View source for KMSP-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Minneapolis}}
{{redirect|FOX 9|the Boise, Idaho, station also known as Fox 9|KNIN-TV|the Yuma, Arizona–El Centro, California, station also known as Fox 9|KECY-TV}}
{{For|other stations branded as Fox 9|Fox 9 (disambiguation){{!}}Fox 9}}
{{distinguish|KMPS (AM)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KMSP-TV
| city = Minneapolis, Minnesota
| logo = Fts-minneapolis-a.svg
| logo_upright = 1
| branding = Fox 9
| digital = 9 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 9
| translators = ''see {{section link||Translators}}''
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''9.9:''' [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]|'''[[WFTC|9.10]]:''' [[MyNetworkTV]]|''for others, see {{section link||KMSP-TV/WFTC subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[Fox Television Stations, LLC]]
| location = [[Minneapolis]]–[[Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date|1955|1|9}}
| callsign_meaning = Minneapolis and Saint Paul<ref>{{cite news |title=Firm Asks New Call Letters for KMGM-TV |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-firm-asks-new-call/182628950/ |access-date=October 8, 2025 |newspaper=The Minneapolis Star |date=February 10, 1958 |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=11B |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
| sister_stations = [[WFTC]], KFTC
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|KEYD-TV (1955–1956)|KMGM-TV (1956–1958)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 9 (VHF, 1955–2009)|'''Digital:''' 26 ([[UHF]], 2000–2009)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1955–1956)|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1956–1961, 1979–1986, 1988–1995)|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1961–1979)|Fox (1986–1988)|[[UPN]] (1995–2002)}}
| erp = 36.2&nbsp;[[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|435|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 68883
| coordinates = {{coord|45|3|30|N|93|7|28|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|www.fox9.com}}
}}

'''KMSP-TV''' (channel 9) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota, United States, serving the [[Twin Cities]] area. It is [[owned and operated]] by the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network through its [[Fox Television Stations]] division alongside [[WFTC]] (channel 9.2), which broadcasts [[MyNetworkTV]]. The two stations share studios on Viking Drive in [[Eden Prairie]]; KMSP-TV's [[KMSP Tower|transmitter]] is located in [[Shoreview, Minnesota]].

KMSP-TV also serves the [[Mankato]] market (via '''K35KI-D''' in nearby [[St. James, Minnesota|St. James]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=K35KI-D|title=RabbitEars.Info|website=www.rabbitears.info}}</ref> through the local [[municipal]]-operated Cooperative TV (CTV) network of translators<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://scea.cms.coopwebbuilder2.com/content/cooperative-tv-ctv |title=The Webpage of Cooperative TV (CTV) |access-date=August 17, 2019 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024142843/http://scea.cms.coopwebbuilder2.com/content/cooperative-tv-ctv |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://scea.cms.coopwebbuilder2.com/sites/scea/files/PDF/CTV%20CHANNELS%202019.pdf |title=CTV Channel Listing via the Cooperative TV (CTV) Website |access-date=August 17, 2019 |archive-date=October 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008142944/http://scea.cms.coopwebbuilder2.com/sites/scea/files/PDF/CTV%20CHANNELS%202019.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>), even though that area already has a [[KEYC-TV#KEYC-DT2|Fox affiliate of its own]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KEYC|title=RabbitEars.Info|website=www.rabbitears.info}}</ref> KMSP is also carried on the main channel of '''KFTC''' (channel 26), a [[satellite station]] of WFTC licensed to [[Bemidji]] which serves the northernmost reaches of the Minneapolis–St. Paul television market.

KMSP-TV is also carried in Canada on the [[Rogers Cable]] system in [[Thunder Bay, Ontario]], on Tbaytel, and on [[Bell MTS]] [[Fibe TV]] in the province of [[Manitoba]]. Since October 2022, the station is also carried on Westman Communications, replacing [[Rochester, New York]]'s [[WUHF]].

==History==
The Family Broadcasting Corporation in Minneapolis, owner of radio station KEYD (1440 AM, now [[KYCR (AM)|KYCR]]), filed an application with the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) for a [[construction permit]] for a new commercial television station to be operated on Channel 9 on November 24, 1953.<ref name="kmsp-history">{{cite news|title=History of KMSP-TV|url=http://www.fox9.com/about-us/history-of-kmsp-tv#|access-date=March 13, 2019|work=KMSP-TV|date=August 11, 2015}}</ref> [[WLOL (AM)|WLOL]] and WDGY (now [[KTLK]]) also expressed interest, but withdrew their applications in 1954, effectively handing the permit to Family Broadcasting.<ref name="bt-nowdgytv">{{cite news|title=Minneapolis Dropout|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1954/1954-04-26-BC.pdf|access-date=June 10, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=April 26, 1954|page=55}}</ref><ref name="bt-nowloltv">{{cite news|title=Initial Rulings Favor Two Vhf Grants|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1954/1954-05-24-BC.pdf|access-date=June 10, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=May 24, 1954|page=134}}</ref> KEYD-TV began broadcasting on January 9, 1955, and was affiliated with the [[DuMont Television Network]].<ref name="pavek">{{cite web|title=Twin Cities Television Milestones|url=http://www.pavekmuseum.org/tctvchron.html|website=[[Pavek Museum of Broadcasting]]|access-date=July 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217183016/http://www.pavekmuseum.org/tctvchron.html|archive-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> During this time, [[Harry Reasoner]], a graduate of Minneapolis West High School and the [[University of Minnesota]], was hired as the station's first news anchor and news director.<ref name="slphistory-keydreasoner">{{cite web|title=Harry Reasoner Found|url=http://www.slphistory.org/reecho/reasonermarch07.asp|date=March 2007|website=St. Louis Park Historical Society|access-date=June 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121222329/http://www.slphistory.org/reecho/reasonermarch07.asp|archive-date=November 21, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, DuMont shut down in August 1956, leaving the station as an [[Independent station|independent outlet]];<ref name="pavek"/> on June 3, 1956, the KEYD stations were sold to [[United Television]], whose principals at the time included several stockholders of [[Pittsburgh]] station [[WENS (TV)|WENS]], for $1.5 million.<ref name="pavek"/><ref name="bt-saletounited1">{{cite news|title=Brisk buying surge swaps four stations, $7.7 million|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-04-09-BC.pdf|access-date=June 10, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=April 9, 1956|pages=35–6}}</ref><ref name="bt-saletounited2">{{cite news|title=FCC Okays $1.5 Split Sale Of Twin Cities' KEYD-AM-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-05-28-BC.pdf|access-date=June 10, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=May 28, 1956|page=79}}</ref> The new owners immediately sold off KEYD radio,<ref name="bt-saletounited1"/><ref name="bt-saletounited2"/> refocused KEYD-TV's programming on [[feature film|films]] and [[broadcasting of sports events|sports]],<ref name="billboard-saletounited">{{cite magazine|title=Sy Weintrab, Others to Buy KEYD, Minn.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=piEEAAAAMBAJ&q=KEYD+United+1956&pg=PA5|access-date=June 10, 2016|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|date=April 14, 1956|page=5}}</ref> and shut down the news department; Reasoner was hired by [[CBS News]] a few months later.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NxNlGsE7EVwC&q=%22keyd+tv%22&pg=PA314|title = Minnesota in a Century of Change: The State and Its People Since 1900|isbn = 9780873512381|last1 = Clark|first1 = Clifford Edward|year = 1989}}</ref><ref name="reasoner">{{cite book|last1=Daniel|first1=Douglaas K.|title=Harry Reasoner: A Life in the News|date=2009|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|isbn=978-0292782365|pages=54–8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGbyuBwKrDMC&q=%22keyd+tv%22+Reasoner&pg=PA54|access-date=June 10, 2016}}</ref> Reasoner became a host for CBS's ''[[60 Minutes]]'' when it launched in 1968.

Channel 9 changed its call letters to KMGM-TV on May 23, 1956.<ref name="kmsp-history"/> At the time, the station was in negotiations with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] to acquire the Twin Cities television rights to the company's films, along with selling a 25 percent stake in KMGM-TV to the studio.<ref name="bt-keydtokmgm">{{cite news|title=MGM May Get 25% of Minneapolis TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-09-10-BC.pdf|access-date=June 10, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=September 10, 1956|page=91}}</ref> Negotiations broke down later that month over the cost of the films;<ref name="billboard-kmgmnomgm?">{{cite magazine|title=Meredith Stations Buy M-G-M Films|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hwoEAAAAMBAJ&q=KEYD+United+1956&pg=PA10|access-date=June 11, 2016|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|date=September 29, 1956|page=8}}</ref> additionally, [[Loew's]], MGM's parent company at the time, filed a petition with the FCC against the call sign change, claiming that the use of KMGM was unauthorized and a violation of MGM's [[trademark]].<ref name="bt-kmgmloewsprotest">{{cite news|title=Loew's Hits KMGM-TV Call|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-09-17-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=September 17, 1956|page=9}}</ref> The FCC ruled against Loew's that October, saying that its call sign assignment policies were limited to preventing confusion between stations in a given area.<ref name="bt-loewslosesprotest">{{cite news|title=Loew's Protest Thrown Out|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-10-22-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=October 22, 1956|page=93}}</ref> The agreements to lease MGM's pre-1949 films and sell 25 percent of the station to Loew's were both completed that November; KMGM was the third station, after future sister station [[KTTV]] in [[Los Angeles]] and [[KWGN-TV|KTVR]] in [[Denver]], to enter into such an arrangement.<ref name="bt-kmgmloews">{{cite news|title=Loew's Closes Deal For Share in KMGM-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-11-05-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=November 5, 1956|page=9}}</ref>

[[National Telefilm Associates]], which later purchased [[WNTA-TV]] in the [[New York City]] area, purchased the 75 percent of United Television not owned by MGM for $650,000 in November 1957, joining it to the [[NTA Film Network]] until it ended in 1961.<ref name="bt-saletonta1">{{cite news|title=KMGM-TV Sold To Natl. Telefilm|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-08-26-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting–Telecasting]]|date=August 26, 1957|pages=79–80}}</ref><ref name="b-saletontaapproved">{{cite news|title=NTA Gets FCC Okay On Buy Of KMGM-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-11-25-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=November 25, 1957|pages=80–1}}</ref><ref name="b-saletontacomplete">{{cite news|title=NTA Announces Appointment Of Swartz to Manage KMGM-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-12-02-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=December 2, 1957|page=64}}</ref> After taking control, NTA expanded KMGM-TV's hours of operation as part of an overhaul of channel 9's schedule that also included the addition of newscasts.<ref name="b-kmgmnewsreturn">{{cite magazine|title=Don Swartz Named KMGM Gen. Mgr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3x0EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22KMGM-TV%22+newscasts&pg=PA12|access-date=July 22, 2016|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|date=December 2, 1957|page=12}}</ref> A few months later, on February 10, 1958, NTA bought MGM's stake for $130,000 and announced that it would change channel 9's calls to KMSP-TV;<ref name="pavek"/><ref name="b-saletonta2">{{cite news|title=NTA Becomes Owner Of KMGM-TV After 25% Purchase From Loew's|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-02-10-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=February 10, 1958|pages=78–9}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864365,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001021445/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864365,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 1, 2007 | magazine=Time | title=Television: New Voice on Channel 13 | date=May 19, 1958}} and IMDB</ref> the call sign change took effect that March over the objections of [[KSTP-TV]] (channel 5).<ref name="b-kmgmtokmsp">{{cite news|title=KMGM-TV Changes To KMSP (TV)|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-03-31-BC.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=March 31, 1958|page=86}}</ref> [[National General Corporation|National Theatres]], a theater chain whose broadcast holdings already included [[KCSP (AM)|WDAF AM]]-[[WDAF-TV|TV]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], began the process of acquiring NTA in November 1958;<ref name="b-saletonationaltheatres1">{{cite news|title=Natl. Theatres Starts NTA Buy|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-11-17-BC.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=November 17, 1958|page=72}}</ref> in April 1959, it purchased 88 percent of the company.<ref name="b-saletonationaltheatres2">{{cite news|title=Media reports|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-05-11-BC.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=May 11, 1959|page=60}}</ref> [[20th Century-Fox]], the former parent company of National Theatres, bought KMSP-TV for $4.1 million on November 9, 1959, retaining the United Television corporate name.<ref name="pavek"/><ref name="b-saletofox">{{cite news|title=The Move Hedge: $4.1 million Fox deal closed for KMSP-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-08-24-BC.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=May 11, 1959|page=72}}</ref> The KMSP call letters were featured on prop television cameras in the [[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis season 4|May 29, 1963, episode]] of the [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]'', produced by [[20th Century Fox Television]]; the show was loosely set in the Twin Cities area. The episode was titled "The Call of the, Like, Wild".

During its early years until 1972, the station's studios and offices were located in a lower level of the [[Foshay Tower]] in [[downtown Minneapolis]]; the transmitter was located on top of the building, the tallest structure in the area until 1971, along with [[WCCO-TV]] (channel 4) and WTCN-TV (channel 11, now [[KARE (TV)|KARE]]).<ref name="pavek"/>

===As an ABC affiliate===
KMSP-TV took over the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliation from WTCN-TV on April 16, 1961.<ref name="b-kmspabc">{{cite news|title=KMSP-TV Twin Cities joins ABC-TV, replaces WTCN|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-01-30-BC.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=January 30, 1961|page=9}}</ref> Throughout its years with ABC, KMSP was perennially the lowest-rated network affiliate in the Twin Cities, with only one-third of the viewing audience of each of their two competitors, CBS affiliate WCCO-TV and [[NBC]] affiliate KSTP-TV. It was also notorious for having a sub-standard news department with large staff turnover.<ref name="studioz7.com">{{cite web|last1=Lonto|first1=Jeff R.|title=Your Newsnine Station: The saga of KMSP-TV Minneapolis{{Snd}} St. Paul in the 1970s|url=http://www.studioz7.com/newsnine.html|publisher=Studio Z-7 Publishing|access-date=July 20, 2016|year=2006}}</ref> In 1971, KMSP built a new tower in [[Shoreview]], while the studios and offices relocated in 1972 to [[Edina, Minnesota|Edina]] on York Avenue South, across from Southdale Shopping Center.<ref name="pavek"/>

In the late 1970s, ABC steadily rose to first place in the network ratings. Accordingly, the network sought to upgrade its slate of affiliates, which were made up of some stations that either had poor signals or poorly performing local programming. In December 1977, ABC warned United that it would yank its affiliation from channel 9 unless improvements were made and fast. In early 1978, to cash in on ABC's improved ratings, KMSP re-branded itself "ABC9" (approximately 20 years before the use of a network's name in a station's on-air branding became commonplace among U.S. affiliates), and retooled its newscast. Despite the changes, KMSP's news department remained in the ratings cellar.<ref name="studioz7.com"/>

===Becoming an independent once again===
[[File:KMSP_"Receptive"_"Star_Trek"_ad,_1979.jpg|thumb|right|1979 ad for ''[[Star Trek]]'' airings on KMSP, from after the station reverted to being an independent. The "9" logo was introduced in 1972, when it was an ABC affiliate, and continued to be in use until 2000.]]
On August 29, 1978, ABC announced that KSTP-TV would become the network's new Twin Cities affiliate the following spring.<ref name="b-kstpabc">{{cite news|title=ABC-TV bags largest game yet in affiliation hunt: KSTP-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-09-04-BC.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=September 4, 1978|pages=19–20}}</ref> The signing of channel 5 made nationwide news, as it had been an NBC affiliate for three decades. KSTP-TV looked forward to affiliating with the top network, as third-place NBC had been in a long ratings slump. In retaliation for losing ABC, KMSP-TV immediately removed all ABC branding and regularly preempted network programming. Channel 9 then attempted to affiliate with NBC, thinking ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]'' would be a good lead-out from their 10 p.m. newscast, despite low prime time ratings.<ref name="studioz7.com"/> However, NBC, miffed at losing one of its strongest affiliates, and not wanting to pick up ABC's rejects, turned down KMSP's offer almost immediately<ref name="studioz7.com"/> and signed an affiliation agreement with independent station WTCN-TV.<ref name="b-wtcnnbc">{{cite news|title=In Brief|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-10-02-BC.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=October 2, 1978|page=30}}</ref> As a result of being rejected by both ABC and NBC, KMSP-TV prepared to become an independent station. Although it now faced a lack of weekend and weekday [[ESPN on ABC|national sports coverage]] and having to buy seven to eight additional hours of programming per day, it also would not have to invest nearly as much into its news department and could invest its affiliate dues into syndicated film rights and local sports instead. Most of the on-air and off-air staffers resigned, not wanting to work for a down-scaled independent operation.<ref name="studioz7.com"/>

The affiliation switch occurred on March 5, 1979,<ref name="pavek"/><ref name="studioz7.com"/> and KMSP debuted its new independent schedule featuring cartoons, syndicated shows<ref name="studioz7.com"/> and even the locally based [[American Wrestling Association]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wwfchamps.com/promotion.php?promotion=7 |title=All Profiles |website=WWFChamps.com |access-date=June 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928075057/http://wwfchamps.com/promotion.php?promotion=7 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> with much of the station's programming having been acquired from WTCN-TV. To emphasize that the station's programming decisions would be influenced by viewers instead of a network, KMSP rebranded itself as "Receptive Channel 9", and an [[antenna (radio)|antenna]] was shown atop the station's logo in [[station identification]]s. The station became quite aggressive in acquiring programming, obtaining broadcast rights to several state high school sports championships from the [[MSHSL]], the [[NHL]]'s [[Minnesota North Stars]] and the [[Minnesota Twins]] [[Major League Baseball|baseball]] team.<ref name="studioz7.com"/>

As it turned out, KMSP's transition into an independent station turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It was far more successful than the station ever had been as an ABC affiliate. It became a regional [[superstation]], available on nearly every [[cable television|cable]] system in Minnesota as well as large portions of [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Iowa]] and [[Wisconsin]]. Over time, it became one of the most successful and profitable independent stations in the country.<ref name="studioz7.com"/>

KMSP went through another ownership change on June 9, 1981, when 20th Century-Fox spun off United Television as an independent company owned by Fox shareholders; the transaction was approved alongside the $700 million sale of 20th Century-Fox to [[Marvin Davis]].<ref name="upi-foxspinsunited">{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Vernon|title=Denver oilman Marvin Davis has bought 20th Century-Fox to...|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/06/09/Denver-oilman-Marvin-Davis-has-bought-20th-Century-Fox-to/5714360907200/|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[United Press International]]|date=June 9, 1981}}</ref> [[Chris-Craft Industries]], which in 1977 had acquired an interest in 20th Century-Fox that by 1981 comprised 22 percent of Fox's stock, received a 19 percent stake in United Television;<ref name="fubhc">{{cite web |title = BHC Communications, Inc. Companies History |url =http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/BHC-Communications-Inc-Company-History.html |work = Company Histories |publisher = Funding Universe |year = 1997 |access-date = July 20, 2009}}</ref> later in June, it filed with the FCC for control of United, as it now owned 32 percent of its stock.<ref name="b-ccfcccontrolunited">{{cite news|title=Bottom Line|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1981/BC-1981-06-29.pdf|access-date=July 21, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=June 21, 1981|page=54}}</ref> Two years later, Chris-Craft, though its [[BHC Communications|BHC]] subsidiary, increased its stake in United Television to 50.1 percent and gained majority control of the company.<ref name="fubhc"/>

===First Fox affiliation, then back to independent===
KMSP-TV remained an independent station through 1986 when it became one of the original charter affiliates of the newly launched [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network on October 9.<ref name="b-kmspfox">{{cite news|title=Fox network begins to take shape|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-08-04.pdf|pages=44–5|access-date=July 21, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=August 4, 1986}}</ref> This suited channel 9, as it wanted the prestige of being a network affiliate without being tied to a network-dominated schedule. At the time, Fox only programmed a nightly talk show and, starting in 1987, two nights of prime time programming; the network would start its full-week programming schedule in 1993. Thus, like most early Fox affiliates, KMSP was still essentially an independent. For its first few years with Fox, the station served as the ''de facto'' Fox affiliate for nearly all of Minnesota and South Dakota.

However, the station did not remain a Fox affiliate for long. By 1988, KMSP was one of several Fox affiliates nationwide that were disappointed with the network's weak programming offerings, particularly on Saturday nights, which were bogging down KMSP's otherwise successful independent lineup. That January, channel 9 dropped Fox's Saturday night lineup;<ref name="b-kmspnofoxsaturday">{{cite news|title=How affiliates feel about the Fox network: No problems that programming can't cure|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1988/BC-1988-01-04.pdf|access-date=July 21, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=January 4, 1988|page=90}}</ref> the move did not sit well with Fox, and in July 1988 the network announced that it would not renew its affiliations with KMSP and Chris-Craft sister station [[KPTV]] in [[Portland, Oregon]].<ref name="b-kmspnofox">{{cite news|title=In Brief|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1988/BC-1988-07-25.pdf|access-date=July 21, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|date=July 25, 1988|page=113}}</ref> Fox then signed an agreement with KITN (channel 29, now [[WFTC]]) to become its new Twin Cities affiliate, and KMSP reverted to being an independent station full-time.<ref name="pavek"/><ref name="studioz7.com"/> In 1992, the station relocated to its current studio facilities on Viking Drive in [[Eden Prairie]].<ref name="pavek"/> Along with the other United Television stations, KMSP carried programming from the [[Prime Time Entertainment Network]] from 1993 to 1995.<ref>{{cite news | last = Susan | first = King | title = Space, 2258, in the Year 1994 | pages = 4 | work = Los Angeles Times | date = January 23, 1994 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-23-tv-14354-story.html | access-date = June 25, 2009 }}</ref>

===As a UPN affiliate===
By the early 1990s, Fox had exploded in popularity; it had begun carrying strong shows that were starting to rival the program offerings of the [[Big Three (American television)|"Big Three" networks]] and had just [[NFL on Fox|picked up the broadcast rights]] to the [[NFL]]'s [[National Football Conference]]. In response to this, in October 1993, Chris-Craft/United Television partnered with [[Paramount Pictures]] (which was acquired by [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] in 1994) to form the United Paramount Network ([[UPN]]) and both companies made [[BHC Communications#United Television|independent]] [[Paramount Stations Group|stations]] that both companies respectively owned in several large and mid-sized U.S. cities charter stations of the new network.<ref name="upi-upnannounced">{{cite news|title=Paramount, Chris-Craft forming fifth TV network|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/10/26/Paramount-Chris-Craft-forming-fifth-TV-network/4760751608000/|access-date=July 21, 2016|work=[[United Press International]]|date=October 26, 1993}}</ref>

UPN launched on January 16, 1995,<ref name="pavek"/> (with the two-hour premiere of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''), with channel 9 becoming a UPN [[owned-and-operated station]] due to Chris-Craft/United's ownership stake in the network (later part-ownership in 1996 when Viacom bought a 50% stake of the network)—making it the second network-owned station in the Twin Cities (alongside CBS-owned WCCO-TV). Over time, KMSP became one of UPN's most successful affiliates in terms of viewership. In addition to UPN's prime-time schedule and the network's daytime children's blocks (such as [[UPN Kids]] from 1995 to 1999, and ''[[Disney's One Too]]'' from 1999 to 2003), the station was still enjoying success with local sports programming featuring the Minnesota Twins, as well as the MSHSL championships. KMSP was stripped of its status as a UPN owned-and-operated station in 2000 after Viacom exercised a contractual clause to buy out Chris-Craft's stake in the network, although the station remained with UPN as an affiliate for another two years. Around this time, Viacom bought CBS (and in turn, WCCO).<ref name="nyt-upnsale">{{cite news|last1=Carter|first1=Bill|title=Viacom Buys Chris-Craft's Stake in UPN For $5 Million|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/21/business/viacom-buys-chris-craft-s-stake-in-upn-for-5-million.html|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 21, 2000}}</ref><ref name="v-upnsale">{{cite news|last1=Goldsmith|first1=Jill|title=Weblet soap ends: Viacom's got UPN|url=https://variety.com/2000/tv/news/weblet-soap-ends-viacom-s-got-upn-1117780148/|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=April 4, 2000}}</ref>

===Return to Fox as an owned-and-operated station===
[[News Corporation]], through its [[Fox Television Stations]] subsidiary, agreed to purchase Chris-Craft Industries and its stations, including KMSP-TV, for $5.35 billion in August 2000 (this brought KMSP, along with [[San Antonio]]'s [[KMOL-TV]] and [[Salt Lake City]]'s [[KTVX]], back under common ownership with 20th Century Fox); the deal followed a bidding war with Viacom.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hofmeister|first=Sallie|title=News Corp. to Buy Chris-Craft Parent for $5.5 Billion, Outbidding Viacom|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-12-fi-3272-story.html|access-date=July 22, 2016|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 12, 2000}}</ref><ref name="dn-saletofox">{{cite news|last1=Chipman|first1=Kim|title=News Corp. to buy Chris-Craft|url=https://www.deseret.com/2000/8/14/19523626/news-corp-to-buy-chris-craft|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241107061230/https://www.deseret.com/2000/8/14/19523626/news-corp-to-buy-chris-craft/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2024|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Deseret News]]|agency=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=August 14, 2000}}</ref><ref name="b&c-saletofox">{{cite news|last1=Rathbun|first1=Elizabeth A.|title=How the FCC counts Fox|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/how-fcc-counts-fox/87634|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=August 20, 2000}}</ref> The sale was completed on July 31, 2001.<ref name="v-saletofoxcomplete">{{cite news|last1=Goldsmith|first1=Jill|title=Chris-Craft deal closed|url=https://variety.com/2001/tv/features/chris-craft-deal-closed-1117850552/|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=July 31, 2001}}</ref> While Fox pledged to retain the Chris-Craft stations' UPN affiliations through at least the 2000–01 season,<ref name="b&c-foxnoupnexit">{{cite news|last1=Schlosser|first1=Joe|title=There's still a UPN—for now|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/theres-still-upn%E2%80%94-now/88133|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=August 27, 2000}}</ref> and Chris-Craft agreed to an 18-month renewal for its UPN affiliates in January 2001,<ref name="b&c-upnrenewal2001">{{cite news|last1=McClellan|first1=Steve|title=Chris-Craft stations re-up with UPN|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/chris-craft-stations-re-upn/96152|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=January 21, 2001}}</ref> an affiliation swap was expected once KMSP's affiliation agreement with UPN ran out in 2002, given Fox's presumed preference to have its programming on a station that it already owned. Additionally, KMSP's signal was much stronger than that of WFTC; it was a VHF station that had been on the air much longer than UHF outlet WFTC.<ref name="mspbj-wftctofts">{{cite news|last1=Kamenick|first1=Amy|title=News Corp. acquisition of Fox 29 approved|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2001/10/01/daily24.html|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal]]|date=October 2, 2001}}</ref> Most importantly, Fox had been aggressively expanding local news programming on its stations, and KMSP had an established and competitive news department whereas WFTC's news department did not begin operations until April 2001. The move was made easier when, in July 2001, Fox agreed to trade KTVX and KMOL (now WOAI-TV) to [[Clear Channel Communications]] in exchange for WFTC,<ref name="sabj-wftctofts">{{cite news|title=Clear Channel to land KMOL-TV in a trade|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2001/07/23/daily30.html|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[San Antonio Business Journal]]|date=July 27, 2001}}</ref> a transaction completed that October.<ref name="mspbj-wftctofts"/>

The affiliation switch, officially announced in May 2002,<ref name="mspbj-kmspfoxagain">{{cite news|last1=Kamenick|first1=Amy|title=Channels 9 and 29 swap affiliations|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2002/05/20/daily38.html|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal]]|date=May 23, 2002}}</ref> occurred on September 8, 2002 (accompanied by a "Make the Switch" ad campaign that was seen on both stations), as Fox programming returned to KMSP-TV after a 14-year absence, while WFTC took the UPN affiliation;<ref>{{cite news|last=Gunderson |first=Troy |title=Calling all surfers: Fox, UPN changing channels |url=http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/090602/spo_0906020016.shtml |access-date=June 22, 2012 |newspaper=[[Brainerd Dispatch]] |date=September 6, 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214084824/http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/090602/spo_0906020016.shtml |archive-date=December 14, 2013 }}</ref> KMSP was the only former Chris-Craft station that was acquired and kept by Fox that did not retain its UPN affiliation. The station began carrying Fox's entire programming schedule at that time, including the ''[[FoxBox]]'' children's block (which later returned to WFTC as [[4KidsTV]], until the block was discontinued by Fox in December 2008 due to a dispute with [[4Kids Entertainment]]). The affiliation swap coincided with the start of the [[2002 NFL season]]; KMSP effectively became the "home" station for the NFL's [[Minnesota Vikings]] as a result of Fox [[NFL on Fox|holding the broadcast rights]] to the National Football Conference (from [[1994 Minnesota Vikings season|1994]] to [[2001 Minnesota Vikings season|2001]], most Vikings games were aired on WFTC). Finally, in 2014, with the launch of ''[[Xploration Station]]'' which replaced ''[[Weekend Marketplace]]'' which WFTC carried, KMSP-TV began clearing the entire Fox network schedule for good.

Since Fox has affiliates in most [[media market]]s and the FCC's [[syndication exclusivity]] regulations normally require cable systems to only carry a given network's local affiliate, and Fox prefers only an area's affiliate be carried as opposed to a distant station for rating tabulation purposes, KMSP was eventually removed from most cable providers outside the Twin Cities. By this time, these areas had enough stations to provide local Fox affiliates. KMSP thus effectively lost the "regional superstation" status it had held for almost a quarter-century, dating back to when it was an independent station. Due to the advent of [[digital terrestrial television|digital television]], many stations in smaller markets previously served by KMSP began operating UPN-affiliated [[digital subchannel]]s towards the end of the network's run to replace that network's programming in those markets, which in turn became MyNetworkTV or [[The CW|CW]] affiliates.

On December 14, 2017, [[The Walt Disney Company]], owner of KSTP-TV's affiliated network ABC, announced its intent to buy KMSP-TV's parent company, [[21st Century Fox]], for $66.1 billion; the sale, which closed on March 20, 2019, excluded KMSP-TV and sister station WFTC as well as the Fox network, the MyNetworkTV programming service, [[Fox News]], [[Fox Sports 1]], the [[Big Ten Network]] and the Fox Television Stations unit, which were all transferred to the newly formed [[Fox Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Disney Buys Big Chunk Of Fox In $66.1B Deal|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/109662/disney-buys-big-chunk-of-fox-in-661b-deal|website=TVNewsCheck|date=December 14, 2017|access-date=December 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Murdoch: New Fox Interested In More Stations|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/mobile/index/article/id/109669|website=TVNewsCheck|date=December 14, 2017|access-date=December 14, 2017}}</ref> [[Fox Sports North]] would be divested in a separate deal to Diamond Sports Group, made up of a joint venture of [[WUCW]] owner [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]] and [[Entertainment Studios]].

In April 2025, KMSP-TV announced a deal with the [[Minnesota Twins]] to simulcast ten of the team's games produced by [[MLB Local Media]] under the ''Twins.tv'' banner on the station, in addition to Twins games broadcast via [[MLB on Fox|Fox's national MLB package]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2025 |title=Twins, FOX 9 team up to air 10 games on TV |url=https://www.fox9.com/sports/mn-twins-games-fox-9-2025 |access-date=April 2, 2025 |website=FOX 9 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==News operation==
KMSP presently broadcasts {{Frac|59|1|2}} hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 10 hours each weekday, four hours on Saturdays, and {{Frac|5|1|2}} hours on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest newscast output among Minneapolis' broadcast television stations.

The station's first news director and news anchor was Harry Reasoner when KMSP signed on (as KEYD-TV) in 1955.<ref name="slphistory-keydreasoner" /> Despite the station's focus on live coverage of news and sports, as well as awards from the University of Minnesota Journalism School and the Northwest Radio–TV News Association, KEYD's newscasts were generally in fourth place in the ratings.<ref name="reasoner"/> After channel 9's ownership changed in 1956, the news operation was closed down.<ref name="reasoner"/> News programming returned to the station after NTA bought KMGM-TV in 1957.<ref name="b-kmgmnewsreturn"/>

The station, which had long been a distant third to WCCO-TV and KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities news ratings, began an aggressive campaign in 1973 to gain ground against its competition. After a nationwide search, management hired Ben Boyett and Phil Bremen to anchor a newscast with a new set and format, known as ''newsnine''.<ref name="studioz7.com"/> The new format did not really draw many new viewers, and the station's low news budget, ill-conceived promotion, and frequent technical glitches, along with its [[ABC News (United States)|network's news division's]] overall struggles and wire service before [[Roone Arledge]] took control, didn't help matters. One botched campaign for a news series on [[venereal disease]], in the spring of 1974, resulted in lawsuits from two young women that claimed that their likenesses were used in promos without their permission, thus damaging their reputations.<ref name="studioz7.com"/> By the fall of 1975, Boyett and Bremen would be gone, replaced by respected veteran newsman [[Don Harrison]] and the station's first female anchor, Cathie Mann. These changes did little to take channel 9 out of third place, and despite ABC becoming the #1 network by 1977 and Arledge's moves to increase ABC News's prestige, KMSP's newscasts still struggled.<ref name="studioz7.com"/>

After KMSP lost the ABC affiliation in 1979, the station's news operation reduced to a more scaled-down 9 p.m. or post-sports-only newscast which was more manageable for KMSP to maintain at the time. It was paired with the syndicated ''[[Independent Network News (US)|Independent Network News]]'' in the early-to-mid-1980s. The newscast's budget and ratings would increase by the end of that decade, with re-expansions of the news department into the morning and early evenings occurring in the mid-1990s.

By the end of the decade, ''Minnesota 9 News'' was competitive with the other stations in the market, especially with its all-local morning newscast doing well against the network morning shows. This was despite KMSP being hamstrung by its UPN affiliation, which had seen several affiliates of the network cut or close their news departments through its decade of existence, due to the network's overall and prime time ratings failing to meet expectations. Outside of UPN's ''[[Star Trek]]'' series, the rest of the network's programming schedule struggled outside of cities, a particular issue that affected KMSP as a statewide superstation with a wide rural footprint. This played into the station's decision to eschew their owner-mandated "UPN 9" branding for the more neutral statewide branding of "Minnesota 9" (later, ''9 News'') to promote their news department.

When KMSP rejoined Fox in 2002, the station's prime time newscast, now with the stronger aid of Fox's prime time lineup and sports coverage, frequently outrated the newscasts on KSTP-TV.<ref name="studioz7.com"/> Following Fox's acquisition of WFTC in 2001, that station's existing news operation was moved into an auxiliary studio of KMSP as part of a slow merger (including limited story-sharing);<ref name="mspbj-kmspfoxagain"/> after Fox canceled channel 29's newscast in 2006, some of WFTC's staff moved in full to KMSP.<ref name="st-wftcnewsend">{{cite news|last1=Rybak|first1=Deborah Caulfield|title=WFTC drops newscast at 10; KMSP adds it|url=http://www.startribune.com/459/story/468475.htm|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=[[Star Tribune]]|date=June 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615055800/http://www.startribune.com/459/story/468475.html|archive-date=June 15, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On May 11, 2009, KMSP became the second station in the Twin Cities (behind KARE-TV) to broadcast local newscasts in [[High-definition television|high-definition]].

===Controversy===
On June 16, 2006, during one of the station's newscasts, KMSP broadcast a "[[video news release]]" about [[convertible]]s produced by [[General Motors]] without required attribution that it was distributed by the auto giant. The narrator, [[Michael Kassan#MediaLink|MediaLink]] publicist Andrew Schmertz, was introduced as reporter André Schmertz.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prwatch.org/fakenews2/vnr41|title=Would You Buy a Car From This Man?|date=October 25, 2006|website=PR Watch}}</ref> On March 24, 2011, the FCC levied a $4,000 fine against KMSP for airing the video news release without disclosing the corporate source of the segment to its viewers, following complaints filed by the [[Free Press (advocacy group)|Free Press]] and the [[Center for Media and Democracy]] in 2006 and 2007.<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/25/50129/fcc-levies-fines-on-kmsp-wmgm FCC Levies Fines On KMSP, WMGM], ''TVNewsCheck'', March 25, 2011.</ref>

===On-air staff===
====Notable current on-air staff====
* [[Randy Meier]]{{Snd}} anchor
* [[Dawn Mitchell]]{{Snd}} anchor/reporter

====Notable former on-air staff====
* [[Heidi Collins]] — news anchor (2010–2013)
* [[Rod Grams]] — news anchor (1982–1991)
* [[Don Harrison]] — news anchor (1975–1979)
* [[Jack Horner (journalist)|Jack Horner]] — sports anchor (1950s)
* [[Bob Kurtz (broadcaster)|Bob Kurtz]] — sports anchor
* [[George Noory]] — news director (late 1970s)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coasttocoastam.com/george/about.html |title=COAST TO COAST AM WITH GEORGE NOORY |website=www.coasttocoastam.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021227091909/http://www.coasttocoastam.com/george/about.html |archive-date=December 27, 2002}}</ref>
* [[Hank Plante]] — news reporter (1979–1980)
* [[Ahmad Rashad]] — sports anchor (1978)
* [[Harry Reasoner]] — KMSP's first news director/anchor (1950s)
* [[Robyne Robinson]] — news anchor (1990–2010)

==Technical information==
<section begin=subchannels />
===KMSP-TV/WFTC subchannels===
KMSP-TV and WFTC broadcast from the [[KMSP Tower]] in [[Shoreview, Minnesota]].{{r|re9|re29}} The signal of KMSP-TV contains six subchannels, while WFTC's signal contains four. All subchannels on both transmitters share the same major [[virtual channel]] of 9.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KMSP-TV<ref name="re9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KMSP|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KMSP|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=January 7, 2025}}</ref> and WFTC<ref name="re29">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WFTC|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WFTC|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=January 7, 2025}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | Station
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.1 || rowspan="3" style="border-right: 4px solid #00a9e2;" | WFTC
| rowspan="2" | [[720p]]
| rowspan="3" | [[16:9]] || FOX-9 || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (KMSP-TV simulcast)
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.2 
| FOX9 + || [[MyNetworkTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.3 
| [[480i]] || Movies! || [[Movies!]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.4 || rowspan="3" style="border-right: 4px solid #cd0000;" | KMSP-TV 
| rowspan="3" | 480i
| rowspan="3" | 16:9 || BUZZR || [[Buzzr]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.5 
| QVC || [[QVC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.6 
| CATCHY || [[Catchy Comedy]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.7 || style="border-right: 4px solid #00a9e2;" | WFTC
| 720p || 16:9 || FoxWX || [[Fox Weather]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.8 || rowspan="3" style="border-right: 4px solid #cd0000;" | KMSP-TV 
| rowspan="3" | 720p
| rowspan="3" | 16:9 || Stories || [[Story Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.9 
| Fox 9 || Fox
|-
! scope = "row" | 9.10 
| FOX 9+ || MyNetworkTV (WFTC simulcast)
|}

The WFTC transmitter also broadcasts two subchannels of [[WUCW]] (23.2 [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]] and 23.6 [[Antenna TV]]), the market's [[ATSC 3.0]] (NextGen TV) host station.{{r|re29}}

In November 2009, KMSP was added to a subchannel of WFTC and vice versa, to aid viewers that had difficulty receiving KMSP's signal on the [[VHF]] band.<ref>{{Cite news|website=Northpine|url=https://www.northpine.com/broadcast/archive/news1109.html|date=November 12, 2009|title=KMSP/FOX 9 and WFTC/My 29 (Minneapolis) have made a change...|first=Jon|last=Ellis}}</ref> Beginning June 24, 2014, subchannels of WFTC began using major channel 9, with 29.1 changed to 9.2, and KMSP-TV began broadcasting in high definition from the WFTC transmitter on channel 9.1.<ref name="majorchannel">{{cite web |url=http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/25820097/rescan-how-to-get-fox-9-over-the-air-on-uhf |website=MyFox Twin Cities |title=RESCAN: How to get FOX 9 over-the-air on UHF |access-date=June 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703002323/http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/25820097/rescan-how-to-get-fox-9-over-the-air-on-uhf |archive-date=July 3, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===KFTC subchannels===
KFTC is broadcast from a transmitter northeast of Bemidji.{{r|re26}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KFTC<ref name="re26">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KFTC|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KFTC|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=January 7, 2025}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.1 
| rowspan=2|720p || rowspan=4|16:9 || Fox || Fox (KMSP-TV)
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.2 
| Fox9Plu || MyNetworkTV (WFTC)
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.3 
| 480i || Movies! || Movies!
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.4
| 720p || FoxWX || Fox Weather
|}

KFTC also broadcasts 23.2 [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]] and 23.6 [[Antenna TV]] from WUCW.{{r|re26}}

KFTC began providing high-definition service for the main KMSP and WFTC subchannels in October 2014. Translators of KMSP in [[Brainerd, Minnesota|Brainerd]] and [[Walker, Minnesota|Walker]] were switched to KFTC, making WFTC available over-the-air in those communities for the first time.<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Pilot-Independent|date=October 3, 2014|title=KMSP FOX 9, WFTC My29 to upgrade digital signals}}</ref><section end=subchannels />

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KMSP-TV began broadcasting a digital signal on UHF channel 21 on June 19, 2000.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter=KMSP-DT|title=Television and Cable Factbook|date=2006|page=A-1223|publisher=Warren Communications News}}</ref> The station shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 9, on June 12, 2009, the [[Digital television transition in the United States|digital television transition date]], and shifted its digital signal to channel 9.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2006 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=August 29, 2021 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref>

===Broadcasting facilities===
The [[KMSP TV Tower]] is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. KMSP owns the tower, which stands {{convert|1466|ft|m|0}} tall, but shares it with sister station WFTC and the Twin Cities PBS stations, [[KTCA]] and [[KTCI]]. Several [[FM band|FM]] stations are also on the tower: [[KQRS-FM]] ("92 KQRS"), [[KXXR]] ("93X"), [[KTCZ]] ("Cities 97.1"), [[KTIS-FM]], [[KSJN]], [[KFXN-FM]] ("The Fan"), [[KDWB]], [[KEEY]] ("K102"), [[KMNB]] ("102.9 The Wolf"), and [[KZJK]] ("104.1 Jack FM").

===Translators===
<section begin=translators />
In addition to the main transmitter in Shoreview and KFTC in Bemidji, the signals of KMSP-TV and WFTC signal are relayed to outlying parts of Minnesota through a network of [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translators]]. The main channels of each station are available from all translators.{{r|re9|re29|re26}}

The following translators rebroadcast WFTC:
* [[Alexandria, Minnesota|Alexandria]]: K32EB-D
* [[Frost, Minnesota|Frost]]: K29IF-D
* [[Jackson, Minnesota|Jackson]]: K34NU-D
* [[Olivia, Minnesota|Olivia]]: K34OZ-D
* [[Redwood Falls]]: K19CV-D
* [[St. James, Minnesota|St. James]]: K23MF-D
* [[Walker, Minnesota|Walker]]: K21HX-D
* [[Willmar, Minnesota|Willmar]]: K36OL-D

The following translators rebroadcast KMSP-TV:
* [[Alexandria, Minnesota|Alexandria]]: K30AF-D
* [[Frost, Minnesota|Frost]]: K19LJ-D
* [[Jackson, Minnesota|Jackson]]: K31NT-D
* [[St. James, Minnesota|St. James]]: K16CG-D
* [[Willmar, Minnesota|Willmar]]: K30FZ-D

The following translators rebroadcast KFTC:
* [[Brainerd, Minnesota|Brainerd]]: K20NH-D 
* [[Red Lake, Minnesota|Red Lake]]: K34NP-D
* [[Walker, Minnesota|Walker]]: K21HX-D (26.1 through 26.3 as 21.1 through 21.3) <!--given the 2014 Pilot-Independent article and its subchannel configuration, this is probably from KFTC. local xltr association does NOT carry Fox Weather and has a local weather sub and two others muxed onto it.--><section end=translators />

==References==
* [http://www.midwestemmys.org/ National Television Academy Upper Midwest Chapter list of Upper Midwest Emmy Awards]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060502001136/http://www.studioz-7.com/NewsNine.shtml Your Newsnine Station: The saga of KMSP-TV Minneapolis – St. Paul in the 1970s]
* [http://northpine.com/broadcast/mn/tvtranslators.html Minnesota TV Translators and Satellite Channels – Northpine.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529064524/http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/mn/tvtranslators.html |date=May 29, 2021 }}
* [http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews2/vnr41 Center for Media and Democracy]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090508022231/http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html FCC Listing of All Low Power, Full Power, and Translators, both Analog and Digital.]
* [http://www.pavekmuseum.org/HOF_Gallery/images/tvchrontc.htm Historical reference to KEYD-TV and AM], ''Pavek Museum of Broadcasting''.
* [http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_042454-2 Historical reference to 1954 applications for TV channel 9 by WDGY Radio and WLOL Radio], ''Box Office Magazine, April 24, 1954, page 71''
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://www.fox9.com/}}
* [http://tcmedianow.com/tag/kmsp Historical KMSP footage at tcmedianow.com]
* [http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=kmsp RabbitEars.info website – KMSP]
* [http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/largerimage.php?irn=10088956&catirn=10696921 Photo of Harry Reasoner in 1955 with KEYD from the Minnesota Historical Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090320114334/http://www.darrylholter.com/memoirs/darryl_child_01.jpg KEYD studio photo, Slim Jim's Country Western Show]

{{MSP TV}}
{{Minnesota TV}}
{{Wisconsin TV}}
{{Fox (company)}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}
{{Superstations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kmsp-Tv}}
[[Category:1955 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Buzzr affiliates]]
[[Category:Catchy Comedy affiliates]]
[[Category:Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:Fox Television Stations]]
[[Category:Story Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1955]]
[[Category:Television stations in Minneapolis–Saint Paul]]