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KFPX-TV

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KFPX-TV
CityNewton, Iowa
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 31, 1998 (26 years ago) (1998-08-31)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 39 (UHF, 1998–2009)
  • Digital: 39 (UHF, 2009–2018)
Call sign meaning
Pax (reflecting network's former branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID81509
ERP270 kW
HAAT564 m (1,850 ft)
Transmitter coordinates41°48′35″N 93°37′17″W / 41.80972°N 93.62139°W / 41.80972; -93.62139
Links
Public license information
Websiteiontelevision.com

KFPX-TV (channel 39) is a television station licensed to Newton, Iowa, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Des Moines area. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains offices on 114th Street in Urbandale,[2] and its transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.

History

The station began broadcasting on August 31, 1998; it was built and signed on by Paxson Communications as a charter station of the family-oriented Pax TV network (later reformatted into a general entertainment service as i: Independent Television, now Ion Television), with religious programming from The Worship Network airing during the overnight hours.

On September 24, 2020, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company announced it would purchase KFPX-TV's owner, Ion Media, for $2.65 billion, with financing from Berkshire Hathaway.[3] Part of the deal included divesting 23 stations nationally to Inyo Broadcast Holdings (then-undisclosed at the time of the announcement) that would maintain Ion affiliations.[4]

Newscasts

Further information: WHO-DT § News operation

For a short time in 2001, KFPX ran a prime time newscast produced by NBC affiliate WHO-TV (channel 13) to compete with Fox affiliate KDSM-TV (channel 17)'s Fox News at Nine (which WHO eventually took over from CBS affiliate KGAN in Cedar Rapids). After that newscast was canceled, KFPX reran WHO-TV's 10 p.m. newscasts on a 30-minute delay until early 2005.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KFPX-TV[5]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
39.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
39.2 480i CourtTV Court TV
39.3 Laff Laff
39.4 Mystery Ion Mystery
39.5 IONPlus Ion Plus
39.6 SCRIPPS Jewelry TV
39.7 Jewelry Grit
39.8 HSN HSN
39.9 HSN2 HSN2

Analog-to-digital conversion

KFPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 39, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 39.[6]

Former transmitter site

KFPX previously maintained transmitter facilities in Baxter, Iowa. Due to its short tower height, the station's broadcasting radius was largely confined to the immediate Des Moines area, although some southern and western suburbs may have had difficulty picking up the station's signal.[7] Therefore, KFPX relied on cable and satellite carriage to reach the entire market. With the move to Alleman, KFPX now provides over-the-air coverage comparable to the market's other stations.

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "ION - Positively Entertaining".
  3. ^ Cimilluca, Dana (September 24, 2020). "E.W. Scripps nears $2.65B takeover of ION Media in Berkshire-backed deal". Fox Business. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Scripps creates national television networks business with acquisition of ION Media" (Press release).
  5. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KFPX". www.rabbitears.info. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "RabbitEars.Info".
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