KTBY
KTBY is a Fox-affiliated television station serving Anchorage and parts of Southcentral Alaska.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KTBY is a full-power television station serving Anchorage, Alaska, on virtual channel 4. The station is affiliated with the Fox network and is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC. Its studios are located on East Tudor Road in Anchorage, where it shares facilities and operational arrangements with KYUR, the market's ABC and CW Plus affiliate, owned by Vision Alaska LLC. Coastal provides certain services to KYUR through joint sales and shared services agreements, making KTBY the nominal senior partner in an unusual arrangement involving a Fox affiliate and a Big Three network station. The station was developed by Totem Broadcasting during a period when Anchorage was gaining the population and commercial base needed to support an additional television outlet. Totem Broadcasting was incorporated on January 11, 1980, and subsequently pursued an unassigned VHF frequency in Anchorage. The company promoted the proposed station as a family-friendly alternative with religious, current-affairs, and entertainment programming, partly in response to concerns about the growing availability of television content featuring sex and violence. KTBY began broadcasting on December 2, 1983, with Mike Parker as president, Mike Buck as general manager, and Dave Peters II as program director. KTBY joined the newly established Fox network on October 9, 1986. It was among the relatively small number of VHF stations to affiliate with Fox when the network launched, and it remained Alaska's only Fox affiliate until KFXF began broadcasting in Fairbanks in 1992. During the late 1980s, KTBY also became the first Anchorage station to broadcast around the clock. Its programming profile included syndicated entertainment and professional wrestling, making it an early regular outlet for televised wrestling in Anchorage. Programs associated with American Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, and WWF Superstars of Wrestling appeared on the station during the decade. KTBY has had several different approaches to local news. Until October 2008, KTVA produced a weeknight 9 p.m. newscast for the station. KTBY then established its own news operation. In 2020, economic pressures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led KTBY and KYUR to reduce local news staffing and outsource much of their news production to NewsNet. The resulting 9 p.m. KTBY broadcast used the NewsNet Alaska identity and combined a locally produced Anchorage segment with material from NewsNet's national service. In 2022, the stations moved their outsourced news production to News Hub, a service acquired by Coastal Television, and branded the output as Your Alaska Link News. The station's technical footprint includes digital transmission on UHF channel 20 while retaining virtual channel 4, as well as low-power translators serving communities including Homer, Girdwood, Kenai, Ninilchik, and Kasilof. KTBY completed its federally mandated analog shutdown on June 12, 2009. Its transmitter is located in downtown Anchorage atop the Hilton Anchorage East Tower hotel. Through its main signal and translator network, KTBY combines a national Fox affiliation with regional distribution intended to reach viewers across a geographically dispersed Alaskan market.
History
KTBY traces its origins to Totem Broadcasting, which was incorporated on January 11, 1980. The company explored the use of an unassigned VHF frequency in Anchorage at a time when the city was expanding and could potentially support another commercial television service. Totem presented the proposed outlet as a family-friendly station combining religious programming, current affairs, and entertainment. The station was intended to provide an alternative to what its promoters viewed as an increasingly permissive television market. Totem estimated that construction would cost approximately $1.5 million. KTBY signed on December 2, 1983, with Mike Parker as president, Mike Buck as general manager, and Dave Peters II as program director. The station initially operated as an independent outlet. It joined Fox on October 9, 1986, when the network launched nationally. KTBY was notable as one of the few VHF stations to affiliate with Fox at the network's beginning, and it remained the only Fox station in Alaska until KFXF launched in Fairbanks in 1992. By the late 1980s, KTBY had also become the first Anchorage station to broadcast 24 hours per day. The station's entertainment schedule during the 1980s included professional wrestling, a genre that had been largely absent from regular Anchorage television schedules. KTBY aired AWA All-Star Wrestling and later carried World Class Championship Wrestling and WWF Superstars of Wrestling. These programs helped the station respond to growing mainstream interest in wrestling while providing nationally recognizable syndicated content in a market where live wrestling events were relatively infrequent. KTBY's local news history has involved both in-house and outsourced models. Until October 1, 2008, KTVA produced a weeknight 9 p.m. newscast for KTBY. That arrangement ended when KTBY launched its own news operation. In June 2010, Coastal Television hired Scott Centers as general manager for KTBY and for related Vision Alaska operations under shared-services arrangements. In September of that year, KTBY relocated its master control operations to facilities shared with the Vision Alaska stations. Ownership changed in the late 2000s. On August 29, 2007, Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC announced that it intended to purchase KTBY from Piedmont Television Holdings. The transaction closed on May 7, 2008. Coastal subsequently operated KTBY alongside arrangements involving KYUR, creating a structure in which a Fox affiliate served as the nominal senior partner in shared sales and services relationships with a station carrying ABC and CW Plus programming. In 2013, the FCC identified a failure to update ownership information for KTBY's antenna structure. Coastal Television was fined $4,200 and later updated the information. The matter was a regulatory compliance issue rather than a programming or editorial controversy. The station's news model changed substantially in 2020. Facing economic pressure linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, KTBY and KYUR announced that much of their news production would be outsourced to NewsNet. Several local programs, including Good Day Alaska, were canceled, and most local news employees were laid off. KTBY retained an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast, while KYUR's news output was reduced to a 30-minute 10 p.m. broadcast. The programs used the NewsNet Alaska identity, combining a short Anchorage-produced segment with the national NewsNet feed originating in Cadillac, Michigan. In 2022, Coastal Television moved the stations' outsourced news production to News Hub, which it had recently acquired, and the output was presented as Your Alaska Link News. Technically, KTBY ended analog broadcasting on VHF channel 4 on June 12, 2009, the federally designated completion date for the United States digital television transition. Its digital transmission continued on UHF channel 20 while using virtual channel 4 for viewers. The station's transmitter is located in downtown Anchorage atop the Hilton Anchorage East Tower hotel. KTBY also reaches additional communities through low-power translators associated with the Alaska Rural Communications Service, including outlets serving Homer, Girdwood, Kenai, Ninilchik, and Kasilof. The station remains an active Fox affiliate focused on Anchorage and the wider Southcentral Alaska television market.
- 2022
News Hub becomes the outsourced news provider
[1]Coastal Television shifted the stations' outsourced news production to News Hub and introduced the Your Alaska Link News identity.
- 2020
News production is outsourced to NewsNet
[1]Economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led KTBY and KYUR to reduce local news operations and use NewsNet-based production.
- 2013
FCC antenna-information compliance matter
[1]The FCC fined the owner $4,200 after ownership information for KTBY's antenna structure was not updated; the information was later corrected.
- 2010
Shared operations expand
[1]KTBY appointed a general manager overseeing related station operations and moved master control to shared facilities.
- 2009
Analog transmission ends
[1]KTBY shut down its analog VHF signal on June 12, 2009, and continued digitally on UHF channel 20 using virtual channel 4.
- 2008
Coastal Television completes purchase
[1]Coastal Television completed its acquisition of KTBY from Piedmont Television Holdings on May 7, 2008.
- 2008
KTBY launches its own news operation
[1]The station ended KTVA-produced news and began producing its own local newscast.
- 1992
Alaska gains a second Fox affiliate
[1]KTBY ceased to be Alaska's only Fox station when KFXF began broadcasting in Fairbanks.
- 1986
KTBY becomes a Fox affiliate
[1]The station joined Fox when the network launched on October 9, 1986.
- 1983
KTBY signs on
[1]KTBY began broadcasting in Anchorage on December 2, 1983, as an independent television station.
Products and positioning
A local Fox network affiliate serving Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska, combining national entertainment and sports programming with regional news and over-the-air coverage extended by rural translators.
Television station · 1983
KTBY Fox 4
KTBY's core broadcast service is the Anchorage-area Fox affiliate carried on virtual channel 4. It combines Fox network programming with syndicated entertainment and local station content. Its terrestrial signal is supplemented by low-power translators serving additional communities in Southcentral Alaska.
Local television news · 2022
Your Alaska Link News
Your Alaska Link News is the news identity used by KTBY and related Coastal Television stations after news production moved to News Hub in 2022. The service represents a centralized production model with regional Alaska coverage for the stations' audiences.
Local and national television news · 2020
NewsNet Alaska
NewsNet Alaska was the branding used for KTBY's reduced news output after the station outsourced production during the COVID-19 economic downturn. The format combined a short locally produced Anchorage segment with portions of NewsNet's national feed.
Broadcast distribution
Alaska Rural Communications Service translators
KTBY programming is extended to rural and smaller Southcentral Alaska communities through low-power translator facilities associated with the Alaska Rural Communications Service. Listed translator communities include Homer, Girdwood, Kenai, Ninilchik, and Kasilof.
Brand decisions
2022
Move news production to News HubStrategyBackground
Coastal Television had acquired News Hub and was reorganizing production for its Alaska stations.
Action taken
KTBY and KYUR shifted outsourced news production to News Hub and adopted the Your Alaska Link News branding.
Aftermath
The stations continued using a centralized production model for regional news coverage.
2020
Outsource most news production to NewsNetStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic created financial pressure for KTBY and its sister station KYUR.
Action taken
The stations canceled several local programs, reduced local staffing, and used NewsNet production for much of their news output.
Aftermath
KTBY retained a one-hour 9 p.m. newscast branded NewsNet Alaska, combining local and national material.
2008
Launch an independent news operationOtherBackground
KTBY's weeknight 9 p.m. newscast had previously been produced by KTVA.
Action taken
The station ended the KTVA-produced program and began operating its own news service.
Aftermath
KTBY maintained a distinct local news identity until later changes to centralized and outsourced production.
2007
Coastal Television moves to acquire KTBYM&ABackground
KTBY was owned by Piedmont Television Holdings when Coastal Television Broadcasting Company announced its acquisition plan.
Action taken
Coastal Television announced an agreement to purchase the station, with the transaction closing in 2008.
Aftermath
KTBY became part of Coastal Television's Alaska operations and was subsequently managed alongside stations connected with Vision Alaska.
Reported acquisition price. $3,242,500 (Announced August 29, 2007; transaction completed May 7, 2008)
1986
Join the Fox network at launchStrategyBackground
KTBY was an independent station in Anchorage when Fox was preparing to launch as a national network.
Action taken
The station affiliated with Fox on October 9, 1986, becoming one of the network's early VHF affiliates.
Aftermath
KTBY remained a Fox affiliate and was Alaska's only Fox station until a Fairbanks affiliate launched in 1992.
Sources1 sources
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