 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2016) |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadband, cloud services provider |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Founder | Alfred B. Miller and Elmer Crockett |
| Successor | Gray Television (television assets only) Gannett (newspaper assets only) |
Key people | Todd F. Schurz (President and CEO) |
| Website | www |
Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based broadband media group and cloud services provider. It owned newspapers.
The company was founded in 1872 by Alfred B. Miller and Elmer Crockett with the creation of the South Bend Tribune. Over the years the company grew through the acquisition of other newspapers, media outlets, radio and television stations, digital companies, broadband operations and cloud services provider. The expanding company was renamed Schurz Communications Inc. in 1976, when the newspapers division and the TV/broadcast division were split into separate entities. [1]
Schurz Communications announced on September 14, 2015 that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations, including the Rushmore Media Company stations, to Gray Television for $442.5 million. [2] [3] [4] Gray subsequently announced on October 1 that it would sell the KOTA-TV license to Legacy Broadcasting for $1, a deal that also includes the license for satellite station KHSD-TV and the station's subchannel affiliations with MeTV and This TV; [5] [6] [7] a month later, on November 2, Gray announced that HomeSlice Media Group would acquire the Rushmore Media Company radio stations for $2.2 million, reuniting them with KBHB and KKLS, which Schurz had sold to HomeSlice in 2014 as part of its acquisition of KOTA-TV. [8] [9] [10] Following the completion of these sales, Gray will retain KOTA-TV's ABC affiliation and transfer it to its existing television station in Rapid City, KEVN-TV; [6] it will also retain KOTA-TV satellite stations KDUH-TV and KSGW-TV and convert them to satellites of KNOP-TV in North Platte, Nebraska and KCWY-DT in Casper, Wyoming (both NBC affiliates), respectively. [11]
In September 2016, The American News and Farm Forum, owned by Schurz, acquired The Public Opinion newspaper in Watertown, South Dakota from United Communications. [12]
In February 2018, the company acquired the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Online Tech. The compliant hybrid cloud provider serves nearly 500 clients across the Midwest with its network of seven data centers and full suite of hybrid cloud services. [13] In December of that year, Online Tech acquired the assets and products of IT provider Neverfail. The acquisition includes Neverfail’s five cloud nodes and assets in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. [14]
In January 2019, Schurz sold its publishing division and all its newspapers to GateHouse Media for $30 million. This included 20 regional papers and several special publications in Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. GateHouse later bought the Gannett newspaper chain, and the expanded network of newspapers adopted the Gannett name. [15] [16]
In March 2019 Schurz Communications bought the city-owned local broadband company Burlington Telecom of Burlington, Vermont for a total of $30.8 million. [17]
Rushmore Media Company, Inc. was a small radio broadcasting subsidiary, which owned and operated four radio stations and one television station in the Black Hills region of western South Dakota. The main offices and stations' studios are located at 660 Flormann St., Rapid City, South Dakota 57701.
Rushmore Media Company's group consisted of:
| AM Station | FM Station |
|---|
| City of license / Market | Station | Years owned | Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette, IN | WASK 1450 | 1991–2016 | Owned by Neuhoff Communications |
| WASK-FM 98.7 | 1995–2016 | Owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| WKHY 93.5 | 2005–2016 | Owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| WKOA 105.3 | 1991–2016 | Owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| WXXB 102.9 | 2005–2016 | Owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| South Bend, IN | WSBT 960 | 1922–2016 | Owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting |
| WNSN 101.5 | 1962–2016 | Owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting | |
| WZOC 94.3 | 2012–2016 [lower-alpha 1] | Owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting | |
| Benton Harbor, MI | WHFB-FM 99.9 | 2012–2016 [lower-alpha 1] | WQLQ, owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting |
| Rapid City, SD | KKLS 920 | 2006–2014 | Owned by HomeSlice Media Group |
| KKMK 93.9 | 2006–2016 | Owned by HomeSlice Media Group | |
| KOUT 98.7 | 2006–2016 | Owned by HomeSlice Media Group | |
| KFXS 100.3 | 2006–2016 | Owned by HomeSlice Media Group | |
| Sturgis, SD | KBHB 810 | 2006–2014 | Owned by HomeSlice Media Group |
| KRCS 93.1 | 2006–2016 | Owned by HomeSlice Media Group |
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, AK | KTUU-TV | 2 | 2008–2016 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Augusta, GA | WAGT | 26 | 1980–2016 [lower-alpha 1] | Defunct, license cancelled in 2017 [lower-alpha 2] |
| South Bend, IN | WSBT-TV ** | 22 | 1952–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Hutchinson–Wichita, KS | KWCH-DT | 12 | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| KSCW-DT | 33 | 2007–2016 | The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television | |
| KDCU-DT | 31 | [lower-alpha 3] | Univision affiliate owned by Entravision Communications | |
| Ensign, KS | KBSD-DT [upper-alpha 1] | 6 | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Goodland, KS | KBSL-DT [upper-alpha 1] | 10 | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Hays, KS | KBSH-DT [upper-alpha 1] | 7 | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Springfield, MO | KYTV | 3 | 1987–2016 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| K15CZ-D | 15 [lower-alpha 4] | 2002–2016 | ABC affiliate KSPR-LD, owned by Gray Television | |
| KSPR/KGHZ | 33 [lower-alpha 4] | 2016–2017 [lower-alpha 5] | Defunct, license cancelled in 2017 | |
| Rapid City, SD | KOTA-TV | 3 | 2014–2016 | MeTV affiliate, KHME, owned by Gray Television [lower-alpha 6] |
| Lead, SD | KHSD-TV [upper-alpha 2] | 11 | 2014–2016 | MeTV affiliate, KQME, owned by Gray Television [lower-alpha 7] |
| Scottsbluff, NE | KDUH-TV [upper-alpha 2] | 4 | 2014–2016 | NBC affiliate KNEP in Sidney, Nebraska, owned by Gray Television [upper-alpha 3] |
| Sheridan, WY | KSGW-TV [upper-alpha 2] | 12 | 2014–2016 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Roanoke–Lynchburg, VA | WDBJ | 7 | 1969–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
WNDU-TV is a television station in South Bend, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Elkhart-licensed Heroes & Icons affiliate WSJV. Both stations share studios on the campus of WNDU-TV's founding owner the University of Notre Dame along State Road 933 on South Bend's north side, while WNDU-TV's transmitter is located southeast of the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds on the city's south side.
KHME is a television station in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the classic television network MeTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside ABC affiliate KOTA-TV and low-power Fox affiliate KEVN-LD. The stations share studios on Skyline Drive in Rapid City, where KHME's transmitter is also located.
KOTA-TV is a television station in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MeTV affiliate KHME and low-power Fox affiliate KEVN-LD. The stations share studios on Skyline Drive in Rapid City, where KOTA-TV's transmitter is also located.
KNOP-TV is a television station in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside two low-power stations: CBS affiliate KNPL-LD and Class A Fox affiliate KIIT-CD. The three stations share studios on South Dewey Street in downtown North Platte; master control and some internal operations are based at the facilities of sister station KOLN on North 40th Street in Lincoln. KNOP-TV's transmitter is located at the site of its former studio on US Route 83 north of North Platte.
KBSD-DT is a television station licensed to Ensign, Kansas, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains a news bureau and advertising sales office in Dodge City, and its transmitter is located east of K-23 in rural northwestern Gray County.
KBSL-DT is a television station licensed to Goodland, Kansas, United States, serving northwestern Kansas as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains a news bureau and advertising sales office on West 31st Street in southwestern Goodland, and its transmitter is located east of K-27 in rural northeastern Sherman County.
KSPR-LD is a low-power television station in Springfield, Missouri, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KYTV and Branson-licensed CW affiliate KYCW-LD ; it is also sister to Branson-licensed tourist information–formatted station K17DL-D, channel 17. KSPR-LD, KYTV and KYCW-LD share studios on West Sunshine Street in Springfield, while KSPR-LD's transmitter is located on Highway FF north of Fordland.
KKMK is a radio station in Rapid City, South Dakota, airing a hot adult contemporary format.
WNSN is a commercial FM radio station in South Bend, Indiana. It is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting and airs an adult contemporary radio format known as Sunny 101.5. WNSN is usually the market's top rated radio station according to the Nielsen ratings. Sunny 101.5 carries Delilah's syndicated love songs show in the evening from Premiere Networks. Most weekends it features 1980s hits. From mid-November to Dec. 26, WNSN switches to all Christmas music.
United Communications Corporation (UCC) was a privately owned operator of three television stations in the U.S. states of Minnesota and New York. The company was the publisher of the Kenosha News of Kenosha, Wisconsin and two other daily newspapers.
WQLQ is a radio station licensed to Benton Harbor, Michigan targeting the South Bend, Indiana market. WQLQ is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. Its signal is regularly heard as far as Chicago, Illinois, and as far east as Battle Creek, Michigan
KRCS is a radio station that airs a Top 40 (CHR) format in the Rapid City and the Black Hills area. The station is owned by HomeSlice Media Group, LLC, and is licensed to Sturgis, South Dakota.
KBHB is a radio station broadcasting a farm/news related format. Licensed to Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, it serves the Rapid City area. The station is currently owned by HomeSlice Media Group and features programming from ABC Radio.
KKLS is a radio station licensed to serve Rapid City, South Dakota. The station is owned by HomeSlice Media Group.
KFXS is a radio station licensed to serve Rapid City, South Dakota. The station is owned by HomeSlice Media Group, LLC. It airs a rock music format heavy on 80s and 90s classic rock. It competes with K-SKY and X-Rock next door at 95.1 and 101.1.
KOUT is a radio station licensed to serve Rapid City, South Dakota. The station is owned by HomeSlice Media Group, LLC. It airs a country music format.
The HomeSlice Group, is an American media and entertainment conglomerate based in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The HomeSlice Group is the worldwide exclusive licensing agent of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and artist management company for Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers, Judd Hoos, and others. The firm owns six radio stations in the Rapid City, South Dakota DMA and entered into a binding asset purchase agreement on October 30, 2015 to acquire all of the radio station assets of Rushmore Media Company, a subsidiary of Schurz Communications. HomeSlice was formed in 1994 and incorporated in 1995. The company is rooted in the live entertainment business and now produces around 500 concerts a year. HomeSlice also operates an advertising agency and has been involved in financial services marketing for nearly 20 years.
KEVN-LD is a low-power television station in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside ABC affiliate KOTA-TV and MeTV affiliate KHME. The stations share studios on Skyline Drive in Rapid City, where KEVN-LD's transmitter is also located.
KNEP is a television station in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, United States, serving the Nebraska Panhandle as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Cheyenne, Wyoming–licensed dual CBS/CW+ affiliate KGWN-TV. KNEP's studios are located on 1st Avenue in Scottsbluff, and its transmitter is located in Angora, Nebraska.
