WHO Lets Des Moines Rival Broadcast on Digital Channel

KDSM-TV, the Fox affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa, is back on the air thanks to rival station WHO-TV, which is letting KDSM broadcast on its digital channels.

A line to KDSM’s transmitter failed on May 17 and efforts to repair the transmission line have been delayed.

In order to get a high-definition picture, KDSM is displacing both Antenna TV, which had been on digital channel 13.3 and This TV, which had been on 13.4. Both networks will be restored when KDSM returns to channel 17.

Financial terms were not disclosed. WHO is owned by Tribune Media. KDSM is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which failed in its attempt to buy Tribune last year.

Being off the air also knocked KDSM off DirecTV and Dish. Now, through WHO’s signal, the station’s programming is again available via satellite. KDSM continued to program the station and Mediacom cable TV subscribers were able to watch because the station is connected to the cable company via a separate fiber connection.

The arrangement lets central Iowans watch the Fox affiliate’s programming, including a Cubs game Thursday and a Cardinals game Saturday.

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.