KATH-LD
CityJuneau, Alaska
Channels
BrandingNBC Southeast
Programming
Affiliations2.1: NBC
Ownership
Owner
KYEX-LD
History
First air date
August 17, 1998 (1998-08-17)
Former call signs
K05JR (1998–2001)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 5 (VHF, 1998–2011)
  • Virtual: 5 (2011–2020)
  • The WB (secondary, 1998–1999)
  • UPN (secondary)
Call sign meaning
Former owner's wife's name is Kathy
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID188833
ERP0.1 kW
HAAT−377.9 m (−1,240 ft)
Transmitter coordinates58°17′58.8″N 134°25′26″W / 58.299667°N 134.42389°W / 58.299667; -134.42389
Links
Public license information
LMS
Websitealaskasnewssource.com
KSCT-LP
Translator of KATH-LD
Channels
Brandingsee KATH-LD infobox
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Gray Television
  • (Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
History
First air date
May 1, 1995 (1995-05-01)
Former call signs
K05KH (May–November 1995)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 5 (VHF, 1995–2018)
  • Fox (1995–1998)
  • The WB (secondary, 1995–1999)
Call sign meaning
Sitka Community Television
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID15348
ERP0.619 kW
HAAT23.1 m (76 ft)
Transmitter coordinates57°3′1″N 135°20′7.9″W / 57.05028°N 135.335528°W / 57.05028; -135.335528 (KSCT-LP)
Links
Public license information
LMS

KATH-LD, virtual channel 2 (UHF digital channel 35), is a low-power NBC-affiliated television station licensed to both Juneau and Douglas, Alaska, United States. The station is owned by Gray Television. KATH-LD's transmitter is located in downtown Juneau.

KSCT-LP (virtual channel 2, VHF digital channel 5) in Sitka is a translator of KATH-LD, broadcasting from a transmitter in downtown Sitka. Programming is identical to KATH-LD with both stations being fed from the studios of sister station KTUU-TV (channel 2) in Anchorage.

On cable, KATH-LD is carried on GCI in Juneau on channel 15, on Dish Network throughout Southeast Alaska on channel 5/9380, and on DirecTV throughout Southeast Alaska on channel 4. KATH-LD's high definition feed is also available on GCI's basic service on digital channel 652 in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg and Wrangell. KATH-LD's standard-definition signal is also on GCI cable in Petersburg, Wrangell and Angoon. Daily Alaska news is provided through a partnership with KTUU-TV.

History

KSCT-LP was the first of the two stations to go on the air, signing on May 1, 1995, as a Fox affiliate owned by Dan Etulain, who previously owned KTNL (channel 13) from 1983 to 1992.[3] KSCT-LP had operated as a cable-only station since December 9, 1994;[4] during that period, Fox's primetime programming was seen in the afternoon, though it was moved into primetime concurrently with channel 5's sign on.[3] KSCT-LP affiliated with Fox because, at the time, it was the only one of the Big Four television networks that was willing to affiliate with low-power television stations.[3] Initially, most of KSCT-LP's non-Fox programming was supplied by National Empowerment Television, though it also broadcast some local programming;[3][4] after NET moved to a satellite that the station could not receive, its programming was replaced with Channel America, Outdoor Channel, and American Independent Network on December 1, 1995.[5] By this time, KSCT-LP had added a secondary affiliation with The WB.[5] The station was originally assigned the call letters K05KH; it officially became KSCT-LP on November 20, 1995,[6] though it had promoted itself as "KSCT" since its launch.[3]

In June 1998, Etulain announced that he would launch KATH-LP as Juneau's NBC affiliate that July; KSCT-LP had switched to NBC by this time as well.[7] Delays in receiving equipment required to place the station on GCI's lineup postponed the launch of the station to August 17, 1998.[8] NBC programming was previously only available in Juneau via cable carriage of Seattle's KING-TV; however, KING was not carried on the basic cable tier, unlike KATH-LP.[7] KATH-LP supplemented NBC programming with blocks of local programming, which generally consisted of pre-recorded coverage of community events and high school sports; at its launch, the station did not air any local newscasts.[7][8] Juneau's existing stations, ABC affiliate KJUD (channel 8) and PBS station KTOO-TV (channel 3), were at the time part of the statewide Alaska's SuperStation and AlaskaOne networks respectively, with limited local programming.[7] Shortly after KATH-LP's launch, Etulain purchased[9] K05JR,[10] which had been licensed in 1994;[11] the sale was completed on May 26, 1999.[9] K05JR and KSCT-LP continued their secondary WB affiliations until early 1999; at that time, K05JR added a secondary UPN affiliation.[12] K05JR's call sign was changed to KATH-LP on November 15, 2001;[10] it had been calling itself "KATH" on the air since its sale to Etulain. By early 2003, KATH-LP was simulcasting local newscasts from KTUU-TV in Anchorage.[13] KATH-LD ended analog over-the-air broadcasts in November 2011.

On November 9, 2012, GCI, through subsidiary Denali Media Holdings, announced plans to purchase KATH-LD and KSCT-LP from Dan Etulain's North Star Television Network, along with KTVA in Anchorage from MediaNews Group. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the deal on October 29, 2013.[14] KATH-LD's news partnership with KTUU-TV was suspended on December 7, 2013, as a result of a larger dispute between GCI and KTUU,[15] but a deal to resume it was reached on February 6, 2014.[16]

KSCT-LP began broadcasting a digital over-the-air TV signal in January 2018.

Denali Media Holdings announced the sale of KATH-LD and KSCT-LP to Gray Television on May 28, 2020.[17] The sale made KATH-LD and KSCT-LP sister stations to KTUU-TV and KYES-TV in Anchorage and KTVF in Fairbanks, and gave Gray a monopoly on NBC programming throughout Alaska. The sale was completed on July 31.[18]

Digital channel

The stations digital signal carries one subchannel:

Channel Video Aspect Short name Programming[19]
2.11080i16:9KATHMain KATH-LD programming / NBC

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KATH-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KSCT-LP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Haugland, Shannon (April 28, 1995). "TV Watchers to Receive Broader Viewing". Daily Sitka Sentinel. p. 13. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "New TV Station On Air in Sitka". Daily Sitka Sentinel. December 30, 1994. p. 7. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Local Station Changes Schedule". Daily Sitka Sentinel. November 30, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Call Sign History (KSCT-LP)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Juneau-based television station to hit airwaves soon". Juneau Empire. June 26, 1998. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "New local television station to hit airwaves Monday". Juneau Empire. August 16, 1998. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Application Search Details (DKATH-LP, 1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Call Sign History (DKATH-LP)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Application Search Details (DKATH-LP, 2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ Smith, Doug (March 1999). "TV News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. p. 10. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  13. ↑ Krueger, Andrew (March 6, 2003). "What's up with that?". Juneau Empire. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ Burke, Jill (October 30, 2013). "GCI wins out in FCC fight over acquisition of Alaska TV stations". Alaska Dispatch. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  15. ↑ "KTUU service in Southeast to change". Juneau Empire. December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ "GCI announces sale of TV stations in Southeast markets". KINY. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  18. ↑ "KTUU Expands into Southeast Alaska and KYES Launches "CBS5 Anchorage"". KTUU.com. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  19. ↑ "KATH-LD JUNEAU-DOUGLAS, AK". rabbitears.info.
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