KMSS-TV

KMSS-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Shreveport, Louisiana, and serving the Shreveport–Texarkana market across the Ark-La-Tex region. Broadcasting on digital channel 33 and branded historically as Fox 33, it is affiliated with the Fox network and is owned by Mission Broadcasting. Nexstar Media Group operates the station through a shared services arrangement. KMSS shares facilities and operational resources with Nexstar-operated KTAL-TV, the market’s NBC affiliate, and KSHV-TV, an independent station carrying MyNetworkTV programming. The three stations operate from studios on North Market Street and Deer Park Road in northeastern Shreveport, while KMSS’s transmitter is located southeast of Mooringsport. The station’s origins followed a lengthy Federal Communications Commission contest over Shreveport’s first commercial UHF allocation on channel 33. Several groups applied for the construction permit beginning in 1982. A settlement and corporate merger ultimately cleared the way for Media South Broadcasting’s application, and the FCC approved the KMSS-TV call letters in February 1985. The station began broadcasting on April 11, 1985, becoming the market’s fifth commercial television station and its first commercial independent station. Its original schedule combined syndicated sitcoms, westerns, dramatic series, cartoons, religious programs, older films, and selected CBS programs that KSLA-TV did not carry. KMSS was also the first Louisiana television station to broadcast in stereo. KMSS became a charter Fox affiliate when the network launched on October 9, 1986. Because Fox initially offered only a late-night program and later a limited weekend schedule, the station continued to operate for several years much like an independent outlet. It used movies and syndicated programming to fill periods when Fox did not provide network content. Fox’s gradual move toward a nightly prime-time schedule during the late 1980s and early 1990s changed KMSS’s programming mix, reducing its dependence on films while increasing its use of Fox network programming and syndicated entertainment. The station also carried the Fox Kids block and briefly maintained a secondary relationship with the Prime Time Entertainment Network. Ownership changed several times during the station’s early decades. Media South sold KMSS to Southwest Multimedia in 1987, and Southwest later sold it to Associated Broadcasters in a transaction completed in 1994. Associated Broadcasters and related entities subsequently operated KSHV-TV under a local marketing agreement, creating an early operational relationship between the two Shreveport stations. During the 1990s and 2000s, KMSS gradually shifted away from a schedule dominated by cartoons and classic sitcoms, adding talk shows, reality programs, court shows, and newer syndicated comedies around the Fox lineup. A major restructuring occurred after Nexstar Broadcasting Group agreed in 2013 to acquire stations owned by Communications Corporation of America and White Knight Broadcasting. Because of FCC ownership limits and the competitive position of the stations in the Shreveport market, the proposed transaction separated legal ownership from operational control. KMSS was ultimately sold to Marshall Broadcasting Group in 2015, while Nexstar provided substantial operating, sales, engineering, administrative, and programming support. This arrangement placed KMSS, KSHV, and KTAL into a virtual triopoly. In 2019, Marshall sued Nexstar, alleging that Nexstar had harmed the value and commercial prospects of Marshall’s stations and withheld certain retransmission-related payments. Nexstar denied the allegations. Marshall entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2019, and Mission Broadcasting acquired its stations in 2020. KMSS remains a Fox affiliate operated within Nexstar’s Shreveport station group.

The channel 33 allocation in Shreveport was contested by seven applicant groups. The first application was submitted in June 1982 by Great Central Communications, followed by applications from Media South Broadcasting and five additional groups. In December 1984, an FCC administrative law judge approved a settlement resolving several objections and authorized an amended application involving Media South Broadcasting and Great Southern TV Broadcasting. Media South later received approval to use the KMSS-TV call letters. KMSS-TV signed on April 11, 1985, from studios on Jewella Avenue in Shreveport. It was the fifth commercial station in the Shreveport–Texarkana market and the market’s first commercial independent station. The original schedule relied on syndicated comedies, westerns, dramas, cartoons, religious programs, movies, and selected CBS programs not carried by KSLA-TV. The station also achieved an early technical distinction as the first television station in Louisiana to broadcast in stereo. News Corporation approached KMSS about joining the Fox Broadcasting Company, and the station became a charter affiliate when Fox launched on October 9, 1986. Fox’s early service provided little prime-time content, so KMSS continued to function largely as an independent station. It filled non-network periods with movies and syndicated programs, while later adding Fox’s expanding prime-time and children’s programming. In 1989, the station began using the Fox 33 identity more prominently, reflecting Fox’s affiliate branding requirements. Media South announced a sale to Southwest Multimedia in 1987. Southwest Multimedia later transferred the station to Associated Broadcasters, a company subsequently associated with Communications Corporation of America. In the mid-1990s, the station’s ownership group also became involved with channel 45, later KSHV-TV, through a local marketing agreement. KMSS provided programming, advertising, and administrative support, and KSHV eventually moved its operations into KMSS’s facilities. During the 1990s and 2000s, KMSS reduced its reliance on older cartoons and classic sitcoms, expanding its use of talk, reality, court, and more recent syndicated entertainment programs. Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced the planned acquisition of the Communications Corporation of America and White Knight station portfolios in 2013. FCC ownership rules prevented Nexstar from directly acquiring KMSS under the proposed structure, so the parties developed a plan involving Mission Broadcasting and other affiliated entities. In 2014, Nexstar instead announced that KMSS would be sold to Marshall Broadcasting Group. The FCC approved the transactions in December 2014, and they closed in January 2015. Nexstar continued to provide operational services, while KMSS, KSHV, and KTAL formed a virtual triopoly with shared facilities in northeastern Shreveport. The ownership structure later became the subject of litigation. In April 2019, Marshall sued Nexstar in New York state court, alleging that Nexstar had harmed the value of KMSS and Marshall’s other stations, disadvantaged Marshall under its financing arrangements, and withheld retransmission payments. Nexstar rejected the allegations. Marshall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2019. Mission Broadcasting agreed to acquire the company’s stations in March 2020, and the purchase closed in September of that year. KMSS is now owned by Mission Broadcasting and operated by Nexstar under a shared-services structure. Its core role remains that of the Fox station for Shreveport and the surrounding Ark-La-Tex market.

• 2020

  Mission Broadcasting acquisition closes

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Mission Broadcasting completed its purchase of Marshall Broadcasting’s stations, including KMSS-TV.

• 2015

  Marshall ownership and Nexstar operations begin

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KMSS was transferred to Marshall Broadcasting Group, while Nexstar assumed operational responsibilities under a shared-services agreement.

• 1995

  Local marketing agreement with KSHV-TV

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KMSS’s ownership group began operating channel 45 under a local marketing agreement; the station later became KSHV-TV.

• 1994

  Associated Broadcasters acquisition closes

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Associated Broadcasters completed its acquisition of KMSS from Southwest Multimedia after FCC approval.

• 1986

  Joins Fox at network launch

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KMSS became a charter Fox affiliate on October 9, 1986.

• 1985

  KMSS-TV signs on

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KMSS-TV began broadcasting on April 11 as Shreveport’s first commercial independent station and its second UHF station.

• 1984

  FCC settlement clears the channel 33 permit

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  An FCC administrative decision approved a settlement and related corporate arrangement supporting Media South Broadcasting’s application.

• 1982

  First channel 33 construction-permit application

  [1]KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Great Central Communications filed the first application for the commercial UHF channel 33 allocation in Shreveport, beginning a multi-party FCC licensing contest.

Local Fox affiliate serving the Shreveport–Texarkana and wider Ark-La-Tex television market.

• Network television affiliation · 1986

  KMSS-TV Fox affiliation

  The station’s principal programming product is Fox network service for the Shreveport–Texarkana market. KMSS has carried Fox programming since the network launched in 1986, initially supplementing Fox’s limited schedule with independent programming and later carrying the network’s expanded prime-time, sports, and special-event offerings.

• Television broadcasting · 1985

  Local broadcast channel 33

  KMSS provides over-the-air television service to Shreveport and nearby communities in the Ark-La-Tex region. Its schedule combines Fox programming with syndicated entertainment, local commercial content, and other programming selected for the regional broadcast market.

• Television programming · 1985

  Syndicated programming

  Across its history, KMSS has carried syndicated sitcoms, talk shows, reality programs, court shows, dramas, cartoons, and films. The station’s mix evolved as Fox expanded its own schedule and as broadcast stations became less dependent on movie packages and older syndicated series.

• 2019

  Marshall Broadcasting lawsuit against Nexstar

  Marshall Broadcasting alleged that Nexstar had impaired the value of KMSS and two other stations, interfered with their potential direct acquisition, threatened financing support, overstated the value of the station portfolio, and withheld retransmission-related payments. Nexstar denied the allegations and called the claims meritless.

  Source

Read more

• 2020

  Mission Broadcasting acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Marshall Broadcasting entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2019.

  Action taken

  Mission Broadcasting agreed to purchase Marshall’s stations and completed the acquisition on September 1, 2020.

  Aftermath

  KMSS returned to Mission ownership and continued to be operated by Nexstar under shared-services arrangements.

  Reported purchase price for Marshall Broadcasting stations. $49 million announced transaction value (2020)

  Source

• 2014

  Transfer to Marshall Broadcasting GroupM&A

  Background

  FCC ownership rules complicated Nexstar’s proposed direct ownership of KMSS in the Shreveport market.

  Action taken

  Nexstar arranged the sale of KMSS to Marshall Broadcasting while retaining substantial operating and administrative involvement.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement created a virtual triopoly involving KMSS, KSHV-TV, and KTAL-TV.

  Reported purchase price for KMSS, KPEJ-TV, and KLJB. $58.5 million announced transaction value (2014)

  Source

• 1986

  Adopt Fox affiliationStrategy

  Background

  Fox approached KMSS during the station’s first year of independent operation.

  Action taken

  KMSS joined Fox at the network’s October 1986 launch while continuing to use independent-style programming during Fox’s limited early schedule.

  Aftermath

  The affiliation became the station’s defining long-term market position.

  Source

1. 1KMSS-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KMSS-TV official websitearklatexhomepage.com