| Wichita, Kansas | |
|---|---|
| Branding | 43 KCTU |
| Slogan | Live Wichita |
| Channels | Digital: 43 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | (see article) |
| Owner | River City Broadcasters, Inc. |
| Former callsigns | K55FS (1992-1996) KCTU-LP (1996-2009) |
| Former channel number(s) | 55, 5 |
| Former affiliations | Pax (2001-2005) UATV (secondary, to 5/2006) i (2005-2007) ION Television (2007-2008) AMGTV (on DT2, 2010) Estrella TV (2010) |
| Transmitter power | 2.7 kW |
| Facility ID | 56517 |
| Website | kctu.com |
KCTU-LD, channel 43, is a digital low-power television station in Wichita, Kansas. It is locally-owned by River City Broadcasters and has affiliations with ThisTV, AMGTV, Untamed Sports and FamilyNet. The station also produces some local public affairs programming, Your Hour (a news magazine).
Contents |
The station's digital signal on UHF 43 is multiplexed:
| Channel | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 43.1 | KCTU-DT | This TV |
| 43.2 | KCTU-DT2 | AMG-TV* |
| 43.3 | KCTU-DT3 | Untamed Sports TV |
| 43.4 | KCTU-DT4 | Faith and Family (a mix of FamilyNet & Legacy TV programming) |
*Although current television listings indicate that 43.2 is affiliated with AMGTV, that subchannel does not appear to carry any programming from that network. Instead, it primarily airs movies along with a few syndicated programs. It briefly aired Weigel Broadcasting's Me-TV for one week in January 2011 until the station and Weigel failed to come to terms on a contract. (The Me-TV affiliation in the market would eventually be picked up by one of the digital subchannels of KAKE.)
During 2010, KCTU also offered Estrella TV on one of its subchannels; however, the station soon after withdrawn the channel from its lineup, after learning that, according to KCTU General Manager Ron Nutt, the programming on Estrella TV "was so objectionable that, at one point or another, half of its viewership had called us with a complaint. They are going for sensationalism. If an English-language network put out this content, they would be asking for trouble."[1]
From 2001 to 2008, KCTU aired programming from ION Television (as well as the predecessor Pax and i networks). Because of the local programs and other network affiliations (including one with Urban America Television before its shutdown in May 2006), the station did not air as many infomercials as most ION affiliates.
KCTU was nominated for a Heartland Emmy Award for Best Dayside Newscast in 2005, reportedly the first such nomination for an English-language low power station in a Nielsen Top 160 market. The station received a second nomination in 2010 for news graphics.
On February 1, 1998, KCTU became the first commercial television station in the world to broadcast 24/7 on the internet to reach more viewers.[2]
Being a low-powered station, KCTU is not available on Cox cable. According to KCTU, the station presented the cable system with a petition from 6000 subscribers and community leaders to carry the station. Cox refused to grant KCTU channel space for free. According to KCTU, Cox increased their lease fee to $70,264 per month.[1] This has led KCTU to encourage Cox subscribers to keep demanding that they pick up the channel, and to watch the station over-the-air and on the internet.
On June 28, 2011, KCTU began carriage on AT&T U-Verse, which had previously carried all the other low-power stations in the market.
Cox is not obligated to carry KCTU under "must-carry" regulations as they do not currently apply to low-powered stations.
On May 10, 2007, principals of KCTU doing business as N&H Publishing Corp. announced they were new owners of the Wichita City Paper.[2] Planned topics will be similar to those of the local shows: local news, consumer news, religion, and veterans' issues. Formerly in The Prospector, the local television program guide will now appear in the Wichita City Paper.
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