View source for KKTV

{{Short description|Television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{for-multi|the television station in Osaka, Japan|Kansai Television|the television station in Kumamoto, Japan|:jp:熊本県民テレビ{{!}}Kumamoto Kenmin Television}}
<!--- Advising against adding newscast information as contradicts [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Television Stations]] policy; do not remove or replace the tag of any information added regarding the news operation. --->
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = KKTV
| city                   = Colorado Springs, Colorado
| logo                   = KKTV 11 logo (2025).svg
| logo_upright           = .65
| logo_alt               = A sans serif 11 in black surround by square outline in black.
| image                  = 11 KKTV CBS studios, Colorado Springs.jpg
| image_upright          = 1
| caption                = Colorado Springs studio
| branding               = {{ubl|KKTV 11; ''KKTV 11 Alert''|MyKKTV (11.2)}}
| digital                = 26 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 11
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''11.1:''' [[CBS]]|'''11.2:''' [[MeTV]] & [[MyNetworkTV]]|'''11.3:''' [[Outlaw (TV network)|Outlaw]]}}
| translators            =
| network                = 
| owner                  = {{ubl|[[Gray Media]]|''(sale to the [[E. W. Scripps Company]] pending{{r|grayscrippsswap}})''}}
| licensee               = Gray Television Licensee, [[LLC]]
| location               = [[Colorado Springs]]–[[Pueblo, Colorado]]
| country                = United States
| founded                = 
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1952|12|07|p=y}}
| last_airdate           = 
| callsign_meaning       = 
| former_callsigns       = 
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 11 ([[VHF]], 1952–2009)|'''Digital:''' 10 (VHF, 2003–2011), 49 (UHF, 2011–2019)}}
| sister_stations        = 
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|'''All secondary:'''|[[NBC]] (1952–1953)|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1952–1956)|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1952–1960)}}
| erp                    = 350 [[kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|719.7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 35037
| coordinates            = {{coord|38|44|42|N|104|51|45|W|region:US-CO_type:landmark}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.kktv.com/}} 
}}

'''KKTV''' (channel 11) is a [[television station]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]], United States, affiliated with [[CBS]]. The station is owned by [[Gray Media]], and maintains studios on East Colorado Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs and a transmitter on [[Cheyenne Mountain]].

==History==
KKTV signed on the air on December 7, 1952. It is the third-oldest station in Colorado—behind [[Denver]]'s [[KWGN-TV]] and [[KUSA-TV]]—and the oldest outside Denver.<ref>{{cite news |title=KKTV Dedication At 7 p.m. Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pueblo-chieftain-kktv-dedication-at-7-p/183459581/ |access-date=October 22, 2025 |newspaper=The Pueblo Star-Journal and Sunday Chieftain |date=December 7, 1952 |location=Pueblo, Colorado |page=2A |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The station's first studio located on Mill Street was too small from the beginning. It originally carried programming from CBS, [[NBC]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]].<ref>[http://www.newsblab.com/newsworthy_may03.htm ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117013435/http://www.newsblab.com/newsworthy_may03.htm |date=January 17, 2006 }}</ref> In 1953, [[KRDO-TV]] (channel 13) signed on and took the NBC affiliation. DuMont folded in 1956, leaving KKTV as a primary CBS affiliate and secondary ABC affiliate. That same year, the station moved its operations to a new building located on South Tejon Street in Colorado Springs.

By 1960, the formerly separate Colorado Springs and [[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]] markets became one single market serving the Pikes Peak region and surrounding areas with each of the area's three TV stations becoming "exclusive" network affiliates. KKTV became a sole CBS affiliate with KRDO-TV becoming a full-time ABC affiliate and Pueblo's KCSJ-TV (channel 5, now [[KOAA-TV]]), which had been a primary NBC affiliate since its inception in 1953, becoming the area's sole NBC affiliate. In 1963, KKTV's original owners, TV Colorado, sold the station to Willard W. Garvey, who held a minority stake in Stauffer Publications Stations. In December 1968, KKTV relocated to a new studio facility on North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs, which had previously functioned as a film stage.<ref name="Colo681208">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104439942/kktv-slated-to-complete-move-to-afco/|date=December 8, 1968|page=3-E|title=KKTV Slated to Complete Move to AFCO Stage|newspaper=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph|location=Colorado Springs, Colorado|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 26, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sun --> By the time the move was complete, a deal had been reached to sell KKTV to the Capitol Broadcasting Company of [[Jackson, Mississippi]],{{efn|Not related to the [[Capitol Broadcasting Company]] of Raleigh, North Carolina.}} which owned radio and television properties in that city.<ref name="Colo681023">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104439925/capitol-broadcasting-buys-kktv/|date=October 23, 1968|page=2-F|title=Capitol Broadcasting Buys KKTV Television Station|newspaper=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph|location=Colorado Springs, Colorado|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 26, 2022}}</ref><!-- Wed -->

In late 1982, Capitol Broadcasting Company sold KKTV to the Seattle-based [[Ackerley Group]] (originally called Ackerley Communications), becoming one of that company's earliest acquisitions. Ackerley owned the station until early 1999 when it swapped KKTV to [[Benedek Broadcasting]] in exchange for [[KCOY]] in [[Santa Maria, California]]. Current owner [[Gray Media]] acquired KKTV when it bought most of Benedek's stations in April 2002 as part of Benedek's bankruptcy liquidation.

On October 17, 2009; KKTV became the second station in the Colorado Springs–Pueblo market to present its newscasts in [[High-definition television|high definition]] (HD) beginning with its 10 p.m. newscast.

On June 23, 2012, at around 2&nbsp;p.m. MDT, KKTV began to provide live 24/7 continuous coverage of the [[Waldo Canyon fire]] in Colorado Springs. KKTV called in help from [[KOLN]] in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], [[WOWT]] in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], [[KCNC-TV]] in Denver, and [[KOLO-TV]] in [[Reno, Nevada]] (KOLN, WOWT, and KOLO are sister stations to KKTV, CBS-[[owned-and-operated station|owned]] KCNC shares a helicopter with KKTV), to help out with the coverage of the fire. The nonstop coverage wrapped up at midnight on June 29, 130 hours after it started. KKTV's syndicated and CBS programming were shown on Channel 11.2 during its 24/7 fire coverage. The coverage was praised by various critics, and won the ''Colorado Springs Independent''{{'}}s Best Local TV Newscast award for 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/best-of-2012-personalities/Content?oid=2577380 |title=Best of 2012: Personalities &#124; Best of 2012 Vol. II &#124; Colorado Springs Independent |publisher=Csindy.com |access-date=April 26, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510174412/http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/best-of-2012-personalities/Content?oid=2577380 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ending a long streak in that category by KOAA. KKTV's news ratings have gone up considerably since their Waldo Canyon fire coverage, and as of January 2013, they are claiming their news ratings are "Southern Colorado's Most Watched", higher than KOAA or KRDO.

[[File:KKTV logo 2022 black.svg|class=skin-invert|alt=A sans serif 11 with a circle cut out of it to accommodate the CBS eye. The word "NEWS" is written next to 11. Beneath both elements is the slogan "Your Breaking News Leader".|thumb|right|Logo of KKTV from 2022 to 2025]]
KKTV announced plans to move into a new location at 520 East Colorado Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs. The move was completed in mid-2013.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew|last=Wineke |url=http://www.gazette.com/articles/kktv-143609-move-downtown.html |title=KKTV plans to move station downtown|work=Colorado Springs Gazette |date=August 23, 2012 |access-date=April 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002234119/http://www.gazette.com/articles/kktv-143609-move-downtown.html |archive-date=October 2, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On July 7, 2025, it was announced that, in an exchange of several stations between Gray Media and the [[E. W. Scripps Company]], KKTV would be traded to Scripps, forming a [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]] with KOAA.<ref name="grayscrippsswap">{{Cite web|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gray-media-and-scripps-agree-to-swap-television-stations-302499033.html|title=Gray Media and Scripps Agree to Swap Television Stations|publisher=[[E. W. Scripps Company]]|date=July 7, 2025|accessdate=July 7, 2025|via=[[PR Newswire]]}}</ref> The swap requires deregulatory action at the [[FCC]] because existing rules would not permit the common ownership of KKTV and KOAA without a waiver.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Depp |first=Michael |date=July 7, 2025 |title=Scripps CEO: Station Swap Is An Early Test Of FCC's Dereg Resolve |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/scripps-ceo-station-swap-is-an-early-test-of-fccs-dereg-resolve/ |access-date=July 8, 2025 |website=TVNewsCheck |language=en-US}}</ref>

==News operation==
KKTV currently broadcasts 35 hours of locally produced newscasts (with six hours each weekday, two hours on Saturdays, and three hours on Sundays). KKTV was the last station in the Colorado Springs–Pueblo market to produce morning newscasts on the weekends, which began on the weekend of November 13–14, 2021. However, KKTV was the second TV station in the Colorado Springs–Pueblo market to broadcast an early morning newscast beginning in late 1992 originally running a full hour, while rival KRDO-TV continued to stick with a 15-minute length morning newscast (and would eventually extend the program's length beginning in early 1996).

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KKTV<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KKTV#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KKTV|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=July 7, 2025}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "col" | 11.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=3|[[16:9]] || KKTV-HD || [[CBS]]
|-
! scope = "col" | 11.2
| rowspan=2|[[480i]] || METV-KK || [[MeTV]] & [[MyNetworkTV]]
|-
! scope = "col" | 11.3
| Outlaw || [[Outlaw (TV network)|Outlaw]]
|}

KKTV began broadcasting a digital signal on channel 10 in 2003.

On September 5, 2006, KKTV launched a subchannel carrying [[MyNetworkTV]] programming, under the branding '''MyKKTV'''.<ref>[http://newsblab.com/blabbingmikesblog/nfblog/?p=709#comments ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204221313/http://newsblab.com/blabbingmikesblog/nfblog/?p=709#comments |date=February 4, 2012 }}</ref> KKTV-DT2 is carried on cable channel 41 in Colorado Springs and cable channel 246 in Pueblo. When the channel first launched it carried replays and extra runs of KKTV's syndicated programming (such as ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' and ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'') and some exclusive syndicated shows such as ''[[Futurama]]'' and ''[[30 Rock]]''. At one point, KKTV produced  a 9 p.m. newscast for the subchannel. Around September 8, 2015, KKTV-DT2 began airing select programming from [[MeTV]] alongside syndicated programming. By October 2019, MeTV took up a bulk of the schedule outside of MyNetworkTV programming, with the service moving to the graveyard slot, airing from 2 to 4 a.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://kktv.titantv.com/apg/ttv.aspx |title=TitanTV Query for KKTV |access-date=October 14, 2019 |archive-date=October 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014010609/http://kktv.titantv.com/apg/ttv.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> an increasingly common fate for the service.

From October 2007 to January 2010, KKTV broadcast a 24-hour weather channel called "KKTV No Wait Weather" on digital channel 11.3 and area cable providers. The channel began as a time filler service on KKTV digital channel 11.2. No Wait Weather was also seen on 11.2 overnights but this was discontinued in June 2009. On [[New Year's Day|January 1]], 2010, this service was discontinued and KKTV-DT3 was removed from Cable 140.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KKTV shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 11, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 10, using [[virtual channel]] 11.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 }}</ref>

On January 21, 2011, KKTV began broadcasting on UHF channel 49 and discontinued its broadcast on VHF channel 10 at noon on January 24.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110123064528/http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/KKTV_Launches_New_Transmitter_114292429.html KKTV Launches New Transmitter]</ref> Moving to the UHF dial was deemed necessary because of viewer reception (all other Springs area commercial stations were on UHF by 2009) and interference issues with the VHF broadcast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1333027.pdf |access-date=May 29, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

On June 6, 2019, KKTV switched frequencies from RF channel 49 to RF channel 26 due to the FCC spectrum repack.

===Translators===
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|10788|3=K36LB-D}}''' [[Cheyenne Wells]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|35036|3=K13ZI-D}}''' [[Colorado Springs]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|198511|3=K17MI-D}}''' [[Eads, Colorado|Eads]], etc.
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|53688|3=K35JS-D}}''' [[Lamar, Colorado|Lamar]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|4784|3=K25LE-D}}''' [[Las Animas, Colorado|Las Animas]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|35038|3=K31IV-D}}''' [[Romeo, Colorado|Romeo]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|14768|3=K07BW-D}}''' [[Westcliffe, Colorado|Westcliffe]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.kktv.com/ Official website]

{{Colorado Springs/Pueblo TV}}
{{CBS Colorado}}
{{Gray TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kktv}}
[[Category:1952 establishments in Colorado]]
[[Category:CBS affiliates]]
[[Category:El Paso County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Gray Media]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:MyNetworkTV affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1952]]
[[Category:Television stations in Colorado Springs, Colorado|KTV]]