KTTU (channel 18) is a
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, United States, affiliated with
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
. It is owned by
Tegna Inc.
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
alongside
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
affiliate
KMSB
KMSB (channel 11) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KTTU (channel 18); Tegna maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with ...
(channel 11); Tegna maintains a
shared services
Shared services is the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group, where that service had previously been found, in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and th ...
agreement (SSA) with
Gray Television
Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
, owner of
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
affiliate
KOLD-TV
KOLD-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to Fox affiliate KMSB (channel 11) and MyNetworkTV affiliate KTTU (channel 18) ...
(channel 13), for the provision of studio space and technical services while maintaining control of programming and sales. The stations share studios on North Business Park Drive on the northwest side of Tucson (near the Casas Adobes neighborhood), while KTTU's transmitter is located atop
Mount Bigelow.
Channel 18 was built by the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson ( la, Dioecesis Tucsonensis, es, Diócesis de Tucson) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Metro ...
and began broadcasting at the end of 1984 as KDTU. The station, intended as a family-friendly outlet, proved to be a popular—but commercial—
independent station
An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...
, as well as a boondoggle for the diocese, which lost $15 million between 1984 and 1989 and unloaded it at a loss to
Clear Channel Communications
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
. The call sign was changed to KTTU-TV after the sale. Since 1991, KMSB and KTTU have been either commonly operated or owned.
History
Construction and diocesan ownership
In 1980, the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
received four applications proposing new commercial television stations on channel 18 in Tucson. Tucson Telecasting, a subsidiary of
McKinnon Broadcasting
McKinnon Broadcasting Company (doing business as Texas Television, Inc.) is a privately owned television broadcasting company based in San Diego, California. Michael Dean McKinnon Sr. is the company's majority owner, president, chief executive o ...
(one part-owner,
Clinton D. McKinnon
Clinton Dotson McKinnon (February 5, 1906 – December 29, 2001) was an American United States Democratic Party, Democratic politician and journalist from San Diego, California, San Diego. He served two terms in the United States House of Repr ...
, had owned
KVOA-TV
KVOA (channel 4) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on West Elm Street north of downtown Tucson, and its primary transmitter is ...
from 1955 to 1962); National Group Telecommunications, whose owners were busy building
KSTS
KSTS (channel 48) is a television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Telemundo network to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group al ...
in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
; and Alden Communications Group all made bids, as did the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson ( la, Dioecesis Tucsonensis, es, Diócesis de Tucson) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Metro ...
. While the three companies, all with out-of-state interests, eyed independent stations that would primarily compete with regional independent
KZAZ, the diocese was motivated to file an application because its own studies found that a cable television channel would reach fewer homes. Its application proposed mostly religious programming, and the diocese boasted that it would be the first in the country to directly own a television station.
The diocese almost dropped out months later when it indicated interest in noncommercial reserved channel 27.
However, it stayed with the channel 18 application and, after a settlement agreement with McKinnon, came out the winner in March 1983.
The call sign KDTU was chosen, and studios were built on North 6th Avenue in Tucson.
Original proposals called for a station heavy on community involvement and also catering to the majority-Hispanic diocese.
Fred Allison, a market veteran from KVOA, was tapped to help program the new station; the chief engineer was a priest, the Rev. Michael Bucciarelli.
As it turned out, KDTU would be more secular than it had ever planned.
Tucson's independent television market was in the middle of rapid change. Nearly immediately after KDTU went on the air on December 31, 1984, in a debut marred by transmitter problems,
Tucson got its second new station in a week:
KPOL (channel 40).
(The two stations shared the same transmitter site in the
Tucson Mountains
The Tucson Mountains (O'odham: Cuk Doʼag) are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains lie ...
, a mast painted sky blue to reduce its visual impact in an attempt to mollify property owners,
and both faced unexpected setbacks getting electric service.
) Despite this, the diocese projected its new station would break even within three or four years after an initial $3 million investment.
Tucson was not big enough for three independent stations—KDTU, KPOL, and KMSB, which was sold at the same time as the other two launched, rebranded, and given an infusion of cash—at a time when programming costs for this type of station were soaring nationally. Even though KDTU had more of a commercial flavor than had been intended in the pursuit of being financially sustainable, channel 18 was a drain on the diocese, frequently overbidding on syndicated shows, and its attempts to attract commercial production clients were largely ineffective, with most firms seeking out companies in Phoenix and Los Angeles.
A third of the staff was cut in March 1987.
Four months later, the diocese announced it would put channel 18 on the market, saying some of its programming was not a match for its mission and noting that, in trying to build the station they sought to create, the diocese was exposed to financial and philosophical pressures.
(The only religious program the station aired was the Sunday Mass, which had been on
KOLD-TV
KOLD-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to Fox affiliate KMSB (channel 11) and MyNetworkTV affiliate KTTU (channel 18) ...
.) In a letter, Bishop
Manuel Duran Moreno
Manuel Duran Moreno (November 27, 1930 – November 17, 2006) was an American
bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the sixth Bishop of Tucson.
Biography
Bishop Moreno was born in Placentia, California, to Antonio and Enedina Moreno. H ...
admitted to priests that the diocese had been trying to sell the station since January 1986, 18 months prior to publicly disclosing it was on the block. Trying to keep the station going was so financially taxing that the diocese neared its credit limit and had to halt building programs at its parishes.
Further trouble was created when some programs the station aired, such as ''
The Morton Downey Jr. Show
''The Morton Downey Jr. Show'' is a syndicated American talk show presented by Morton Downey Jr. that ran from 1987 to 1989. The show and its host pioneered the concept of "trash TV" format.
Starting as a local program on New York-New Jersey su ...
'', proved to not be family-friendly, generating criticism and ultimately leading to it being pulled from KDTU.
On October 21, 1988, the diocese terminated 14 employees and slashed the pay of its administrative staff by 10 percent, cutting clergy and religious support services in the process, as a result of KDTU's financial losses.
While none of the station's 42 employees were affected in that set of cuts, less than two weeks later, the diocese had worse news for them: it was giving KDTU its last rites and taking it off the air on November 1.
In the meantime, however, a prospective buyer emerged, and the diocese agreed to keep KDTU going while it was in negotiations.
McKinnon retained a right of first refusal to match any buyer's offer from its settlement agreement years prior.
On November 3, the diocese signed a letter of intent with
Clear Channel Television of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
to purchase KDTU for $8.5 million: $2.5 million in cash and $6 million in liabilities.
It was Clear Channel's second television property, having recently bought
WPMI-TV
WPMI-TV (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Pensacola, Florida–licensed independent ...
in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
.
McKinnon did not exercise its right of first refusal, citing the "horrendous" sum that would have been needed to make KDTU competitive, and FCC approval was granted in January 1989.
Clear Channel's final agreement called for a $2.25 million cash payment, and the company was able to whittle down its liabilities to $4 million by renegotiating programming contracts.
Meanwhile, the diocese was left with a loss of more than $15 million from its venture into television.
It took a decade to reduce a deficit that had been $33 million in 1987 to $5.2 million by 1998.
KTTU
On April 10, 1989, KDTU became KTTU-TV in an effort to separate the station from its diocesan past. A new promotional campaign and marketing blitz were rolled out, and the station's programming was changed to focus on movies.
KDTU was no longer part of a money-losing diocese, but it was still in an oversaturated television marketplace that was generally agreed to have one station too many.
KPOL exited when it closed in October: the fact that its owners had not anticipated KDTU being a competitor was cited as one reason for its failure.
In September 1991, Mountain States Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the Providence Journal Corporation and owner of KMSB, signed a time brokerage agreement with Clear Channel. KMSB-TV moved into KTTU-TV's studios on 6th Avenue, and Mountain States began programming and selling all advertising time across both stations and providing other services to Clear Channel.
The station signed up for
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
before its 1995 launch.
Beyond UPN, KTTU continued with a mix of syndicated programs, sports, and two public affairs programs on Tucson issues.
In 1997, the
Belo Corporation
Belo Corporation was a Dallas-based media company that owned 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and three regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A. H. Belo Corporation after one of the ...
purchased the Providence Journal Corporation; Belo then purchased KTTU-TV outright from Clear Channel in 2002.
Many operations for the Tucson pair under Belo, outside of advertising, were run from
KTVK
KTVK (channel 3) is an independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate KPHO-TV (channel 5) and low-power LATV affiliate KPHE-LD (channel 44). KTVK and KPHO-TV share s ...
in Phoenix.
UPN and
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
merged into
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
in 2006. KTTU-TV management analyzed joining the new network but found that, compared to its existing arrangements, it would have had to give up control of valuable advertising time in the afternoon, which it found to not fit their business needs;
KWBA-TV
KWBA-TV (channel 58) is a television station licensed to Sierra Vista, Arizona, United States, serving as the CW affiliate for the Tucson area. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside ABC affiliate KGUN-TV (channel 9). Both station ...
joined The CW, while KTTU picked up
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
.
In November 2011, Belo announced that it would enter into a shared services agreement with
Raycom Media
Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom, through its Commun ...
beginning in February 2012. This outsourcing arrangement resulted in
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
affiliate
KOLD-TV
KOLD-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to Fox affiliate KMSB (channel 11) and MyNetworkTV affiliate KTTU (channel 18) ...
taking over daily non-sales operations of KMSB and KTTU and moving their advertising sales department into KOLD's studios. All remaining positions at the two stations were eliminated and master control moved from
KTVK
KTVK (channel 3) is an independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate KPHO-TV (channel 5) and low-power LATV affiliate KPHE-LD (channel 44). KTVK and KPHO-TV share s ...
in Phoenix to KOLD.
On June 13, 2013, the
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[Arizona Daily Star
The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States.
History
L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...]
'', the KMSB license was instead acquired by Sander Media, LLC, owned by former Belo executive Jack Sander. The KTTU license was acquired by Tucker Operating Co., LLC, owned by former president and CEO of
Fisher Communications
Fisher Communications was a media company in the United States. Based in Seattle, Washington, the company primarily owned a number of radio and television stations in the Western United States. It was the last company in the Seattle area to own ...
Ben Tucker, as there were too few unique owners of commercial TV stations in the market to permit the duopoly to continue under FCC regulations.
Tucker had previously owned
WGTU
WGTU (channel 29) and WGTQ (channel 8) are television stations in Traverse City, Michigan, Traverse City and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the northern Lower Peninsula ...
in
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...
, in a similar capacity. The sale was completed on December 23.
In 2015, Gannett split into print and broadcast companies—the latter known as
Tegna
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into t ...
—and repurchased the Sander stations. Tegna acquired the station outright in 2019 for a net payment to Tucker of $171,000.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
The digital transmission facility, shared with other Tucson stations, was built on Mount Bigelow in 2003.
The analog transmitter was shut down early on January 18, 2009, owing to equipment failure; KTTU continued broadcasting digitally on UHF channel 19, using
virtual channel
In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
18.
References
External links
Tucson News Now, website of Gray-operated Tucson stations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kttu
MyNetworkTV affiliates
This TV affiliates
Heroes & Icons affiliates
Start TV affiliates
Twist (TV network) affiliates
TTU
Television channels and stations established in 1984
1984 establishments in Arizona
Gray Television
Tegna Inc.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson