KQFX-LD (channel 22), branded Fox 22, is a low-power television station licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Columbia–Jefferson City market. It is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) alongside dual ABC/MyNetworkTV affiliate KMIZ (channel 17, also licensed to Columbia); the stations together are branded as the "Networks of Mid-Missouri". The two stations share studios on the East Business Loop 70 in Columbia; KQFX-LD's transmitter is located west of Jamestown near the Moniteau–Cooper county line.
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| City | Columbia, Missouri |
| Channels | |
| Branding | Fox 22 KQFX |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KMIZ | |
| History | |
| Founded | January 14, 1988 |
First air date |
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Former call signs |
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Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning | refers to Fox affiliation |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 56176 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 15 kW |
| HAAT | 349.6 m (1,147 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 38°46′32.1″N 92°33′24.9″W / 38.775583°N 92.556917°W |
| Translator(s) |
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| Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
| Website | www |
In addition to its own digital signal, KQFX-LD is simulcast in high definition on KMIZ's fourth digital subchannel (17.4) from the same transmitter site.
KQFX-LD is the successor to three different low-power TV stations, two in Columbia and one in Jefferson City, the oldest of which began broadcasting in 1990. Benedek Broadcasting brought the Fox network to Mid-Missouri in 1997 by acquiring two of them and running them alongside KMIZ. The third was acquired in 2003 and is the current license on which the station has operated since the digital television transition in 2009. KQFX offers morning and late newscasts produced by KMIZ.
History edit
K02NQ "KONQ" edit
In 1989, Ray Karpowicz, the general manager of WEVU and W07BR "WBR" in Naples, Florida, and a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, obtained a permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to build a new low-power TV station on channel 2 in Columbia—K02NQ, typically styled "KONQ". The transmitter for channel 2 was atop downtown Columbia's Tiger Hotel.[2] The station began broadcasting on June 4, 1990. It featured syndicated shows and movies and rebroadcasts of KOMU-TV's local programming and newscasts, as well as programming from the National College Television network, which distributed student-produced shows.[3] By August 1991, it had dropped most of that programming for Channel America. At that time, Karpowicz held a construction permit for another low-power station in Jefferson City.[4]
In 1997, Karpowicz sold K02NQ and K11TB in Jefferson City to Benedek Broadcasting, the owners of Columbia ABC affiliate KMIZ (channel 17).[5] The stations were relaunched as Mid-Missouri's first in-market Fox affiliate, carried on cable channel 11.[6][7]
K11SN "KXI" edit
In October 1990, Tom Koenig put K11SN, styled "KXI-TV", on the air after it first broadcast the month before.[8] Koenig's father, Richard, had built channel 17 as KCBJ-TV in 1971; he had applied for the low-power channel in 1981, envisioning a station that promoted KCBJ's news product.[4] It was promoted as an affiliate of the short-lived Star Television Network.[9] Channel 11 was affiliated with All News Channel, The Learning Channel, Country Music Television, and Movie Greats Network; it offered local programming shot on Super VHS cameras as well as a simulcast of the morning talk show of local radio station KFRU.[4]
Koenig died in February 2000.[10] Three years later, Tom sold K11SN to JW Broadcasting, the new owners of KMIZ.[11] JW added a 9 p.m. local newscast from KMIZ to "Fox 11", now also known as KQFX, in 2003.[12]
KQFX edit
Due to the start of digital operations by KRCG-TV, JW Broadcasting applied to move K11TB and K11SN to new channels—38 and 32, respectively. It built a new tower in Ashland, Missouri, for channel 38, which became the main Fox signal.[13] the addition of a 9 p.m. local newscast on KQFX in 2003; and the launch of two new services, UPN-affiliated "KZOU" (which appeared on channel 32, renamed KZOU-LP) and the Show Me Weather Channel, available on cable and from KMIZ's new digital transmitter.[14]
On June 14, 2009, two days after the digital television transition for full-power stations, KQFX moved from channel 38 to digital operations on channel 22 on the former K11SN/KZOU-LP license and became "Fox 22". KMIZ had been using channel 22 for pre-transition digital operations.[15]
In 2012, JW Broadcasting sold KMIZ and KQFX-LD to the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) for $16 million.[16][17] NPG lengthened the weeknight prime time newscast on KQFX from 30 to 60 minutes in 2013.[18]
Subchannels edit
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22.1 | 720p | 16:9 | FOX 22 | Main KQFX-LD programming / Fox |
| 22.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Laff | Laff |
| 22.3 | Grit | Grit | ||
| 22.4 | Escape | Ion Mystery | ||
| 22.5 | 16:9 | Dabl | Dabl |
References edit
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KQFX-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Rose, Forrest (December 2, 1989). "New non-cable TV station planned". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. p. 10. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Latus, Janine (May 18, 1990). "New television station starting in Columbia". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. p. 19. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Israel, Benjamin (August 29, 1991). "Columbia's Other TV Stations". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. p. Scene 13. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Notice". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. April 16, 1997. p. 5B. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Schuckman, Matt (August 29, 1997). "Fox station a boon for sports fans". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. p. 1B. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Boonville takes boom to the bank". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. August 28, 1997. p. 6B. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Action Line". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, Missouri. September 17, 1990. p. 12. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Amazing Result of Scientific Study!". Columbia Daily Tribune (Advertisement). Columbia, Missouri. October 1, 1990. p. 12. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Richard Koenig: Founded TV station in Columbia, Mo". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. February 6, 2000. p. C11. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Application for Transfer of Control of a Corporate Licensee or Permittee, or for Assignment of License or Permit of TV or FM Translator Station or Low Power Television Station BALTVL-20031028AAJ". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. October 28, 2003.
- ^ Harmon, Arcenia (September 23, 2003). "KQFX picks St. Joseph anchor for local newscast". Columbia Daily Tribune.
- ^ Weeks, Katie (April 8, 2004). "Fox sneaking into area broadcast households". Columbia Daily Tribune.
- ^ Norfleet, Don (July 10, 2004). "New Mid-Missouri Fox TV station broadcasts from tower in Ashland". Jefferson City News-Tribune.
- ^ Wright, Randy (May 30, 2009). "Only two weeks left to ready for end of analog". Columbia Daily Tribune.
- ^ "JW Sells KMIZ-KQFX Columbia (Mo.) to NP&G". Broadcasting & Cable. July 26, 2012.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023.
- ^ Barker, Jacob (April 20, 2013). "Networks of Mid-Missouri lengthen newscast time slot [Broadcast beef-up]". Columbia Daily Tribune.
- ^ "Rabbitears TV Query for KQFX-LD".