KFYF

KFYF was a television station serving Fairbanks and the Interior Alaska market. It operated under the KFXF call sign for most of its broadcasting history and was affiliated with the Fox network. The station was owned by Tanana Valley Television Company, a local television company associated with Bill St. Pierre and a group of investors. The station's origins date to the early 1990s. Although channel 7 had originally been assigned to KSEV in 1984, that proposed station never began broadcasting. Tanana Valley Television instead launched a low-power service under the call sign K07UU on April 20, 1992. Its arrival expanded Fairbanks' commercial television landscape, which had previously been served primarily by KTVF and KATN. The low-power operation received a full-power license and adopted the KFXF call sign on February 22, 1995. KFXF was principally a Fox affiliate, and it became notable for maintaining that affiliation throughout its full-power history. During different periods it also carried selected programming from other networks and services. Its early schedule included overnight programming from the Canadian music channel MuchMusic, and it briefly carried NBA programming from NBC in 1993 and 1994. After KTVF changed its network affiliation from CBS to NBC in 1996, KFXF carried a limited selection of CBS programs, including 60 Minutes, The Young and the Restless, Late Show with David Letterman, the 1996 NCAA Final Four championship game, and later rounds of the 1996 Masters. From 2000 through 2006, it also aired programming from UPN. The station considered affiliating with MyNetworkTV after that service was created, but did not proceed. KFXF introduced high-definition prime-time broadcasting in September 2010, becoming the first network station in Fairbanks to do so. In July 2012, Tanana Valley Television entered into a shared-services arrangement under which it operated the local NBC affiliate KTVF. Some KTVF internal functions moved into KFXF's facilities, increasing the operational links between the two stations. A major change came in 2016 and 2017. Northern Lights Media, a Gray Television subsidiary associated with the Anchorage stations KTUU-TV and KYES-TV, agreed to purchase KFXF-LD, KXDF-CD, and KTVF from Tanana Valley Television for $8 million in cash. The transaction closed on January 13, 2017. The full-power KFXF license was excluded because the number of full-power stations in the Fairbanks market did not permit the proposed ownership combination under applicable Federal Communications Commission rules. Tanana Valley Television reported that the full-power station had gone dark on January 11, 2017. Its call sign changed from KFXF to KFYF on February 9, 2017, while KFXF-LD remained the market's Fox outlet. Tanana Valley Television surrendered the KFYF license to the FCC on March 2, 2017, and the commission cancelled it on March 10, 2017. KFYF therefore no longer operates as a television station. The surviving low-power KFXF-LD service is a separate broadcast facility and should not be treated as the same licensed entity as the former full-power KFYF.

Channel 7 in Fairbanks was assigned the KSEV call sign in 1984, but the proposed station never launched. In 1992, Bill St. Pierre and a group of investors formed Tanana Valley Television Company and established a low-power station on the channel. Operating as K07UU, it began broadcasting on April 20, 1992. The launch made it the first new commercial station in the Fairbanks area since KTVF and KATN began service in the 1950s, and it became an important additional outlet in a market that had long relied on those two major network stations. The station was upgraded to full-power status on February 22, 1995, when it adopted the KFXF call sign. It joined the Fox network and retained that affiliation throughout its full-power history. KFXF's programming was not limited exclusively to Fox. In its early years, the station carried overnight programming from MuchMusic and briefly aired NBA games supplied by NBC. After KTVF moved from CBS to NBC on April 1, 1996, KFXF carried selected CBS programs for a period, including several nationally recognized entertainment, newsmagazine, daytime, and late-night programs. It also carried selected major sporting events, including the 1996 NCAA Final Four championship game and portions of the 1996 Masters tournament. KFXF later broadcast UPN programming from 2000 until 2006. When UPN and The WB were combined into The CW, KFXF considered but declined a secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV. The station modernized its technical presentation over time. In January 2009, it ended analog broadcasting on VHF channel 7 as part of the digital transition. Its digital signal moved from pre-transition UHF channel 22 to VHF channel 7. In September 2010, KFXF became the first Fairbanks network station to present prime-time programming in high definition. Tanana Valley Television expanded its local operating role in July 2012 through a shared-services agreement with KTVF, the Fairbanks NBC affiliate. Although KTVF retained its own studios, some internal operations were relocated to KFXF's facilities. The arrangement meant that the market's commercial television stations were increasingly concentrated under two operating companies. In November 2016, Northern Lights Media, a subsidiary of Gray Television that operated KTUU-TV and KYES-TV in Anchorage, announced a proposed purchase of KFXF-LD, KXDF-CD, and KTVF from Tanana Valley Television. The announced cash consideration was $8 million. The deal closed on January 13, 2017. The full-power KFXF license was excluded because the Fairbanks market had only five full-power stations, a circumstance that prevented the proposed KFXF-KTVF combination from satisfying ownership rules for a duopoly. Tanana Valley Television notified the FCC that the full-power station had gone dark on January 11, 2017. The call sign was changed from KFXF to KFYF on February 9. On March 2, Tanana Valley Television surrendered the KFYF license, and the FCC cancelled it on March 10, 2017. KFXF-LD continued as the Interior Alaska Fox outlet, but it was a distinct low-power station rather than a continuation of the cancelled full-power KFYF license.

• 2017

  KFYF license cancelled

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  The full-power station went dark, changed call signs to KFYF, and had its surrendered license cancelled by the FCC in March.

• 2012

  Shared-services arrangement with KTVF

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  Tanana Valley Television began operating KTVF under a shared-services agreement, with some functions based at KFXF's facilities.

• 2010

  High-definition prime-time launch

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  KFXF became the first Fairbanks network station to broadcast prime-time programming in high definition.

• 2009

  Digital transition completed

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  The station ended analog broadcasting and moved its digital signal to VHF channel 7.

• 1995

  Full-power KFXF service begins

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  The station upgraded to a full-power license and adopted the KFXF call sign on February 22.

• 1992

  K07UU begins broadcasting

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  Tanana Valley Television launched the low-power K07UU service on April 20, expanding Fairbanks' commercial television choices.

• 1984

  Channel 7 assigned to KSEV

  [1]KFYFen.wikipedia.org

  The Fairbanks channel 7 allocation received the KSEV call sign, but the proposed station never signed on.

A local commercial television broadcaster serving Fairbanks and Interior Alaska, with Fox as its primary network affiliation and supplementary syndicated, sports, and occasional non-Fox network programming.

• Broadcast television station · 1995

  KFXF full-power television service

  The station's principal service was a full-power commercial television signal for Fairbanks and Interior Alaska. It carried Fox programming, syndicated shows, selected sports and occasional programming from other networks. The full-power service operated under the KFXF call sign from 1995 until it went dark in January 2017.

• Low-power broadcast television · 1992

  K07UU low-power service

  K07UU was the low-power predecessor to the full-power KFXF operation. It began broadcasting on April 20, 1992, providing a new commercial television outlet to the Fairbanks market before the station received its full-power license.

• Low-power broadcast television

  KFXF-LD simulcast outlet

  KFXF-LD served as a low-power translator and simulcast outlet for programming associated with the Fairbanks Fox service. It remained a separate facility from the former full-power station whose license was later identified as KFYF.

• 2016

  Sale of associated Fairbanks stations to Northern Lights MediaM&A

  Background

  Tanana Valley Television sought to sell KFXF-LD, KXDF-CD, and KTVF to Northern Lights Media, a Gray Television subsidiary. The full-power KFXF license was not included because of Fairbanks market ownership limitations.

  Action taken

  The parties announced the transaction in November 2016, and it closed on January 13, 2017.

  Aftermath

  The full-power KFXF operation went dark, changed its call sign to KFYF, and had its license surrendered and cancelled. KFXF-LD remained the Interior Alaska Fox outlet.

  Cash purchase price for KFXF-LD, KXDF-CD, and KTVF. $8 million announced consideration (2016 announcement)

  Source

1. 1KFYFen.wikipedia.org