KMCT-TV

KMCT-TV, virtual channel 39 (UHF digital channel 22), is a religious independent television station licensed to West Monroe, Louisiana, United States. The station is owned by Carolina Christian Broadcasting through subsidiary KMCT Holdings, LLC. KMCT-TV's studios and transmitter are located on Parkwood Drive in West Monroe.

KMCT-TV
West Monroe/Monroe, Louisiana
United States
CityWest Monroe, Louisiana
ChannelsDigital: 22 (UHF)
Virtual: 39 (PSIP)
SloganMonroe's Christian Television
Programming
Affiliations39.1: Religious Independent (2005–2013, 2016–present), The Walk TV (secondary)
39.2: Ion Television
39.3: Court TV
39.4: SonLife
39.5: TheGrio TV
39.6: QVC Over Air
39.7: HSN
39.8: True Crime Network
Ownership
OwnerCarolina Christian Broadcasting
(KMCT Holdings, LLC)
History
First air date
April 7, 1986 (1986-04-07)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
39 (UHF, 1986–2009)
Digital:
38 (UHF, 2009–2018)
Virtual:
38 (PSIP, 2017–2018)
Pax TV (1998–2005)
MyNetworkTV (2013–2016)
DT5:
Quest (until 2020)
Call sign meaning
Monroe
Christian
Television
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID38584
ERP25 kW
HAAT92 m (302 ft)
Transmitter coordinates32°30′21.2″N 92°8′55.6″W
Translator(s)23 KLMB-CD El Dorado, AR
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitekmct.tv

History

KMCT was established by Rev. Jimmy Thompson and his company Carolina Christian Broadcasting in 1983. Two weeks after the station signed on, Rev. Charles Reed join the staff and assumed operations via his company, Lamb Broadcasting, when Thompson incurred financial troubles upon signing on a station in Oregon in 1989. In 1993, Reed purchased the station outright.[1] The station moved to its current location on Parkwood Drive in 1991. It was an affiliate of Pax TV (now Ion Television) from the network's inception in 1998 until 2005. The station was bought by First Assembly of God of West Monroe in November 2009 when it became The Voice Network. In 2013, KMCT-TV became a MyNetworkTV affiliate, with religious programming moved to DT2.[2]

In October 2014, the station's antenna collapsed during severe weather, knocking KMCT programming off the air and from cable. By March 2015, the station was back on Comcast cable, and in September 2015, the station relaunched with a low power signal. In the interim, religious programming from KMCT aired on a subchannel of its former sister station KWMS-LP. In late August 2016, KMCT began operating at full power, but eventually decided to drop all secular programming and become a religious independent station, with Sonlife remaining on the second subchannel.[3] MyNetworkTV went unseen in the market for several months until Gray Television picked it up in late 2017 for their KNOE-DT3 subchannel (which is an affiliate of The CW Plus), airing the service's programming from 1:30 to 3:30 a.m., overlaying default network-fed overnight paid programming from The CW Plus.[4] In 2018, KMCT added five subchannels: Ion Television to channel 39.2 (displacing Sonlife to 39.5), QVC Over the Air to channel 39.3, HSN to channel 39.4, Quest to channel 39.6, and Justice Network to channel 39.7. The station also has a secondary affiliation with The Walk TV, airing programming from that network overnight.

On May 1, 2018, it was announced that Carolina Christian Broadcasting would reacquire KMCT-TV for $600,000.[5] CCB would operate the station under a time brokerage agreement[6] prior to the sale's closing on June 19, 2019.[7]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[8]
39.11080i16:9KMCT-HDMain KMCT-TV programming
39.2480iIONIon
39.3COURTCourt TV
39.4SBNSonLife Broadcasting Network
39.5LIGHTTheGrio TV
39.6QVCQVC Over Air
39.7HSNHSN
39.8JUSTICETrue Crime Network

Analog-to-digital conversion

KMCT-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 39, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 38.[9] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 39.

Newscasts

From 2001 until 2005, KMCT aired rebroadcasts of NBC affiliate KTVE's newscasts at 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. as part of an agreement with NBC and Pax.

Prior broadcast facility uses

The building and tower on Parkwood Drive in West Monroe used by KMCT-TV is the former facility of KLAA channel 14 (now Fox affiliate KARD-TV). KLAA signed on August 6, 1974,[10] and moved to new facilities in 1983. Prior to KLAA, the facility was used by KYAY channel 39 from KYAY's sign-on August 9, 1967 until going off the air August 16, 1971.[11]

References
  1. "Lamb Broadcasting CEO Charles Reed dies at 66," The News-Star, Monroe, LA, Pages 3A & 10A, February 18, 2004
  2. KMCT My39
  3. "The Voice Network Programming". thevoicenetwork.tv. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. TitanTV Query for KNOE
  5. "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  6. "KMCT TBA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 30, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  7. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 19, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  8. RabbitEars TV Query for KMCT
  9. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  10. "Broadcasting Yearbook", 1979 edition, Page B-104 Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Broadcasting Yearbook", 1974 edition, Page A-26
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