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KTTW (channel 7) is a
religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
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
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...
, United States,
owned and operated In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
by
Tri-State Christian Television Tri-State Christian Television, Inc., doing business as TCT Network and TCT Ministries, is a religious television network in the United States. The network was founded in May 1977 by Garth Coonce and his wife, Tina Coonce. TCT Network includes tr ...
(TCT) with transmitter in
Rowena, South Dakota Rowena (pronounced "roh-WEE'-nuh") is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population of the CDP was 68 at the 2020 census. It is located along South Dakota Highway ...
. It is rebroadcast on KTTM in
Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
, whose transmitter is located near
Alpena, South Dakota Alpena (pronounced al-PEE'-nuh) is a town in northeastern corner of Jerauld County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census. History Alpena was platted in 1883, and most likely was named after Alpena, Michigan, th ...
. KTTM covers areas of south-central and southeastern South Dakota that receive a marginal to non-existent over-the-air signal from KTTW. Established 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''). Twelve sp ...
affiliate on channel 17 in 1987, KTTW was the fourth commercial station to be built in Sioux Falls and the first Fox affiliate in the state. KTTM went on the air in 1991. Its owner, Independent Communications, Inc., sold the programming and Fox affiliation, as well as its five dependent translators, to
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 ...
in 2020, resulting in the establishment of Fox Sioux Falls, a subchannel of
KDLT-TV KDLT-TV (channel 46) is a television station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC and Fox. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual ABC/ CW+ affiliate KSFY-TV (channel 13). Both stations share studios in Courtho ...
. It then sold the KTTW and KTTM facilities and licenses to Radiant Life Ministries, a sister company of TCT.


History

After applying on June 1, 1984, 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 ...
(FCC) granted Family Broadcasting Company, Inc., of
Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line. The city is typical o ...
, a construction permit to build a new commercial television station on channel 17 in Sioux Falls in November of that year. Work began in earnest in 1986, and the station began broadcasting on May 29, 1987. Family Broadcasting soon reorganized as Independent Communications, Inc. Upon sign-on, channel 17 affiliated with
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 ...
, which had launched its prime time schedule only a month earlier. However, Fox did not consider itself a network at the time, but a "satellite-delivered national program service" that only carried programming on weekends. Thus, for all intents and purposes, KTTW was programmed as an independent, as was the case with most early Fox affiliates. It filled the weekday schedule with cartoons, home shopping shows, and fare from the
Hit Video USA Hit Video USA was a 24-hour music video television network based out of Houston, Texas. The station debuted in 1985 as a low power television station in Houston, operating on channel 5 there as 'TV5'. From 1985 to 1993, the station was located on ...
service and
American Christian Television System The American Christian Television System (ACTS) was an American religious television network that was founded by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Plans for the network involved a distribution reach through a combination of low-power and fu ...
. Chuck Poppen was the general manager, with rental company owner Jim Elmen as the major financial backer of the venture; the Elmens would own 89 percent of KTTW. Elmen recalled in 1991 that he bought into the station to give viewers a chance to see programming that had previously only been seen on cable, particularly children's programming. By then, the station had significantly upgraded its programming, airing both ''
Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...
'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' as well as
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
baseball and
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
basketball. On August 31, 1991, KTTM signed on, expanding coverage to cities including Huron and
Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...
. By this time, the station had turned the corner from what Elmen would recall as "a couple year of H-E-double-L" financially. The station moved to offices on West 11th Street in 1995, which it would occupy for 25 years. In 1997, Poppen resigned, citing differences with the majority stakeholders. After the
digital television transition The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is conv ...
, in 2009, KTTW changed its branding from its former analog channel 17 to its digital physical channel of 7. On November 2, 2020, KTTW's non-license assets were purchased 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 ...
, owner of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate
KSFY-TV KSFY-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual NBC/Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox affiliate KDLT-TV (channel 46). Both st ...
(channel 13) and NBC affiliate
KDLT-TV KDLT-TV (channel 46) is a television station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC and Fox. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual ABC/ CW+ affiliate KSFY-TV (channel 13). Both stations share studios in Courtho ...
(channel 46); Fox programming moved to KDLT on digital subchannel 46.2.
Cozi TV Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1960s to the 2000s. The network origina ...
, which was also carried on KTTW, moved to subchannel 46.4. KTTW and KTTM's main channels began carrying
This TV This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally fo ...
. Independent also sold five translators of KTTW, at
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Brookings,
Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
,
Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
, and
Worthington, Minnesota Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the time of the 2020 census. The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, S ...
, to Gray for $1. According to a local business publication, Independent Communications was exiting television altogether and intended to sell or donate KTTW "to a nonprofit entity in the near future". On February 10, 2021, it was announced that
Marion, Illinois Marion is a city in Williamson and Johnson Counties, Illinois, United States, and is the county seat of Williamson County. The population was 16,855 at the 2020 census. It is part of a dispersed urban area that developed out of the early 20th ...
–based Tri-State Christian Television would acquire the license assets of KTTW/KTTM for $850,000. The transaction was completed on December 21; the stations switched to TCT programming the next day.


Technical information


Subchannels

KTTW and KTTM both broadcast TCT and additional national multicast channels:


Analog-to-digital conversion

Both stations shut down their analog signals for the 2009 analog shutoff date: * KTTW shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 17; the station's digital signal broadcasts on its pre-transition VHF channel 7. * KTTM shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 22 to VHF channel 12.


Note


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kttw Tri-State Christian Television affiliates This TV affiliates Laff (TV network) affiliates Bounce TV affiliates Grit (TV network) affiliates Defy TV affiliates TrueReal affiliates Quest (American TV network) affiliates Twist (TV network) affiliates Television channels and stations established in 1987 1987 establishments in South Dakota TTW