KTVA being sold to Alaska Public Media

[inari]

Alaska Public To Buy GCI Property | Radio & Television Business Report

A broadcast television station that from its December 1953 sign-on through the end of July 2020 served as Alaska's primary CBS affiliate is being sold by the GCI subsidiary that has owned it since November 2013. The buyer is the leading PBS Member serving the nation's 49th state.

rbr.com

Alaska Public Media has agreed to purchase KTVA for $200,000.

 

[bpatrick]

What station will become the CBS affiliate in Anchorage?

 

[fybush]

What station will become the CBS affiliate in Anchorage?

KAUU channel 5, sister station to KTUU 2. It took the CBS affiliation back in 2020.

 

[Loganfly]

I'm glad it's not going to TCT.

 

[txchipk]

KAUU channel 5, sister station to KTUU 2. It took the CBS affiliation back in 2020.

I think technically KYES-LD 5.1 is the CBS affiliate as part of the fall out of Gray playing fast and loose with the FCC rules on combining top 4 outlets. Since Gray couldn't acquire CBS KTVA 11 since it already had KTUU 2, it bought its non-license assets -- and moved the CBS affiliation from KTVA to KYES 5, which the FCC was not amused by: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-21-81A1_Rcd.pdf. If I recall, Gray sued last year to fight that ruling and fine.

To remedy that, the KYES calls and CBS shifted to K22HN, a LPTV Gray owns, and the virtual channel was remapped to 5.1. The former full power KYES calls changed to KAUU, but no longer broadcasting a 5.1 subchannel.

Technically, KAUU doesn't broadcast any CBS programming on its physical channel. CBS comes via KYES-LD and a KYES-LD simulcast on KAUU's physical channel that is mapped as 5.11.