KMNF-LD (channel 7) is a low-power television station in Mankato, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual CBS and Fox affiliate KEYC-TV (channel 12). The two stations share studios on Lookout Drive in North Mankato; KMNF-LD's transmitter is located near Lewisville, Minnesota.[4]
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| Branding |
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| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KEYC-TV | |
| History | |
First air date |
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Former call signs | |
Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning | Mankato, New Ulm, and Fairmont[2] |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 183814 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 3 kW |
| HAAT | 292.7 m (960 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°56′12.3″N 94°24′39″W / 43.936750°N 94.41083°W |
| Translator(s) | K33MW-D Mankato |
| Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
History
editThe KMNF-LD license originated as K38MY-D in St. James, Minnesota, a translator for KEYC-TV (then owned by United Communications) on UHF channel 38[5] that signed on in March 2012.[6] K38MY-D went off the air on December 21, 2017, after the expiration of its tower lease agreement with BENCO/CTV; KEYC had operated UHF translators from Cooperative TV's Godahl tower since 1993.[7]
On September 14, 2018, K38MY-D was granted a construction permit to move to channel 13 from KEYC-TV's tower as K13AAR-D;[8] the channel change was required following the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s spectrum incentive auction and the subsequent repacking of the television band.[9] To maintain its license, the station operated under special temporary authority at reduced power from this facility[9] from November 29[10] to December 6, 2018.[11]
K13AAR-D was included in Gray Television's 2019 purchase of United Communications' television stations.[12]
On May 23, 2019, the station was granted a construction permit to move to channel 7 as K07AAH-D;[13] on June 3, 2019, the call letters were changed to KMNF-LD, a close match for those originally proposed for sister station KEYC-TV in 1958.[14]
On June 24, 2019, Gray announced that KMNF-LD would launch as early as September as an NBC affiliate, with The CW on its second subchannel.[4][15] KEYC-TV itself had launched in 1960 as an NBC affiliate, switching to CBS in 1961.[4] For the next 58 years after that, NBC programming was not available over-the-air in the Mankato market. Since 1981, Minneapolis affiliate KARE and Rochester affiliate KTTC had served as the default NBC affiliates for southwestern Minnesota via cable. KMNF-LD's sign-on leaves ABC and PBS as the only networks to not have over-the-air affiliates in Mankato; ABC programming is carried on cable via KSTP-TV and KAAL, and PBS programming carried via KTCA-TV; with KSTP and KTCA being carried on CTV translators K30FN-D (KSTP) and K26CS-D (KTCA) in St. James.[16][17][18][19]
Testing on KMNF-LD began on October 28, 2019.[20] The station officially signed on December 1, 2019.[21]
On January 17, 2023, KMNF-LD began broadcasting translator K33MW-D from the KEYC-TV studio tower.[22]
Newscasts
editKMNF-LD began simulcasting some KEYC newscasts on December 2, 2019. KEYC News Now This Morning airs weekdays from 5:30 to 7 a.m. on both KEYC-TV and KMNF-LD. The stations also simulcast the 10 p.m. news on weeknights, with each station airing separate commercials during each simulcast.
On February 21, 2022, KMNF-LD began simulcasting KEYC's 6 p.m. newscast.
On September 3, 2023, KMNF-LD began airing a 5 p.m. newscast on Sunday evenings.
Subchannels
editThe station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KMNFLD1 | NBC |
| 7.2 | 720p | KMNFLD2 | The CW Plus | |
| 7.3 | KMNFLD3 |
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Notes
edit- ^ Originally licensed to St. James, Minnesota, as a KEYC-TV translator; moved to Mankato in 2019.
References
edit- ^ "Displacement Application of Licensed Digital Low Power Television Station" (PDF). fcc.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ Arola, Brian (June 24, 2019). "KEYC adding NBC programming in late 2019". Mankato Free Press. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KMNF-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b c Keegan, Mitch (June 24, 2019). "KEYC-TV adding 2 more network affiliates this fall". KEYC-TV. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ Ellis, Jon (June 24, 2019). "Gray TV To Add NBC, CW Affiliations in Mankato". Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Application for a Low Power TV, TV Translator or TV Booston Station License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 26, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ Keegan, Mitch (December 21, 2017). "Translator Changes May Impact Some Over-the-Air Viewers of KEYC News 12". KEYC.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Displacement for LPTV Translator Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. May 5, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ a b "LPTV Translator Engineering STA Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. November 13, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Resumption of Operations of a LPTV Translator Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. November 29, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Resumption of Operations of a LPTV Translator Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. December 11, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ Ellis, Jon (June 24, 2019). "Gray TV Buys Mankato Station, First in Minnesota". Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ "Displacement for LPTV Translator Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. April 22, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Call Sign History (KMNF-LD)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "CW PLUS Market Clearance (as of September 1, 2019)" (PDF). © 2019 The CW Television Network. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info.
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info.
- ^ The Webpage of Cooperative TV (CTV)
- ^ CTV Channel Listing via the Cooperative TV (CTV) Website
- ^ Keegan, Mitch. "Testing underway on new NBC, CW affiliates". KEYC News 12. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Keegan, Mitch. "Programming to start soon for NBC, CW". KEYC News 12. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ Keegan, Mitch (January 13, 2023). "New translator added for KMNF in North Mankato". KEYC News Now. Gray Television. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KMNF". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved June 17, 2024.