KFTU-TV
Encyclopedia
KFTU-DT is a full-service television station
founded by William Abbotts
(who chose to invest in the vestigial American radio networks in his latter years) serving Douglas, Arizona
, Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico
and surrounding areas of Cochise County
and northeast Sonora
. The station broadcasts in digital
on UHF
channel 36 as an affiliate of Spanish-language network TeleFutura
.
KFTU-CA is a low-power Class A
television station in Tucson, Arizona
, rebroadcasting the signal of KFTU-DT in analog
on UHF channel 34 and in standard definition digital
on sister station KUVE-DT's secondary subchannel
46.2. The station is carried on the principal Tucson-area cable system (Cox) as channel 60.
KFTU-DT has another repeater station in Tucson, Arizona
, K48GX channel 48, that provides over-the-air coverage to areas to the northwest of Tucson that are shielded by terrain from the KFTU-CA signal.
All three stations are owned by Univision
. Similar to sister station KFPH-TV
in Flagstaff
, KFTU brands itself as Telefutura 34, using the over-the-air channel of its Class A
repeater in Tucson.
of Little Rock, Arkansas
. Douglas Broadcasting completed building the station and filed for a license to cover the construction permit in April 2001. At the same time, they took KBGF on the air under Program Test Authority as an independent station
. In October 2001, Douglas Broadcasting sold the station to Univision, who changed its call letters to KFTU in January 2002 to coincide with the launch of its new network, Telefutura, and added the "-TV" suffix two years later (after the end of analog broadcasting
in June 2009, KFTU and all other Univision-owned stations switched to the "-DT" suffix). The station obtained its license to cover construction on February 4, 2004, after nearly three years operating under Program Test Authority.
to delete the callsign in 1993, but the station was restored and came on the air in August 1994, with the initial license granted August 29, 1994. The station changed its callsign to KTAZ-LP (for Tucson AZ) on December 18, 1996. In April 2001, Venture Technologies sold the station to Douglas Broadcasting, who, in turn, sold the station to Univision in September 2001. After the Telefutura network launched in January 2002, Univision dropped the station's Home Shopping Network
affiliation in favor of its new network. About the same time, KTAZ was granted Class A status, and changed its call letters to KTAZ-CA on March 1, 2002. KTAZ found itself displaced when Fox
affiliate KMSB neared launch of its digital television station on UHF channel 25, and in May 2002, applied to move to UHF channel 34. The application was granted in June, and by December 2002, the station was at its new broadcast channel. Univision changed the station's call letters to KFTU-CA on November 6, 2004, establishing brand identity with its principal station in Douglas.
The KTAZ call letters would resurface in Phoenix in 2006, when the Telemundo
station there began branding itself as Telemundo Arizona.
after the FCC
finalized the DTV
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 http://www.transmitter.com/FCC97115/chanplan.html, the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
. Instead, on June 12, 2009, which was the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KFTU-TV was required to turn off its analog signal
and turn on its digital signal
(called a "flash-cut
").
However, since its analog channel position was in the low-VHF range, 2 - 6, KFTU-DT was allowed to select a different channel to use after the conversion. KFTU-DT selected UHF
channel 36 and began operations on that channel once the digital transition was complete.
KFTU-CA did not apply for a companion channel for the digital conversion; as a low-powered television station, it is exempt from the 2009 analog shutdown.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
founded by William Abbotts
William Abbotts
William Abbotts was one of the founding fathers of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, UK.Although already an important landowner in the then village it was on 14 January 1784 that Abbotts made the discovery that he would be remembered for...
(who chose to invest in the vestigial American radio networks in his latter years) serving Douglas, Arizona
Douglas, Arizona
Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico and a history of mining.The population was 14,312 at the 2000 census...
, Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and surrounding areas of Cochise County
Cochise County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*78.5% White*4.2% Black*1.2% Native American*1.9% Asian*0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.0% Two or more races*9.6% Other races*32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and northeast Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
. The station broadcasts in digital
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
on UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 36 as an affiliate of Spanish-language network TeleFutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
.
KFTU-CA is a low-power Class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
television station in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, rebroadcasting the signal of KFTU-DT in analog
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
on UHF channel 34 and in standard definition digital
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
on sister station KUVE-DT's secondary subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
46.2. The station is carried on the principal Tucson-area cable system (Cox) as channel 60.
KFTU-DT has another repeater station in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, K48GX channel 48, that provides over-the-air coverage to areas to the northwest of Tucson that are shielded by terrain from the KFTU-CA signal.
All three stations are owned by Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
. Similar to sister station KFPH-TV
KFPH-TV
KFPH-DT is a full-service television station in Flagstaff, Arizona, providing over-the-air service to Flagstaff and the Verde Valley as a Telefutura affiliate...
in Flagstaff
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
, KFTU brands itself as Telefutura 34, using the over-the-air channel of its Class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
repeater in Tucson.
KFTU-DT
The station was granted its original construction permit on April 8, 1998, and took the call letters KBGF in June 1998. Initially owned by Winstar Broadcasting Corp. of New York, New York, it was sold in December 1999 to Douglas Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Equity BroadcastingEquity Broadcasting
Equity Media Holdings was a broadcasting company based in Little Rock, Arkansas that owned and operated television stations across the United States. Prior to March 30, 2007, the company was known as Equity Broadcasting, which is now used for its broadcast station subisdary...
of Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. Douglas Broadcasting completed building the station and filed for a license to cover the construction permit in April 2001. At the same time, they took KBGF on the air under Program Test Authority as an independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
. In October 2001, Douglas Broadcasting sold the station to Univision, who changed its call letters to KFTU in January 2002 to coincide with the launch of its new network, Telefutura, and added the "-TV" suffix two years later (after the end of analog broadcasting
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
in June 2009, KFTU and all other Univision-owned stations switched to the "-DT" suffix). The station obtained its license to cover construction on February 4, 2004, after nearly three years operating under Program Test Authority.
KFTU-CA
KFTU-CA began with an original construction permit granted on August 26, 1991 to Ponyland Broadcasting (later Venture Technologies) for a low-power television station to serve Tucson on UHF channel 25 with the callsign K25EA. Delays building the station caused the permit to lapse and the FCCFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to delete the callsign in 1993, but the station was restored and came on the air in August 1994, with the initial license granted August 29, 1994. The station changed its callsign to KTAZ-LP (for Tucson AZ) on December 18, 1996. In April 2001, Venture Technologies sold the station to Douglas Broadcasting, who, in turn, sold the station to Univision in September 2001. After the Telefutura network launched in January 2002, Univision dropped the station's Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
affiliation in favor of its new network. About the same time, KTAZ was granted Class A status, and changed its call letters to KTAZ-CA on March 1, 2002. KTAZ found itself displaced when Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate KMSB neared launch of its digital television station on UHF channel 25, and in May 2002, applied to move to UHF channel 34. The application was granted in June, and by December 2002, the station was at its new broadcast channel. Univision changed the station's call letters to KFTU-CA on November 6, 2004, establishing brand identity with its principal station in Douglas.
The KTAZ call letters would resurface in Phoenix in 2006, when the Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
station there began branding itself as Telemundo Arizona.
Digital television
Because it was granted an original construction permitConstruction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
after the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
finalized the DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 http://www.transmitter.com/FCC97115/chanplan.html, the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
. Instead, on June 12, 2009, which was the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KFTU-TV was required to turn off its analog signal
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
and turn on its digital signal
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
(called a "flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
").
However, since its analog channel position was in the low-VHF range, 2 - 6, KFTU-DT was allowed to select a different channel to use after the conversion. KFTU-DT selected UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 36 and began operations on that channel once the digital transition was complete.
KFTU-CA did not apply for a companion channel for the digital conversion; as a low-powered television station, it is exempt from the 2009 analog shutdown.