |
KBJR KBJR-TV KBJR-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin that is licensed to Superior, Wisconsin. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter west of Downtown Duluth in Hilltop Park... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 6 |
KDLH | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 3 |
Granite-Malara |
| Sacramento Sacramento, California Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,... |
KOVR KOVR KOVR, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated station of the CBS Television Network located in Sacramento, California and licensed to Stockton. KOVR-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KMAX-TV in West Sacramento, California, and its transmitter is located in Walnut Grove,... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 13 |
KMAX KMAX-TV KMAX-TV, channel 31, is the CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. The station is owned by CBS Television Stations along with the local CBS station, KOVR; the two stations are two of the 3 English network O&Os in the market, along with Ion Television... |
CW 31 | CBS Corporation CBS Corporation CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's... |
| Sacramento Sacramento, California Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,... |
KCRA KCRA-TV KCRA-TV, channel 3, is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, and is an affiliate of the NBC television network... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... 3 |
KQCA | My 58 | Hearst-Argyle Television |
| Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... |
KTVK | Ind. Independent station An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network.... 3 |
KASW | CW 61 | Belo Belo Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the... |
| Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... |
KSAZ KSAZ-TV KSAZ-TV, virtual channel 10.1, is the Fox owned-and-operated station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Fox Television Stations in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV station KUTP .... |
Fox 10 | KUTP | My 45 | Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations Group Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation... |
| Pittsburgh | KDKA KDKA-TV KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center.... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 2 |
WPCW WPCW WPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market... |
CW 19 | CBS Corporation CBS Corporation CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's... |
| Pittsburgh | WPGH-TV WPGH-TV WPGH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter at its studios on Ivory Avenue in the city's Summer Hill section. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS and Comcast channel 7... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... 53 |
WPMY WPMY WPMY is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WPMY is the sister station of... |
My MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation... 22 |
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of... |
| Pittsburgh | WQED WQED (TV) WQED is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Established April 1, 1954, it was the first community-sponsored television station in the United States as well as the fifth public TV station... |
PBS Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.... 13 |
WQEX WQEX WINP-TV is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcasting on digital channel 38, but through the use of PSIP, uses virtual channel 16, its former analog television channel number. WINP is owned by ION Media Networks... |
ShopNBC ShopNBC ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal... 16 |
WQED Multimedia |
| Wichita, Kansas Wichita, Kansas Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area... |
KWCH-DT | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... 12.1 (19) |
KSCW-DT | CW The CW Television Network The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB... 33.1 (12) |
Schurz Communications Schurz Communications Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based radio, television, cable tv and newspaper media group.-Cable Television Systems:*Antietam Cable, Hagerstown, Maryland *Advanced Cable Communications, Coral Springs, Florida... (Failing Station Waiver) |
Educational and multicultural broadcasters
A special case is Salt Lake City. The NBC affiliate KSL-TVKSL-TV
KSL-TV, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. KSL-TV is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
is owned by Bonneville International
Bonneville International
Bonneville International Corporation is a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation...
, and an educational station, KBYU-TV
KBYU-TV
KBYU-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member public television station serving the U.S. state of Utah. The station broadcasts locally in digital-only on UHF channel 44, which redirects to its former analog channel 11 via PSIP. It is rebroadcast statewide through a network of translators...
, is owned by Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
and carries PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
programming. Bonneville is owned by the Deseret Management Corporation
Deseret Management Corporation
The Deseret Management Corporation is a for-profit management company of assets for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was established in 1966 by then church president David O...
, a for-profit arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; BYU is directly owned by the LDS Church. While Deseret and BYU are separate entities, the fact that both are owned by the LDS Church makes them a duopoly in a sense.
There are also examples of educational interests owning two stations in the same market, such as WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
/WLIW
WLIW
WLIW, channel 21, is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Garden City, New York; which serves as a secondary Public Broadcasting Service member station for the New York City television market...
serving Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
/Long Island, WQED
WQED (TV)
WQED is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Established April 1, 1954, it was the first community-sponsored television station in the United States as well as the fifth public TV station...
/WQEX
WQEX
WINP-TV is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcasting on digital channel 38, but through the use of PSIP, uses virtual channel 16, its former analog television channel number. WINP is owned by ION Media Networks...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Milwaukee Public Television
Milwaukee Public Television
For information on Channels 10 and 36 individually, see WMVS and WMVTMilwaukee Public Television is the branding name for the alliance between two Milwaukee based Public Broadcasting Service public television affiliates: WMVS, Channel 10, and WMVT, Channel 36...
's two stations. In some markets (such as Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
), secondary public stations are being sold and replaced by digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s within the main station's ATSC
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
signal.
Failed and failing stations
In the US, as in other jurisdictions, it is possible to obtain a "failing station" waiver; effectively a petition that a broadcast regulator (the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
) exempt a broadcaster from some portion of the existing restrictions on common ownership in order to acquire and operate a station which otherwise would be economically non-viable or would be forced to cease operations
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
.
Requests for failing station waivers have historically met with variable reception; in general, a prospective buyer is on the same wavelength with the FCC on failing-station policies if it can demonstrate to the Commission that:
- The failing station consistently received less than 4% of all local all-day audience share,
- The station is in poor financial condition, normally operating at a loss for at least the previous three years,
- The merger will produce public interest benefits, and
- The in-market buyer is the only suitable candidate as a sale to an out-of-market buyer would result in an artificially depressed price.
Waivers under these criteria were granted to sell WASV-TV (UHF 62
UHF (film)
UHF is a 1989 American comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Bowe, Fran Drescher, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Anthony Geary, Emo Philips and Trinidad Silva, in whose memory the film is dedicated.The title refers to Ultra High Frequency...
, UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
) to Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
's WSPA-TV
WSPA-TV
WSPA-TV channel 7 is the CBS-affiliated television station for western North Carolina and South Carolina. It is licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina with its transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain southwest of Tryon, North Carolina. Owned by Media General, the station is sister to CW...
and KWBA
KWBA
KWBA-TV, virtual channel 58, is the affiliate of The CW network in Tucson, Arizona. The station broadcasts on digital channel 44, and is licensed to Sierra Vista, Arizona...
(CW Tucson) to the Journal Broadcast Corporation's KGUN-TV. A similar waiver was refused to KNIN-TV
KNIN-TV
KNIN-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Idaho's Treasure Valley licensed to Caldwell. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter at the Bogus Basin ski area summit in unincorporated Boise County. The station can also be seen on Cable One...
(CW Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
) as the station appeared to have reasonable prospects of financial break-even without a takeover by Journal-owned KIVI-TV; that decision was subsequently appealed.
Local marketing agreements
Where there are two different owners listed, one station owner controls another station, called a local marketing agreement. Owner "A" doesn't own station "B", they just operate it for owner "B" - effectively renting all of a station's airtime and using it to run their own programming.One notable example is Cunningham Broadcasting
Cunningham Broadcasting
Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation is an owner of television stations in the United States. The company currently owns six stations—four affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company , one affiliated with MyNetworkTV and one affiliated with The CW Television Network.Cunningham has very close ties to...
, which holds licences for a group of six television stations, all of which are operated by Sinclair Broadcasting under local marketing agreements in communities in which Sinclair already is at the limit for concentration of media ownership.
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
subsidiary Citicasters was fined $25000 on February 12, 2001 for use of time brokerage agreements and litigation to unlawfully control WBTJ FM 101.9
WRBP
WRBP, branded as JAMZ 101.9, is a radio station in the Youngstown, Ohio market. Licensed to Hubbard, the station broadcasts an urban music format on 101.9 FM...
in the Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
market; the company had also been the target of complaints for using KFJO FM
KKDV
KKDV is an Adult Contemporary radio station located in Walnut Creek, California, broadcasting at 92.1 MHz. With the call letters KKDV , it broadcasts under the slogan "Diablo Valley's Hometown Station." The station is located in central Contra Costa County in the Diablo Valley close to Mt....
to rebroadcast KSJO
KSJO
KSJO is a commercial radio station in San Jose, California, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area on 92.3 FM. KSJO currently airs a Chinese format branded as "92.3 KSJO".-History:...
after it had nominally sold KFJO to minority-owned interests.
In some cases, the use of an adjacent-market city of license
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
has been used on a secondary station to avoid a limit on the number of stations controlled by the same broadcaster in the same market. Occasionally, those arrangements cross international borders. For instance, radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
WLYK
WLYK
WLYK is a radio station in Cape Vincent, New York. The station airs an middle of the road music format.Although officially licensed to a community in the United States, the station primarily targets the larger neighboring Canadian market of Kingston, Ontario...
in Cape Vincent, New York
Cape Vincent, New York
Cape Vincent, New York may refer to:* Cape Vincent , New York* Cape Vincent , New York...
in the United States is operated from the Canadian studios of Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
's CIKR-FM
CIKR-FM
CIKR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 105.7 FM in Kingston, Ontario. The station broadcasts an adult rock format branded as K-Rock 105.7....
, a broadcaster already at the two-station limit in its own market, under an LMA. Broadcasters such as Entravision have often entered local marketing agreements with Mexican border stations (such as Tijuana's XETV
XETV
XETV is a television station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, serving as the CW Television Network affiliate for the San Diego, California area across the international border in the United States...
for content directed at San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
).
Other names to what is essentially a local marketing agreement can be used. In late 2007, New Vision Television
New Vision Television
New Vision Television is a broadcast company based in Los Angeles, California. The company owns or manages 18 television stations in medium sized markets.-New Vision I:...
, which had just acquired CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 41 from a transmitter at WKBN's studios on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township. Owned by New Vision Television, WKBN is sister to and shares studios with low-power...
and low-powered
Low-power broadcasting
Low-power broadcasting is electronic broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area.The terms "low-power broadcasting" and "micropower broadcasting" should not be used interchangeably, because the markets are not the same...
Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate WYFX-LP
WYFX-LP
WYFX-LD is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Mahoning Valley of Northeastern Ohio, licensed to Youngstown. It broadcasts a low-powered digital signal UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township. Owned by New Vision Television, the station is sister to CBS...
in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, entered into a shared services agreement
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
with Parkin Broadcasting over its own recent acquisition, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WYTV
WYTV
WYTV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Mahoning Valley of Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Youngstown. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Shady Run Road in Boardman Township...
. Despite Youngstown's small market size (ranked #108 by Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
as of 2009), New Vision effectively controls all Youngstown-area TV stations except NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WFMJ-TV
WFMJ-TV
WFMJ-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter on Mabel Street in Youngstown. Owned by the Maag family, the station has studios on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown. WFMJ-TV is...
and Western Reserve Public Media. While legally considered a "shared services" agreement, by practice it is a local marketing agreement.
On March 2, 2009, Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting Company, LLC , headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is an entity wholly focused on broadcast television. The company's assets mainly consist of television stations in middle and small sized markets...
and Granite Broadcasting Corporation
Granite Broadcasting Corporation
Granite Broadcasting Corporation, founded by W. Don Cornwell and Stuart Beck in 1988 , is a broadcasting holding company which owns or operates 14 television stations in the United States, largely centered in the midwest with a cluster in New York state...
reached shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
and joint sales agreements in markets where both companies owned stations, meaning the owner of Station "A" not only operates a station for owner "B" but provides advertising sales for both stations. The agreements placed Barrignton-owned WHOI
WHOI
WHOI may refer to:* Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a research and graduate degree educational institute in Massachusetts* WHOI , a television station licensed to Peoria, Illinois, United States...
in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
under the control of Granite station WEEK-TV
WEEK-TV
WEEK-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for West-Central Illinois licensed to Peoria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 25 from a transmitter at studios on Springfield Road in East Peoria. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 10 and in high definition...
, while at the same time placing Granite-owned WTVH
WTVH
WTVH is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central New York State licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Time Warner and Verizon FiOS channel 5. There is a high definition feed...
in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
under the control of Barrington-owned competitor WTVH
WTVH
WTVH is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central New York State licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Time Warner and Verizon FiOS channel 5. There is a high definition feed...
; the Syracuse move effectively leaves Barrington in control of three Syracuse TV stations as it is also the proprietor of low-power TV station WSTQ
WSTQ-LP
WSTQ-LP is the low-powered CW-affiliated television station for Central New York State licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 14 from a transmitter on West Kirkpatrick Street alongside WOLF-FM's tower in the city's Lakefront section. Due to the low-powered status, the...
.
Triopoly and quadropoly
NBC Universal owns three full-power stations in Los Angeles; one NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, one Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
and a Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
independent. Los Angeles and San Francisco are the only two US markets which can have a full-power triopoly (three stations) as the FCC allows common ownership if 18 television stations are in the market.
In Canada, at least one community (Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) has all three of its local French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
stations, CKRT-TV
CKRT-TV
CKRT-TV is a television station in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec. Owned and operated by Télé Inter-Rives, it is a private affiliate of the Radio-Canada network....
, CIMT-TV
CIMT-TV
CIMT-TV is a television station. It is the TVA affiliate in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.-History:The station was launched on September 17, 1978...
and CFTF-TV
CFTF-TV
CFTF-TV is a French-language television station in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, and an affiliate of V, a commercial television network in Quebec. The station is owned by Télé Inter-Rives, which also owns Radio-Canada affiliate CKRT-TV and TVA affiliate CIMT-TV, making the station part of a so-called...
, under common ownership, however such levels of common ownership are for the most part strongly discouraged unless the stations serve remote communities or are operated in different languages.
In Mexico, media concentration is endemic and it is not uncommon for as many as four stations to be operated by one entity. Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
owns four Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
stations (2
XEW-TV
XEW-TV is the call sign assigned to channel 2, a television station in Mexico City, Mexico. The station is owned by Televisa and is the flagship station to the Canal de las Estrellas network. XEW is second oldest Televisa and Mexico City's station, founded in 1951.-References:...
• 4 • 5
XHGC-TV
XHGC-TV is a TV station owned by Televisa, broadcasting from Mexico City, and is the flagship of the Canal 5 network.-History:XHGC signed on May 10, 1952, broadcasting a Mother's Day event organized by the Excélsior newspaper; but the regular programming began at August 18, 1952.The station was...
• 9
XEQ-TV
XEQ is a Televisa TV station, based in Mexico, Distrito Federal. XEQ is the flagship television station of the Galavisión network ....
) while TV Azteca
TV Azteca
Azteca, is the second largest Mexican television entertainment. It was established in 1983 as the state-owned Instituto Mexicano de la Televisión , a holding of the national TV networks channel 13 and 7 and was privatized under its current name in 1993 and now is part of Grupo Salinas...
, México's second-largest broadcaster, owns three (7
XHIMT-TV
XHIMT is the callsign for the over the air Azteca 7 network flagship station in Mexico City . XHIMT provides some HD programming to cable and satellite viewers.-History:...
• 13
XHDF-TV
XHDF is the callsign for the over the air Azteca 13 network flagship station in Mexico City . Azteca 13 can be seen in most major cities in Mexico through its affiliates most of which are owned and operated by TV Azteca. XHDF provides HD programming to affiliates and cable and satellite viewers....
• 40
XHTVM-TV
XHTVM-TV channel 40, also known as Proyecto 40, is the call sign assigned to a TV channel operated by TV Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico, owned by Televisora del Valle de México...
). These broadcasts in turn feed large numbers of full-power affiliates. The largest Mexican network is Canal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas is one of the cornerstone networks of Televisa, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TV in Mexico City. Many of the programs of Canal de las Estrellas are seen in the United States on Univision, Telefutura, and Galavisión...
which feeds more than one hundred stations nationwide.
No television quadropolies exist in Canada (see twinstick
Twinstick
A twinstick, in Canadian broadcasting, is a term for two television stations, broadcasting in the same market, which are owned by the same company...
); in the United States quadropolies can be constructed using low-power TV stations.
Low-power TV stations
A company may own several stations in a US television market, or multiple stations where they would not normally be allowed, provided that one or more of the stations is licensed as low power (-LP or -CAClass A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
) or low power digital
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
(-LD or -CD
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
).
UHF LPTV stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
may transmit up to 15kW digital or 150kW analogue. There is no limit on the number of LPTV stations that may be owned by any one entity, no prescribed amounts of non-entertainment programming or local programming, no limits on commercials and no minimum hours of operation.
For instance, on southern Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...
maintains triopolies in three markets (Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, and South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
) using low power television stations. In Chicago, it maintains one full power signal (independent WCIU) and two low-power stations (classic TV channels WWME-CA
WWME-CA
WWME-CA is a class A station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting, which also owns sister stations WCIU-TV and WMEU-CA. This station is the flagship of the Me-TV network. Me-TV is also broadcast on WCIU's digital subchannel 26.3....
and WMEU-CA
WMEU-CA
WMEU-CA is a class A station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting, which also owns sister stations WCIU-TV and WWME-CA. The station is an extension of WWME's classic programming format, and brands as "MeToo"...
). In Milwaukee, Weigel has two full power stations (CBS affiliate WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV, channel 58, is the CBS-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin broadcasting on UHF digital channel 46, that displays WDJT's virtual channel as its former analog channel assignment of 58 via PSIP...
and classic TV channel WBME-TV) and two low-power stations (independent WMLW-CA
WMLW-CA
WMLW-CA, channel 41 , is a LPTV independent television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park...
and WYTU-LD, a Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
affiliate). Weigel also takes advantage of digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
broadcasting heavily and airs their This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
network in both markets, along with time share agreements on other subchannels with ethnic broadcasters, and in Milwaukee, a local real estate group to air programming, along with a Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
subchannel.
The South Bend low-power TV triopoly (ABC affiliate WBND-LP
WBND-LP
WBND-LP, channel 57, is the ABC-affiliated television station serving the South Bend, Indiana designated market area. The station is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting. The station broadcasts a low-power digital signal on UHF channel 49, using its analog channel assignment of channel 57 as...
, CW station WCWW-LP
WCWW-LP
WCWW-LD is the low-powered CW network affiliate in South Bend, Indiana. It is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, who also owns South Bend's ABC affiliate WBND, and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS...
and MyNetworkTV's WMYS-LP
WMYS-LP
WMYS redirects here. For the Indianapolis radio station formerly known as WMYS, see WXNT.WMYS-LD is a digital low power-TV station on channel 23 which maps via PSIP to virtual channel 69 in South Bend. Previously, channel 69 was South Bend's WB affliliate, which then moved to sister station WMWB-LP...
) was to be sold to Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based radio, television, cable tv and newspaper media group.-Cable Television Systems:*Antietam Cable, Hagerstown, Maryland *Advanced Cable Communications, Coral Springs, Florida...
, owners of full power WSBT-TV
WSBT-TV
WSBT-TV, channel 22 is a television station in South Bend, Indiana. WSBT is the flagship television station of Schurz Communications, and is an affiliate of the CBS television network. It's studios are located in Mishawaka. Its transmitter is located in South Bend.-Early broadcasting:WSBT-TV first...
. If it had been approved, it would have created a US broadcast television quadropoly. However in mid-2009 Shurz and Weigel canceled the sale due to FCC inaction and subsequent criticism from local groups.
A similar situation exists in Lima, Ohio
Lima, Ohio
Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....
, where the owners of full-power NBC affiliate WLIO
WLIO
WLIO is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northwest Ohio licensed to Lima. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter at its studios on Rice Avenue in the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 5 and in high definition on...
have filed to purchase three low-power network affiliated stations (Fox affiliate WOHL-CA
WOHL-CA
WOHL-CD is the Class A ABC-affiliated television station for Northwest Ohio licensed to Lima. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter at its studios on Rice Avenue in the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 12...
, CBS affiliate WLMO-LP
WLMO-LP
WLMO-LP is the CBS-afifliated television station for Northwestern Ohio that is licensed to Lima. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 38 from a transmitter on Rice Avenue in the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 11...
and ABC affiliate WLQP-LP
WLQP-LP
WLQP-LP is the ABC-affiliated television station for Northwestern Ohio that is licensed to Lima. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 25 from a transmitter on Rice Avenue in the city. WLQP can also be seen on Time Warner channel 12...
), as part of a four-station proposed purchase. The quadropoly, if approved, would make the group the sole over-air provider of secular network television programming in the Lima market, though area cable systems also carry out of town affiliates from Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, and Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. As of late 2009, it has since been approved.
A quadropoly already exists in McAllen, Texas
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the . Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa, the Rio...
, where Entravision carries four networks (Univisión
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
,
Telefutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
, Fox, CW) by using a full-power station (KNVO-TV "nuevo 48
New
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.New or NEW may refer to:- Film and music :* New , a 2004 Tamil movie* "New" , a song by No Doubt from Return of Saturn...
") with its four digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s, simulcast onto a pair of analogue LPTV stations and (under an LMA) Mexican broadcaster XHRIO-TV
XHRIO-TV
XHRIO-TV, channel 2, also known as Fox Rio 2 or Fox XRIO, is the local Fox affiliate for the Lower Rio Grande Valley. It is licensed to Matamoros, Mexico, but serves American audiences across the Rio Grande Valley area from studios in McAllen, Texas...
. Similarly in Laredo, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, Entravision operates a triopoly as owner of full-service KLDO-TV
KLDO-TV
KLDO-TV is a Spanish-language television station in Laredo, Texas, broadcasting locally on digital channel 19 as an affiliate of Univision. Founded February 14, 1984, the station is owned by Entravision.-History:...
and Class A stations KETF-CA
KETF-CA
KETF-CD is a Class A Digital television station in Laredo, Texas, broadcasting locally as an affiliate of the Telefutura network on digital channel 31.1, it is also available on KLDO-TV's digital subchannel 19.2 / 27.2. KETF's digital channel 31 also has two subchannels 31.2 KXOF Fox and 31.3...
and KXOF-CA
KXOF-CA
KXOF-CA channel 39 is a low powered Fox affiliate in Laredo, Texas, owned by Entravision Communications. KXOF also airs MyNetworkTV programming from 10pm - Midnight, and LATV programming from 3am-5am. KXOF can also be seen on KLDO-TV digital subchannel 27.3 in 480i SD and on KETF-CD subchannel 31.2...
.
In metropolitan Watertown, New York
Watertown (city), New York
Watertown is a city in the state of New York and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is situated approximately south of the Thousand Islands. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 27,023, an increase of 1.2% since 2000. The U.S...
, two of the four largest local network affiliates (CBS
WWNY-TV
WWNY-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Upstate New York's North Country region, licensed to Carthage. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in Wilna's Carthage section. The station can also be seen on Time Warner...
and Fox
WNYF-CA
WNYF-CD is a Class A television station licensed to Watertown, New York. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in the Carthage section of Wilna. WNYF-LD is a low-powered television station licensed to Massena...
) are operated from the same studios by the same owners. This is permitted only because the Fox station is a low-powered Class A; the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
does not allow common ownership of two of the four top-rated full-power stations in any US market, regardless of size.
Low power stations are exempt from the FCC's common ownership restrictions as their over-the-air signals do not reach as many homes as regular stations. In high-penetration cable areas, this distinction is essentially meaningless. LPTV stations are also exempt from digital television transition
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
requirements imposed on full-service broadcasters.
Often, the limitations of using LPTV are circumvented by combining an LPTV station and a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of a commonly-owned full-power station alongside a cable-only
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
HDTV channel which simulcasts the signal of the lower-powered affiliate. While cable operators are not legally required to carry the low-power TV stations, a station may request as a condition of cable retransmission consent
Retransmission consent
Retransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
for their main signal that their compensation include the cable carriage of commonly-owned subchannels and LPTV stations.
Digital multicasting and cable television
Many CW PlusThe CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
stations, originally created by The WB as cable-only channels, are being sold to existing local terrestrial broadcasters. While cable-only (or LPTV) in their original analogue format, these now represent a simple way for full-power stations to fill empty digital subchannels on their main transmitters.
The use of subchannels
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
has been termed an "instant duopoly" because of the ease by which a single digital station can deliver multiple channels of programming from different networks into the same market at the same time. One station can carry four or more standard definition
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
digital channels. (Multiple HDTV feeds are typically too large to be carried on different subchannels of the same station simultaneously without loss of image quality.)
One possible approach is to use one full-power station, one or more low-power analogue stations and one or more low-power digital stations in the same market, with the low-power digital carrying the extra HDTV channels. For instance, one station could (in any size market) own two of the top four stations and operate both in HDTV as:
| Network | Analogue | DTV | HDTV | Cable TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS WWNY-TV WWNY-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Upstate New York's North Country region, licensed to Carthage. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in Wilna's Carthage section. The station can also be seen on Time Warner... |
full-power analogue (until 2009) | full-power digital HDTV 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
Any combination of analogue, digital SDTV or HDTV delivered directly to cable head-end. | |
| Fox WNYF-CA WNYF-CD is a Class A television station licensed to Watertown, New York. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in the Carthage section of Wilna. WNYF-LD is a low-powered television station licensed to Massena... |
low-power analogue | SDTV as subchannel of full-power station | HDTV on low-power (15 kW) digital station | Any combination of analogue, digital SDTV or HDTV delivered directly to cable head-end. |
In theory, this mix of LPTV, digital TV and full-service TV could be taken to the extreme of one broadcaster joining every one of the four largest US commercial television networks and using a set of nine channels in the same market to deliver:
- Four full-power standard-definition480i480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
digital subchannels from one main station - The same content on low-power analogue, using four LPTV stations
- Four channels of low-power digital televisionDigital televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
, all HDTV, using four more low-power -LD or -CD stations
A nominally-unlimited number of additional analogue or digital LPTV stations could be then added as broadcast translators to extend the signal as needed. Cable or satellite could also be added to the mix, as the limits on market concentration apply to local terrestrial full-power stations only. Effectively, were such a simulcast constructed, one broadcaster could control an entire local television market.
LPTV simulcasting
In some markets, multiple LPTV operations are operated in a simulcast (or trimulcastTrimulcast
The term "trimulcast" was first used in May 1981 by Multimedia Broadcasting's outlets in Little Rock, Arkansas, KAAY-AM and KLPQ-FM when they teamed-up with Cox Cable locally...
, in the case where three stations deliver the same signal to different parts of the same market) to provide coverage rivalling one full-power station. WBGN-LP
WBGN-LP
WBGN-CD is a Class A television station located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station is owned and operated by Bruno-Goodworth Network, Inc. WBGN-CD began broadcasting in 1995 on channel 59 with the call sign W59BT. WBGN simulcasts on nine Class A television stations that are strategically...
, for instance, simulcasts using nine LPTV television stations located throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
area in order to get full-power sized coverage with only a combination of Class A and LPTV licenses and signals, each individually covering a small portion of the larger market area.
See also
- TwinstickTwinstickA twinstick, in Canadian broadcasting, is a term for two television stations, broadcasting in the same market, which are owned by the same company...
- TrimulcastTrimulcastThe term "trimulcast" was first used in May 1981 by Multimedia Broadcasting's outlets in Little Rock, Arkansas, KAAY-AM and KLPQ-FM when they teamed-up with Cox Cable locally...
- Concentration of media ownershipConcentration of media ownershipConcentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...