KTUU-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 240 m (787 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 61°25′20″N 149°52′28″W / 61.42222°N 149.87444°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
KTUU-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, affiliated with NBC and CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KAUU (channel 5). The two stations share studios on East 40th Avenue in midtown Anchorage; KTUU-TV's transmitter is located in Knik, Alaska.
Some of KTUU-TV's programming is broadcast to rural communities via low-power translators through the Alaska Rural Communications Service (ARCS).
History
The construction permit for channel 2 in Anchorage was issued on July 29, 1953, to Keith Kiggins and Richard R. Rollins.[3] The permit took the call sign KFIA ("First in Anchorage") and then began construction, with an antenna being placed atop the Westward Hotel at Third Avenue and F Street. The same day the FCC granted a construction permit for channel 2, it also greenlit Anchorage's channel 11, KTVA, sparking a race to be the first broadcast television station in the territory (statehood for Alaska would come in 1959).
It appeared that KFIA was ahead when it announced it would broadcast its first test pattern on October 15, as KTVA was unpacking its equipment.[4] However, it failed to put out a picture that night. Two days later, on the 17th, the first television test pattern in Alaska was broadcast, but the station missed its announced November 1 start date. Picture quality control equipment was late getting to Anchorage, pushing back the start date twice. It was only a month and a half later that KFIA made it on the air, on December 14, but in that time, it had lost its claim to be first in Anchorage with programming, as KTVA had signed on December 11. Both stations had also been beat by a cable system in Ketchikan to be the first source of television programming anywhere in the territory. When the station did get on the air, it did so "quietly and without fanfare", in the words of its general manager.[4]
Midnight Sun Broadcasting (The Lathrop Company), owned by Alvin Oscar "Al" Bramstedt Sr. bought the station in 1954; the station's call letters were changed to KENI-TV in 1955; that year, it moved into the
On September 19, 1966, channel 2 became the first station in Alaska to transmit in
In August 2010, KTUU became the third Schurz-owned television station (after
On November 9, 2013, KTUU-TV was dropped by GCI in 22 rural communities, after the two sides were unable to come to a new retransmission agreement, though GCI still carries some KTUU and NBC programming in some of these areas through the
Schurz announced on September 14, 2015, that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations, including KTUU-TV, to
News operation
KTUU presently broadcasts 22 hours, 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4 hours, 5 minutes each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). The two-hour weekday newscast Morning Edition, 6 p.m. hour, and 10 p.m. late newscast are simulcast with KAUU. A half-hour KTUU-exclusive newscast airs at 5 p.m., followed by the NBC Nightly News at 5:30 p.m. All newscasts are branded as Alaska's News Source, KTUU's longtime news slogan. KTUU does not carry a midday or weekend morning newscast.
Following Gray's purchase of the non-license assets of KTVA, that station's news operation was inherited by KYES-TV (now KAUU); with its existing ownership of KTUU-TV, this gave Gray control of two news operations in the Anchorage market.[18] On August 30, 2020, KTVA's news operation aired its final newscast from its facility. The next day, Gray launched Alaska's News Source, which hired 11 staffers from KTVA,[19] and acts as a combined news operation for both KTUU and KYES. The combined newscasts began to air August 31, 2020.
KTUU has been the top-rated station in the Anchorage market for decades; its ratings for their newscasts helped make them one of the strongest NBC affiliates in the country and its newscasts routinely receive several times more viewers than its competition.[20] The KTUU news team routinely wins regional and national awards and in 1999, became the first television station in Alaska with their own satellite uplink truck (NewsStar 2). The National Press Photographers Association named KTUU the Small Market Television News Photography Station of the Year in 2006, 2008 and 2010.[21] In 2013, KTUU was also the first in Alaska to broadcast their news in high definition.
Notable former staff
- Chuck Henry – anchor (1967–1968, later at KNBC in Los Angeles; now retired)
- Alaska governor and U.S. vice presidential candidate[22]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
2.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
KTUU-HD | NBC |
2.2 | 480i | H&I | Heroes & Icons | |
2.3 | StartTV | Start TV | ||
2.4 | Crime | True Crime Network | ||
5.11 | 1080i | CBS | CBS |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KTUU-TV shut down its analog signal, over
Translators
KTUU-TV extends its over-the-air coverage through a network of translator stations.
See also
- Honolulu, Hawaii)
References
- Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries. p. 136.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KTUU-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ FCC History Cards for KTUU-TV
- ^ a b Reamer, David (October 24, 2021). "In the 1950s, the race to bring television to Alaska was marked by anticipation, suspense and mishaps". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ Torquiano, Neil (November 9, 2013). "GCI Drops KTUU-TV from 22 Communities in Broadcast Dispute". KTUU.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
- ^ Grove, Casey (November 9, 2013). "Deal fails; GCI drops KTUU to 7,000 rural subscribers". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
- ^ "KTUU leaves 22 Alaska communities". SitNews. November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
- ^ Alexander, Rosemarie (November 25, 2013). "KTUU And GCI Cable Continue Talks". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ^ "KTUU service in Southeast to change". Juneau Empire. December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ "Agreement finalized, KTUU-TV programming to return to rural Alaska on GCI cable systems". KTUU.com. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on February 7, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
- ^ "Schurz Communications to sell WSBT and other TV, radio stations". South Bend Tribune. September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ^ Kuperberg, Jonathan (September 14, 2015). "Gray Acquiring TV, Radio Stations from Schurz for $442.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ^ Gray Television Sells Some, Buys Some - TVNewsCheck
- ^ FCC Approves Gray-Schurz TV Station Deal. Broadcasting & Cable, February 12, 2016, Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ Gray Closes Schurz Acquisition, Related Transactions, And Incremental Term Loan Facility Press Release, Gray Television, Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
- ^ DA 16-692 - Federal Communications Commission
- ^ McDarban, Alex (August 1, 2020). "One company will own Anchorage's 2 local TV news stations after deal with GCI". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ L, Jeff; field (August 26, 2020). "Gray Television hires 11 KTVA employees". The Alaska Landmine. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ^ "Revamped KTVA still trails KTUU in Anchorage TV ratings". Anchorage Daily News. January 2, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ^ [1] Archived December 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shea, Danny (September 30, 2008). "Sarah Palin: From TV Sports Anchor To Vice Presidential Candidate". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KTUU
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.