The Hubbard Broadcasting-owned ABC affiliate said Tuesday it will substantially reduce its operations in central Minnesota effective immediately.
DMA 15
KSAX Alexandria Drops News, Lays Off 17
ALEXANDRIA, Minn.(AP) — Alexandria television station KSAX has eliminated its local newscast in a cost-cutting move, laying off 17 employees.
The station said Tuesday it will substantially reduce its operations in central Minnesota effective immediately. Viewers will continue to receive ABC network and local programming from KSAX’s sister station, Twin Cities-based KSTP-TV.
But KSAX will discontinue its regularly scheduled local news cut-ins. The last newscast was Monday night.
KSAX station manager Ed Smith said the decision “came down to economics.” Smith cited the rising costs of technology, along with increased competition in viewing choices.
KSAX has been in operation for 25 years. The station is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. of St. Paul and will maintain its studio in Alexandria.
The laid-off employees will receive severance pay and benefits as well as outplacement assistance.
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Comments (1)
Hope Yen and Charles Babington says:
June 27, 2012 at 8:59 am
When KSAX began full local news many years ago I wondered HOW this could work! Long time local TV Blowtorch
KCMT and its satelliter up in Walker, KNMT literally ‘owned’ that former DMA. Then WCCO (CBS) bought KCMT and soon moved to completely close its studios and make it a WCCO satellite, and collapsing the Alexandria DMA into Minneapolis-St. Paul. Coveragewise, one would think local viewers might prefer a local newscast as KSAX provided, but old, rural viewing habits are difficult to change, and those TV tuners remained glued to Channel 7 (KCMT) and the audience stayed with de facto WCCO and its ocasional regional stories from Alexandria rather than migrate to KSAX. Its a story that has happened umpteen times across the country of the “little UHF” up against the “big powerful VHF”, even though in the digital era there is almost no distinction between a V and a U, if both plants are well engineered. The distinction remains in the viewers mind.