KATH-LD,

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' ...

2 (

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

digital channel 35), is a low-powered

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

affiliated Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation pla ...

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 ear ...

licensed to both Juneau and Douglas, Alaska, United States. The station is owned by

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 ...

. KATH-LD's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

is located in downtown Juneau. KSCT-LP (virtual channel 2,

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

digital channel 5) in Sitka is a

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

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 In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

KTUU-TV (channel 2) in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

. On cable, KATH-LD is carried on GCI in Juneau on channel 15, on

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV ...

throughout Southeast Alaska on channel 5/9380, and on

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California, El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary ...

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 Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

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 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''). Twelv ...

affiliate owned by Dan Etulain, who previously owned KTNL (channel 13) from 1983 to 1992. KSCT-LP had operated as a cable-only station since December 9, 1994; 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. 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. Initially, most of KSCT-LP's non-Fox programming was supplied by National Empowerment Television, though it also broadcast some local programming; after NET moved to a satellite that the station could not receive, its programming was replaced with Channel America,

Outdoor Channel Outdoor Channel is an American pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, Western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. The network can be viewed on multiple platforms including ...

, and American Independent Network on December 1, 1995. By this time, KSCT-LP had added a secondary affiliation with

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 terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

. The station was originally assigned the call letters K05KH; it officially became KSCT-LP on November 20, 1995, though it had promoted itself as "KSCT" since its launch. 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. Delays in receiving equipment required to place the station on GCI's lineup postponed the launch of the station to August 17, 1998. NBC programming was previously only available in Juneau via cable carriage of Seattle's

KING-TV KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Pl ...

; however, KING was not carried on the basic cable tier, unlike KATH-LP. 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. Juneau's existing stations, ABC affiliate KJUD (channel 8) and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

station KTOO-TV (channel 3), were at the time part of the statewide Alaska's SuperStation and AlaskaOne networks respectively, with limited local programming. Shortly after KATH-LP's launch, Etulain purchased K05JR, which had been licensed in 1994; the sale was completed on May 26, 1999. K05JR and KSCT-LP continued their secondary WB affiliations until early 1999; at that time, K05JR added a secondary UPN affiliation. K05JR's call sign was changed to KATH-LP on November 15, 2001; 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. 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

from

MediaNews Group MNG Enterprises, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns ove ...

. 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 jurisd ...

(FCC) approved the deal on October 29, 2013. 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, but a deal to resume it was reached on February 6, 2014. 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

on May 28, 2020. The sale made KATH-LD and KSCT-LP sister stations to KTUU-TV and

KYES-TV KAUU (channel 5) is a television station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KTUU-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios on East 40th Avenue in An ...

and KTVF in

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the ...

, and gave Gray a monopoly on NBC programming throughout Alaska. The sale was completed on July 31.

Digital channel

The stations digital signal carries one subchannel:

References

External links

*
KSCT-LP website
* * {{Gray TV 1998 establishments in Alaska NBC network affiliates Television channels and stations established in 1998 ATH-LD Low-power television stations in the United States