KTVA

KTVA, virtual channel 11 (UHF digital channel 28), is an independent television station licensed to Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The station is owned by Denali Media Holdings, a subsidiary of local cable provider GCI. KTVA's studios are based at the former headquarters of the Anchorage Daily News on Northway Drive in Anchorage, and its transmitter is located in Spenard—covering the Anchorage bowl and much of the adjacent Matanuska-Susitna Valley.[1][2]

Not to be confused with WTVA or WVTA.
For the television station in Nagoya, Japan, see Aichi Television Broadcasting.
KTVA
Anchorage, Alaska
United States
ChannelsDigital: 28 (UHF)
Virtual: 11 (PSIP)
BrandingKTVA 11 (general)
KTVA 11 News (newscasts)
SloganThe Voice of Alaska
Programming
Subchannels11.1: Independent
Ownership
OwnerDenali Media Holdings
(Denali Media Anchorage, Corp.)
History
First air dateDecember 11, 1953 (1953-12-11)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
11 (VHF, 1953–2009)
Former affiliationsPrimary:
CBS (1953–2020)
Secondary:
DuMont (1953–1955)
NBC (1965–1970)
Call sign meaningTeleVision Alaska
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID49632
ERP28.9 kW
HAAT60.6 m (199 ft)
Transmitter coordinates61°11′31″N 149°54′9″W
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.ktva.com

KTVA had been affiliated with the CBS Television Network from its sign-on in December 1953. That relationship ended on July 31, 2020, when the CBS affiliation in Anchorage was moved to KYES-TV (channel 5) as that station's parent company, Gray Television, acquired KTVA's non-license assets.[3]

On cable, the station is available on GCI channel 11 and in high definition on digital channel 656.[4] It is also carried on DirecTV and Dish Network in the Anchorage television market. Some of KTVA's programming is broadcast to rural communities via low-power translators through the Alaska Rural Communications Service (ARCS).

History
Former KTVA logo under its CBS affiliation.

Legendary Alaskan broadcast pioneer August G. "Augie" Hiebert (1916–2007) applied for the license in May 1953 through his company, Northern Television. He received FCC approval for construction permits in July 1953, and KTVA signed on the air on December 11, 1953 broadcasting (initially from 2 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.). The studio and office were originally housed on the first floor and the transmitter on top of the pink 14-story McKinley Tower,[5] with an analog signal on VHF channel 11.[6] The station aired a few NBC programs in the late 1960s, until KHAR-TV (channel 13, now ABC affiliate KYUR) took the NBC affiliation in 1970. The station was a DuMont affiliate in the early 1950s.[7] KTVA also carried Sesame Street from 1970 until PBS member station KAKM (channel 7) signed on in 1975.

On January 3, 1971, KTVA aired Anchorage's first-ever live satellite broadcast from the U.S. mainland, the 1970 NFC Championship Game.[8] Until the 1980s, when the networks went to full satellite distribution, KTVA and other TV stations in Alaska aired network programming on a tape-delayed basis via kinescoped and, later, videotaped recordings of network programs provided by fellow CBS affiliate KIRO-TV in Seattle (and KING-TV during KTVA's NBC affiliation), which were then flown to Alaska.

Hiebert retired in 1997, and three years later in 2000, KTVA was acquired by the newspaper publisher MediaNews Group.[9] KTVA brought in $6.8 million of revenue in 2009, second to NBC affiliate KTUU-TV (channel 2) with $10 million (40% of the market).[10]

On November 9, 2012, GCI, through subsidiary Denali Media Holdings, announced plans to purchase KTVA, as well as KATH-LD and KSCT-LP in Southeast Alaska.[11] The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal on October 29, 2013.[12] The sale was formally closed on November 1.[13]

On December 2, 2013, KTVA moved to a new high definition-capable studio on the second floor of the headquarters of the Anchorage Daily News, and unveiled a new set and logo.[14] KTVA became the first television station in Alaska to broadcast local news in high definition.[15]

In 2017, KTVA was received a prestigious James Beard Award for its Harvesting Alaska series, beating out CBS This Morning and WLS-TV in Chicago.[16] KTVA has also received many accolades, including an Emmy, RTNDA awards, NPPA awards, Alaska Press Club awards and Alaska 'Goldie' Awards.

Channel 11's studios were severely damaged following major earthquakes that hit Anchorage on the morning of November 30, 2018, which also knocked the station off the air. Part of the structure, equipment and water were strewn about the facility, which one reporter for the station called "absolutely destroyed."[17]

In 2020, GCI/Denali Media Holdings announced their intention to sell its broadcast holdings. Atlanta-based Gray Television, which already owned KTUU-TV and KYES-TV (channel 5) in Anchorage, and NBC affiliate KTVF in Fairbanks, purchased KATH-LD and KSCT-LP in May.[18] On July 31, Gray and GCI/Denali announced that the former company had acquired KTVA's non-license assets, including its news department and CBS affiliation, and would move that programming to KYES-TV; the on-air transfer took place that same day. As Gray already owned two full-power stations in Anchorage, it could not directly purchase nor operate KTVA;[19] a GCI spokesperson said that it had not determined its plans for the KTVA license and facilities.[20] However, KYES-TV will simulcast on KTVA for an indefinite period of time for the benefit of viewers. On August 13, KYES-TV's CBS service will permanently reside on GCI channel 5, while KYES-DT4, which also launched on August 1 and carries the former primary schedule and MyNetworkTV affiliation of KYES-TV, will move to GCI channel 11; it is not known where KTVA will reside once the simulcast is ended, or if it will act as an independent station or carry a subchannel network.[21]

Digital television

Digital channel
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[22]
11.11080i16:9KTVA-HDMain KTVA programming

Analog-to-digital conversion

KTVA shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 28.[23] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 11.

News operation

KTVA presently broadcasts 22 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4 hours on weekdays and 1 hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). Weekday news offerings include a one-hour morning newscast called Daybreak at 6 a.m. with an additional hour at 9 a.m. (which premiered on September 12, 2016), two half-hour evening newscasts at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a one-hour newscast at 6 p.m. The station dropped its morning and weekend newscasts on April 18, 2012,[24] but they were reinstated in December 2013.

On September 21, 2014, during the outro of a story regarding the state's November Measure 2 ballot issue, which would allow recreational use of marijuana, reporter Charlene Ebge, who used the on-air pseudonym Charlo Greene, revealed that she was the president of the medical cannabis organization Alaska Cannabis Club, which campaigned for the legalization of the drug in Alaska. She ended the outro with a profane statement, resigned on-air and walked off the set. Ebge later admitted that she did this in order to "draw attention" to the issue of legalization of marijuana.[25] Following the incident, Bert Rudman, the station's news director, issued a formal apology.[26] As the incident occurred after 10 p.m. local time past the FCC's safe harbor provisions, FCC action was not pursued, and a fine was not assessed.[27] Measure 2 won voter support and was passed in the November 4 election.[28]

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References
  1. "FCC Digital TV Coverage Maps - Anchorage" (PDF). FCC.gov - Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  2. "KTVA – Online Coverage Map". TVFool.com - Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  4. https://www.gci.com/-/media/files/gci/channel-lineups/consumer-2018/anchorage-line-up-cards-statewide-cons-jan2018.pdf
  5. Television: A World Survey. 1953. UNESCO. Retrieved January 28, 2012. 1953.
  6. Historic Anchorage: An Illustrated History. By John Strohmeyer. Anchorage Museum Association. 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2012. 2001. ISBN 9781893619210./
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-06-19. Retrieved 2006-04-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Tower, Elizabeth (April 1999). Anchorage: From Its Humble Origins as a Railroad Construction Camp. ISBN 978-0945397724.
  9. http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/032900/ala_032900ala0040001.shtml Retrieved November 14, 2013
  10. "Market Eye: They're Anchored to Alaska". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  11. "GCI to purchase NBC for Southeast Alaska KATH-TV and KSCT-TV". Retrieved Nov 9, 2012.
  12. Burke, Jill (October 30, 2013). "GCI wins out in FCC fight over acquisition of Alaska TV stations". Alaska Dispatch. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  13. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101587216&formid=905&fac_num=49632
  14. "KTVA debuts new station". KTVA.com. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  15. "Reinventing a television station in the middle of Alaska". Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  16. "'Harvesting Alaska' wins prestigious James Beard Award". www.ktva.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  17. "Alaska earthquake leaves Anchorage TV station KTVA heavily damaged". 6abc.com. WPVI-TV. November 30, 2018.
  18. https://www.rbr.com/gray-grabs-nbc-se-alaska/
  19. "GCI announces sale of broadcast business". www.ktva.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  20. DeMarban, 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.
  21. "GCI Channel Changes List". Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  22. RabbitEars TV Query for KTVA
  23. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  24. http://www.ktva.com/home/top-stories/KTVA-Announces-Programming-Changes-End-to-Morning-Weekend-Newscasts-147991495.html
  25. Andrews, Laurel (21 September 2014). "KTVA reporter quits on-air after saying she owns Alaska Cannabis Club". Anchorage Daily News. Alaska Dispatch. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  26. Feldman, Josh (Sep 23, 2014). "KTVA Issues Formal Apology for Its 'F*ck It, I Quit' Reporter". Mediaite.
  27. Herbert, Geoff (Sep 22, 2014). "TV reporter drops F-bomb live on air, quits to focus on her marijuana club".
  28. Suzanna Caldwell, Laurel Andrews (4 November 2014). "Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
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