MINNEAPOLIS/SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA - (November 8, 1999) - KSTP-TV Vice President and General Manager Ed Piette will flip the switch for digital television (DTV), making Channel 5 the first commercial television station in Minnesota to broadcast in high definition digital format. KSTP-TV will initially broadcast DTV to the Twin Cities metro area on Channel 50 and, later, to Channel 5's outstate coverage area via the station's translator system.

The digital Dielectric Omni antenna is installed on KSTP-TV's original tower located at 3415 University Avenue (straddling the city line of Minneapolis and Saint Paul). The solid state DTV transmitter is provided by Continental Electronics. KSTP-TV will transmit digital programming from this location until digital transmission at "Telefarm" is fully operational. Telefarm, in Shoreview, Minnesota, is the television transmission cooperative of KSTP-TV, WCCO-TV and KARE-TV. Inclement weather has caused construction delays at Telefarm, pushing back its original November 1st launch date for digital transmission to as late as September 2000.

As a result, KSTP-TV applied for and was granted by the FCC a temporary permit to transmit a digital signal from a second dedicated location: KSTP-TV's original television tower. Even after Telefarm is up and running, KSTP-TV will maintain the University Avenue operation as a back-up site.

Featured programs to look for in the new high definition digital format include:
· ABC Monday Night Football, starting November 8th when the Minnesota Vikings take on the Dallas Cowboys;
· the award-winning movie "Forrest Gump" on Thursday, November 25th;
· The Wonderful World of Disney: "The Santa Clause" airing Sunday, November 28th;
· ABC Saturday Night Move: "Mr. Holland's Opus" on Saturday, December 11th;
· and The Wonderful World of Disney: "George of the Jungle," Sunday, January 9th.

While the November 8th digital launch makes KSTP-TV the first commercial television station to broadcast in high definition, it's also interesting to note that the new digital antenna is installed on the original television broadcast tower of the first commercial station in the upper midwest. KSTP-TV, owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., went on the air from this tower in April of 1948 and remains the only locally-owned, locally-operated television news station in the Twin Cities.

Hubbard Broadcasting owns and operates five television stations in Minnesota including KSTP-TV; KSAX-TV, Alexandria; KRWF-TV, Redwood Falls; WDIO-TV, Duluth; and WIRT-TV, Hibbing. The company also owns WHEC-TV, Rochester, New York and WNYT-TV, Albany, New York and three stations in New Mexico: KOB-TV, Albuquerque; KOBF-TV, Farmington; and KOBR-TV in Roswell. Hubbard Broadcasting recently signed a purchase agreement to buy KVBM-TV, also located in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area. The purchase of KVBM is pending approval under the FCC's new duopoly rules.