KTVB
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television station KTVB (channel 7) is a television station in Boise, Idaho, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on West Fairview Avenue (off I-184) in Boise, and its transmitter is located on Deer Point in unincorporated Boise County. It is rebroadcast by KTFT-LD (channel 7) in Twin Falls, which airs KTVB programming with local advertising for the Magic Valley area from its transmitter on Flat Top Butte near Jerome, Idaho, and maintains a local sales office in Twin Falls.
Channel 7 is the oldest continuously operating station in Idaho. It debuted on July 12, 1953, as KIDO-TV, the state's second television station to broadcast. Though KFXD-TV (channel 6) in Nampa beat KIDO-TV to the air by a month, KIDO-TV was by far the more organized operation with network and local programming, neither of which KFXD-TV featured in its brief two-month tenure on air. It was owned by Georgia Davidson alongside Boise radio station KIDO and a primary affiliate of NBC, though it also held affiliations with other networks in its early history. Davidson sold off the radio station in 1958, and channel 7 changed its call sign to KTVB the next year. Davidson was for years the only woman at NBC affiliate meetings. By the 1970s, KTVB had emerged as the news ratings leader in Boise, a position it has not yielded since.
Davidson sold KTVB to King Broadcasting in 1979. The station continued to lead local news ratings in the market with long-tenured personalities. In 1986, KTVB established K38AS (now KTFT-LD), the first low-power NBC affiliate. KTVB has changed ownership in larger transactions three times since 1990: to the Providence Journal Company, Belo Corporation, and Gannett, whose broadcast division split off as Tegna in 2015.
HistoryEdit
Construction and early yearsEdit
Boise radio station KIDO, owned by Georgia Davidson, filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in March 1952 seeking to build a television station on the city's allotted channel 7. The application arrived in anticipation of the end of the FCC's multi-year freeze on TV station applications.<ref name="Idah520326">Template:Cite news</ref> The construction permit was granted on December 23,<ref name="Idah521224">Template:Cite news</ref> KIDO already had some equipment on hand; the month before, it conducted a closed-circuit demonstration of television at its AM transmitter site.<ref name="Idah521123">Template:Cite news</ref> On an elevation behind the city, construction began in February on the transmitter site.<ref name="Idah530205">Template:Cite news</ref> The station signed for affiliation with the CBS, NBC, and DuMont networks;<ref name="Idah530404">Template:Cite news</ref> KIDO radio had maintained NBC affiliation since 1937.<ref name="Idah371001">Template:Cite news</ref>
From studios on 700 Crestline Drive, KIDO-TV began broadcasting on July 12, 1953; Philo Farnsworth, a television pioneer, was one of the guests of honor at the dedication.<ref name="Idah530713">Template:Cite news</ref> It was the second television station to make its bow in Idaho, but under the circumstances, it was effectively the first serious station to set up. On June 18, KFXD-TV (channel 6) in Nampa put out its first test pattern,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> initiating regular programming under special temporary authority 11 days later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="hurt"/> Where KIDO-TV had studios and network affiliations, KFXD-TV had neither; it was reliant exclusively on old movies and operated with the bare minimum of personnel. KFXD-TV lasted less than two months before leaving the air.<ref name="hurt">Template:Cite news</ref> The lone missing national network, ABC, affiliated with KIDO-TV in December.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This replaced CBS, which had moved to new station KBOI-TV (channel 2) the previous month.<ref name="Idah780709">Template:Cite news</ref>
National live programming became a reality beginning with the 1955 World Series after a microwave transmission link between Boise and Salt Lake City was set up by KIDO-TV and KBOI-TV.Template:R KIDO-TV's tower was relocated to Deer Point in 1956, which together with an increased effective radiated power extended the station's coverage to a further 80,000 people.<ref name="Time560927">Template:Cite news</ref> Davidson agreed to sell KIDO radio to the Mesabi Western Corp. in November 1958; the radio station retained its call sign,<ref name="Idah581123">Template:Cite news</ref> and channel 7 became KTVB on February 1, 1959.<ref name="hc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The sale alleviated cash issues for the television station, which struggled financially in its early years and particularly after Boise became a two-station market;<ref name="Idah900701">Template:Cite news</ref> in a 1978 interview, Davidson noted that she "lived with the spectre of bankruptcy, a very embarrassing bankruptcy, day or night".<ref name="Idah780724">Template:Cite news</ref>
KTVB in La Grande, Oregon: KTVREdit
KTVB received a construction permit on December 18, 1963, to expand its reach with the construction of a satellite station on channel 13 in La Grande, Oregon, northwest of Boise.<ref name="Idah631213">Template:Cite news</ref> KTVR began broadcasting on December 6, 1964.<ref name="Idah650212">Template:Cite news</ref> It initially offered local news and information for Eastern Oregon from studios in La Grande.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1967, KTVB closed the local operation in La Grande and converted KTVR into a full-time rebroadcaster of the Boise station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1974, KTVB received an offer from the Oregon Educational and Public Broadcasting Service (OEPBS) to acquire KTVR for integration into its statewide public television network and serve large areas of Eastern Oregon.<ref name="Idah741103">Template:Cite news</ref> Citing a lack of local viewership and the availability of NBC stations from Spokane and Portland,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> KTVB took KTVR out of service on March 7, 1975, while the deal was pending;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it did not return to the air under OEPBS ownership until February 1977.<ref name="Stat770221">Template:Cite news</ref> It was the second time KTVB had provided facilities to public television; in Boise, KTVB aired Sesame Street when the show debuted in 1969, as Idaho did not have a public station at the time,<ref name="Idah970408">Template:Cite news</ref> and it provided its transmitter site and engineering resources to launch KAID-TV (channel 4) in 1971.<ref name="Time710722">Template:Cite news</ref>
Growth and new studiosEdit
Ground was broken for new studios at 5400 Fairview Avenue in 1970,<ref name="Idah700418">Template:Cite news</ref> and the facility formally opened the next year. The Template:Convert facility boasted the largest TV studio in Idaho.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1974, KTVB lost ABC programming to a new station—KITC-TV, soon renamed KIVI-TV, on channel 6.Template:R
Davidson—long the only female owner within the NBC television network among 125 men at annual meetingsTemplate:R—announced the sale of KTVB to King Broadcasting of Seattle in 1979.<ref name="Idah791006">Template:Cite news</ref> The sale to King Broadcasting left Boise without any locally owned television stations. Despite this, Davidson believed the sale was necessary to ensure the continued existence of KTVB. She feared saddling her family with a large estate tax burden upon her death, diminishing KTVB's profits and ability to invest.<ref name="Time791006">Template:Cite news</ref> King Broadcasting took over in April 1980. While the new owners retained senior management,<ref name="Idah800418">Template:Cite news</ref> they dropped paid religious programming on Sunday mornings to conform with longstanding company policy.<ref name="Idah800809">Template:Cite news</ref>
Providence Journal, Belo, and Gannett/Tegna ownershipEdit
King Broadcasting Company put itself up for sale in 1990, citing the age of its majority owners, Patsy Bullitt Collins and Harriet Stimson Bullitt, the daughters of the late company matriarch, Dorothy Bullitt.<ref name="Idah900822">Template:Cite news</ref> It accepted an offer from the Providence Journal Company in 1991;<ref name="Idah910302">Template:Cite news</ref> the transaction closed in 1992.<ref name="Idah920225">Template:Cite news</ref> Under Providence Journal, KTVB became a contributor to the new Northwest Cable News (NWCN) regional cable channel when it launched in 1995, with one reporter dedicated to NWCN based in Boise.<ref name="Idah951211">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn The Belo Corporation purchased Providence Journal in 1996.<ref name="Idah960927">Template:Cite news</ref>
At the end of October 2003, KTVB launched 24/7 NewsChannel on its second digital subchannel and local cable, one of the first digital secondary subchannels in the nation. The subchannel's programming initially consisted of time-shifted newscasts and feature programs, though plans called for original news programs and other local programming.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Idah031028">Template:Cite news</ref> By 2011, the station had rebranded its 24/7 NewsChannel as "Idaho's Very Own 24/7", and it aired a dedicated 6:30 p.m. newscast and 7 a.m. morning news extension.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The subchannel more recently has served as an outlet for local sports coverage, including for the 2023-24 season a package of Boise State Broncos men's basketball games<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Idaho Steelheads minor league hockey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On June 13, 2013, the Gannett Company announced that it would acquire Belo.<ref name=is-saletogannett>Template:Cite news</ref> The sale was completed on December 23.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gannett's TV stations and newspapers split into separate companies in 2015, the former being named Tegna.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
KTVB in Twin Falls: KTFT-LDEdit
Plans to extend channel 7 to Twin Falls had existed almost as long as the station. In 1955, then-KIDO-TV partnered with Twin Falls radio station KTFI to obtain a construction permit for channel 13 in that city, awarded as KHTV. The station grant was reinstated despite protests by KLIX-TV (channel 11, now KMVT) that it would put the local outlet out of business; it was sold and dropped the proposal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Renewed interest in bringing KTVB over-the-air to Twin Falls began in 1981, when King Broadcasting filed for a construction permit for a low-power TV station.<ref name="Time810927">Template:Cite news</ref> This was later abandoned in favor of a channel 38 permit acquired from American Community Broadcasting, Inc., which already had another channel. The station debuted on July 1, 1986,<ref name="Time860717">Template:Cite news</ref> as K38AS, the first low-power station to be an NBC affiliate; KMVT ceased offering NBC programs leading up to its launch. Its programming consisted of KTVB with Twin Falls-area commercials, sold from an advertising office in town.<ref name="Time860615">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Time860720">Template:Cite news</ref> In December 1994, the station took a four-letter call sign of KTFT-LP (for "Twin Falls Television").<ref name="Time950109">Template:Cite news</ref>
News operationEdit
News coverage from channel 7 started with its first day on air. Vern Moore, a KIDO announcer, was the first voice heard on the new KIDO-TV and the first TV news anchor in Idaho.<ref name="Idah110313">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the station was initially not very competitive against KBOI-TV. When Robert Krueger—Georgia Davidson's son-in-law, who would serve in management for 40 years—started at then-KIDO-TV in 1956, he'd joke that "we ranked fifth in a two-station town".<ref name="Idah960823">Template:Cite news</ref>
Under Krueger, the station cemented itself as the news ratings leader in Boise, with such public affairs programming as Viewpoint.Template:R As early as 1978, it was the "undisputed ratings king" in the market, well ahead of KBCI and KIVI.<ref name="Idah780406">Template:Cite news</ref> KTVB was the first Boise station to present an hour of local early evening news when it debuted the 5 p.m. newscast Idaho at Five in 1984<ref name="Idah841119">Template:Cite news</ref> and first with weekend morning news in 1992.<ref name="Idah920317">Template:Cite news</ref> The dominance in news ratings has continued; for instance, in November 2010, each of KTVB's local newscasts had more viewers than their competition combined.<ref name="Idah110114">Template:Cite news</ref>
During this time, the station became known for long-tenured and popular local news personalities. Dee Sarton spent nearly 42 years with KTVB, most of that time anchoring Idaho at Five and other early evening newscasts;<ref name="Idah770904">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> one of her co-anchors, Carolyn Holly, worked at channel 7 for nearly 34 years.<ref name="Idah151008">Template:Cite news</ref> Anchor Mark Johnson spent 30 years with the station, retiring in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Larry Gebert was the station's meteorologist for 30 years until his death in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
KTVB added a 4 p.m. news hour in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2020, the station debuted a local lifestyle program, the midday Idaho Today, and reformatted its weeknight 5 p.m. news as the interactive The 208.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2024, the station aired 30 hours a week of news and public affairs programming.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notable former-on air staffEdit
- Trace Gallagher – reporter and weekend news anchor, 1990–1992<ref name="Idah900307">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Idah920426">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Michael Jenkins – weekend sports anchor, 1998<ref name="Idah980709">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Eric Johnson – weekend sports anchor, 1984–1986<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Idah860723">Template:Cite news</ref>
- David Kerley – anchor, early 1980s<ref name="Idah810917">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Christi Paul – weekend morning anchor, 1990s<ref name="Idah961207">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Wayne Walker – host of outdoors show Incredible Idaho, 1994–1999<ref name="Idah940527">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Technical informationEdit
SubchannelsEdit
The stations' signals are multiplexed:
| CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KTVB-HD | NBC | |
| 7.2 | 720p | 24/7 | Independent | ||
| 7.3 | 480i | Quest | Quest | ||
| 7.4 | Crime | True Crime Network | |||
| 7.5 | NEST | The Nest | |||
| 7.6 | ShopLC | Shop LC | |||
| 7.7 | NOSEY | Nosey | |||
| 7.8 | Rewind | Rewind TV |
| CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KTFT | NBC | |
| 7.2 | 720p | 24/7 | Independent | ||
| 7.3 | 480i | Crime | Quest | ||
| 7.4 | Twist | True Crime Network | |||
| 7.5 | ShopLC | Shop LC | |||
| 7.6 | TheGrio | The Nest | |||
| 7.7 | Nosey | ||||
| 7.8 | QVC |
Analog-to-digital conversionEdit
KTVB began broadcasting a digital signal on UHF channel 26 on November 1, 2002.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> KTVB shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from channel 26 to channel 7 for post-transition operations.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Idah090617">Template:Cite news</ref> To solve issues some viewers had receiving the station, KTVB was authorized to increase its effective radiated power weeks after the switch.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
TranslatorsEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Boise TV Template:Twin Falls TV Template:Idaho TV Template:TV Stations Oregon Template:Tegna