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KTNL-TV
Channels
Programming
AffiliationsMeTV
Ownership
OwnerBridge News LLC[1]
KDMD
History
First air date
July 28, 1966 (58 years ago) (1966-07-28)
Former call signs
  • KIFW-TV (1966–1983)[2]
  • KTNL (1983–2006)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 13 (VHF, 1966–2009)
  • CBS (1966–2020)
  • Dark (2020–2021)
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID60519
ERP0.35 kW
HAAT−216 m (−709 ft)
Transmitter coordinates57°2′59.6″N 135°20′10.3″W / 57.049889°N 135.336194°W / 57.049889; -135.336194
Links
Public license information
Websitektnl.tv

KTNL-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Sitka, Alaska, United States, affiliated with MeTV. The station is owned by Bridge News LLC. KTNL-TV's transmitter is located in downtown Sitka; the station is programmed from studios in Anchorage.

The station was established as Sitka's only broadcast TV station in 1966 and primarily broadcast programs from CBS for the first 55 years of its history. It also offered limited local programming in various forms.

History

As a CBS station

Sitka Broadcasting Company, owner of Sitka radio station KIFW, received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission on June 7, 1966, allowing it to build a television station on channel 13.[4] The station began broadcasting as KIFW-TV on July 28, 1966.[5] It joined CBS that October, though it was a non-interconnected affiliate—one not connected by long lines to receive live network programming.[6] Though it was the first broadcast station in Sitka, local programming was also available on the local cable system from KSA-TV, a local channel that had started in 1959.[7]

In 1983, KIFW-TV was sold to Kathie and Dan Etulain. The call letters were changed to KTNL; though it was separated in ownership from KIFW, it continued to share the same building. The station remained primarily a CBS affiliate, though it also aired Christian programming, owing to a new relationship with Alaska Christian Television Services.[8] KTNL installed a satellite dish in 1985. This allowed it to receive live CBS programming; previously, network programs were aired on a two-week delay via videotapes recorded off KIRO-TV in Seattle and mailed to Sitka, while the Rural Alaska Television Network provided live news and sports.[9][10] In 1989, the station left the building shared with KIFW radio; the first attempt to relocate was denied by a zoning board in 1988,[11] but the move took place the next year and gave the radio station more room.[12]

A company known as Sitka News Bureau, owned by the Baggen family, acquired the station in 1992. Sitka News Bureau aired a newscast of the same name on the local public access cable channel. The station relocated to Sitka News Bureau's facilities on Harbor Drive, announced its plans to drop all non-CBS network programming, and added the newscasts to its lineup.[13] Etulain retained the previous facilities for video production as North Star and returned to television broadcasting when KSCT-LP began broadcasting in 1995.[14] In spite of announcing the station would be a sole CBS affiliate, KTNL-TV remained a secondary affiliate of ABC, mostly for key programs like Monday Night Football.[15] The newscast was dropped in November 1993 so the station could redistribute its efforts toward producing local advertising instead of newsgathering.[16] In 1996, Wright Home, Inc., acquired KTNL-TV. It sold the station to GreenTV of Evergreen, Colorado, owned by Penny and David Drucker, in 2000; the Druckers owned KDMD in Anchorage and KUBD in Ketchikan.[17]

In 2014, Ketchikan TV—the renamed GreenTV—sold KTNL-TV, KUBD and KXLJ-LD to Denali Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Alaskan telecommunications firm GCI. GCI had earlier bought KTVA, the CBS affiliate in Anchorage, and North Star, owner of KSCT-LP and KATH-LP in Juneau.[18][19]

Post-CBS affiliation

GCI exited broadcasting in 2020 by selling the rights to CBS in Anchorage and Southeast Alaska, as well as KSCT-LP, KATH-LP, and KUBD, to Gray Television.[20] With the station's programming, assets, and network affiliation having been sold, Denali Media took KTNL-TV off the air on October 31, 2020.[21] In 2021, Denali Media sold KTNL-TV back to Ketchikan TV.[22][23]

On December 11, 2023, it was announced that Ketchikan TV would sell KTNL, KDMD and three low-power stations to Bridge News LLC, backed by entrepreneur Manoj Bhargava, for $2.4 million.[1] The sale was completed on March 12, 2024.[24]

Subchannel

Subchannel of KTNL-TV[25]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
7.1 480i 4:3 KTNL-SD MeTV

References

  1. ^ a b "Assignments". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Elaine, ed. (1973). Alaska Blue Book (First ed.). Juneau, AK: Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries. p. 136.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KTNL-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ "FCC History Cards for KTNL-TV" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ "New TV station". Broadcasting. August 8, 1966. p. 75. ProQuest 1014519297.
  6. ^ "CBS-TV Adds Sitka Affil". Variety. October 5, 1966. p. 26. ProQuest 1032445153.
  7. ^ Veatch, Ernestine C. (November 13, 1959). "KSA-TV begins operations Sunday, open house Sat". Daily Sitka Sentinel. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  8. ^ "KIFW-TV Changes Hands". Daily Sitka Sentinel. May 27, 1983. p. 3A. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Froetschel, Susan (September 8, 1983). "TV Station Aims Camera At, For Sitka". Daily Sitka Sentinel. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "KTNL To Go 'Live'". Daily Sitka Sentinel. March 8, 1985. p. 7A. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Sykora, Allen (February 2, 1988). "Radio-TV Request Rejected, Dropped". Daily Sitka Sentinel. p. 1. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Swagel, Will (May 9, 1989). "KIFW-AM to Receive Assist from Satellite". Daily Sitka Sentinel. p. 1. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "New Hands On Dials at KTNL-TV". Daily Sitka Sentinel. February 28, 1992. p. 8. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Haugland, Shannon (April 28, 1995). "TV Watchers to Receive Broader Viewing". Daily Sitka Sentinel. p. Sitka Weekend 1. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Swagel, Will (March 12, 1993). "Cable Co. Removes RATNET from Lineup". Daily Sitka Sentinel. p. 1. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ MacLean, Heather (November 18, 1993). "KTNL Drops Newscasts To Focus On Service". Daily Sitka Sentinel. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable. June 19, 2000. p. 46. ProQuest 1014781050.
  18. ^ Farrell, Mike (December 23, 2013). "GCI Buys Alaska Stations". Broadcasting & Cable.
  19. ^ "Consummation Notice". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  20. ^ "KTUU Expands into Southeast Alaska and KYES Launches "CBS5 Anchorage"". Alaska's News Source. July 31, 2020.
  21. ^ "KTNL Suspension of Operations and Request for Silent STA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. October 30, 2020.
  22. ^ "Assignment of Authorization". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. June 17, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  23. ^ "Station Trading Roundup: 3 Deals, $62,500". TVNewsCheck. May 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Notification of Consummation". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. March 12, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  25. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KTNL
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