KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is a Fox owned-and-operated television station, licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. KMSP-TV is owned by the Fox Television Stations division of 21st Century Fox, and operates as part of a television duopoly with WFTC (channel 29), the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area's MyNetworkTV station. The two stations share studios located on Viking Drive in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and KMSP's transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota.
The station is also carried in Canada on Shaw Cable's Thunder Bay, Ontario system and on Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) in the province of Manitoba.
History
Early history
The station grew out of an AM station, KEYD (1440 AM, now KYCR), with which it was co-owned until mid-1956. When the FCC opened up bidding for the channel 9 construction permit, WLOL and WDGY (now KFAN) also expressed interest. However, they withdrew their applications at the last minute, assuring that the new station would go to KEYD and its owner, Family Broadcasting. KEYD-TV began broadcasting on January 9, 1955 and was affiliated with the DuMont Television Network. During this time, Harry Reasoner, a graduate of Minneapolis West High School and the University of Minnesota, was hired as the station's first news anchor and news director. However, DuMont shut down in late 1955, leaving the station as an independent outlet; when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased a minority (25 percent) but controlling stake in the station in 1956, the news department was shut down and Reasoner was hired by CBS. Reasoner became a host for CBS's 60 Minutes when it launched in 1968.