KUTH-DT

KUTH-DT is a full-power Spanish-language television station licensed to Provo, Utah, and serving viewers across the Salt Lake City television market and much of Utah. The station broadcasts Univision programming and carries UniMás programming through its digital multicast operation. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision, the media company formed through the combination of Univision and Televisa's U.S. content and broadcasting operations. The station began broadcasting on April 17, 2003, under the call sign KCBU and with Cocola Broadcasting as its owner. Its early schedule included America's Collectibles Network, a home-shopping service, and the station was added to Comcast systems on the Wasatch Front later that year. In 2004, Univision Communications acquired the station. As part of the transaction and a related realignment of Utah television properties, the station adopted the KUTH call sign and became the market's Univision affiliate. The call-sign and affiliation history was connected to the earlier KUTH operation on channel 12, licensed to Logan, Utah, which subsequently became KUTF. For part of its history, KUTH's operations were outsourced to Equity Broadcasting. Programming was managed through Equity's master-control facilities in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the station's local news production was also handled through arrangements involving Equity facilities outside Utah. Univision ultimately assumed direct operational control on June 12, 2009, coinciding with the completion of the U.S. digital television transition. KUTH has carried local news at different points in its history. Weeknight 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts were introduced in 2003, initially using a production arrangement that combined out-of-state production with Salt Lake City-based reporting. Those programs were suspended in June 2008 during Equity's companywide halt of news programming on its Univision-affiliated stations. Local news returned on September 30, 2013, with the launch of weeknight 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. editions branded Noticias 32 Salt Lake City. The station's main studios are on West Amelia Earhart Drive in northwestern Salt Lake City. Its transmitter is west of Orem in the Lake Mountains, a location that supports coverage of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah Valley, and other parts of the state. KUTH also operates or is associated with several low-power digital translators serving communities including Delta, Fillmore, Leamington, and Scipio. The station completed its transition to digital broadcasting through a flash cut on UHF channel 32 and adopted the KUTH-DT suffix in 2009. Today, its principal role is to distribute Spanish-language network entertainment, news, sports, and public-affairs programming to Utah's Spanish-speaking audience, supplemented by locally produced news and community-oriented content.

KUTH-DT's history began with the construction and launch of a new full-power television station licensed to Provo, Utah. It signed on April 17, 2003, as KCBU under the ownership of Cocola Broadcasting. During its first year, the station carried America's Collectibles Network, a home-shopping service, and gained carriage on Comcast systems serving the Wasatch Front in September 2003. Univision Communications acquired the station in October 2004. Following the acquisition, the station became the Salt Lake City area's Univision outlet and adopted the KUTH call sign. This change was part of a broader rearrangement involving Utah stations: the original KUTH operation on channel 12, licensed to Logan, exchanged its identity and affiliation relationship with the Provo station and later became KUTF. The resulting channel 32 operation provided Univision with a full-power presence in the Salt Lake City market. Station operations were initially conducted through an outsourcing relationship with Equity Broadcasting. Equity managed programming and master control from its Little Rock, Arkansas, headquarters. The station's early local news was also produced through an unusual regional model. In 2003, KUTH began airing weekday 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, with production first handled from an Iowa facility and reporting supplied by two journalists based in the Salt Lake City area. Production later moved to an Equity facility in Little Rock that served Univision affiliates in several states. The Equity arrangement became part of a complicated ownership and control history. When Univision disposed of its remaining interest in Equity in 2007, KUTH was expected to transfer to Equity, but that transfer did not occur. Univision also considered acquiring KUTF to form a duopoly with KUTH, but abandoned that plan after Newport Television announced the sale of its Salt Lake City properties. The contemplated transaction ultimately left Newport with KTVX and transferred KUCW to High Plains Broadcasting, while Newport retained operational control of both stations. Equity suspended news production across its Univision-affiliated stations in June 2008, ending KUTH's local newscasts. Univision later resumed a local news operation, launching Noticias 32 Salt Lake City on September 30, 2013, with weekday broadcasts at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. On June 12, 2009, Univision assumed direct operational control of KUTH. The date coincided with the completion of the nationwide analog-to-digital television transition. Because the station had received an original construction permit after the federal digital channel-allotment process, it did not operate a separate digital companion channel. Instead, it ended analog broadcasting on channel 32 and began digital operation on the same channel through a flash cut. Univision-owned full-power stations, including KUTH, added the -DT suffix to their legal call signs later that month. KUTH-DT broadcasts from facilities on West Amelia Earhart Drive in northwestern Salt Lake City. Its transmitter is located in the Lake Mountains west of Orem. The station's coverage is supplemented by digital translators serving areas such as Delta, Fillmore, Leamington, and Scipio. Its contemporary identity is based on Spanish-language Univision service, local Utah news, and multicast distribution that includes UniMás programming.

• 2013

  Noticias 32 Salt Lake City launches

  [1]KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org

  KUTH restores weekday local news with 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts.

• 2009

  Digital transition and direct Univision operation

  [1]KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org

  KUTH completes a digital flash cut on channel 32, and Univision takes over station operations on June 12.

• 2008

  Local newscasts suspended

  [1]KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Equity Broadcasting suspends news programming on its Univision-affiliated stations, ending KUTH's weekday local newscasts.

• 2004

  Univision acquisition and affiliation change

  [1]KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Univision Communications acquires the station, which takes the KUTH identity and becomes the Salt Lake City market's Univision affiliate.

• 2003

  KCBU begins broadcasting

  [1]KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on April 17 as KCBU, licensed to Provo and owned by Cocola Broadcasting.

• 2003

  Initial cable carriage

  [1]KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station is added to Comcast systems on the Wasatch Front while carrying America's Collectibles Network.

A Spanish-language broadcast outlet serving Utah, combining national Univision programming with local news and community coverage for the Salt Lake City and Provo markets.

• Spanish-language television network · 2004

  Univision

  KUTH-DT's primary network service, providing Spanish-language entertainment, news, sports, and public-affairs programming to Utah viewers through the station's main digital channel.

• Multicast television network

  UniMás

  A Spanish-language multicast service carried by the station's digital television operation, extending TelevisaUnivision's programming portfolio to viewers in the Utah market.

• Local television news · 2013

  Noticias 32 Salt Lake City

  KUTH-DT's local news brand, introduced in 2013 with weekday 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts focused on Salt Lake City, Utah Valley, and issues affecting the state's Spanish-speaking communities.

• Broadcast advertising · 2003

  Television advertising

  Commercial airtime and related local-market promotional inventory sold to advertisers seeking access to Spanish-speaking households in the Salt Lake City and broader Utah broadcast market.

• 2013

  Reintroduction of local newsProduct launch

  Background

  Local newscasts had been discontinued in 2008 after Equity suspended news production across its Univision-affiliated stations.

  Action taken

  KUTH launched Noticias 32 Salt Lake City with weekday 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. editions.

  Aftermath

  The station restored a regular local-news presence for Spanish-speaking viewers in the Utah market.

  Source

• 2009

  Univision takes direct control of station operationsStrategy

  Background

  KUTH had been operated through an outsourcing arrangement with Equity Broadcasting, including centralized master control in Little Rock.

  Action taken

  Univision assumed direct operation of the station on June 12, coinciding with the completion of the digital television transition.

  Aftermath

  KUTH continued as a Univision-owned and operated outlet rather than transferring to Equity Broadcasting.

  Source

• 2004

  Acquisition by Univision CommunicationsM&A

  Background

  The Provo station was operating as KCBU under Cocola Broadcasting and had a limited early schedule.

  Action taken

  Univision Communications purchased the station and repositioned it as the Salt Lake City market's Univision affiliate under the KUTH identity.

  Aftermath

  The transaction established the station's long-term role as a Spanish-language network affiliate serving Utah.

  Source

1. 1KUTH-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Univision Salt Lake City / KUTH-DT official siteunivision.com