View source for KBMY

{{Short description|Television station in Bismarck, North Dakota}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television station dual
| name1 = KBMY
| above = {{ubl|[[Semi-satellites]] of [[WDAY-TV]],|[[Fargo, North Dakota]]}}
| city1 = [[Bismarck, North Dakota|Bismarck]]–[[Mandan, North Dakota]]
| logo = KBMY 2021.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| branding1 = {{ubl|KBMY; ''WDAY News''|WDAY Xtra (17.3)}}
| digital1 = 17 ([[UHF]])
| virtual1 = 17
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''17.1/14.1:''' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| country = United States
| airdate1 = {{start date and age|1985|3|31|p=y}}
| callsign_meaning1 = Bismarck–Mandan, disambiguation of last call letter for owner Forum's flagship station [[WDAY-TV|WDAY]]<ref>{{cite news |title=ABC affiliate gets call letters |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bismarck-tribune-abc-affiliate-gets/177411236/ |access-date=July 25, 2025 |newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune |date=February 6, 1985 |location=Bismarck, North Dakota |page=2A |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
| former_channel_numbers1 = '''Analog:''' 17 (UHF, 1985–2009)
| owner = [[Forum Communications Company]]
| licensee = KBMY-KMCY, [[LLC]]
| erp1 = 75 [[kW]]
| haat1 = {{convert|290|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id1 = 22121
| coordinates1 = {{nowrap|{{coord|46|35|15|N|100|48|21|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KBMY}}}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| name2 = KMCY
| city2 = [[Minot, North Dakota]]
| image = KMCY-TV logo, 2021-present.png
| image_size = 200px
| branding2 = {{ubl|KMCY; ''WDAY News''|WDAY Xtra (14,3)}}
| digital2 = 14 (UHF)
| virtual2 = 14
| airdate2 = {{start date and age|1985|6|19|p=y}}
| callsign_meaning2 = Magic City (nickname of Minot)
| former_channel_numbers2 = '''Analog:''' 14 (UHF, 1985–2009)
| erp2 = 40 kW
| haat2 = {{convert|217|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id2 = 22127
| coordinates2 = {{nowrap|{{coord|48|3|11|N|101|23|7|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KMCY}}}}
}}

'''KBMY''' (channel 17) is a [[television station]] in [[Bismarck, North Dakota]], United States, affiliated with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[MyNetworkTV]]. Owned by [[Forum Communications Company]], the station maintains a [[news bureau]] and advertising sales office on North 15th Street in Bismarck, and its transmitter is located near [[St. Anthony, North Dakota]].

Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, KBMY is considered a [[semi-satellite]] of [[sister station]] and company [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] [[WDAY-TV]] (channel 6) in [[Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo]], which operates semi-satellite [[WDAZ-TV]] (channel 8) in [[Grand Forks]].<ref name="WDAY-semi-satellites">{{cite web|title=North Dakota TV Stations|work=Upper Midwest Broadcasting| date=May 19, 2019 |url=https://www.northpine.com/blog/north-dakota/tv-stations/|access-date=August 28, 2021}}</ref> Internal operations are housed at WDAY-TV's studios on South 8th Street in Fargo. KBMY clears all network programming as provided through its parent WDAY-TV and [[simulcast]]s WDAY-TV's newscasts, but airs a separate offering of [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] programming; there are also separate commercial inserts and legal [[station identification]]s.

'''KMCY''' (channel 14) in [[Minot]] operates as a semi-satellite of KBMY extending the ABC/MyNetworkTV signal into the northern half of the Bismarck–Minot [[media market|market]]; this station's news bureau and advertising sales office are located on 2nd St SE in Minot, and its transmitter is located near South Prairie. KMCY simulcasts all network and syndicated programming as provided through KBMY but airs separate local commercial inserts and legal identifications.

==History==
KBMY signed on for the first time on March 31, 1985, and KMCY signed on for the first time on June 19, 1985;<ref>{{cite news |title=ABC station to begin service March 31 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bismarck-tribune-abc-station-to-begi/76272344/ |access-date=July 25, 2025 |newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune |date=March 19, 1985 |location=Bismarck, North Dakota |page=2A |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Freise |first=Kathy |title=Red River Dance alum wins 'West Side' role |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-forum-red-river-dance-alum-wins-wes/177410968/ |access-date=July 25, 2025 |newspaper=The Forum |date=June 23, 1985 |location=Fargo, North Dakota |page=E6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> bringing the full ABC schedule to central and western North Dakota and eastern Montana for the first time ever. Before 1985, this area had been one of the last in the United States without full network service. ABC was limited to off-hours clearances on [[KX Television]] ([[KXMC]]/[[KXMD]]/[[KXMB]]/[[KXMA]]) and [[NBC North Dakota|Meyer Television]] ([[KFYR-TV|KFYR]]/[[KQCD]]/[[KMOT]]/[[KUMV]]). From the 1970s onward, some cable subscribers in western North Dakota received the full ABC schedule from [[KULR-TV]] (now [[NBC]]) from [[Billings]], [[KFBB-TV]] from [[Great Falls, Montana|Great Falls]], [[KHME|KOTA-TV]] from [[Rapid City]] or [[KUSA]] in [[Denver]]. The eastern half of the market was served by Fargo's KTHI-TV (now [[KVLY-TV]]) until it swapped affiliations with WDAY/WDAZ in 1983. From 1983 onward, cable systems in Bismarck piped in WDAY-TV, while cable systems in Minot piped in WDAZ.

On paper, western North Dakota had been large enough to support three full network affiliates since at least the late 1960s. However, this region is one of the largest geographic markets in the nation, spilling across large slices of North Dakota, [[Montana]], and [[South Dakota]]. It is so vast that KX Television and Meyer Television both needed four full-power stations to adequately cover it. On paper, the FCC collapsed central and western North Dakota into one giant market in 1957. However, due to Dickinson being on [[Mountain Time]], the market was not fully realized until 1980, when Meyer upgraded its low-powered translator in Dickinson to full-powered KQCD, prompting Dickinson's original station, KDIX-TV (now KXMA) to become a separately-owned satellite of KX Television. Additionally, the only available commercial allocations were on the UHF band; UHF stations have never covered large areas very well. By the early 1980s, cable television—a must for acceptable television in much of this vast market—had gained enough penetration for a network affiliate on the UHF band to be viable.

In the early 2000s, KBMY signed on two low-powered [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translators]] to serve the smaller cities in the market, '''K44HR''' in Williston and '''K42FY''' in Dickinson. Prior to K44HR's inception, cable systems in Williston, Dickinson and the western half of the market piped in Denver's ABC affiliate—KUSA prior to 1995 and [[KMGH-TV]] after 1995. The Dickinson station directly repeated KBMY, while the Williston station repeated KMCY.

[[File:ABC West.png|thumb|left|200px|Former logo as "ABC West".]]
From the 1990s until 2007, KBMY and KMCY were known collectively as "ABC West". That year, the stations changed their monikers in favor of the station identities for their area. From 2002 until 2008, KBMY/KMCY was operated by Prime Cities Broadcasting, owner of western North Dakota's [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate, [[KNDB|KNDX]]/KXND, in a [[local marketing agreement]]. The LMA allowed KBMY/KMCY to share the facilities, staff, and some equipment of KNDX/KXND.

[[Image:Kbmy kmcy logo.png|thumb|left|200px|Former logo used from 2007 to 2016.]]
The LMA with KNDX/KXND ended in 2008, with Forum opting to partner with Reiten Television in KBMY/KMCY's local operations via a joint sales agreement. While some local advertising staffers were based at KXMB-TV in Bismarck and KXMC-TV in Minot, most operations have been consolidated at WDAY-TV's studios in Fargo. 

Under this arrangement, KBMY and KMCY's programming was transported from WDAY-TV's studios to Bismarck via leased microwave relay bandwidth furnished by [[Prairie Public Television|Prairie Public Broadcasting]]'s statewide digital terrestrial microwave network (the only permanent full-time video link from Fargo to Bismarck for television broadcasting). The signal was then sent to KXMB from Prairie Public via [[fiberoptic communication|fiber-optic line]], where it then is exported via a [[studio to transmitter link]] (STL) from KXMB's studios to KBMY and KMCY's transmitters.

As part of the JSA with Reiten, KBMY/KMCY were picked up on the digital subchannels of KX Television satellites KXMA-TV in Dickinson and KXMD-TV in Williston starting in May 2009, and the translators serving Dickinson and Williston were shut down. The JSA was terminated following the acquisition of the KX stations by [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] on February 2, 2016. At the same time, the ABC subchannels of KXMA and KXMD were replaced with [[The CW Plus]].<ref name=tvnc-saletonexstar>{{cite news|title=Nexstar Buys 4 North Dakota Stations|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/88539/nexstar-buys-4-north-dakota-stations|access-date=September 17, 2015|work=TVNewsCheck|date=September 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1720609&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=55684|title=Consummation Notice - Federal Communications Commission}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1717681&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=55684|title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License - Federal Communications Commission}}</ref> Due to the high penetration of cable and satellite in this market, however, few viewers in the western part of the market lost access to ABC programming.

==WDAY X==
WDAY X is a [[digital subchannel]] carried on WDAY 6.3, WDAZ 8.3, KBMY 17.3, and KMCY 14.3, airing as a primary affiliate of [[MyNetworkTV]] on KBMY and KMCY and as an [[independent station]] on WDAY-TV and WDAZ-TV.<ref>{{cite web |title=TitanTV Guide |url=http://titantvguide.titantv.com/apg/ttv.aspx?siteid=77125 |website=titantv.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625230054/http://titantvguide.titantv.com/apg/ttv.aspx?siteid=77125 |archive-date=June 25, 2014}}</ref> This subchannel airs [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] programming, North Dakota and Minnesota high school sports, North Dakota high school state tournaments, [[Minnesota State University Moorhead]] athletics, and select [[North Dakota State University]] athletic events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gobison.com/news/2021/5/13/general-ndsu-athletics-announces-multi-year-television-agreement-with-forum-communications.aspx|title=NDSU Athletics Announces Multi-Year Television Agreement With Forum Communications|website=GoBison.com|date=May 13, 2021|accessdate=May 28, 2024}}</ref> It airs [[Doppler weather radar]] and "Storm Tracker" weather loop with easy listening music during overnights.

WDAY X (as WDAY Xtra) became available in [[High-definition television|HD]] in 2014, and in 2016, MyNetworkTV programming began airing (in prime time), although on KBMY and KMCY only (in Bismarck and Minot respectively) but not on WDAY-TV in Fargo or WDAZ-TV in [[Devils Lake, North Dakota|Devils Lake]]–Grand Forks (the most likely reason being that both of those stations broadcast to a viewing area that is currently being serviced by MyNetworkTV affiliate [[KRDK-TV]] from [[Valley City, North Dakota|Valley City]]–Fargo).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.northpine.com/blog/2021/05/12/mynetworktv-gets-new-fargo-station/|website=Northpine|title=MyNetworkTV Gets New Fargo Station| date=May 13, 2021 }}</ref>

Starting on August 29, 2016, WDAY Xtra and the [[Justice Network]] aired ''WDAY Xtra News'' during weekdays at 9&nbsp;p.m. It is offered on Midco cable channel 594. KBMY and KMCY began carrying this subchannel in 2013.

==News and programming==
{{see|WDAY-TV#News operation and programming}}
When KBMY/KMCY signed on in 1985, the stations originated and aired a local newscast at 10 p.m. with on-location [[Electronic News Gathering|ENG]] and studio news coverage for the Bismarck and Minot areas. With fewer reporters than KX Television and Meyer Television, as well as a smaller footprint (only two transmitters to four apiece for their competitors), KBMY concentrated on in-depth reporting. However, despite Forum's resources and legacy in North Dakota (sister stations WDAY/WDAZ are among the strongest ABC affiliates in the nation), KBMY/KMCY made almost no headway against Meyer Television and KX Television. Forum shelved this first attempt at a local newscast in March 1989 due to concerns about costs; a new reporter was to have moved from California before the shutdown. The nationally syndicated ''[[USA Today: The Television Show]]'' took over the newscast's former timeslot in KBMY/KMCY's schedule.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76561634/|title=Death of a newsroom: Fired and stunned, KBMY employees wonder what went wrong|accessdate=April 26, 2021|work=The Bismarck Tribune|pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76561680/12A]|date=March 12, 1989|first=Jeff|last=Olson}}</ref>

For the next quarter-century, the stations were among the few Big Three affiliates in the nation with no long form newscasts. From the mid-1990s to 2014, the closest thing to a newscast on the stations was ''Good Morning West Dakota,'' a 30-minute morning show produced by Bismarck radio station [[KBMR]]. Even then, there were no local cut-ins during ''[[Good Morning America]].''

Starting in 2014, WDAY-TV began reorienting its newscasts to a statewide focus, and gradually began simulcasting them on KBMY/KMCY. The Sunday 5:30&nbsp;p.m. ([[Central Time Zone|Central Time]]) newscast was the first rolled out to Bismarck, in February 2014.<ref name="tbt-wdaynewsonkbmykmcy">{{cite news|title=Fargo TV station starting statewide broadcast|url=http://bismarcktribune.com/business/local/fargo-tv-station-starting-statewide-broadcast/article_4466c506-98cf-11e3-a53c-0019bb2963f4.html|access-date=February 21, 2014|newspaper=[[The Bismarck Tribune]]|date=February 18, 2014}}</ref> ''First News'' broadcasts during weekday mornings from 5&nbsp;a.m. to 7&nbsp;a.m. (Central Time) debuted in April 2014, and the stations began airing WDAY's 5&nbsp;p.m. (Central Time) weekday newscast in August 2014. Local cut-ins during ''Good Morning America'' are broadcast from WDAY-TV's studios. WDAY's 6 p.m. newscast debuted on September 14, 2015, with the 10 p.m. news starting on December 5, 2016.

The stations do not produce much local content, mostly serving as "pass-throughs" for automated programming from ABC and WDAY/WDAZ.

KBMY and KMCY sign off on Monday mornings at 4:30&nbsp;a.m., returning to the air just minutes later.

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The stations' signals are [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KBMY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KBMY|title=RabbitEars.Info|website=rabbitears.info}}</ref> and KMCY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KMCY|title=RabbitEars.Info|website=rabbitears.info}}</ref>
! scope = "col" colspan="2"|[[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" colspan="2"|Short name
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|Programming
|-
! scope = "col" | {{small|KBMY}}||{{small|KMCY}} || {{small|KBMY}}||{{small|KMCY}}
|-
! scope = "row" | 17.1||14.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan=6|[[16:9]] || KBMYABC || KMCYABC || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 17.2||14.2 
| [[480i]] || style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|CRIME || [[True Crime Network]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 17.3||14.3 
| 720p || style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|XTRA || [[MyNetworkTV]] / WDAY X
|-
! scope = "row" | 17.4||14.4 
| rowspan=3|480i || style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|ION || [[Ion Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 17.5||14.5 
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|Defy || [[Ion Plus]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 17.6||14.6 
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|CourtTV || [[Court TV]]
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KBMY shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 17, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station "[[flash-cut]]" its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 17.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2009/02/07/news/local/175963.txt |title=News |access-date=February 8, 2009 |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724085251/http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2009/02/07/news/local/175963.txt |url-status=dead }}</ref>

KMCY shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 14, on February 10, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 14.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bismarck TV}}
{{TV Stations North Dakota}}
{{Forum Communications}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kbmy}}
[[Category:1985 establishments in North Dakota]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:Forum Communications Company]]
[[Category:Ion Plus affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]
[[Category:MyNetworkTV affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1985]]
[[Category:Television stations in Bismarck, North Dakota|BMY]]
[[Category:True Crime Network affiliates]]