Fox’s My Network TV signed nine more affiliates Tuesday, bringing its clearance to 65% of the country and 105 markets.
The newest stations include four Pappas Telecasting-owned affiliates: KDMI-DT Des Moines; KKAZ-KPTM-DT Omaha; KDBC-DT/El Paso, Texas; and KPTH-DT/Sioux City. All four Pappas-owned affiliates will be carried on digital broadcast channels.
Other new affiliates include: WZDX/Huntsville-Decatur, Ala., owned by Huntsville Television Acquisition Corp; WFXI/Greenville, N.C., owned by Piedmont Television; KZOU Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo., a JW Broadcasting station; KIDZ/Abilene-Sweetwater, Texas, owned by Sage Broadcasting Corp; and KGJT Grand Junction-Montrose, Colo., owned by Hoak Media.
“With well over half of the U.S. cleared, My Network TV is rounding out its national clearance in key markets with such important group owners as Pappas and the nine new affiliates we’re announcing today,” Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy said in a statement.
Harry J. Pappas, Chairman and CEO of Pappas Telecasting Companies, said in a statement, “Seventeen years ago, we took a gamble on a fledgling enterprise, the Fox Network. We affiliated the three TV stations we then owned with Fox, despite the fact that many pundits said a fourth network couldn’t possibly succeed. Were they ever wrong! Our relationship with Fox has been mutually beneficial.
“Now, we are affiliating four of our TV stations with FOX’s newest enterprise, My Network TV. When you consider Rupert Murdoch’s consistent track record of success, it’s easy to understand why we’re betting on News Corp.again with My Network TV."
