Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation

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Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation is a broadcasting company based in St. Paul, Minnesota that was started by Stanley E. Hubbard. The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and New Mexico, though the flagships are the KSTP radio and television stations serving the Twin Cities region of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

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. It was the first radio station to be completely supportedy by income generated by running advertisements. Hubbard Broadcasting now operates three radio stations as well as several television stations.

In 1928, WAMD merged with KFOY radio (first broadcast: March 12, 1924) in St. Paul to become KSTP, which was advertised as being operated by the National Battery Broadcasting Co. Ten years later, in 1938, Hubbard bought the first television camera available from RCA. Following the television blackout brought on by World War II, KSTP started television broadcasts in 1948. More recently in the 1980s and '90s, Hubbard Broadcasting attempted an entry into satellite TV and operated U.S. Satellite Broadcasting (USSB) for many years but this property was later sold off.

KSTP is still Hubbard's flagship, although there are now three different stations that carry that name. KSTP-TV is affiliated with ABC. KSTP-AM broadcasts a talk radio format, and KSTP-FM broadcasts adult contemporary music.

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 channel 45 was bought by Hubbard and began broadcasting as KSTC in 2000. The station is normally independent (not affiliated with any broadcast network), but it has been used by KSTP to broadcast ABC network programming when channel 5 is broadcasting coverage of Viking 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), arts network Ovation TV, and the Hubbard Radio Network, which is used to distribute KSTP-AM's local talk shows to subscribing radio stations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The cable channels are run through subsidiary company Hubbard Media Group.

Hubbard Broadcasting also owned the now-closed Bound to be Read bookstores in St. Paul, Albuquerque, and Fort Myers.

1 Television stations
2 Radio stations
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Television stations

[edit] ABC Affiliates

KSTP-TV Channel 5 (digital channel 50) – St. Paul, Minnesota
- KSAX Channel 42 (digital 36) – Alexandria, Minnesota
  - KRWF Channel 43 (digital 27) – Redwood Falls, Minnesota
KAAL Channel 6 (digital 33) – Austin, Minnesota/Mason City, Iowa
WDIO Channel 10 (digital 43) – Duluth, Minnesota
- WIRT Channel 13 (digital 36) – Hibbing, Minnesota

[edit] NBC Affiliates

KOB Channel 4 (digital 26) – Albuquerque, New Mexico
- KOBF Channel 12 (digital 17) – Farmington, New Mexico
- KOBG Channel 6 – Silver City, New Mexico
- KOBR Channel 8 (digital 38) – Roswell, New Mexico
WHEC Channel 10 (digital 58) – Rochester, New York
WNYT Channel 13 (digital 12) – Albany/Schenectady/Troy, New York

[edit] Independent station

KSTC Channel 45 (digital 44) – St. Paul, Minnesota

[edit] Cable Channels (through Hubbard Media Group division)

Ovation TV (purchased August 2006; co-owned with Bob and Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company)
ReelzChannel (launching September 2006)

[edit] Radio stations

KSTP 1500 kHz AM – St. Paul, Minnesota – Talk radio
KSTP 94.5 MHz FM – St. Paul, Minnesota – "KS95" – Adult contemporary
WFMP 107.1 MHz FM – Coon Rapids, Minnesota/Twin Cities – Talk radio for women
WIXK 1590 kHz AM – New Richmond, Wisconsin – Country music