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KTVF
Channels
BrandingKTVF Channel 11(general)
NewsCenter Fairbanks(newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations11.1:NBC(1985–present, secondary until April 1996)
11.2:MeTV/MyNetworkTV[1]
11.3:CBS
Ownership
Owner
KFXF-LD,KXDF-CD,KTUU-TV
History
First air date
February 1955(69 years ago)(1955-02)[2]
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
11 (VHF,1955–2009)
Primary:
CBS (1955–April 1996)
Secondary:
NTA(1956–1961)
ABC(1971–1985)
UPN(1995–2000)
CBS (April–August 1996)
DT2:
Fox(via KFXF-LD, January–November 2017)
Call signmeaning
TeleVisionFairbanks
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID49621
ClassDT
ERP27kW
HAAT471 m (1,545 ft)
Transmitter coordinates64°52′43.4″N148°3′22.7″W/ 64.878722°N 148.056306°W/64.878722; -148.056306
Translator(s)11 (VHF) Fairbanks
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.webcenterfairbanks.com

KTVF,virtual channel11 (UHFdigitalchannel 26), is anNBC-affiliatedtelevision stationlicensedtoFairbanks, Alaska,United States. Owned byAtlanta-basedGray Television,it issisterto twolow-powerstations: primaryMeTVand secondaryMyNetworkTVaffiliateKFXF-LD(channel 22) andClass ACBSaffiliateKXDF-CD(channel 13). The stations share studios on Braddock Street in downtown Fairbanks, while KTVF's transmitter is located on the Ester Dome.

KTVF is used to provide full-marketover-the-airhigh definitioncoverage of KFXF-LD (simulcast over KTVF-DT2) and KXDF-CD (simulcast over KTVF-DT3).[4][5][6]The station also operates a digital fill-intranslatoronVHFchannel 11 from a transmitter located at its studios.

History[edit]

The station signed on the air in February 1955 as the first television station serving what at the time was the smallest television market in the United States. The station was a CBS affiliate until April 1, 1996.

While primarily a CBS station, KTVF also served as a secondary affiliate forABCfrom 1971 to 1985 (when it aired some of ABC's top-rated shows likeMarcus Welby, M.D.,Happy Days,Laverne & Shirley,Three's Company,andEight is Enoughas well asWide World of Sports,Monday Night Footballand theAcademy Awards) andNBCfrom 1985 to 1996. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with theNTA Film Network.[7]In 1967, months after the Chena River flood temporarily knocked them off the air, KTVF rebuilt their studios in the Northward Building (where they still remained until 1990) and returned to the air, this time broadcasting incolor.

In 1996, KTVF switched affiliations, from CBS to NBC. The reason for the network switch was that rival stationKATN—which had the NBC affiliation since signing on a couple weeks after KTVF but had been primarily with ABC since 1984—would be merged with two other ABC stations inAnchorageandJuneauto form ABC Alaska's SuperStation, and that NBC was the dominant network by the 1995–96 season while CBS was in third place. KTVF also carriedUPNprogramming on weekends from 1995 to 2000.KFXFaired a few CBS shows until K13XD (now KXDF-CD) signed on in August.

KTVF was founded by Alaska broadcasting pioneerAugie Hiebertand his company, Northern Television. It was thus a sister station toKTVA-TVinAnchorage,which signed on two years earlier. Hiebert retired in 1997, and his family sold the station to theAckerley Groupin 1999. Ackerley merged withClear Channel Communicationsin 2001. Clear Channel sold its entire television division, including KTVF, toNewport Televisionin 2007.

In June 2003,Media News Group,owner of theFairbanks Daily News-Miner,announced that it would exercise an option to purchase KTVF. The seven-year option, pending removal of the FCC's restrictions on newspaper/broadcast ownership, was granted to Media News in 1999 when Northern Television sold the station to Ackerley. The FCC eliminated this rule on June 3, 2003, but implementation was stayed pending the outcome of litigation. Media News' purchase attempt never materialized; the seven-year option period expired in 2006 without renewal.

KTVF began airing high definition programming from NBC on February 12, 2010, at the start of theWinter OlympicsinVancouver;full HD broadcasting (both NBC and syndicated) would follow on May 31, 2012.

On September 29, 2010, the FCC granted KTVF a construction permit for a fill-in translator on their former analog allotment channel 11.[8]The translator will serve sections of the Fairbanks area.

Newport announced the sale of KTVF to Chena Broadcasting, a local company owned by Michael Young, on October 13, 2011.[9]Young had previously owned a partial stake in Tanana Valley Television, owner of KFXF and K13XD;[10]that company took over KTVF's operations under a shared services agreement upon the deal's completion.[11]The sale of KTVF to Chena Broadcasting was consummated on March 7, 2012—resulting in all of Fairbanks' commercial stations being operated by just two companies.

On November 8, 2016, Northern Lights Media, the subsidiary ofGray Televisionthat operates Anchorage stationsKTUU-TVandKYES-TV,announced that it would buy KTVF, KFXF-LD and KXDF-CD (then known as KXDD-CD) for $8 million in cash, pending FCC approval.[12]The sale was completed on January 13, 2017.[13][14]

With KTVA converting to aRewind TVaffiliate in 2021, KTVF became the oldest continuously operating station in Alaska.

Technical information[edit]

Subchannels[edit]

The station's digital signal ismultiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect Short name Programming[15]
11.1 1080i 16:9 KTVF-DT Main KTVF programming /NBC
11.2 720p KFXF-LD Simulcast ofKFXF-LD
11.3 1080i KXDF-CD Simulcast ofKXDF-CD

Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]

KTVF shut down its analog signal, overVHFchannel 11, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionUHFchannel 26.[16]Through the use ofPSIP,digital television receivers display the station'svirtual channelas its former VHF analog channel 11.

References[edit]

  1. ^"TitanTV Programming Guide -- What's on TV, Movies, Reality Shows, and Local News".ktvf.titantv.com.RetrievedJun 20,2020.
  2. ^TheBroadcasting and Cable Yearbooksays February 17, while theTelevision and Cable Factbooksays February 3.
  3. ^"Facility Technical Data for KTVF".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^"KTVF FAIRBANKS, AK".www.rabbitears.info.RetrievedJun 20,2020.
  5. ^"KFXF-LD FAIRBANKS, AK".www.rabbitears.info.RetrievedJun 20,2020.
  6. ^"KXDF-CD FAIRBANKS, AK".www.rabbitears.info.RetrievedJun 20,2020.
  7. ^"Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films".Boxoffice:13. November 10, 1956. Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2009.[unreliable source?]
  8. ^"Application Search Results".
  9. ^Eggerton, John (October 13, 2011)."Newport Agrees to Sell KTVF to Chena Broadcasting".Broadcasting & Cable.RetrievedOctober 14,2011.
  10. ^Chomicz, Dorothy (October 15, 2011)."Fairbanks businessman Mike Young awaits approval of KTVF purchase".Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.RetrievedOctober 19,2011.
  11. ^"More than meets the eye to Fairbanks TV deal".Television Business Report.October 19, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2011.RetrievedOctober 20,2011.
  12. ^"Northern Lights Media announces acquisition of Fairbanks television stations".www.ktuu.com.RetrievedJun 20,2020.
  13. ^Gray Closes Green Bay, Davenport and Fairbanks AcquisitionsGray Television,17 January 2017, Retrieved, 22 January 2017.
  14. ^Consummation Notice,Federal Communications Commission,19 January 2017, Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  15. ^"Digital TV Market Listing for KTVF".RabbitEars.info.
  16. ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designation for the First and the Second Rounds"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-08-29.Retrieved2012-03-24.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KTVF&oldid=1214065084"