Alaska Public Media Acquiring KTVA Transmitter and License
Radio cluster Alpha Media owns the tower in Midtown Anchorage. Attached to it is the broadcasting equipment for KTVA channel 11, the longtime CBS affiliate until 2020, when GCI’s Denali Media Holdings sold rights to that programming to Gray Media, owners of KTUU channel 2.
Photo Credit: Scott Rhode | Alaska Business
The transmitter on a Midtown Anchorage tower that broadcasts KTVA on channel 11 is becoming part of Alaska Public Media (AKPM). The nonprofit that broadcasts KAKM on channel 7 has agreed to acquire the license and equipment from Denali Media Anchorage Corp., a subsidiary of GCI. The transfer is pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Filling Gaps in Signal Coverage
As a first step, Denali Media and AKPM applied to the FCC on October 10 for an assignment of authorization.
AKPM currently broadcasts KAKM from the 807-foot-tall Knik TV mast at Goose Bay, across Knik Arm from Anchorage. AKPM plans to simulcast its current slate of educational public television services via the KTVA signal from inside the Anchorage Bowl so that more viewers can watch free over-the-air television due to the increased signal coverage.
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“This is an exciting time for Alaska Public Media and a tremendous opportunity for our viewing community,” says Ed Ulman, AKPM president and CEO. “We are pleased that more viewers—many who may be unable to pay cable, satellite, and streaming service fees—will have access to a stronger broadcast signal they can access 24/7 with an HDTV and an indoor antenna.” Ulman notes that areas on the south side of Anchorage can’t easily watch KAKM without a roof antenna or cable TV.
AKPM’s educational programming includes PBS, Create TV, and PBS KIDS, and they will continue on channel 7 and its digital subchannels. The acquisition of KTVA would allow it to fill gaps in broadcast coverage, and more viewers would also be able to access potentially life-saving emergency alert messaging. Digital TV tuners will have to rescan for new station identification, once the transfer goes through.
KTVA was the longtime CBS affiliate in Anchorage until it went off the air on September 3, 2020. CBS programming switched to KYES channel 5, and much of KTVA’s news staff combined with KTUU channel 2, both stations owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television. After going dark for a year, KTVA returned to the air in September 2021 as an affiliate of rerun network Rewind TV.
“We are excited for Alaska Public Media to make good use of the station,” says GCI Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Billy Wailand. “With the addition of the KTVA signal, the team at AKPM will be even better positioned to provide the organization’s vital public service and educational programming to Alaskans.”
GCI sold KTVA’s CBS affiliation to Gray Television in 2020 and incurred a fine of $518,283 from the FCC for violating a rule against a single company owning more than one of the top four full-power stations in a broadcast market. Gray Television came into compliance in March 2021 by switching the CBS programming to a low-power translator, and KYES became KAUU.
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