KTVK (known on-air as 3TV) is a full-service, independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona. It broadcasts in analog on VHF channel 3 and in digital on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter located on South Mountain in Phoenix, and can be seen across northern Arizona on a network of nearly two dozen translator stations. The station is owned by the Belo Corporation of Dallas, Texas.
History
As an ABC affiliate
Former Senator Ernest McFarland, author of the GI Bill, was awed by the new medium of television. With a few friends, he formed the Arizona Television Company and applied for a television license. On March 1, 1955—shortly after McFarland was elected governor of Arizona—KTVK signed on as Phoenix' fourth television station. It immediately became an ABC affiliate. McFarland chose the calls "because TV will be our middle name."[1]
KTVK cleared most of ABC's network schedule except lower-rated daytime shows, as well as an occasional show during prime time. Despite the pre-emptions, ABC was generally satisfied with KTVK, one of its strongest affiliates.
KTVK's news department was a very distant second to longtime leader KOOL-TV (now KSAZ-TV) for many years, even when KTAR-TV's 1979 sale to Gannett (and call letter change to KPNX) made it the only locally-owned network affiliate in the market. When McFarland died in 1984, the station's ownership was taken over by his daughter Jewell and her husband Delbert Lewis.
The station's fortunes began to improve significantly after several news managers from KTSP defected to KTVK in 1986. An aggressive marketing campaign, a new brand ("NewsChannel 3"), and a popular new anchor team finally helped make KTVK a truly competitive player in news. By the late 1980s, KTVK was the top-rated station in Arizona. A Saturday morning newscast (from 7–9am) was launched in 1993.
KTVK's atmosphere was somewhat different from what was typical for a Big Three-affiliated major-market station. McFarland ran his station as a "mom and pop" business, and had an open-door policy which the Lewises continued when they took over the station. Employee turnover was very low, and hugs were very common in the newsroom. This was an outgrowth of the station's longtime slogan, "Arizona's Family."
In the spring of 1994, New World Communications announced an affiliation deal with Fox in which most of its stations became Fox affiliates. One of the stations to switch was KSAZ, Phoenix' longtime CBS affiliate. CBS, not wanting to affiliate with KNXV-TV (which was to lose its Fox affiliation), approached KTVK for an affiliation. KTVK turned it down in anticipation of having its affiliation agreement with ABC renewed.
However, much to the Lewises' surprise, KNXV's owner, Scripps, forced ABC to switch its affiliation to KNXV as a condition of keeping ABC on Scripps' two biggest stations, WEWS-TV in Cleveland and WXYZ-TV in Detroit. The Lewises were very upset at how they had been treated after so many years of loyalty. KTVK immediately began purchasing more programming and increasing local news production. In August, they dropped "Good Morning America" and launched "Good Morning Arizona" in the 6–9 AM slot, featuring anchor Jodi Applegate and meteorologist Royal Norman. The 6–7 AM slot had previously been occupied by a more traditional newscast. Since KNXV was on its way to becoming an ABC affiliate, they began to air "Good Morning America" beginning in September of 1994.
By December 1994, KTVK also dropped Mike and Maty (of which KTVK had only aired 30 minutes daily), World News Now, and Nightline, which were also picked up by KNXV. At that point, ABC's cartoons also moved to KNXV, with KTVK dropping its Saturday morning newscasts and running Fox Kids (which had been turned down by KSAZ) instead. By then, KTVK was only airing prime time programming, sports, and the major soaps from ABC.
KTVK renewed Oprah and Inside Edition, and purchased all the available King World shows such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (which was not renewed by KSAZ, and are now seen on KNXV), American Journal (not renewed by KPNX), Rolanda, Branded (for weekends), and The Little Rascals (for weekends). KTVK also affiliated with the WB Network.
As an Independent Station
KNXV officially became Phoenix's ABC affiliate in January 1995, and KTVK nominally became the market's WB affiliate. Initially, The WB only had one night a week of programming, which KTVK chose to air on Saturday nights. The WB added a second night of programming in mid-1995, which KTVK aired on Sunday. With WB only occupying two nights of programming, KTVK was still essentially an independent station. It also broadcast Fox Kids in the early afternoons and weekend mornings for about a year. The station aired Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and several off-network sitcoms during prime time. A quirk of the Fox Kids schedule on KTVK was that Animaniacs & Mighty Morphin Power Rangers aired on Sundays at 6PM & 6:30PM, after the news and before their 7PM movie.
KTVK owned a substantial programming inventory, but lacked time in its broadcast day to air it all, even after dropping ABC. As such, when the Brooks family launched a new station, KASW, in September 1995, KTVK immediately entered into a local marketing agreement with the new station. KASW became the WB affiliate, and KTVK bought the new station's entire broadcast day. KTVK then reinstated Saturday morning newscasts. On the same day KASW took over the WB affiliation, the Arizona Television Company officially changed its name to MAC America Communications, after its founder's nickname, "Mac." By this time, it had grown to include two FM stations, a magazine and two local cable news channels: Arizona's first Spanish language news channel ¡Más! Arizona and Arizona News Channel (English).
MAC America decided to sell KTVK in 1999, but was very selective about a buyer. It wanted to sell to a company that would continue to keep a local presence at the station (particularly important to the Lewises, as KTVK was the last locally-owned station in the market) and allow the station to continue its growth of the last decade. In the end, it sold KTVK and the LMA of KASW to the Belo Corporation in 1999, ending 44 years of McFarland-Lewis ownership. (Belo eventually bought KASW outright in 2001.)
Despite losing its ABC affiliation, the station's newscasts, each with its own name ("Good Evening Arizona," "The News Show," etc.), still receive high ratings. Its evening newscast regularly outperforms the national networks' broadcasts by a large ratings margin. KTVK is one of the nation's most successful independent stations.
KTVK was the original over-the-air home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, beginning broadcasts when the team joined the National League in 1998. The team remained on KTVK through the end of the 2007 season, when the team chose not to renew the contract. Diamondbacks games will now only be available in English on FSN Arizona.
On April 26, 2007, KTVK became the third station in Arizona (following KPNX in Phoenix and KVOA in Tucson) to broadcast its news in high definition. The station broadcasts nearly 50 hours of HD news content per week.
Helicopter crash
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On July 27, 2007 at around 12:45pm MST, KTVK's News Chopper 3 was involved in a mid-air collision when local ABC affiliate KNXV-TV's helicopter struck it from behind.[2] The collision occurred above Steele Indian School Park, near Third Street and Indian School Road, while both aircraft were covering a police car pursuit in downtown Phoenix.[3] All four people on both helicopters were killed, including KTVK pilot Scott Bowerbank and photographer Jim Cox.[4] The cause of the crash is now being investigated.
Good Morning Arizona
Among the station's flagship broadcasts is "Good Morning Arizona," one of the country's original long-format local TV morning newscasts. Running from 4:30am until 9am weekdays (and also in a different form on weekends), the show has been a long-time ratings winner and the highest-rated program of its kind in the nation. "GMAZ" has its own budget, writers and air staff. The show is also simulcast on Tucson Belo station KMSB-TV. It features weathercasts done by former Chicago standup comedian, Brad Perry; live helicopter-based traffic and breaking news reports delivered by Bruce Haffner, a pilot/reporter; and a long-time host, Tara Hitchcock. Jodi Applegate was the host of Good Morning Arizona from 1994 until 1996, when she joined NBC as a weekend Today Show anchor.
Digital television
The station's digital channel:
Digital channels
| Channel |
Programming |
| 3.1 / DTV Channel 24 |
Main KTVK programming |
Post-analog shutdown
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 [5], KTVK will remain on its current pre-transition channel number, 24. [6] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display KTVK's virtual channel as 3.
Current Personalities
Anchors
- Frank Camacho - weekdays 11am
- Dan Davis - weekday mornings on Good Morning AZ
- Olivia Fierro - weekday mornings on Good Morning AZ
- Tara Hitchcock - weekday mornings on Good Morning AZ
- Kirsten Joyce - weekends 5pm and 9pm
- Beverly Kidd - weekdays 9pm
- Patti Kirkpatrick - weekdays 4:30pm-6:30pm on Good Evening AZ
- Scott Pasmore - weekday mornings on Good Morning AZ
- Tess Rafols - weekend mornings on Good Morning AZ
Reporters
- Jared Dillingham
- Tyler Baldwin
- Suzanne Bissett
- Steve Bodinet
- Sue Breding
- Bruce Haffner - pilot/reporter
- Gary Harper - 3 On Your Side Investigator
- Kristine Harrington
- Kirsten Joyce
- Ben Lemoine
- Carey Pena
- Brad Perry - features reporter on Good Morning AZ
- Tess Rafols
- Claudia Rivero
- Javier Soto
- Mike Watkiss
- Marissa Wingate
Weather
- Royal Norman - chief meteorologist; weekdays 4:30pm-6:30pm on Good Evening AZ and 9pm
- Britney Shipp - weekends
- April Warnecke - weekdays 4:30am-9am on Good Morning AZ and 11am
Sports
- Brad Cesmat - weekends 5pm and 9pm
- Ross Shimabuku - weekdays 4:30pm-6:30pm on Good Evening AZ and 9pm
Past personalities
| Name |
Position at KTVK |
Years Active |
Whereabouts |
| Mike Chamberlin |
Sports Anchor, later News Co-Anchor |
Early 1990's-2004 |
Weekend Sports Anchor at KPHO Phoenix |
| Kim Dillon |
Meteorologist |
to 2006 |
Terminated following conviction on theft charges. |
| Heidi Fogelsong |
Nightime Anchor |
|
At KTAR-FM News Talk |
| Liz Habib |
Reporter |
to 2000's |
Terminated after a highly publicized fracas at a local bar. Now at KTTV |
| Cameron Harper |
Nighttime Anchor |
|
At WPTY in Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jim Howl |
Weather Forecaster |
1984-1996 |
Weathercaster for KFNX-AM Phoenix, Ran for Arizona Governor in 1998. |
| Gil Tyree |
Sports Anchor |
Late 1980's-2001 |
At WGCL in Atlanta, Georgia |
| Cater Lee |
Weekday Evening Anchor |
Mid 90's |
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| Jerry Foster |
Helicopter Pilot/Traffic Reporter |
1990's |
Fired after alleged drug charges, Flys coporate in Phoenix area |
Other notable alumni
Former Later Today anchor Jodi Applegate, CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, 20/20 co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas, CNN Headline News anchor Christi Paul and ABC News Producer and Univision contributing correspondent Patricio Espinoza worked at KTVK before going national.
Logos
The circle 3 logo in a TV. The TV portion was from 1997 and used to 2003; the circle 3 dates back to the 1980s and is meant to be an offshoot of ABC's circle 7 logo, as the circle was used when KTVK was an ABC affiliate.
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KTVK returned to NewsChannel 3 branding in 2003, resulting in this variation used from 2003 to 2005.
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Variation used from 2005-2007.
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Station name and slogan over the years
- Eyewitness News 3, Arizona's Choice for News (1980-1983)
- Channel 3, Arizona's Very Own (1983-1986)
- Arizona's News People: NewsChannel 3 (1986-1993)
- NewsChannel 3, The Place With More Stuff (1994–1996)
- 3TV, The Place With More Stuff (1996–2003) NOTE: NewsChannel 3 was still used infrequently for several years after 1996
- News Channel 3, Arizona's Family (2003–2004, used infrequently until early-2005)
- 3TV, Arizona's Family (2004–present)
- 3TV, Everywhere, Always There (breaking news, developing story) (present)
- The Place With More News (2007-present)
Rebroadcasters
KTVK is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
See also
External links
References
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Broadcast television in the Phoenix market (Nielsen DMA #12) |
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Local over-the-air television stations
KTVK 3 (Ind) - KPHO 5 (CBS) - KAET 8 (PBS, Create on DT2, World on DT3, KBAQ on DT4) - KSAZ 10 (Fox) - KPNX 12 (NBC, WX Plus on DT2) - KNXV 15 (ABC, GoAz.tv on DT2) - KPAZ 21 (TBN, TCC on DT2, JCTV on DT3, Enlace on DT4, Smile on DT5) - KTVP-LP 22 (Almavision) - K25DM 25 (My2Fish) - KCOS-LP 28 (LFN) - KTVW 33 (UNI, KFPH-CA on DT2) - KFPH-CA 35 (TFU) - KTAZ 39 (TEL) - KPDF-CA 41 (AZA) - KVPA-LP 42 (silent) - KEJR-LP 43 (MTV3) - KPHE-LP 44 (Multimedios) - KUTP 45 (MNTV) - KDPH-LP 48 (DS) - KPPX 51 (ION, qubo on DT2, ION Life on DT3, Worship on DT4) - K53GF 53 (Ind) - K57HX 57 (HSN) - KDTP-LP 58 (JTV) - KASW 61 (CW)
Local digital-only television station
KAZT-CA 27 (Ind)
Outlying area stations
KNAZ 2 (NBC) - KMOH 6 (MTV3) - KNJO-LP 6 (A1) - KTVW-CA 6 (UNI) - KAZT 7 (Ind) - KCFG 9 (A1) - KBBA-LP 10 (silent) - KWKM-LP 10 (A1) - KDTP 11 (DS) - KWSJ-LP 12 (A1) - KFPH 13 (TFU) - K18DD 18 (3ABN / ShopNBC) - K19FD 19 (HOPE) - K21GE 21 (3ABN) - K25AL 25 (TBN) - K25HD 25 / K27EC 27 (CTVN) - KCAB-LP 28 (A1) - KQBN-LP 28 (AZA) - K36DU 36 (Worship) - KKAX-LP 36 (A1) - KLHU-CA 45 (Ind) - KDFQ-LP 47 (AZA)
Defunct television stations
KTFL 4 (FN) - KVSW-LP 38 (A1)
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| Arizona Broadcast television markets: Albuquerque, NM • Phoenix / Flagstaff • Tucson / Nogales • Yuma / El Centro, CA |
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Other English-language Television Stations in the state of Arizona |
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Phoenix market: KTVK 3 (Phoenix, Ind) - KNJO-LP 6 (Holbrook, A1) - KAZT 7 (Prescott / Phoenix, Ind) - KCFG 9 (Flagstaff, A1) - KWKM-LP 10 (Show Low, A1) - KWSJ-LP 12 (Snowflake, A1) - K18DD 18 / K23FZ 23 (Camp Verde, 3ABN / ShopNBC) - K25DM 25 (Phoenix, My2Fish) - KCAB-LP 28 (Casa Grande, A1) - KKAX-LP 36 (Kingman, A1) - KLHU-CA 45 (Lake Havasu City, Ind) - KPPX 51 (Tolleson, ION) - K57HX 57 (Mesa, HSN) - KDTP-LP 58 (Phoenix, JTV)
Tucson market: K21CX 21 (Tucson, HSN) - KWTA-LP 31 (Tucson, JTV)
El Centro/Yuma market: KVFA-LP 6 (Yuma, Ind)
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See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, ION, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Arizona
Also see: Religious and Spanish TV stations |
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