KWMK

"KWMK" is a CW-affiliated cable-only television station serving Bismarck and Minot, North Dakota. Branded as North Dakota CW, it is carried on Midcontinent Communications cable channel 14 in Bismarck, and is offered on other Midcontinent systems throughout western North Dakota.

KWMK is powered by The CW Plus. As it is a cable-only station, the use of the "KWMK" call letters is done in a fictional manner as cable-only affiliates of broadcast networks are not required to operate under an FCC station license.

History

KWMK launched as a cable-only The WB affiliate in 1998 programmed by The WB 100+ Station Group, a predecessor to The CW Plus. WB 100+ was made to get The WB on cable screens in small and medium TV markets, and let a local cable TV company or another TV station operate a cable channel carrying The WB network with imaginary call letters and WB 100+ programming up all non-network slots on the schedule, and let the operator of the cable channel air local commercial inserts and have a unique local branding (like "North Dakota's WB14").

In September 2006, The WB and UPN networks closed down in order to launch The CW. The website of The CW referred to a "North Dakota CW" coming to the Bismarck-Minot market.^[1] weeks before the launch. TV listings show that KWMK would carry CW programming after the launch on September 18, 2006, and now KWMK has been confirmed as a CW affiliate. There was no full-time UPN affiliate in western North Dakota, though KNDX and its satellite KXND broadcast UPN after the primetime schedule.

References

External links

• The CW Plus