KSA-TV, broadcasting on cable systems on channel 4, was a television station in Sitka, Alaska, United States, affiliated with NBC. It was the first local television station in Sitka, operating between 1959 and 1983. It was also an affiliate of the NTA Film Network.[1][2][3]

History

KSA-TV launched on November 15, 1959, at 6 p.m., as the first television station of any kind in Sitka. It was owned by a company known as Sitka Alaska TeleVision; the majority shareholder, Ketchikan Alaska TeleVision, operated a similar "KATV" in Ketchikan, which had gone on the air before any broadcast stations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau.[4]

KSA-TV continued to broadcast into the early 1980s. In 1980, McCaw Cable acquired the Sitka cable system and KSA-TV.[5] NBC programs remained on channel 4, though the KSA-TV moniker was abandoned. The station carried radically different programming in daytime hours due to duplication between CBS affiliate KIFW-TV (channel 13), KSA-TV and the Alaska Satellite Television Project.[3]

In 1983, McCaw consolidated its channels of delayed NBC and ABC programming into one service, dubbed "Northstar".[6] In 1986, McCaw began live delivery of WDIV-TV (NBC) and WXYZ-TV (ABC) programming utilizing the CANCOM feeds of Detroit stations, replacing the taped Northstar service.[7]

References

  1. ^ "KSA-TV Channel 4". Daily Sitka Sentinel. May 18, 1960. p. 4. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  2. ^ "KSA-TV Channel 4". Daily Sitka Sentinel'. October 17, 1961. p. 4. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  3. ^ a b "Letter to the Editor". Daily Sitka Sentinel. November 6, 1981. p. 2. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Veatch, Ernestine C. (November 13, 1959). "KSA-TV begins operations Sunday, open house Sat". Daily Sitka Sentinel. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  5. ^ Froetschel, Susan (November 17, 1983). "Sitka Cable TV Looks for Ideas From Residents". Daily Sitka Sentinel. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  6. ^ "Sitka TV Station Announces Changes". Daily Sitka Sentinel. August 23, 1983. p. 4. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  7. ^ "McCaw Cablevision Adds Five Programming Services to Lineup". Daily Sitka Sentinel. January 31, 1986. p. 4A. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
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