Duluth, MN TV station goes silent temporarily

[Mr Tony]

Forgot to post that last Tuesday local station KCWV went silent for OTA folks.
I dont know if its still on Dish or not (Directv never carried it)

from northpine.com
KCWV/27 (Duluth) went silent Tuesday as it prepares for a tower replacement project. KCWV transmits from the former KDLH/3 tower on Observation Road, which was constructed in 1953 and still has a top-mounted channel 3 transmission antenna. KDLH now broadcasts from the KBJR-TV tower and KCWV owner George S. Flinn, III bought the tower from KDLH owner Malara Broadcast Group in 2010. In its request for special authority to remain silent, Flinn tells the FCC that KCWV may be off the air for several months. It has carried several small networks since signing on in 2009 and most recently carried AMG TV, but has never had any local advertising

Sucks as there was good stuff on AMGTV and it was more reliable than the roku

 

[navychop]

Interesting to see if they have the money to return to the air. The trend seems the other way.

 

[Mr Tony]

Flinn owns a few stations in Memphis and the surrounding areas

again the tower they are using is a secondhand 60+ year old structure that is in Northeastern MN where the weather can be wild (winter wise)

 

[Wayn23]

When did the station call letters change to starting with a K? When I lived in Duluth they all started with a W.

 

[Trip]

When did the station call letters change to starting with a K? When I lived in Duluth they all started with a W.

KDLH has held those call letters since 1979, and was KDAL before that, and was the first station in the market.

KBJR has been KBJR since 1974, and was WDSM before that.

KQDS has had a K callsign since it signed on in 1994.

KCWV has had that callsign since it signed on in 2009.

- Trip

 

[Wayn23]

I left Minnesota in the early 70's for California and didn't remember any callsigns starting with a K.

 

[Mr Tony]

they started cutting the tower down yesterday

 

[Juan]

I left Minnesota in the early 70's for California and didn't remember any callsigns starting with a K.

http://www.stationindex.com/tv/markets/Minneapolis-St.+Paul

 

[Mr Tony]

That's Minneapolis. Duluth is 180 miles up the road (its own market) and Trip already posted the info

But thanks for trying

 

[Mr Tony]

KQDS has had a K callsign since it signed on in 1994.

actually it was KNLD before that until 1998 when it was changed to KQDS-TV. KQDS didnt start as Fox until 1999 (we had FoxNet on cable and the NFL games were carried at the time by NBC station KBJR)

 

[Wayn23]

That's Minneapolis. Duluth is 180 miles up the road (its own market) and Trip already posted the info

But thanks for trying

Minneapolis is where people from up north go when they want to warm up.

 

[Trip]

actually it was KNLD before that until 1998 when it was changed to KQDS-TV. KQDS didnt start as Fox until 1999 (we had FoxNet on cable and the NFL games were carried at the time by NBC station KBJR)

Yes, but what I said was that it had a "K" call sign. So you didn't disagree with me.

- Trip

 

[Mr Tony]

they started cutting the tower down yesterday

and its down...pic courtesy of WDIO 10 (ABC in Duluth)

 

[bradhasbrouck]

If and when KCWV-TV (Channel 27.1) goes back on the air sometime next month.

Do you think they'll add 5 more subchannels such as This TV, Antenna TV, Heroes & Icons,
Buzzr, and Decades?

 

[Mr Tony]

Do you think they'll add 5 more subchannels such as This TV, Antenna TV, Heroes & Icons,
Buzzr, and Decades?

doubt it. If you look at Flinn's other stations its just one SD channel (except in Memphis where he cross promotes 2 stations) so why would you think he would add subchannels?

 

[bradhasbrouck]

When will KCWV-TV (Channel 27.1) go back on the air?

 

[Mr Tony]

smartass answer....when the tower is built

seriously no clue if or when it will be built. For all we know Flinn could use the station as auction bait

 

[Trip]

The license still has to be valid for it to be auction-bait and if it's gone for a year or more, the license is automatically canceled.

- Trip

 

[Cham]

CBC up here is still using their 50 year old tower at Starbuck, can't build a new one like that anymore. They removed the channel 6 (top) antenna a year or so ago. The tower is only used for rental space for FM broadcasters now. Not sure what they did with all the copper plumbing (multicoupler) for channel 3 and 6, was a work of art. It belongs in a museum.

Too bad the old towers have to come down. A UHF broadcast antenna weight and windload is a fraction of the original (channel 2!!). Unless there was bad corrosion or building flaw, those towers should last for 100 years plus in these clean environments. Just replace a few guy wires and should be good for another 50 years.

 

[FaT Air]

I remember when MN HP replaced many of their towers back in the 70's. They erected 'vertical bridges'. (They're massive) With maintenance performed on a regular interval, they should last forever.