KTUL
KTUL is a Tulsa, Oklahoma television station affiliated with ABC and Fox, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KTUL is a commercial television station serving Tulsa, Oklahoma, and surrounding communities. The station broadcasts on channel 8 and has historically operated as an ABC affiliate, while also carrying Fox programming according to the referenced station description. Its brand is associated with local television news, network entertainment, syndicated programming, weather coverage, sports, and community-oriented programming. The station originated from an application by the Tulsa Broadcasting Company, a company controlled by Muskogee businessman J. T. Griffin and his sister, Marjory Griffin Leake. Although the proposed channel 8 facility was initially assigned to Muskogee, the applicants were closely connected to Tulsa radio station KTUL and planned a service area encompassing the Tulsa market. After competing applicants withdrew and the Federal Communications Commission granted the construction permit, the station began broadcasting on September 18, 1954, under the call sign KTVX. It adopted the ABC affiliation shortly before launch and initially also carried programming from the DuMont Television Network. KTUL's early licensing history was shaped by objections from competing broadcasters. Critics argued that the proposed transmitter location and promotional practices made the station effectively a Tulsa outlet despite its Muskogee city of license. The FCC ultimately allowed the station to move its city of license to Tulsa in 1957. Following the move, it changed its call letters to KTUL-TV, aligning them with the established KTUL radio identity. A major transmitter relocation near Coweta, east of Tulsa, was approved in the 1960s, and the station began using the new tower in 1965. Local programming was produced in color beginning in 1967. For much of its history, KTUL competed strongly in the Tulsa television market. Its local schedule included prominent personalities and programs such as John Chick's children's and morning shows, Betty Boyd's daytime program, and other locally produced entertainment and community-affairs formats. The station's local news operation generally competed for the top two positions in market ratings, and its news department expanded its staffing and output over several decades. Ownership changed several times. The Griffin and Leake broadcasting partnership was separated in 1969, leaving Leake with KTUL and related broadcast interests. In 1983, Leake Industries sold KTUL and KATV to Allbritton Communications. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired the station in 2014 through its purchase of Allbritton. KTUL operates alongside KMYT-TV and is co-managed with KOKI-TV; the stations share Tulsa facilities in the Audubon area, while KTUL's main transmitter is near Coweta in Wagoner County. In December 2023, Sinclair ended KTUL's locally produced news department as part of a cost-reduction program. The station's news programming thereafter originated from Sinclair-owned KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City rather than from a fully staffed KTUL newsroom. This change marked a significant shift from KTUL's long-standing role as a locally produced news provider, although the station continued operating as a broadcast outlet serving the Tulsa market.
History
KTUL's roots date to a 1952 application by the Tulsa Broadcasting Company for a television construction permit on channel 8 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The company was controlled by J. T. Griffin and Marjory Griffin Leake, whose broadcasting interests included Tulsa radio station KTUL. The applicants selected Muskogee because the FCC was prioritizing applications for communities without existing television service, while Tulsa already had a station on channel 6. The channel 8 application faced competition from the Oklahoma Press Publishing Company and another applicant led by Ashley L. Robison. Both competing efforts eventually withdrew, leaving Tulsa Broadcasting as the remaining applicant. The FCC granted the permit in April 1954. The station received the call sign KTVX and began broadcasting on September 18 of that year. It joined ABC and initially supplemented that affiliation with programming from DuMont. From the beginning, the station's relationship with Tulsa generated controversy. Competing broadcasters argued that its proposed transmitter and promotional practices were designed to make it a Tulsa station while retaining a Muskogee license. The FCC dismissed the principal challenges but admonished the station over identification and coverage representations and emphasized its obligation to provide primary consideration to Muskogee. KTVX nevertheless developed a substantial Tulsa presence, including an auxiliary studio acquired from former UHF station KCEB. In 1957, the FCC approved the station's request to move its city of license to Tulsa. The call sign changed from KTVX to KTUL-TV, connecting the television outlet with the existing KTUL radio brand. The station later secured approval for a new transmitter near Coweta. The tower, placed into service in 1965, substantially improved regional coverage, and KTUL introduced local color programming in 1967. KTUL became known for locally produced programs and recognizable personalities. John Chick hosted the children's program Cartoon Zoo, later associated with the characters Mr. Zing and Tuffy, before moving to a popular live morning music program. Betty Boyd, recruited from rival KOTV, hosted The Betty Boyd Show and subsequently Good Morning Oklahoma. These programs helped the station build loyalty even when ABC's national network ratings were comparatively weak. The Griffin-Leake broadcasting partnership ended in 1969. Marjory Leake retained KTUL, while J. T. Griffin kept other broadcasting and business interests. During the 1970s and early 1980s, KTUL continued expanding its news and local programming. In 1981, a dispute arose after Leake dismissed numerous employees, including staff at KTUL. Employees alleged that the dismissals were connected to union-organizing activity. The National Labor Relations Board found merit in the allegations and ordered remedies including back pay, although the matter proceeded through a contested settlement process. Leake Industries sold KTUL and KATV to Allbritton Communications in 1983. Under Allbritton, KTUL maintained a substantial local news operation and generally competed for first or second place in Tulsa market newscast ratings. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired the station in 2014 as part of its broader acquisition of Allbritton. KTUL became part of a Tulsa station group that also included KMYT-TV and was co-managed with KOKI-TV. The station's operating model changed sharply in December 2023, when Sinclair discontinued KTUL's locally based news department as part of a cost-cutting effort. News programs were instead produced from KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City. KTUL continued as a Tulsa-market television station, but the change reduced its direct local-news production capacity after decades of newsroom activity.
- 2023
Local newsroom wound down
[1]Sinclair discontinued KTUL's locally produced news department and shifted production to KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City.
- 2014
Acquired by Sinclair
[1]Sinclair acquired KTUL through its purchase of Allbritton Communications.
- 1983
Acquired by Allbritton
[1]Allbritton Communications purchased KTUL and KATV from Leake Industries.
- 1967
Local color broadcasting begins
[1]KTUL began airing local programming in color.
- 1965
Coweta tower begins operation
[1]The station placed its new transmitter tower near Coweta into service.
- 1957
License moved to Tulsa
[1]The FCC approved the move of the station's city of license from Muskogee to Tulsa, followed by adoption of the KTUL-TV call sign.
- 1954
KTVX launches
[1]KTVX began broadcasting on September 18 as an ABC-affiliated station.
- 1952
Channel 8 application filed
[1]The Tulsa Broadcasting Company applied for a construction permit for a channel 8 television station in Muskogee.
Products and positioning
A long-established Tulsa broadcast station combining national network programming with local news, weather, public-affairs, and community content.
Local television news
KTUL local news
KTUL's local news operation historically supplied Tulsa-area reporting, weather, traffic, public-affairs coverage, and newscasts. The newsroom competed for leading market positions for much of its history. In December 2023, Sinclair ended locally produced KTUL news and moved production to KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City.
Network television affiliation · 1954
ABC programming
ABC programming has been central to KTUL's identity since the station launched as KTVX in 1954. The affiliation provided national entertainment, news, daytime, and sports content alongside KTUL's local schedule.
Network television affiliation
Fox programming
KTUL is described in the reference material as carrying Fox programming in addition to its ABC affiliation. Specific affiliation dates and programming arrangements are not established in the supplied sources.
Television programming
Local community programming
KTUL historically produced locally oriented programs covering community affairs, interviews, children's entertainment, music, and daytime topics. Notable examples included Cartoon Zoo, The Betty Boyd Show, Good Morning Oklahoma, and The John Chick Show.
Controversies
1981
Labor dispute over employee dismissals
After KTUL and related Leake-owned operations dismissed employees during a period of union organizing, affected workers alleged the action was retaliation for their activities. The National Labor Relations Board agreed that the dismissals and related employment actions violated labor protections and ordered remedies including back pay. The matter became entangled in a disputed settlement process.
Brand decisions
2023
Centralize news production outside TulsaStrategyBackground
Sinclair undertook a cost-reduction measure affecting KTUL's long-standing local newsroom.
Action taken
The company wound down KTUL's local news department and shifted production of the station's news programming to KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City.
Aftermath
KTUL remained on air, but its news output no longer originated from a fully staffed local KTUL newsroom.
1957
Move the city of license from Muskogee to TulsaStrategyBackground
Station owners argued that Muskogee could not adequately support a VHF television station and that a Tulsa license would place channel 8 in a stronger competitive position while serving the larger Tulsa market.
Action taken
KTUL requested and received FCC approval to change its city of license to Tulsa, then adopted the KTUL-TV call sign.
Aftermath
The decision formalized the station's role as a Tulsa-market broadcaster after several years of controversy over its de facto Tulsa orientation.
- KOTV — KOTV opposed the move and argued that KTUL had already been operating as a Tulsa station with insufficient Muskogee facilities.
- KVOO-TV — KVOO-TV also opposed the relocation, joining objections concerning the station's proposed market role.
Recent events
Sinclair stations receive 28 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards[3]
Reported:
Sinclair Broadcast Group said 18 of its news stations and partner stations were honored with a total of 28 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for journalism.
Sources3 sources
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