KTEN
A television station licensed to Ada, Oklahoma, serving the Sherman–Ada market as an NBC, The CW Plus, and ABC affiliate.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
KTEN is a commercial television station licensed to Ada, Oklahoma, and serving viewers across southern Oklahoma and portions of north-central Texas in the Sherman–Ada media market. The station operates under the KTEN call sign and is associated with NBC, The CW Plus, and ABC programming. Its principal studio operations are in northwestern Denison, Texas, near the Katy Memorial Expressway and U.S. Route 75, while it also maintains a secondary facility in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The station’s transmitter is located in rural northeastern Johnston County, Oklahoma, west of Wapanucka and southwest of Bromide. The station’s origins date to 1952, when Eastern Oklahoma Television Inc., a company connected with Ada radio broadcasters Bill Hoover, C. C. Morris, and Brown Morris, sought authorization for a television service in the region. The proposed station was initially associated with a different channel allocation and call-sign concept, but the FCC ultimately assigned it to VHF channel 10. The applicants adopted KTEN, a call sign notable for incorporating the station’s channel number. KTEN began broadcasting on June 1, 1954, becoming the first television station to sign on in the Ada–Sherman area. At launch, KTEN was primarily affiliated with ABC and carried NBC programming on a secondary basis. The station helped bring locally receivable television service to an area that had previously depended largely on distant signals from Oklahoma City, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Wichita Falls–Lawton. During the station’s early years, its programming included local productions and religious programming. One early television personality associated with KTEN was Churches of Christ minister Mack Lyon, who later became known nationally for the syndicated religious program In Search of the Lord’s Way. Competition changed after KVSO-TV, now KXII, began broadcasting from Ardmore in 1956. KXII assumed the local NBC affiliation and later concentrated on CBS, leaving KTEN to adjust its network relationships. When KXII moved toward an exclusive CBS alignment in the late 1970s and early 1980s, KTEN carried a larger share of NBC programming while continuing to show selected ABC content. The station’s expanded NBC role included the acquisition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1983. KTEN also improved its regional reach after receiving authorization to construct a taller, higher-power transmitter facility north of Milburn, Oklahoma. The new transmitter, placed into operation in 1984, improved coverage toward Ardmore, Durant, southern Oklahoma, and communities across the Red River in Texas. Ownership changed in the 1980s when Eastern Oklahoma Television sold the station to Channel 10 L.P., an investor group led by Durant businessman Tom Johnson. Regulatory approval took several years. During this period, the station developed facilities in Ardmore and Denison, complementing its Ada base and allowing it to serve a geographically dispersed market more effectively. KTEN later entered bankruptcy reorganization proceedings in 1992. Its owners pursued financing to restructure and acquire interests in the station’s assets, and a state financing authority approved part of the proposed financing in 1993. In the 1990s, KTEN experimented with a complex multi-network schedule. It adopted 24-hour programming in 1993 and added Fox as a second primary affiliation in 1994. The Fox relationship provided access to the network’s entertainment schedule and NFC football, while NBC supplied AFC football; this was particularly significant in a market with limited commercial stations and strong interest in Dallas Cowboys games. The arrangement also made KTEN’s schedule unusually hybrid, combining most NBC programming, the full Fox lineup, and selected ABC programs. Over time, the station’s affiliations and digital offerings evolved toward its current NBC, CW Plus, and ABC service mix. Today, KTEN functions as a regional broadcast brand rather than a national consumer brand. Its role centers on network television distribution, local news, weather, sports, syndicated programming, advertising, and community coverage for communities on both sides of the Oklahoma–Texas border. Its multi-site facilities and broad transmitter coverage reflect the geographic scale and viewing patterns of the Sherman–Ada market.
History
KTEN traces its history to an application filed in 1952 by Eastern Oklahoma Television Inc., a locally connected broadcasting company associated with Ada radio operators Bill Hoover, C. C. Morris, and Brown Morris. The applicants initially considered another channel and call sign, but the FCC ultimately assigned the proposed station to VHF channel 10. The KTEN call letters incorporated the channel number and were adopted before the station launched. KTEN began broadcasting on June 1, 1954, from Ada, Oklahoma. It was the first television station to sign on in the Ada–Sherman market. The station initially operated as an ABC affiliate with NBC programming carried secondarily. Its launch expanded access to television for residents of southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas, many of whom had previously relied on weaker signals from neighboring media markets. During its early period, KTEN also carried local productions and briefly maintained an association with the NTA Film Network. The competitive environment changed in 1956 when KVSO-TV, now KXII, began broadcasting from Ardmore. KXII obtained the local NBC rights and also carried CBS programming. KTEN consequently remained associated primarily with ABC while continuing to use NBC content where appropriate. In the 1970s, after KXII moved toward an exclusive CBS alignment, KTEN increased its NBC carriage. Between 1977 and 1980, the station’s schedule included evening newscasts from both ABC and NBC before its local early-evening news program. In 1983, KTEN gained national attention when it began carrying The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson after KXII reduced its NBC schedule. Signal coverage was a persistent issue because the two stations’ transmitter locations produced uneven reception across the wide market. In 1983, the FCC approved KTEN’s plan for a 1,059-foot transmitter tower north of Milburn, Oklahoma, operating at the maximum permitted power for the relevant VHF band. The facility began operating in 1984 and improved reception in Ardmore, Durant, Madill, Atoka, Hugo, and parts of north-central Texas, including Gainesville, Bonham, and Paris. On February 3, 1985, Eastern Oklahoma Television sold KTEN to Channel 10 L.P., a group led by Durant businessman Tom Johnson and several regional investors. FCC approval was delayed until November 1988. The ownership group established a secondary Ardmore studio, which opened in October 1985, and a Denison facility in January 1986. Ada continued to serve as an important base for news, programming, master control, and advertising operations. KTEN Television L.P. entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 1992. The reorganization involved efforts by Johnson and business partner Dennis Hall to arrange financing for an interest in the station’s assets. In 1993, the Oklahoma Industrial Finance Authority approved an additional loan request subject to conditions concerning bank financing and repayment. The same year, KTEN expanded to a 24-hour schedule. The station’s most complicated affiliation period came in the 1990s. KTEN added Fox programming in July 1994, partly because the affiliation provided financial compensation and because it allowed the station to carry a combination of NBC and Fox football rights, including games involving the Dallas Cowboys. KTEN carried most NBC programming, Fox’s full schedule, and a smaller selection of ABC offerings. Although the arrangement broadened the station’s network inventory, it also produced an irregular schedule in which some programs aired outside their customary times. KTEN’s later development moved away from the 1990s hybrid arrangement toward a modern digital multi-network structure. The station now serves as an NBC affiliate while also providing The CW Plus and ABC programming. Its Denison and Ardmore facilities, together with its Oklahoma transmitter site, support coverage of a cross-border market whose communities are spread across a large area. The station’s continuing business is built around local television journalism, weather and public-service information, network programming, syndicated content, and local advertising.
- 1994
Fox affiliation begins
[1]KTEN added Fox as a second primary affiliation while retaining extensive NBC programming and selected ABC content.
- 1993
24-hour schedule begins
[1]KTEN adopted continuous daily programming, initially filling overnight hours with syndicated programs and films.
- 1992
Chapter 11 reorganization
[1]KTEN Television L.P. filed for bankruptcy protection and financial reorganization.
- 1986
Denison facility opens
[1]KTEN opened a facility in the Katy Depot in downtown Denison for news-bureau and administrative functions.
- 1985
Ownership changes and Ardmore facility opens
[1]Channel 10 L.P. acquired the station subject to later FCC approval, and KTEN opened a secondary Ardmore studio.
- 1984
New transmitter enters service
[1]A high-power transmitter north of Milburn improved coverage across southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas.
- 1977
NBC carriage expands
[1]Following KXII’s move toward an exclusive CBS affiliation, KTEN began carrying a larger portion of NBC programming.
- 1965
New Ada studio opens
[1]KTEN opened a new studio and production facility on Arlington Street in Ada after construction began in 1964.
- 1956
KXII begins competing service
[1]KVSO-TV, the station now known as KXII, began broadcasting from Ardmore and assumed local NBC rights.
- 1954
Station launches
[1]KTEN signed on June 1 as the first television station in the Ada–Sherman market.
Products and positioning
A regional, multi-network television station serving southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas, combining national network programming with local news and community coverage.
Network television
NBC programming
KTEN’s principal network offering consists of NBC entertainment, news, sports, and special-event programming. NBC became increasingly important to the station after KXII moved toward an exclusive CBS relationship. KTEN’s NBC service has included nationally prominent programming such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and network football.
Network television
The CW Plus
The CW Plus provides CW network programming and syndicated content to smaller television markets through a distributed affiliate format. KTEN carries this service as part of its digital multi-network offering.
Network television · 1954
ABC programming
ABC was KTEN’s original primary affiliation when the station launched in 1954. Although the station’s relationship with ABC changed as NBC and Fox programming expanded, ABC content remains part of KTEN’s contemporary multi-network service.
Broadcast journalism
Local news and weather
KTEN produces and distributes local news, weather, sports, and public-affairs coverage for communities in southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas. Its operations draw on facilities in Denison, Ardmore, and Ada and are tailored to a geographically broad cross-border market.
Brand decisions
1994
KTEN adds Fox as a second primary affiliationStrategyBackground
The market had limited commercial stations, and Fox offered both financial compensation and access to the network’s newly acquired NFC football rights.
Action taken
KTEN began carrying Fox programming while continuing to air most NBC programming and a limited amount of ABC content.
Aftermath
The station became a highly unusual hybrid affiliate, carrying Fox’s full prime-time lineup while placing some programs outside the network’s recommended schedule.
1993
KTEN adopts a 24-hour scheduleStrategyBackground
The station was expanding its programming inventory and moving toward a stronger NBC role.
Action taken
KTEN began broadcasting continuously, using syndicated programs and movies in overnight periods before later adding overnight network news content.
Aftermath
The expanded schedule increased the station’s daily programming availability and supported its evolving multi-network position.
1983
KTEN expands transmitter coverageStrategyBackground
Uneven reception between KTEN and competing station KXII limited KTEN’s reach in parts of southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas.
Action taken
The FCC authorized a 1,059-foot, high-power transmitter tower north of Milburn, Oklahoma; the facility entered service in 1984.
Aftermath
The upgraded transmitter improved over-the-air coverage toward Ardmore, Durant, the Red River area, and communities in north-central Texas.
Recent events
- 1994
KTEN adds Fox affiliation[1]
Other
KTEN began carrying Fox programming while retaining substantial NBC service and selected ABC programs, creating a hybrid multi-network schedule.
- 1993
KTEN adopts 24-hour programming[1]
Other
The station expanded to round-the-clock broadcasting, initially using syndicated programs and movies during overnight hours.
- 1992
KTEN Television L.P. files for Chapter 11 reorganization[1]
Bankruptcy
The station’s ownership group sought bankruptcy protection and financial reorganization while arranging financing for the station’s assets.
- 1983
KTEN receives authorization for a higher-power transmitter[1]
Other
The FCC authorized construction of a tall, high-power transmitter intended to improve KTEN’s coverage across southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas.
- 1954
KTEN begins broadcasting[1]
Other
KTEN signed on June 1 as the first television station serving the Ada–Sherman area.
Sources2 sources
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