KDLT-TV

On June 12, 1960, KDLT started broadcasting from Mitchell, South Dakota as KORN-TV on channel 5, an NBC affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. The station's original call letters were intended to honor the famous Mitchell Corn Palace. It was owned by Mitchell Broadcasting Associates along with KORN radio. Only a month later, KSOO-TV (now KSFY-TV) signed on. From then until 1969, KSOO-TV and KORN-TV operated as a regional network, although separately owned. KSOO-TV served the eastern portion of the market, while KORN-TV served the western portion. But in April 1969, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled against this combination, suggesting that they operate as competitors in the Sioux Falls–Mitchell market. So on May 12 of that year, KORN-TV affiliated with ABC and moved its tower closer to Sioux Falls, although KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa was well received in Sioux Falls and identified at that time as Siouxland ABC.

Mitchell Broadcasting sold the station to Buford Television of Tyler, Texas in 1972. The new owners changed the calls the next year to KXON-TV as part of the split from the KORN radio stations.[2] Buford sold the station to Gillett Broadcasting in 1978. In 1982, KXON changed its call letters to KDLT when it was purchased by Dakotaland Broadcasting.[1] The next year, KDLT and KSFY switched affiliations, with KSFY getting ABC and KDLT returning to NBC. At the time of the switch, ABC was the highest-rated network in the nation with NBC in third. KSFY had three full-power transmitters to KDLT's one, making it logical for the more popular network to align with a station with better coverage. The next year, NBC and ABC's ratings flip-flopped, leaving KDLT once again affiliated with the more popular network. Dakotaland Broadcasting eventually sold KDLT to Heritage Broadcasting in 1985. Heritage Broadcasting became Heritage Media in 1987 when it merged with Rollins Telecasting. That same year, rule changes allowed KDLT to move most of its operations to a studio on South Westport Avenue in Sioux Falls.[3]

Heritage Media sold KDLT to Red River Broadcasting in 1994. Red River embarked on a signal upgrade campaign, which would also allow KDLT to provide an adequate digital signal to Sioux Falls. The channel 5 transmitter was located too far away from Sioux Falls for a digital signal to cover 80 percent of the analog footprint, as required by FCC rules. In 1989, KDLT had purchased a translator on channel 46 in Sioux Falls.[4] On September 8, 1998, this was replaced with a new full-power license in Sioux Falls—which retained the KDLT call letters—broadcasting from a new tower in Rowena, where most of the other Sioux Falls stations have their towers. At the same time, the channel 5 tower was moved further away from Sioux Falls, and channel 5's call letters were changed to KDLV.[5] The changes cost $8 million.[6]

Due to the way the changeover was structured legally, KDLV operates under KDLT's old license on channel 5.[7] KDLT's current facility, on channel 46 in Sioux Falls, is officially a new license; its construction permit was issued on April 1, 1997 under the call letters KDLV; the two stations swapped callsigns on September 8, 1998.[8]

On May 1, 2018, Gray Television announced its purchase of KDLT-TV for $32.5 million. The deal would create a duopoly with KSFY-TV.[9] The combined operation would be based at KSFY's studios on Courthouse Square in Sioux Falls; in its announcement of the KDLT purchase, Gray noted that the KSFY studio has enough space to house a second station's news and sales department.[10] Gray needed to obtain a waiver in order to complete the deal, since the FCC normally does not allow one person to own two of the four highest-rated stations in a market. However, in its filing requesting such a waiver, Gray argued that KDLT would be in a stronger position to compete in the market if its resources were combined with those of KSFY. Gray contended that a KSFY/KDLT duopoly would fulfill "a dire need for an effective competitor" in the Sioux Falls market, where CBS affiliate KELO-TV has been the far-and-away leader for as long as records have been kept.[11] The sale was approved by the FCC on September 24, 2019,[12] and was completed the following day.[13][14] On January 13, 2020, KDLT moved its operations to KSFY's studios on Courthouse Square.

On November 2, 2020, Gray purchased the non-license assets of KTTW (channel 7) from Independent Communications, Inc.; Fox programming moved to KDLT on digital subchannel 46.2. Cozi TV, which was also carried on KTTW, moved to subchannel 46.4.[15][16] This resulted in all of the network affiliations in eastern South Dakota being controlled by just two companies, Gray and KELO-TV owner Nexstar Media Group.

The stations' digital signals are multiplexed:

KDLT-TV clears the entire NBC network schedule. It airs an alternate live feed of NBC Nightly News at 6 p.m. due to the station's 5:30 p.m. newscast. Syndicated programming currently broadcast on KDLT-TV includes The Doctors, Jeopardy!, Rachael Ray, Hot Bench and Judge Judy.

KDLT presently broadcasts 19½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 3½ hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). With the purchase of this station, KDLT and KSFY merged their news operations on January 13, 2020, rebranding as Dakota News Now.

Historically, KXON/KDLT had been a distant third in the Sioux Falls news ratings. In 1981, KXON had the market's smallest news staff (nine personnel), the least equipment, and its lowest ratings, attributed to its smaller broadcast coverage footprint than its competitors (it had only one full-power transmitter while both KELO and KSFY had three) and its stigma of being a Mitchell station.[22]

Besides KDLV, the programming of KDLT is also rebroadcast on the following translator stations:

The station's television transmitter antenna replacement was featured on the National Geographic Channel television show World's Toughest Fixes.[23]

• Official website
• FCC TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files for KDLT
• FCC TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files for KDLV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KDLT-TV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KDLV-TV