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KTNV-TV (channel 13) is a
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States, affiliated with
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. It is owned by the
E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
alongside Laughlin-licensed
Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
KMCC KMCC (channel 34) is a television station licensed to Laughlin, Nevada, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Las Vegas area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside A ...
(channel 34). KTNV-TV's studios are located on South Valley View Boulevard in the nearby
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
community of
Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
(though with a Las Vegas mailing address), and its transmitter is located atop Mount Arden in
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...
. Channel 13 was the third station to be activated in Southern Nevada, beginning broadcasting in May 1956 as KSHO-TV. The station originally operated on a 24-hour basis, unique for the time, with a rotating schedule of movies and minimal news coverage; it remained an independent station until affiliating with ABC in December 1957. Amid financial difficulties, multiple stock sales and ownership transfers occurred from 1957 until 1961, when the licensee, Television Company of America, declared bankruptcy, and a receiver was appointed. In 1963, the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
opened an investigation into an unauthorized transfer of control of the station, which resulted in a decision to deny renewal of its
broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...
. KSHO-TV continued to operate on an interim basis while seven applicants fought for the permanent license; Talmac, Inc., owned the station from then until 1972, followed by Arthur Powell Williams. The Journal Company acquired KSHO-TV in 1979 and relaunched it as KTNV-TV in March 1980. Journal made technical investments at the station, and the news department also grew, but KTNV-TV has not been able to substantially rise from third place in the market despite several overhauls and tweaks to the station's newscasts. Scripps acquired Journal, including KTNV, in 2015.


History

Channel 13 in Las Vegas was first applied for in 1951 by the Desert Television Company, a consortium of local businessmen associated with local radio station KRAM, which was in turn sold to Huntridge Theaters in 1952. Another application was filed by the Western Television Company, but while Western withdrew its application in February 1954 and left Desert Television unopposed, a
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) hearing examiner denied the application because the group failed to prove its financial qualifications.


Early years

On September 28, 1955, Moritz Zenoff, owner of radio station KBMI in nearby
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...
as well as the ''Boulder City News'' and ''Henderson Home News'', was granted a construction permit to build channel 13 in Las Vegas. Zenoff built the station and signed on KSHO-TV on May 4, 1956. It was an independent station with a 24-hour schedule—possibly the only one at that time—consisting of four rotating six-hour movie blocks, interrupted in the evening for brief five-minute news breaks that were the station's only local programming. The studios were located in the
Fremont Hotel and Casino The Fremont Hotel & Casino is located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Fremont Street Experience. The casino is operated by the Boyd Gaming Corporation. History The Fremont Hotel is located on 200 Fremont Street. It was designed by archit ...
, from which the station broadcast with a mere 250 watts of power; low-budget advertisements were a major draw, as was a classified ad feature aired throughout the day. KSHO-TV was built for $70,000, a fraction of the cost of new-build TV station, and run by just two technical employees per shift, but its low-cost programming made the small operation profitable. Zenoff sold the station and KBMI radio to the Television Company of America (TCA) in September 1956, four months after putting it on the air. TCA was owned by a number of TV and radio investors out west, including
Albert Zugsmith Albert Zugsmith (April 24, 1910 – October 26, 1993) was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s. With a background in music promotion (Ted Weems, P ...
. It was the second attempt to sell the station that year after a previous application to sell the outlet to Wilbur Clark, developer and owner of the Desert Inn, was withdrawn. Stock in Television Corporation of America changed hands multiple times in the late 1950s. In March 1957, Morton Sidley and Ira Laufer, both radio executives in Los Angeles, bought stock in TCA, as did Nathan and
Merv Adelson Mervyn Lee Adelson (October 23, 1929 – September 8, 2015) was an American real estate developer and television producer who co-founded Lorimar Television. Early life Adelson was born to a Jewish family in Los Angeles on October 23, 1929 to Na ...
and
Irwin Molasky Irwin Molasky (February 22, 1927 – July 4, 2020) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies. Early life Irwin Molasky was born to a Jewish family on Fe ...
. That fall, the station relocated to
El Rancho Vegas El Rancho Vegas was a hotel and casino at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It opened in 1941, as the first resort on the Strip, known then as part of Highway 91. It was located at what is now the southwest corner of Las ...
and applied to increase its power, and in December, it became an ABC affiliate, the 81st primary outlet of the network nationally. However, financial trouble and continued ownership turnover remained as hallmarks. In 1959, the sale of the station to Rube Jolley, the founder of
KLAS-TV KLAS-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Channel 8 Drive near the northern portion of the Las Vegas Strip in the ...
, was reported by the ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal'' ...
''. The FCC granted the $137,500 purchase of TCA stock by Jolley's company, the Nevada Broadcasters Fund, in November. Jolley was president but did not own any of the stock; among the notable stockholders was Howard D. Johnson, owner of radio and television interests in Idaho and Utah. The Television Company of America, meanwhile, had to obtain a court order to prevent it from being evicted from El Rancho Vegas.


License revocation and re-award

Television Company of America filed for bankruptcy protection in May 1961, and it asked for permission to transfer the license to a court-appointed receiver. However, in March 1963, the FCC instead designated its license renewal as well as a proposed transfer of the license to Arthur Powell Williams, a businessman from Los Angeles, for hearing. The commission ordered the hearings over complications in ownership. The FCC alleged that, over two years of what ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called "financial gamesmanship", ownership had passed from Television Company of America to Nevada Broadcasters' Fund to a company controlled by Johnson, who advanced funds to keep the station in business; that there was an unauthorized contract for a transfer of control to Johnson; and that Nevada Broadcasters' Fund had disclosed in stock sales that it acquired control of KSHO-TV before even filing the application with the FCC, which must approve all transfers of control of radio and television stations. Hearings were held in Las Vegas before an FCC examiner over the various unauthorized transfers and attempts to solicit public investment. KSHO-TV's weakened position also was revealed by testimony in a concurrent FCC battle over the licensing of channel 4 in
Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ( ...
, wherein applicants for that station—including KSHO-TV's station manager—were found to have discussed how to seek a network affiliation and "what part Channel 13 would play if it became dead". FCC hearing examiner Millard French handed down an initial decision in November 1964 against the license renewal and proposed transfers of control to Williams, citing Nevada Broadcasters' Fund's "misrepresentations and statements that were calculated to deceive", that stakeholders were selling stock they no longer owned, and that Johnson's company, KBLI Inc., attempted to raise stock only to be told by the securities commissioner in Idaho that it could not invest any of the money it raised outside the state. In July 1965, the FCC ruled against Television Company of America. It represented the first time the commission had denied renewal of a television license at hearing; even though the FCC held that some innocent creditors and others would be punished, it rebuked the "most incredibly lax manner" in which KSHO-TV was operated and noted that concealing the Johnson ownership interest was "outstanding and willful". Arthur Powell Williams lodged an appeal, noting that the commission found him to be of "blameless character". However, a federal appeals court upheld the commission's action in June 1966, and the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
refused to take up the case in February 1967.


Talmac and Williams ownership

On June 9, 1967, KSHO-TV's operating authority expired; the same day, the FCC granted interim operating authority to a group consisting of five of the seven applicants seeking to operate the station on a permanent basis. Channel 13 of Las Vegas, Inc., consisted of five of the groups: Williams, Desert Broadcasting Corporation, Ettlinger Broadcasting, Clark County Communications, and Talmac Inc. (The other two were Lotus Television of Las Vegas and Diller Broadcasting Corporation, owned by
Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and e ...
.) The application of Talmac, Inc., attracted the most immediate attention because it had ripple effects in
Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
. Alan Abner, one of Talmac's principals, sat on the
Nevada Gaming Control Board The Nevada Gaming Control Board, also known as the State Gaming Control Board, is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of gaming and law enforcement of Nevada gaming laws throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming ...
, and conflict-of-interest questions prompted him to tender his resignation. Two gamblers were members of Clark County Communications, one of the competing applicants, thus the issue. Even during the interim operation period, KSHO-TV moved into its present Valley View Drive studios in 1968 and simultaneously began high-power broadcasting for the first time in its history. The seven applicants reached a settlement in April 1969, with Talmac being named the winner of permanent authority to operate KSHO-TV and some of Ettlinger Broadcasting's principals buying stakes in Talmac. Arthur Powell Williams—the same man who was to have bought the station a decade earlier—filed to acquire KSHO-TV from Talmac in April 1971, a transaction approved by the FCC in January 1972.


Journal and Scripps ownership

In 1979, The ''(Milwaukee) Journal'' Company purchased KSHO-TV from Williams, adding its first television station outside of the state of Wisconsin. The move came at a time when The Journal Company wanted to diversify in order to relieve antitrust pressures on its combination of a newspaper, AM and FM radio stations, and a television station in Milwaukee. A total overhaul was necessary at channel 13, which had become the fourth-rated station locally even though it was affiliated with ABC, then the top network nationally. The general manager of KLAS-TV noted that the syndicated early evening offerings of independent
KVVU-TV KVVU-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Henderson, Nevada, United States, serving the Las Vegas area as an affiliate of the Fox network. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios at the Broadcast Center on West Suns ...
had provided stiffer competition for their newscasts than KSHO-TV's news offerings. The result was a total image overhaul, including new KTNV-TV call letters on March 2, 1980. Journal also invested in new live mobile reporting equipment and moved the transmitter to Black Mountain; in 1985, KTNV was the first Las Vegas-area station to broadcast in stereo. On July 30, 2014, it was announced that the
E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
would buy Journal Communications in an all-stock transaction. Scripps would retain the two companies' broadcast properties, including KTNV, and spin off its print properties as part of Journal Media Group. The FCC approved the deal on December 12, 2014. It was approved by shareholders on March 11, 2015. The merger was completed on April 1, 2015. Scripps acquired
Ion Media Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over List of stations owned and operated by Ion Media, 71 television stations in most major Americ ...
and most of its stations, including
KMCC KMCC (channel 34) is a television station licensed to Laughlin, Nevada, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Las Vegas area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside A ...
(channel 34) in the Las Vegas market, in 2020.


Local programming


News operation

As KSHO-TV, the station aired local news programming, though it rarely found much ratings success. When Journal took over, the main early evening newscast was moved from 6 to 5:30 p.m. to avoid direct competition with KLAS-TV, which commanded half of all TV viewership at the 6 p.m. hour in February 1980. The station was lifted into second place for a time but had sunk back down to third by 1989; in the ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal'' ...
'', Ken White described the newsroom as having "more news directors hired and fired the last few years than managers for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
". In 1989, the station launched its first morning newscast, ''Good Morning Las Vegas''. Much of the station's history in news has been spent making attempts to improve the ratings and lift them out of third place. In 1992, the station rebranded its newscasts as ''News 13: Inside Las Vegas'', including an image overhaul. Another shakeup was made in late 2001, two years before the present ''Action News'' brand was instituted. In 2014, Journal was fined $115,000 by the FCC for airing so-called "special reports" about liquidations at car dealerships that were actually commercials for the dealerships, failing to disclose that they were paid advertisements. This was the second ethics problem for the KTNV newsroom within five years. In 2009, reporter Nina Radetich was recorded telling the owner of an automotive repair business that her boyfriend's public relations company could help counter the negative press being generated by KTNV's own reporting.


''Morning Blend''

In 2010, following the lead of several other Journal stations, KTNV launched a lifestyle-oriented program, ''The Morning Blend'', on July 6, 2010. The program, produced by KTNV's creative services department, features paid and unpaid segments.


Notable former on-air staff

*
Ross Becker Ross Becker is a journalist who primarily works in television, radio, and digital. He is the president and CEO of TvNewsmentor.com, dedicated to growing and mentoring talent. He is also the founding partner of Top News Talent, LLC, a coaching, tra ...
, anchor (2002–2004) * Paula Francis, anchor (known as Paula Dilworth at KTNV) *
Cecily Tynan Cecily Joan Tynan (born March 19, 1969) is an American television meteorologist who has been with WPVI-TV since 1995. , she is the 5, 6, and 11 pm weathercaster and chief meteorologist at WPVI. She formerly hosted the Saturday evening public affa ...
, meteorologist


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's digital signal is
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
: KTNV-TV is a participating station in Las Vegas's
ATSC 3.0 ATSC 3.0 is a major version of the ATSC standards for television broadcasting created by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). The standards are designed to offer support for newer technologies, including HEVC for video channels of u ...
(NextGen TV) deployment on
KVCW KVCW (channel 33) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside NBC affiliate KSNV (channel 3). Both stations share studios on Foremaster La ...
and in turn hosts that station's main subchannel in 1.0 format.


Analog-to-digital conversion

KTNV-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 12 to channel 13 for post-transition operations. In 2021, Scripps filed to move KTNV-TV from the VHF band on channel 13 to the UHF band on channel 26.


Translators

KTNV-TV's signal is additionally rebroadcast over the following translators: * Caliente: K13NV-D * Laughlin: K20NW-D * Overton: K30MH-D * Pahrump: K31OY-D, K36BQ-D *
Panaca Panaca may refer to: ;In the United States * Panaca, Nevada, an unincorporated town in Lincoln County ** Panaca Summit Archeological District, near the above community * Panaca Formation, a geologic formation in Nevada ;Elsewhere * PANACA, or (Spa ...
: K04HF-D *
Pioche Pioche is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States, approximately northeast of Las Vegas. U.S. Route 93 is the main route to Pioche and bypasses the town center just to the east, with Nevada State Route 321 and Nevad ...
: K11IV-D *
Ursine Ursine may refer to: Zoology * Loosely, Ursidae Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing ...
: K13LU-D


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ktnv-Tv ABC network affiliates Laff (TV network) affiliates Grit (TV network) affiliates TNV-TV Television channels and stations established in 1956 1956 establishments in Nevada E. W. Scripps Company television stations