KPBI, KFTA Fight For Fox Network

Equity Broadcasting Inc. of Little Rock filed an objection to the Federal Communications Commission to stop a proposed switch of its Fox Network affiliation from Equity-owned KPBI, Channel 46, to KFTA, Channel 24, both in Fort Smith.

In April, Nexstar Broadcasting Inc. of Irving, Texas, sold KFTA to Mission Broadcasting Inc. of Brecksville, Ohio, which wants to air Fox programming on the station.

Switching to Mission would allow Fox to reach more people, have a high-definition broadcast and implement a local newscast, said Scott Grogin, vice president of corporate communications for Fox.

Equity operates eight small low-powered stations on KPBI from Fort Smith to Garfield to Sallisaw, Okla., said Greg Fess, Equity’s chief operating officer. But in Equity’s contract with Fox, it states that if Fox wants to switch to a high-power station, it must give Equity a 90-day notice to comply. If not, then Fox can find another station that can.

Enter KFTA.

But Equity’s complaint to the FCC is that Mission and Nexstar jointly buy and sell stations, working as a partnership to operate them, Fess said.

Equity’s objection is that the two companies are acting as one company through that partnership.

A broadcasting company can’t have more than one affiliation in a coverage area. So when Nexstar, which owns NBC affiliate KNWA, Channel 51, sold KFTA to Mission, it freed up KFTA to have a different affiliation.

Fess said the objection could delay the switch to as late as next year, or the switch could happen “as early as tomorrow.” Or the FCC could put the kibosh on the whole deal.

Equity Broadcasting Has Backup Plan

Greg Fess said if Equity Broadcasting’s KPBI loses its Fox affiliation, it will switch to MyNetworkTV, a new primetime broadcasting company set to launch Sept. 5 by Fox’s parent, News Corp. of New York.

The change would affect only its primetime lineup from 7 to 9 p.m., Fess said. During primetime, the station could change over to MyNetworkTV, featuring miniseries-type shows called “telenovelas” that have become popular overseas.

But losing Fox programming would mean losing Fox Sports, “which will hurt,” he said. However, the station will keep baseball broadcasts of the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers.

Equity was acquired earlier this year by Coconut Palm Acquisition Corp., of Boca Raton, Fla., in a deal valued at $267.4 million.

Equity also owns the Fort Smith and Fayetteville WB, UPN and Univision affiliates (KWFT, KFDF and KXUN, respectively).The company operates 132 television stations throughout the country and broadcasts in 33 markets. Equity is also a leading operator of Spanish-language stations in the country. It is the second largest affiliate group of Univision Communications Inc.