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Hubbard Broadcasting
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==History== KSTP has its origins in the Twin Cities radio station WAMD ("Where All Minneapolis Dances"), which started broadcasting live dance music from a local ballroom on February 13, 1925 with Stanley E. Hubbard as owner and station director. It was the first radio station to be completely supported by income generated by advertisements. In 1928, WAMD merged with KFOY (Kind Friends of Yours) radio (first broadcast: March 12, 1924) in St. Paul to become KSTP, which was advertised as being operated by the National Battery Broadcasting Co. Hubbard became the merged station's general manager, and bought controlling interest in 1941. In 1938 Hubbard bought the first [[television camera]] available from [[RCA]]. Following the television blackout brought on by [[World War II]], KSTP began television broadcasts in 1948. KSTP is still Hubbard's flagship, although there are now three different stations that carry that name. KSTP (AM) broadcasts a [[sports radio]] format, and KSTP-FM broadcasts [[adult contemporary music]]; KSTP-TV is affiliated with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. After the [[Federal Communications Commission]] relaxed rules about television station ownership, Hubbard bought a second television station in the Twin Cities. Originally affiliated with the [[Home Shopping Network]] when it started operations in 1994, KVBM was bought by Hubbard and became general-entertainment [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]] [[KSTC-TV]] in 2000. It has been used as an alternate outlet for ABC network programming when KSTP-TV is broadcasting coverage of [[Minnesota Vikings]] football games or other special shows, including severe-weather coverage. Aside from terrestrial broadcast stations, other current ventures include the [[film]] network [[ReelzChannel]] (launched in 2006), the arts network [[Ovation (U.S. TV channel)|Ovation]], and the Hubbard Radio Network, which is used to distribute KSTP's local talk shows to subscribing radio stations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The cable channels are run through subsidiary company Hubbard Media Group. In 1981, Hubbard Broadcasting started [[U.S. Satellite Broadcasting]] (USSB), and later was instrumental in the development and launching of the first digital satellite system for television in 1994. The new satellite could deliver 175 channels to a (at the time) tiny, 18 inch dish. USSB's development partner, [[Hughes Electronics]] (a [[General Motors]] [[subsidiary]]), launched its own subscription satellite service called [[DirecTV]]. The two services did not compete against each other (they carried different channels), and were often marketed together to subscribers by retailers and in [[Advertising|advertisements]], until DirecTV's 1998 [[Takeover|acquisition]] of USSB. Hubbard was also instrumental in the development of mobile satellite news vehicles. In 1983, Hubbard-owned CONUS Communications and Florida-based subsidiary Hubcom built the first [[Electronic news-gathering|Satellite News Gathering]] (SNG) mobile vehicle, which allowed for much easier live news coverage for network and local television news operations. This ultimately resulted in CONUS—later a joint-venture with [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]]—becoming a nationwide, satellite-based newsgathering cooperative (with Hubbard charging stations to relay their footage). As an outgrowth of this, Hubbard Broadcasting also operated a 24-hour news station, the [[All News Channel]], which relied on CONUS-sourced news footage and primarily acted as a "sustaining feed" for television stations to fill air time with; ANC was also responsible for producing news programming for third-parties. The news channel lasted from 1989 until it folded in September 2002, which the channels trademark was spun off to became a website which relaunched. Hubbard Broadcasting also owned the now-closed Bound to be Read [[bookstore]]s in St. Paul, [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]], and [[Key Largo, Florida|Key Largo]]. As of October 2007, it is engaged in a fevered battle with [[National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians|NABET]] union repping employees of WNYT in [[Albany, New York]]. In June 2009, the "[[Society of Professional Journalists]]" honored Hubbard Broadcasting and KSTP-TV with its national Historical Site in Journalism award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SPJ named Minnesota's Hubbard Broadcasting a National Historic Site in Journalism |url=https://www.spj.org/news.asp?REF=918 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=SPJ |date=2009 }}</ref> On January 19, 2011, Hubbard announced the purchase of 17 radio stations in [[Cincinnati]], [[Chicago]], [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[St. Louis]] from [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] subsidiary [[Bonneville International]] for $505 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radio-info.com/news/505m-sale-bonneville-sells-chicago-dc-st-louis-and-cincinnati-to-hubbard |title=$505M sale: Bonneville sells Chicago, D.C., St. Louis and Cincinnati to Hubbard |date=January 19, 2011 |website=Radio-Info.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122010447/http://www.radio-info.com/news/505m-sale-bonneville-sells-chicago-dc-st-louis-and-cincinnati-to-hubbard |archive-date=January 22, 2011 |access-date=July 2, 2017 }}</ref> The sale closed on April 29, 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2174844&spid=24698 |title=Hubbard deal to purchase Bonneville stations closes |website=Radio Ink Magazine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312055419/http://radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2174844&spid=24698 |archive-date=2012-03-12 |access-date=July 2, 2017 }}</ref> On February 25, 2013, Hubbard announced that it would purchase [[MyNetworkTV]] station [[WNYA]] to form a duopoly with WNYT, pending FCC approval. No financial details were announced.<ref name=hubbard-wnya>{{cite web|title=WNYT Albany to Purchase MyNet WNYA|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/492006-WNYT_Albany_to_Purchase_MyNet_WNYA.php|publisher=Broadcasting & Cable|access-date=25 February 2013}}</ref> On July 16, 2013, Hubbard announced that it had agreed to purchase 10 stations from Ohio-based Sandusky Radio for $85.5 million. Hubbard announced on November 13, 2014 that it would purchase the sixteen stations owned by [[Omni Broadcasting]]. The Omni stations are all located in central and northern Minnesota.<ref name=ri-omnihubbard>{{cite news|title=Hubbard Picks up 16 Stations From Omni|url=http://radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2861899&spid=24698|date=November 13, 2014|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113191858/http://radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2861899&spid=24698|archive-date=November 13, 2014}} Accessed July 2, 2017 (archived link)</ref> On September 26, 2018, Hubbard announced that it agreed to purchase six stations owned by [[Alpha Media]] in West Palm Beach Florida, for $88 million. The stations include Urban AC 102.3 [[WMBX]], Country 103.1 [[WIRK]], Adult Contemporary 107.9 [[WEAT]], Hot Adult Contemporary 97.9 [[WRMF]], News/Talk 850 [[WFTL]] and Sports/Talk 640 [[WMEN]]. Hubbard Broadcasting took over production of ''[[Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40|Country Top 40]]'' in January 2020 after the death of the program's founder [[Bob Kingsley]]. Fitz, a mononymous host with several syndicated country radio programs to his credit, took over as the program's host.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://musicrow.com/2019/12/fitz-named-new-host-for-bob-kingsleys-country-top-40/|title=fitz-named-new-host-for-bob-kingsleys-country-top-40|website=MusicRow.com|date=19 December 2019|language=en|access-date=2019-12-20}}</ref>
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