KSCT-LP (virtual channel 2, VHF digital channel 5) in Sitka is a translator of KATH-LD, broadcasting from a transmitter in downtown Sitka. Programming is identical to KATH-LD with both stations being fed from the studios of sister stationKTUU-TV (channel 2) in Anchorage.
On cable, KATH-LD is carried on GCI in Juneau on channel 15, on Dish Network throughout Southeast Alaska on channel 5/9380, and on DirecTV throughout Southeast Alaska on channel 4. KATH-LD's high definition feed is also available on GCI's basic service on digital channel 652 in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg and Wrangell. KATH-LD's standard-definition signal is also on GCI cable in Petersburg, Wrangell and Angoon. Daily Alaska news is provided through a partnership with KTUU-TV.
History
KSCT-LP was the first of the two stations to go on the air, signing on May 1, 1995, as a Fox affiliate owned by Dan Etulain, who previously owned KTNL (channel 13) from 1983 to 1992.[3] KSCT-LP had operated as a cable-only station since December 9, 1994;[4] during that period, Fox's primetime programming was seen in the afternoon, though it was moved into primetime concurrently with channel 5's sign on.[3] KSCT-LP affiliated with Fox because, at the time, it was the only one of the Big Four television networks that was willing to affiliate with low-power television stations.[3] Initially, most of KSCT-LP's non-Fox programming was supplied by National Empowerment Television, though it also broadcast some local programming;[3][4] after NET moved to a satellite that the station could not receive, its programming was replaced with Channel America, Outdoor Channel, and American Independent Network on December 1, 1995.[5] By this time, KSCT-LP had added a secondary affiliation with The WB.[5] The station was originally assigned the call letters K05KH; it officially became KSCT-LP on November 20, 1995,[6] though it had promoted itself as "KSCT" since its launch.[3]
In June 1998, Etulain announced that he would launch KATH-LP as Juneau's NBC affiliate that July; KSCT-LP had switched to NBC by this time as well.[7] Delays in receiving equipment required to place the station on GCI's lineup postponed the launch of the station to August 17, 1998.[8] NBC programming was previously only available in Juneau via cable carriage of Seattle's KING-TV; however, KING was not carried on the basic cable tier, unlike KATH-LP.[7] KATH-LP supplemented NBC programming with blocks of local programming, which generally consisted of pre-recorded coverage of community events and high school sports; at its launch, the station did not air any local newscasts.[7][8] Juneau's existing stations, ABC affiliate KJUD (channel 8) and PBS station KTOO-TV (channel 3), were at the time part of the statewide Alaska's SuperStation and AlaskaOne networks respectively, with limited local programming.[7] Shortly after KATH-LP's launch, Etulain purchased[9] K05JR,[10] which had been licensed in 1994;[11] the sale was completed on May 26, 1999.[9] K05JR and KSCT-LP continued their secondary WB affiliations until early 1999; at that time, K05JR added a secondary UPN affiliation.[12] K05JR's call sign was changed to KATH-LP on November 15, 2001;[10] it had been calling itself "KATH" on the air since its sale to Etulain. By early 2003, KATH-LP was simulcasting local newscasts from KTUU-TV in Anchorage.[13] KATH-LD ended analog over-the-air broadcasts in November 2011.
On November 9, 2012, GCI, through subsidiary Denali Media Holdings, announced plans to purchase KATH-LD and KSCT-LP from Dan Etulain's North Star Television Network, along with KTVA in Anchorage from MediaNews Group.[citation needed] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the deal on October 29, 2013.[14] KATH-LD's news partnership with KTUU-TV was suspended on December 7, 2013, as a result of a larger dispute between GCI and KTUU,[15] but a deal to resume it was reached on February 6, 2014.[16]
KSCT-LP began broadcasting a digital over-the-air TV signal in January 2018.[citation needed]
Denali Media Holdings announced the sale of KATH-LD and KSCT-LP to Gray Television on May 28, 2020.[17] The sale made KATH-LD and KSCT-LP sister stations to KTUU-TV and KYES-TV in Anchorage and KTVF in Fairbanks, and gave Gray a monopoly on NBC programming throughout Alaska. The sale was completed on July 31.[18]
Digital channel
The stations digital signal carries one subchannel:
