How a religious station became the Fox affiliate for the Twin Cities
In short: In 1982, channel 29 launched as a family-friendly religious broadcaster. Decades later, it would be a major Fox affiliate. This is the story of how shifting ownership and fierce sports rights battles transformed a struggling Christian ministry into a powerhouse of local television.
The station's journey began on October 6, 1982, as WFBT-TV. Originally intended as a family-friendly independent station with Christian ministry programming, it struggled to find an audience. The combination of religious content and classic television shows confused viewers, and a 1983 telethon fell $80,000 short of its goal. Even its highest ratings came from unexpected sources: Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey games.
The station's trajectory changed through a series of high-stakes acquisitions. In December 1983, the Beverly Hills Hotel Corporation purchased WFBT-TV for $12 million, rebranding it as KITN-TV in May 1984. This new era focused on syndicated programming and aggressive sports rights, including the Minnesota North Stars and Minnesota Timberwolves. By 1985, Nationwide Communications had acquired the station for $24 million, marketing it as "The KITN That Roars."
A pivotal shift occurred in 1988 when KITN-TV became the Fox affiliate for the Twin Cities. This followed a fallout between Fox and KMSP-TV, which had dropped the network's Saturday night lineup. By 1994, under Clear Channel Television ownership, the station adopted the call sign WFTC to reflect its new identity as "Fox Twin Cities." This transformation from a religious broadcaster to a major network affiliate illustrates the volatile nature of local media markets and the power of sports and network affiliations.
The station's identity continued to evolve through the late 20th and early 21st centuries. After being acquired by Clear Channel in 1993, WFTC became the company's highest-billing station in its largest market by 2001. Following the merger of UPN and The WB into The CW in 2006, WFTC became a MyNetworkTV affiliate, eventually rebranding as Fox 9+ in 2017.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: WFTC
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