Although this happened last year, I only recently came across this on an online forum about KCND/CKND/KNRR's ultimate demise...To provide a complete picture of the once-local station's 'life', I include it here (it has a happy outcome...)
KNRR Pembina, ND goes silent due to no money for a digital upgrade.I'm not sure what the fate of the infrastructure has been or will be (the old studio building in Pembina, the towers, etc.) - perhaps they are being repurposed and will arise like a phoenix anew. It would be nice to think so...
KNRR/12 (Pembina) has gone silent after the digital transition. The station, a satellite of FOX affiliate KVRR/15 (Fargo), had been operating a low-power digital signal on channel 15 and elected to move digital broadcasts to channel 12 after the transition. However, owner Red River Broadcast Co. says in a filing with the FCC that KNRR has never been profitable, and that fact combined with the recession and the high cost of digital TV facilities means they cannot afford to construct the channel 12 digital facility. Meanwhile, KNRR had to leave channel 15 because that channel is now being used by KGFE (Grand Forks). KNRR has until October 18 to construct the digital channel 12 facility. Channel 12 has a long history: it was originally used by NBC/ABC affiliate KCND [Pembina], which targeted Winnipeg audiences with a fringe signal. KCND was ultimately discontinued when owner Izzy Asper signed on CKND/9 (Winnipeg) in 1975 to replace KCND. KNRR came on the air a decade later, but strict regulations have prevented KNRR from being carried on Canadian cable systems.
From: Satelliteguys.us' Digital Over-the-Air (OTA) forum, dated 6/24/2009
September 28, 2018 UPDATE: KNRR is still on the air, as a digital OTA station, and still on Channel 12!
KNRR returned to the air in October 2009 after four months off the air. My guess is that it's either of some benefit to Red River Broadcasting for tax purposes, or that they see some possibility of selling it (maybe to Prairie Public, for which a Pembina signal would fill in an over-the-air signal coverage gap).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the additional information. I had heard rumours about PPTV myself. I figured someone might see an advantage...
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