KTUU-TV

KTUU-TV is a television station licensed to Anchorage, Alaska, and identified on air as channel 2. The station is affiliated with NBC and CBS and is owned by Gray Media. It operates alongside sister station KAUU, channel 5, which is described as an independent station carrying MyNetworkTV programming. Both stations share studios on East 40th Avenue in midtown Anchorage, while KTUU-TV's transmitter is located in Knik, Alaska. The station traces its origins to a construction permit issued by the Federal Communications Commission on July 29, 1953, to Keith Kiggins and Richard R. Rollins. The original proposed call sign was KFIA, reflecting the phrase “First in Anchorage.” After construction delays, the station transmitted Alaska's first television test pattern on October 17, 1953, and began regular operation on December 14 of that year. KTVA, which signed on several days earlier, ultimately became the first Anchorage station to provide scheduled television programming, but channel 2 remained one of the territory's pioneering broadcasters. In 1954, Midnight Sun Broadcasting, associated with The Lathrop Company and Al Bramstedt Sr., acquired the station. The call letters changed to KENI-TV in 1955, and the station moved into Anchorage's Fourth Avenue Theatre, also known as the Lathrop Building. Ownership later passed through All-Alaska Broadcasting Company and Midnight Sun Broadcasters. In 1966, channel 2 became the first Alaska station to broadcast in color. Its network relationships changed several times: it initially carried ABC and NBC on a joint-primary basis, shifted to ABC as its primary affiliation in 1967, became a full-time ABC outlet in 1970, and returned to NBC in October 1971. It carried selected PBS programming before KAKM began broadcasting in 1975. The present KTUU-TV call sign was adopted in June 1981 after the station was sold to Zaser and Longston of Bellevue, Washington. For many years, the station was Alaska's only full-time NBC affiliate and developed a particularly strong local-news franchise in the Anchorage market. Its news operation is branded Alaska's News Source, and the station has historically been among the market's highest-rated broadcasters. It launched its own satellite uplink truck, NewsStar 2, in 1999 and became the first Alaska station to broadcast its news in high definition in 2013. Schurz Communications acquired KTUU-TV before announcing in 2015 that it would leave broadcasting. Gray Television, now Gray Media, completed its purchase of the Schurz television and radio properties in February 2016. Gray also acquired KYES-TV later that year. After Gray acquired the non-license assets of KTVA's news operation, the former KTVA newsroom was incorporated into a combined Alaska's News Source operation serving KTUU-TV and KYES-TV, now KAUU. The integrated newscasts began in August 2020. KTUU-TV currently produces local newscasts across weekday mornings, afternoons, evenings, and late nights, with several programs simulcast on KAUU. Its signal reaches additional Alaskan communities through low-power translators and distribution arrangements involving the Alaska Rural Communications Service. The station also maintains a digital presence through its website and related news products. In November 2024, Gray-owned KTVF in Fairbanks began simulcasting KTUU newscasts after closing its own news department, extending the Alaska's News Source model beyond the Anchorage market.

KTUU-TV's history began during the initial development of television broadcasting in Alaska. On July 29, 1953, the FCC issued a construction permit for Anchorage channel 2 to Keith Kiggins and Richard R. Rollins. The proposed call sign was KFIA. The station was constructed with an antenna mounted on the Westward Hotel, but delays involving picture-quality equipment postponed its launch. It transmitted Alaska's first television test pattern on October 17, 1953, and entered regular operation on December 14. KTVA had begun scheduled programming three days earlier, so channel 2 did not retain the distinction of being Anchorage's first operating television service. Midnight Sun Broadcasting, associated with The Lathrop Company and Al Bramstedt Sr., bought the station in 1954. In 1955 it became KENI-TV and moved to the Fourth Avenue Theatre in downtown Anchorage. The station later formed part of a wider Alaskan broadcasting portfolio that included radio and television properties in Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and Juneau. That ownership structure evolved into Midnight Sun Broadcasters during the 1960s. A major technical milestone came on September 19, 1966, when channel 2 became the first Alaska station to transmit in color. Its programming affiliations reflected the competitive and developing nature of the Anchorage market. The station initially maintained joint primary relationships with ABC and NBC, then made ABC its primary affiliation in October 1967. It became a full-time ABC affiliate in 1970 after KHAR-TV assumed NBC, but the two stations exchanged affiliations in October 1971, returning channel 2 to NBC. Before the 1975 launch of KAKM, channel 2 also aired some PBS programming. The station changed its call letters to KTUU-TV in June 1981 after its sale to Zaser and Longston. The new identity became associated with an increasingly prominent local-news operation. KTUU was for many years the only full-time NBC affiliate in Alaska and was recognized for clearing the network's full schedule. It developed a leading position in Anchorage news ratings and expanded its technical capabilities, including the NewsStar 2 satellite uplink truck in 1999 and high-definition local news in 2013. Its news operation won recognition from the National Press Photographers Association as Small Market Television News Photography Station of the Year in 2006, 2008, and 2010. In 2010, while owned by Schurz Communications, KTUU relaunched its website through a partnership with Tribune Interactive. In November 2013, a retransmission dispute with cable operator GCI temporarily removed the station from 22 rural communities. Although must-carry rules protected carriage in some areas, the dispute affected other systems and also interrupted the distribution of KTUU newscasts by certain GCI-acquired stations. An agreement reached in February 2014 restored rural carriage and related newscast arrangements. Schurz announced in September 2015 that it would sell KTUU-TV and its other broadcast assets to Gray Television as part of its withdrawal from broadcasting. The FCC approved the transaction in February 2016, and the sale closed on February 16. Gray separately acquired KYES-TV in June 2016. After Gray obtained the non-license assets of KTVA's news operation, the former newsroom was reorganized with KTUU-TV and KYES-TV. The combined Alaska's News Source newscasts launched on August 31, 2020, after KTVA's final newscast the previous day. Today, KTUU-TV remains an Anchorage-centered station with NBC and CBS affiliations, a substantial local-news schedule, digital publishing, and supplementary coverage through translators and the Alaska Rural Communications Service. In 2024, its newscasts were also used by KTVF in Fairbanks after that station discontinued its independent news department.

1. 2024KTVF begins simulcasting KTUU newscasts

   Gray's Fairbanks station KTVF began carrying KTUU-produced newscasts after closing its own news department.

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2. 2020Alaska's News Source launches as a combined newsroom

   Integrated newscasts began on KTUU-TV and KYES-TV after Gray consolidated the former KTVA news operation.

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3. 2016Gray Television completes acquisition

   Gray completed its purchase of KTUU-TV from Schurz Communications on February 16.

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4. 2013Local news moves to high definition

   KTUU became the first Alaska station to broadcast its newscasts in high definition.

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5. 2009Analog transmission ends

   The station ended regular analog programming on June 12 as part of the United States digital television transition.

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6. 1999NewsStar 2 satellite truck introduced

   KTUU became the first Alaska television station to operate its own satellite uplink truck.

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7. 1981KTUU-TV identity adopted

   After a change in ownership, the station changed its call letters to KTUU-TV in June.

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8. 1971Returns to NBC affiliation

   Following an exchange of network affiliations with KHAR-TV, channel 2 became an NBC affiliate again.

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9. 1966First Alaska station to broadcast in color

   Channel 2 introduced color transmission on September 19.

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10. 1955Call sign changes to KENI-TV

    The station adopted the KENI-TV call sign and moved into the Fourth Avenue Theatre in downtown Anchorage.

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11. 1954Acquired by Midnight Sun Broadcasting

    The Lathrop-associated Midnight Sun Broadcasting acquired the station.

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12. 1953Construction permit issued

    The FCC issued a permit for Anchorage channel 2 to Keith Kiggins and Richard R. Rollins on July 29.

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13. 1953Station begins broadcasting

    After transmitting a test pattern in October, the station began regular operation on December 14 under the KFIA identity.

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A dominant Anchorage broadcast-news brand positioned around Alaska-focused reporting, NBC and CBS network access, broad Southcentral Alaska distribution, and a shared regional newsroom.

• Alaska's News SourceLocal news operation2020

  KTUU-TV's principal local-news identity, covering Anchorage and wider Alaska through television newscasts, web publishing, video, and shared newsroom resources. The operation also supplies programming to sister stations and selected remote outlets. Its weekday schedule includes a two-hour morning program, a 5 p.m. newscast, a 6 p.m. hour, and a late evening broadcast, with portions simulcast on KAUU.

• KTUU local newscastsTelevision news

  Locally produced television news is the station's core editorial and audience product. KTUU broadcasts approximately 22 hours and 25 minutes of local news weekly, including weekday morning, evening, and late-night programs and weekend evening editions. The station does not carry a midday or weekend morning newscast according to the referenced description.

• NBC network programmingNetwork television1971

  KTUU-TV carries NBC network programming as a principal component of its broadcast schedule. The station's long association with NBC has made it an important source of national news, entertainment, sports, and special-event programming for viewers in Anchorage and surrounding Alaskan communities.

• CBS network programmingNetwork television

  The station is also affiliated with CBS, providing access to CBS network programming alongside its NBC relationship. Exact scheduling arrangements and the division of programming between KTUU-TV and sister station KAUU are not detailed in the supplied source material.

• Digital news servicesDigital media2010

  KTUU extends its broadcast brand through its website and digital publishing operation, offering written reports, video, weather and other station-produced information. The website was relaunched in 2010 through a partnership with Tribune Interactive.

• 2020Consolidate Anchorage news operations under Alaska's News SourceStrategy

  Gray obtained the non-license assets of KTVA's news operation while already owning KTUU-TV and later KYES-TV, creating an opportunity to combine local-news resources.

  What changed. Gray recruited 11 former KTVA staff members and launched a shared newsroom serving KTUU-TV and KYES-TV under the Alaska's News Source name.

  Aftermath. The combined newscasts began on August 31, 2020, and the model was later extended when KTVF began simulcasting KTUU newscasts in 2024.

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• 2015Sell the station to Gray TelevisionM&A

  Schurz Communications announced that it would leave the broadcasting business and sell KTUU-TV with its other television and radio properties.

  What changed. Schurz agreed to sell the station to Gray Television in a transaction announced at a reported value of $442.5 million for the group of properties.

  Aftermath. The FCC approved the transaction in February 2016, and Gray completed the acquisition on February 16, 2016.

  Reported transaction value for Schurz's television and radio properties. $442.5 million announced transaction value (Announced September 2015; completed February 2016)

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• 2013Contest GCI's rural carriage changeOther

  GCI removed KTUU-TV from 22 rural communities after the broadcaster and cable operator failed to reach a new retransmission agreement. The dispute followed GCI's acquisition of rival KTVA and affected distribution outside areas protected by must-carry rules.

  What changed. KTUU continued negotiations and maintained or extended selected newscast distribution arrangements while pursuing restoration of carriage on the affected systems.

  Aftermath. The parties reached an agreement on February 6, 2014. KTUU returned to the affected rural systems and its newscasts were eventually restored to selected Juneau and Sitka outlets.

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• 2024KTVF begins simulcasting KTUU newscasts

  Gray-owned KTVF in Fairbanks closed its local news department and began simulcasting KTUU-TV newscasts, extending the Anchorage station's regional newsroom output.

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• 2020KTUU-TV and KYES-TV begin combined Alaska's News Source newscasts

  Following Gray's acquisition of the non-license assets of KTVA's news operation, Gray launched a combined newsroom and began airing integrated newscasts under the Alaska's News Source brand on KTUU-TV and KYES-TV.

  Leadership change
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• 2016Gray Television acquires KYES-TV in Anchorage

  Gray acquired KYES-TV, creating a legally permitted Anchorage television duopoly alongside KTUU-TV, subject to the conditions attached to regulatory approval.

  M&A
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• 2015KTUU-TV is sold to Gray Television as Schurz exits broadcasting

  Schurz Communications announced the sale of its television and radio properties, including KTUU-TV, to Gray Television for a reported $442.5 million. The transaction was completed in February 2016 after regulatory approval.

  M&A
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• 2013GCI drops KTUU-TV from rural systems during retransmission dispute

  GCI removed KTUU-TV from cable systems in 22 rural communities after the parties failed to reach a new retransmission agreement. A settlement in February 2014 restored the station to affected systems in time for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics and allowed newscast distribution to resume on selected Juneau and Sitka outlets.

  Other
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1. KTUU-TV
2. KTUU-TV official website