KXPI-LD

KXPI-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Pocatello, Idaho, and serving the Idaho Falls–Pocatello broadcast market. The station is associated with Fox as its primary network service and carries MyNetworkTV programming in a secondary, delayed schedule. Rather than operating as a fully independent full-power outlet, KXPI-LD rebroadcasts programming from Idaho Falls–licensed KIDK, including network and locally distributed content. Its transmitter is located on Howard Mountain in unincorporated Bannock County, west of downtown Pocatello, while the station’s operational facilities are shared with KIFI-TV on North Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls. The station originated with a low-power construction permit granted in 1997 to Idaho Independent Television, Inc. The permit changed hands several times during the station’s early development. Pocatello Media Group acquired it in 2000 and pursued an initial plan involving UPN programming and a relationship with a proposed Rexburg station. Administrative and licensing complications followed, including the dismissal of an initial license-to-cover filing and an unsuccessful auction process involving a company that later entered bankruptcy. The license was ultimately reinstated, and the station reached the air in 2001 under the K24EV call sign. Ownership and network affiliations changed repeatedly during the next decade. Equity Broadcasting acquired the station in 2003, and it became KUNP-LP in 2004. Fisher Communications purchased it in 2006, when the station transitioned from its planned UPN role to TeleFutura after UPN ceased operations nationally. It adopted the KPPP-LP call sign later that year. After dropping TeleFutura in December 2008, the station temporarily went off the air, changed to KXPI-LP in April 2009, and returned to service in September 2009 with MyNetworkTV programming. At that point, its signal was also carried on a digital subchannel of KIDK. A major turning point came in 2012, when KXPI and the KIDK digital subchannel assumed the market’s Fox affiliation from KFXP. Fox became the principal network relationship, while MyNetworkTV remained as a secondary service, generally scheduled on weeknights in a delayed time period. This move expanded the role of the station within the Idaho Falls–Pocatello market and made its call letters particularly compatible with its Fox identity. News-Press & Gazette Company began operating KXPI and KIDK under shared services arrangements in 2011. Fisher later agreed to sell its stations to Sinclair Broadcast Group, but KXPI and KIDK were separately transferred to VistaWest Media, LLC. News-Press & Gazette continued operating the stations under a shared services agreement. In 2017, NPG acquired KXPI-LD outright, making it the station’s direct owner. KXPI-LD remains a local broadcast outlet whose value is primarily its network distribution, market coverage, and connection to the KIFI/KIDK television group rather than a standalone schedule of original programming.

KXPI-LD began as a low-power television construction permit, K24EV, granted by the Federal Communications Commission on June 20, 1997, to Idaho Independent Television, Inc. Pocatello Media Group acquired the permit on May 19, 2000. Early plans contemplated UPN programming and a relationship with a proposed station in Rexburg, but those plans were disrupted by licensing and operational problems affecting both signals. A license-to-cover filing connected with the station was initially dismissed in 2001 because it was not submitted within the required period. Although the permits were placed into an auction process, the winning company, ESI Communications, later entered bankruptcy and the planned signals did not proceed as expected. The K24EV license-to-cover application was eventually reinstated and granted on June 26, 2001, indicating that the station had reached the air. The station continued under the K24EV call sign for a period before Equity Broadcasting, through EBC Pocatello, Inc., acquired it on February 3, 2003. Equity changed the call sign to KUNP-LP on March 5, 2004. Fisher Communications, owner of Idaho Falls CBS affiliate KIDK, acquired the station on May 15, 2006. The national shutdown of UPN in 2006 altered the station’s programming path. Following the creation of The CW from the merger of UPN and The WB, the station became affiliated with TeleFutura, the Spanish-language network later known as UniMás. Its call sign changed to KPPP-LP on December 15, 2006. KPPP dropped TeleFutura in mid-December 2008 and temporarily ceased broadcasting. The station adopted the KXPI-LP call sign on April 22, 2009, and returned to the air on September 14, 2009, with MyNetworkTV programming. Its programming was also carried on a new KIDK digital subchannel. In January 2011, News-Press & Gazette Company began operating KXPI and KIDK under shared services agreements. The station’s most important affiliation change occurred in 2012. On June 15, the market change was announced, and on July 1 KXPI and the KIDK digital subchannel assumed the Fox affiliation from KFXP, which moved to This TV. KXPI retained MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation, with the service aired in a delayed weeknight arrangement. The change gave the NPG-operated group a particularly broad collection of major network relationships in the Idaho Falls–Pocatello market. Fisher announced in April 2013 that it would sell its stations to Sinclair Broadcast Group. Before that transaction closed, KXPI and KIDK were designated for sale to VistaWest Media, LLC, a Missouri-based company. The transaction was completed on November 29, 2013, while NPG continued operating the stations through a shared services agreement. NPG agreed to purchase KXPI-LD outright on February 1, 2017, and completed the transaction on March 20 of that year. KXPI-LD’s current service is closely integrated with KIDK. It rebroadcasts KIDK subchannels and uses a transmitter on Howard Mountain in Bannock County to serve Pocatello. The related station group operates from facilities shared with KIFI-TV in Idaho Falls. Its identity is therefore both a local Pocatello broadcast brand and a network-distribution outlet within a regional television cluster.

• 2017

  NPG acquires KXPI-LD outright

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  News-Press & Gazette Company completed its direct acquisition of KXPI-LD.

• 2013

  VistaWest ownership and NPG shared services

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  KXPI and KIDK moved to VistaWest Media ownership while NPG continued operating them.

• 2012

  Fox affiliation begins

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  KXPI assumed the market’s Fox affiliation, while retaining MyNetworkTV as a secondary service.

• 2009

  KXPI relaunches with MyNetworkTV

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  After a period off the air, the station returned as KXPI-LP with MyNetworkTV programming and a KIDK digital-subchannel simulcast.

• 2006

  Fisher acquisition and TeleFutura affiliation

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  Fisher Communications acquired the station; after UPN ceased programming, the station moved into a TeleFutura affiliation and became KPPP-LP.

• 2004

  Call sign becomes KUNP-LP

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The station changed its call sign from K24EV to KUNP-LP.

• 2003

  Equity Broadcasting acquisition

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  Equity Broadcasting acquired the station through EBC Pocatello, Inc.

• 2001

  Station reaches the air

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The license-to-cover authorization was reinstated and granted, allowing the low-power station to operate under the K24EV call sign.

• 2000

  Permit acquired by Pocatello Media Group

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  Pocatello Media Group acquired the station’s construction permit and pursued plans involving UPN programming.

• 1997

  Low-power construction permit granted

  [1]KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC granted the original K24EV construction permit to Idaho Independent Television, Inc.

A locally distributed network television service for Pocatello and the wider Idaho Falls–Pocatello market, combining Fox programming with a secondary MyNetworkTV schedule through the KIDK broadcast operation.

• Broadcast television · 2012

  Fox network service

  KXPI-LD’s principal network offering is Fox programming distributed to viewers in the Pocatello and Idaho Falls–Pocatello market. The service is integrated with KIDK’s digital broadcast operation and forms the station’s central on-air identity.

• Broadcast television · 2009

  MyNetworkTV service

  MyNetworkTV remains a secondary programming service on KXPI-LD. Following the station’s 2009 relaunch, the affiliation was retained after Fox arrived, with programming generally scheduled in a delayed weeknight arrangement rather than as the primary service.

• Digital multicast television

  KIDK rebroadcast service

  KXPI-LD rebroadcasts subchannels associated with KIDK, linking the low-power Pocatello signal to the broader Idaho Falls station operation. This arrangement allows network and related television programming to reach the Pocatello portion of the regional market.

• 2017

  Direct acquisition by News-Press & Gazette CompanyM&A

  Background

  NPG had operated KXPI under a shared services arrangement after the station moved to VistaWest ownership.

  Action taken

  NPG agreed to purchase KXPI-LD outright and completed the transaction in March.

  Aftermath

  The station became directly owned by NPG while remaining integrated with the company’s Idaho television operations.

  Source

• 2012

  Assumption of the Fox affiliationStrategy

  Background

  Fox programming was being provided by KFXP, while KXPI already operated as a MyNetworkTV outlet within the KIDK structure.

  Action taken

  KXPI and KIDK-DT2 took over Fox programming beginning July 1, while KXPI retained MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation.

  Aftermath

  KFXP moved to This TV, and KXPI became a key network outlet in the regional market.

  Source

• 2009

  Relaunch as a MyNetworkTV outletProduct launch

  Background

  The station had dropped its TeleFutura affiliation and had been off the air since late 2008.

  Action taken

  KXPI-LP returned to service with MyNetworkTV programming and was simulcast on a KIDK digital subchannel.

  Aftermath

  The relaunch restored a network service to the Idaho Falls–Pocatello market and created the platform later used for Fox programming.

  Source

• 2006

  Transition from UPN plans to TeleFuturaStrategy

  Background

  UPN ceased programming after its combination with The WB to create The CW, eliminating the station’s earlier UPN-oriented path.

  Action taken

  The station adopted TeleFutura programming and later changed its call sign to KPPP-LP.

  Aftermath

  The TeleFutura affiliation ended in December 2008, followed by a temporary shutdown and a later relaunch under the KXPI identity.

  Source

1. 1KXPI-LDen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KXPI station webpagelocalnews8.com