KYUR
KYUR is an Anchorage, Alaska television station affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KYUR is a television station serving Anchorage and the wider Alaskan market on channel 13. The station currently carries ABC programming and The CW Plus, and is owned by Vision Alaska LLC. Advertising sales and several operational functions are provided through joint sales and shared services agreements with Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC, which owns Anchorage Fox affiliate KTBY. KYUR and KTBY operate from shared studios on East Tudor Road in Anchorage, while KYUR's transmitter is located in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The station began broadcasting on October 31, 1967, as KHAR-TV, Anchorage's third television station. It was established by radio broadcaster Willis R. "Bill" Harpel as an independent outlet intended to expand the city's television choices. Its original schedule relied heavily on films and syndicated programming because the three major networks already had representation in Anchorage. Harpel died in January 1968, only a few months after the launch, and the station subsequently struggled under new ownership. With weak economics, no conventional network affiliation, and mounting losses, KHAR-TV ceased broadcasting in May 1970. The station returned to the air in September 1970 after Carl Bracale and other investors organized Central Alaska Broadcasting. The sale was completed in June 1971, and the call sign changed to KIMO. A Federal Communications Commission rule change helped resolve the station's affiliation problem by preventing a VHF station in a three-or-more-station market from holding multiple major-network affiliations when another full-power station lacked one. KIMO eventually became Anchorage's ABC affiliate. During the 1970s and early 1980s, its news operation, led by anchor and news director John Vallentine, became a major local success. Its Action News 13 broadcasts were credited with raising production standards in Anchorage and at times captured more than 40 percent of the local news audience. KIMO's owners expanded into a statewide television group during the early 1980s. They acquired the Juneau station that became KJUD and the Fairbanks station that became KATN, creating an Alaska-wide ABC-oriented network later promoted as Alaska's SuperStation. The expansion increased the group's reach but also added financial and managerial complexity. After Vallentine left in 1985, KIMO's ratings declined, while KTUU-TV became Anchorage's dominant news station. Heavy borrowing, capital spending, a national television advertising downturn, and a weak Alaska economy eventually placed the Alaska Television Network into receivership in 1993. Smith Broadcasting Group acquired the stations in 1995 and consolidated programming and news functions across the three markets. The company introduced statewide newscasts and a common schedule, although the arrangement generated disputes over sports timing and network distribution in rural Alaska. KIMO also developed a relationship with The WB 100+ Station Group and completed its transition from analog to digital broadcasting in 2009. Vision Alaska purchased the station group in 2010. On January 1, 2011, KIMO adopted the call sign KYUR, removing a reference associated with the former name that was increasingly regarded as outdated and offensive. The station became closely integrated with Coastal Television's KTBY under shared operational agreements. Although Coastal initially expanded the Anchorage operation, KYUR's local-news ratings remained well below those of KTUU and KTVA. In April 2020, during the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire news staff of KYUR and KTBY was dismissed. Local news production was replaced with inserts into the national NewsNet service, with planned Alaska segments to be produced partly from Coastal's station in Casper, Wyoming. KYUR continues as a network-affiliated broadcast station serving Anchorage and Alaska.
History
Efforts to establish a third television station in Anchorage date to the late 1950s, when local radio interests sought authorization for channel 13. Willis R. "Bill" Harpel, owner of KHAR radio, later pursued the channel and received a construction permit in 1965. KHAR-TV finally launched on October 31, 1967, but its independent format was commercially fragile. The station relied on movies and syndicated shows because Anchorage already had network affiliates, and Harpel's death shortly after launch further destabilized the venture. After a change in ownership, KHAR-TV shut down on May 15, 1970. Carl Bracale, the station's last employee, helped assemble Central Alaska Broadcasting, which returned channel 13 to the air on September 6, 1970. The sale closed in June 1971 and the station became KIMO. A contemporaneous FCC rule change prevented the established VHF station in Anchorage from retaining two major-network affiliations while another full-power station remained unaffiliated. That regulatory change enabled channel 13 to secure ABC programming, and KIMO became the market's ABC outlet. KIMO's strongest period came in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Under news director and anchor John Vallentine, the station modernized its newsroom and moved from rudimentary film production toward more professional newsgathering. Action News 13 became the leading local newscast for a period, with audience shares reported above 40 percent. The station expanded its facilities and, by the mid-1980s, had adopted satellite delivery for same-day network programming. The ownership group expanded beyond Anchorage by acquiring KINY-TV in Juneau, which became KJUD, and obtaining the Fairbanks station that became KATN. These stations formed the Alaska Television Network. Expansion gave the company a statewide footprint but increased its financial exposure. Vallentine's departure in 1985 coincided with a sustained ratings decline, and KTUU-TV emerged as Anchorage's dominant news provider. The network borrowed heavily for shareholder buyouts and improvements, but a national advertising contraction and Alaska's economic difficulties weakened the business. Debt renegotiations failed, and the stations entered receivership in 1993. Smith Broadcasting acquired the group in 1995 and attempted to operate the three ABC outlets through a shared statewide service called Alaska's SuperStation. It consolidated programming and created statewide news formats, although local variations and distribution disputes remained. The group also faced controversy over tape-delayed Monday Night Football and later withdrew from the Alaska Rural Communications Service during a compensation dispute, limiting access to certain ABC events in rural communities. The station continued its technical transition during the 2000s. It became an advertising-sales partner for The WB 100+ Station Group in 2004 and began digital broadcasting before ending its analog transmission on June 12, 2009. Vision Alaska purchased the stations in 2010, while Coastal Television assumed shared operational responsibilities through joint sales and shared services agreements. The Anchorage outlet changed its call sign from KIMO to KYUR on January 1, 2011. Coastal initially invested in the Anchorage operation, but KYUR's late-news ratings remained substantially behind KTUU and KTVA. In response to economic pressures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Coastal dismissed the KYUR and KTBY news staffs on April 1, 2020. The stations replaced their full local news departments with NewsNet inserts and planned Alaska reports produced partly from outside the state. The subsequent firing of presenter Maria Athens after an altercation with the general manager, together with the disclosure of her inappropriate communications with Anchorage mayor Ethan Berkowitz, generated additional controversy connected with the station's news operation. KYUR remains an active ABC and CW Plus affiliate serving Anchorage and Alaska.
- 2020
Local news department eliminated
[1]Coastal dismissed the KYUR and KTBY news staffs and shifted to a largely outsourced news model.
- 2011
KYUR call sign adopted
[1]The station changed its call letters from KIMO to KYUR on January 1.
- 2010
Vision Alaska acquisition
[1]Vision Alaska completed its purchase of the Alaska station group, with Coastal Television taking on shared operational responsibilities.
- 2009
Analog television ends
[1]KYUR ended analog broadcasts on the United States digital transition date and continued digitally on VHF channel 12.
- 1995
Smith Broadcasting acquisition
[1]Smith Broadcasting bought the station group and launched the Alaska's SuperStation operating concept.
- 1993
Receivership
[1]The Alaska Television Network entered receivership after debt and market pressures undermined the business.
- 1984
Fairbanks presence added
[1]The Fairbanks outlet became KATN and joined the statewide ABC network.
- 1983
Statewide expansion begins
[1]The ownership group acquired the Juneau station that became KJUD, extending its Alaska network.
- 1971
KIMO identity and ABC affiliation
[1]The sale closed, the call sign became KIMO, and the station secured ABC affiliation.
- 1970
Broadcasting resumes
[1]After shutting down in May, channel 13 returned to the air in September under Central Alaska Broadcasting.
Products and positioning
A local broadcast television station combining national ABC and CW Plus programming with Alaska-focused news, weather, public-affairs, and commercial content.
Network television affiliation · 1971
ABC programming
KYUR's principal broadcast offering is ABC network programming distributed to viewers in Anchorage and surrounding Alaskan communities. The affiliation followed the station's conversion from an independent outlet to KIMO in the early 1970s and remains central to its identity as a commercial broadcast station.
Network television affiliation
The CW Plus
KYUR also carries The CW Plus, a packaged service designed for smaller and mid-sized television markets. It supplements the station's ABC schedule with additional network and syndicated entertainment programming for Anchorage viewers.
Television news · 1967
Local and statewide news
The station historically produced Anchorage newscasts and participated in statewide news operations, including the Alaska's SuperStation model. Its full local news department was eliminated in 2020, after which much of the station's news content was supplied through NewsNet inserts and planned externally produced Alaska segments.
Controversies
2020
News operation controversy involving Maria Athens and Ethan Berkowitz
After KYUR and KTBY's news staffs were eliminated, presenter Maria Athens was fired following a physical altercation with the general manager. It was also disclosed that Athens had an inappropriate sexting relationship with Anchorage mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who subsequently resigned.
Brand decisions
2020
Replace the local news department with outsourced contentStrategyBackground
Coastal Television cited impending economic concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Action taken
On April 1, Coastal dismissed the entire KYUR and KTBY news staffs and replaced the operation with NewsNet inserts and planned Alaska segments produced partly from another Coastal station.
Aftermath
KYUR's traditional locally staffed news operation ended, and subsequent personnel controversy further affected the planned replacement service.
2011
Change the call sign from KIMO to KYURStrategyBackground
Vision Alaska and Coastal Television were aligning the station with a new ownership and shared-services structure.
Action taken
The station adopted the KYUR call sign on January 1, 2011.
Aftermath
KYUR continued as an Anchorage ABC outlet while operating alongside Coastal-owned KTBY.
1995
Create Alaska's SuperStationStrategyBackground
Smith Broadcasting sought to integrate the schedules and news operations of its Alaska ABC affiliates after acquiring the station group.
Action taken
The company introduced a largely shared statewide programming and news service, with some market-specific variations required by existing contracts.
Aftermath
The model reduced duplication across the stations but also produced disputes over sports delays and network availability in rural Alaska.
Recent events
- 2020
KYUR and KTBY dismiss their news staffs[1]
Leadership change · Other
Coastal Television eliminated the two stations' news departments during the COVID-19-era economic crisis and replaced much of the output with NewsNet inserts and planned remotely produced Alaska segments.
- 2011
KIMO changes its call sign to KYUR[1]
Product generation
The Anchorage station adopted KYUR as its new call sign after Vision Alaska's acquisition and operational alignment with Coastal Television's KTBY.
- 1995
Smith Broadcasting acquires the Alaska station group[1]
M&A
Smith Broadcasting Group purchased the Alaska Television Network stations and began consolidating their schedules and news operations under the Alaska's SuperStation concept.
- 1993
Alaska Television Network enters receivership[1]
Bankruptcy
Debt problems, reduced television advertising, and weakness in the Alaska economy led to court-supervised management of the station group.
- 1983
KIMO becomes part of a statewide Alaska television network[1]
M&A
Acquisitions in Juneau and Fairbanks expanded KIMO's owner's reach and created an Alaska-wide group of ABC-related stations.
- 1970
Channel 13 returns to the air as KIMO[1]
Other
Central Alaska Broadcasting restored the station after its shutdown earlier that year, beginning the transition that led to the KIMO identity and eventual ABC affiliation.
- 1967
KHAR-TV launches as Anchorage's third television station[1]
Other
Channel 13 began broadcasting under the KHAR-TV call sign with films, syndicated programming, and a local early-evening newscast.
Sources1 sources
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