City Paragould, Arkansas Founded October 2, 2012 | Channels Digital: 26 (UHF/PSIP) | |
Subchannels 26.1 MyNetworkTV/AMGTV
26.2 GetTV
26.3 Comet
26.4 Buzzr
26.5 Sonlife Broadcasting Network
26.6 QVC
26.7 Tuff TV Affiliations MyNetworkTV/AMGTV
GetTV (DT2)
Comet (DT3)
Buzzr (DT4) Owner DTV America
(DTV America Corporation) | ||
KPMF-LD is a low-powered digital television station that is licensed to Paragould, Arkansas, and slated to serve the Jonesboro media market. The station is owned by DTV America Corporation. The station’s digital signal is broadcast on UHF channel 26. Although the city of license is Paragould, the station’s transmitter is located in West Memphis, Arkansas, which makes the station really serve the Memphis, Tennessee area.
History
Although granted a construction permit in 2012 by the Federal Communications Commission, the station was still silent. The original callsign was K26MF-D from 2012 until January 2016, when the callsign was changed to the current KPMF-LD.
While the first three subchannels remain dark, in May 2016, KPMF signed on virtual channel 26.4 as an affiliate of The Country Network (formerly Zuus Country). The first three subchannels could go on the air later as affiliates of other multi-cast digital networks such as Buzzr, Bounce TV or Doctor Television Channel. Either KPMF or sister station K30MF-D could take Antenna TV and MyNetworkTV affiliations for the Jonesboro market. DTV America owned one other construction permit for K38OR-D, which is rumored to become an over-the-air relaunch of “KJOS”, the area’s cable-exclusive affiliate of The CW via The CW Plus.
In late June 2016, the station's first three subchannels went on the air as affiliates of Katz Broadcasting-operated Escape and Laff on the first two subchannels. Also, Sony Pictures Television's GetTV movie network and FremantleMedia-owned Buzzr came on the air on channels 26.3 and 26.4, respectively. Buzzr replaced The Country Network. Channels 26.5 and 26.6 also went on the air as Sonlife Broadcasting Network and QVC affiliates. Also in Summer 2016, KPMF's transmitter was relocated to northern Shelby County, Tennessee near the Brunswick area north of Memphis.
Escape and Laff were replaced by different networks in October 2016. GetTV was moved up to KPMF-LD2, and Comet, which is a joint venture between the MGM studio and Sinclair Broadcast Group was launched onto the LD3 subchannel, with Buzzr remaining on the LD4 subchannel. The main subchannel became a MyNetworkTV affiliate, with programming from the Doctor Television Channel being broadcast outside of MyNetworkTV’s programming schedule. If the station launched on a transmitter within the home market of its city of license, KPMF would have been the Jonesboro, Arkansas market’s first-ever MyNetworkTV affiliate. As it was, Memphis had, for a while, had access to a second MyNetworkTV affiliate. WLMT, The CW affiliate in Memphis, used to run MyNetworkTV programming on its second subchannel along with almost all of the MeTV programming schedule; however, MyNetworkTV programming on that sub-channel was eventually dropped.
In January 2017, KPMF's DrTV affiliation on the main subchannel was replaced with AMGTV. However, MyNetworkTV remains on the main channel on weeknights.