KSTP-TV

KSTP-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities television market. KSTP-TV is the flagship television property of Saint Paul-based Hubbard Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception. The station's offices and studios are located on University Avenue, on the Saint Paul-Minneapolis border, and are shared with sister stations KSTP Radio (1500 AM), KSTP-FM (94.5 FM), KTMY (107.1 FM), and KSTC-TV (channel 45). KSTP-TV's transmitter is located at Telefarm Towers in Shoreview, Minnesota.

KSTP-TV's programming is also seen on two full-power satellite stations: KSAX (channel 42) in Alexandria, Minnesota; and KRWF (channel 43) in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.

History

Stanley E. Hubbard, founder of KSTP radio, was one of broadcasting's foremost pioneers. In June 1939, he purchased one of the first television cameras available from RCA and began experimenting with television, but the television blackout brought on by World War II prevented any transmissions from being made. The first telecast by KSTP-TV reportedly occurred on December 7, 1947, when Jack Horner hosted a 25-minute program. On April 27, 1948, KSTP-TV signed on as the first commercial television station in Minnesota, although an experimental mechanical television station had been set up by WDGY station engineers more than a decade earlier. That station's license expired in 1938 as the Federal Communications Commission was not interested in continuing mechanical TV broadcasts.

KSTP

KSTP may refer to:

KSTP-FM

KSTP-FM (94.5 FM) is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. It is one of the flagship stations of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other TV and radio stations across the United States, along with other properties. They have long been known on-air as "KS95". They play a wide array of music in adult contemporary. The station's studio facility, located on the boundary line between St. Paul and Minneapolis, is shared with sister stations KSTP-AM (1500 AM), KSTP-TV (channel 5), KTMY (107.1 FM), and KSTC-TV (channel 45). The station's transmitter is located at Telefarm Towers in Shoreview, Minnesota.

History

Twin Cities stations were experimenting with frequency-modulated transmissions in the late 1930s. KSTP engineers had started running W9XUP at 29.95 Mc/s by 1938. This "ultra-short-wave" station continued regular broadcasts until at least 1944. Other Twin Cities stations also experimented with FM, but not as extensively. WCCO operated a low-power station, but it apparently went off the air quickly. WTCN's FM transmission stayed around longer, but remained intermittent.

KSTP (AM)

KSTP (1500 AM; "1500 ESPN Twin Cities") is a Sports radio station. It is the flagship AM radio station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other television and radio stations across the United States and some other media properties. It is the ESPN Radio affiliate for Minneapolis-St. Paul. KSTP operates at a power of 50,000 watts and shares clear-channel, Class A status on 1500 AM with WFED in Washington, D.C.

The station's studio facility, located on the boundary line between St. Paul and Minneapolis, is shared with sister stations KSTP-FM (94.5 FM), KSTP-TV (channel 5), KTMY (107.1 FM), and KSTC-TV (channel 45). The station's transmitter is located in Maplewood. On weekdays, KSTP airs local sports shows from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and carries ESPN programming late nights and in the early morning. Some of KSTP's shows are simulcast on other Sports Radio stations in the region.

History

KSTP's AM signal at 1500 kHz is the product of a 1928 merger between two other Twin Cities stations. WAMD ("Where All Minneapolis Dances") and KFOY had each started broadcasting a few years earlier. Stanley E. Hubbard's WAMD went on the air for the first time on February 13, 1925, originally broadcasting live dance music from a local ballroom. It is claimed that this was the first radio station to be completely supported by running paid advertisements. KFOY radio first took to the air on March 12, 1924 in St. Paul.