The Marks Group is a Maryland-based operator of radio and television stations in small markets in the United States. Founded by Stephen A. Marks (1950–2022), the company holds 14 radio stations and five television properties.

History

Marks entered the broadcast ownership business in 1983 when he acquired 51 percent of Thunder Bay Broadcasting, which owned

WBKB-TV WBKB-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Alpena, Michigan, United States, affiliated with CBS, NBC, American Broadcasting Company, ABC, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Morgan Murphy Media, the station maintains st ...

, the only television station in

Alpena, Michigan Alpena ( ') is the only city and the county seat of Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The population was 10,197 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populated city in the Northern Michigan region, after Traverse City and Cadillac ...

. Marks, a native of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, had previously worked as a copywriter at WINX in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

, before being employed by the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

. Marks acquired KXGN radio and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

Glendive, Montana Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States, and home to Dawson Community College. Glendive was established by the Northern Pacific Railway during the building of the railroad line. The town of Glendive is ...

, in 1990. KXGN-TV, like WBKB-TV in Alpena, was the only TV station in its town, a fact Marks liked as it could then command all television advertising revenue in the market. This transaction, as well as the purchase of Glendive FM station

KDZN KDZN (96.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Country music, country formatted Broadcasting, broadcast radio station licensed to Glendive, Montana, serving East Central Montana. KDZN is owned and operated by Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media. History KDZN ...

in 1995, required waivers on account of the financial condition of the small-market stations. Further Montana broadcast properties were added with the 1995 purchase of

KYUS-TV KYUS-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Miles City, Montana, United States, broadcasting to eastern Montana from a transmitter northwest of the city. It operates as a full-time satellite of KULR-TV in Billings. The station is separately ...

in Miles City and the 1996 acquisition of KIKC-AM- FM in Forsyth. In 2003 Marks acquired

WBKP WBKP (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Calumet, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as an affiliate of The CW Plus. It is owned by Morgan Murphy Media alongside Ishpeming-licensed ...

and

WBUP WBUP (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Ishpeming, Michigan, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is owned by Morgan Murphy Media alongside Calumet-licensed CW+ ...

, together serving the

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is the county seat of Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shippin ...

, television market. Added in 2015 were four stations owned by Heartland Communications in

Iron River, Michigan Iron River is a city in Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,007. The city is situated at the southeast corner of Iron River Township, but is administratively autonomous. History A post ...

, and

Park Falls, Wisconsin Park Falls is a city in Price County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,410 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 2,462 at 2010 United States census, 2010. Located in the woods of north central Wisconsin, primarily ...

. Stephen Marks died on May 11, 2022, at the age of 72. His widow Mary and family began selling the broadcast properties in 2023. GSB Broadcasting acquired

WOWZ-FM WOWZ-FM is a classic country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Accomac, Virginia, serving the Eastern Shore of Virginia. WOWZ-FM is owned and operated by GSB Media. History On November 28, 2017, the then-WVES changed their format ...

Accomac, Virginia Accomac is a town in and the county seat of Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 526 at the 2020 census. History Though Accomack County was established as one of Virginia's eight original shires in 1634, the governme ...

, which it already was programming, in April, while the Park Falls stations went to Civic Media in a deal announced in June. In September,

Morgan Murphy Media The Evening Telegram Company, d/b/a Morgan Murphy Media, is an American television and radio company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company is named for publisher Morgan Murphy, who expanded the business after he took over from his grandfather, ...

acquired the Michigan broadcasting properties—WBKB-TV, WBKP, WBUP, and the Houghton and Iron River radio stations—for $13.375 million. The Montana and North Dakota radio stations were sold to Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media for $850,000 in February 2024, leaving only KXGN-TV and KYUS-TV in the Marks Group; Sturlaugson had been the operations manager for the Glendive stations.

Stations

At the time of Marks's death in 2022, the company owned these stations:

Currently owned

Television

KXGN-TV KXGN-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Glendive, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by The Marks Group, it shares studios with radio stations KXGN (1400 AM) and KDZN (96.5 FM) on South Douglas Street in downtown Glend ...

channel 5,

(

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

/ MTN) *

channel 3,

Miles City, Montana Miles City is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census. History After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created forts in eastern Montana, inclu ...

(

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, rebroadcasts

Billings Billings is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billin ...

KULR-TV KULR-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Billings, Montana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by the Cowles Company. The station's studios are located on Overland Avenue in the Homestead Business Park section of Billings, and i ...

, a station owned by

Cowles Company The Cowles Company is an American diversified media company based in Spokane, Washington. The company owns and operates ''The Spokesman-Review'' in Spokane, founded in 1894, and owned the ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' until it was shut down in 19 ...

)

Formerly owned

Television

channel 11,

(CBS on 11.1; NBC on 11.2;

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on 11.3;

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

on 11.4; sold to

in September 2023) *

channel 5, Calumet/

(

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

; sold to Morgan Murphy Media in September 2023) *

channel 10,

Ishpeming Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Located in the Upper Peninsula, the population was 6,140 at the 2020 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the Iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue ...

(ABC; sold to Morgan Murphy Media in September 2023)

Radio

= Michigan

= (All sold to

in September 2023) *

WCCY WCCY (1400 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to Houghton, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1929. It is owned by Morgan Murphy Media. The studios are at 313 E. Montezuma, Houghton. It shares th ...

1400 AM - Houghton *

WFER WFER (1230 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic country radio format, format. Licensed to Iron River, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1949. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media History WIKB had previously ...

1230 AM - Iron River *

WHKB WHKB (102.3 FM, "K-Bear 102") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. The studios are at 313 E. Montezuma, Houghton. It shares this location with its sister stations, WOLV, WCCY, and WHBS. Licensed to Houghton, Michigan, it ...

102.3 FM - Houghton *

WIKB-FM WIKB-FM (99.1 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Iron River, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1981. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media. History WIKB-FM dropped its former adult contemporary ...

99.1 FM - Iron River * WOLV 97.7 FM - Houghton

Montana

(All sold to P&A Media in February 2024) *

96.5 FM -

Glendive Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States, and home to Dawson Community College. Glendive was established by the Northern Pacific Railway during the building of the railroad line. The town of Glendive i ...

KGCX KGCX (93.1 FM, "Eagle 93") is a radio station licensed to serve Sidney, Montana. The station is owned by Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media. It airs a classic rock music format. The KGCX studios are on 2nd Ave SW in Sidney. History The station was ...

93.1 FM - Sidney * KIKC 1250 AM - Forsyth * KIKC-FM 101.3 FM - Forsyth *

KMTA KMTA (1050 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Miles City, Montana. The station is owned by P&A Media LLC. It airs an oldies format. History The station was assigned the KMTA call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on Septem ...

1050 AM - Miles City * KXGN 1400 AM - Glendive *

KYUS-FM KYUS-FM (92.3 MHz, "92.3 KYUS FM") is a radio station licensed to serve Miles City, Montana. The station is owned by P&A Media LLC. It airs an adult hits music format. History KMCM-FM The station began broadcasting November 30, 1984, and origi ...

92.3 FM - Miles City

North Dakota

(All sold to P&A Media in February 2024) *

KDSR KDSR (101.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "101.1 Jack FM") is a list of broadcast station classes#FM, Class C1 radio station licensed to serve Williston, North Dakota. The station is owned by Andrew Sturlaugson, and licensed to P&A Media LLC. It airs ...

101.1 FM - Williston *

KXDI KXDI (93.9 FM, "I-94") is a radio station broadcasting a country format serving Western and Central North Dakota and eastern Montana from Dickinson, North Dakota (licensed to nearby Belfield). The station is owned by Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A ...

93.9 FM - Belfield *

KXWI KXWI (98.5 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Williston, North Dakota, which serves northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana. The station airs a country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music ...

98.5 FM - Williston

Virginia

99.3 FM - Accomac (Time brokered to GSB Media; sold to GSB in April 2023)

Wisconsin

(All sold to Civic Media in June 2023) *

WCQM WCQM (98.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Park Falls, Wisconsin, United States, the station is owned by Civic Media. History The station originally went on the air in 1968 as WNBI-FM (after having initi ...

98.3 FM -

Park Falls Park Falls is a city in Price County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,410 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 2,462 at 2010 United States census, 2010. Located in the woods of north central Wisconsin, primarily ...

WPFP WPFP (980 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a variety hits format. Licensed to Park Falls, Wisconsin, United States, the station is owned by Civic Media. History WPFP changed its format from sports talk to conservative talk on July 1, 2010. ...

980 AM - Park Falls

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks Group, The Radio broadcasting companies of the United States