KFTV-DT
 | |
| Hanford/Fresno, California United States | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Hanford, California |
| Branding |
Univision 21 (general) Noticias 21 (newscasts) |
| Channels |
Digital: 20 (UHF) Virtual: 21 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
21.1 Univision 21.2 GetTV 21.3 Escape 21.4 Grit) |
| Affiliations | Univision |
| Owner |
Univision Communications (KFTV License Partnership, GP) |
| First air date | 1972[1] |
| Call letters' meaning | Futura de TeleVisión (Future of TeleVision) or Fresno TeleVision |
| Sister station(s) | KTFF-DT |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 21 (UHF, 1972–2009) |
| Former affiliations | SIN (1972–1987) |
| Transmitter power | 350 kW |
| Height | 580 m |
| Facility ID | 34439 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°4′22″N 119°25′53″W / 37.07278°N 119.43139°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | univisionfresno.univision.com |
KFTV-DT, virtual channel 21 (UHF digital channel 20, is a Univision owned-and-operated television station serving Fresno, California, United States that is licensed to Hanford. The station is owned by Univision Communications, as part of a duopoly with UniMas owned-and-operated station KTFF-DT (channel 61). The two stations share studio facilities located on North Palm and West Herndon Avenues (using Univision Plaza as its street address) in northwestern Fresno, KTFF maintains transmitter facilities located on Blue Ridge in rural northwestern Tulare County. KFTV's programming is simulcast on several low-power translator stations throughout the Central Valley region.
History
The UHF channel 21 allocation in the Fresno market was originally licensed to KDAS-TV, which signed on in 1962 as an English-language independent station; KDAS was hampered by low viewership as only a small percentage of Fresno area television sets were even capable of receiving UHF stations since set manufacturers were not required to equip televisions with UHF tuners until the Federal Communications Commission passed the All-Channel Receiver Act in 1961, with UHF tuners not included on all newer sets until 1964. The station survived for two years before ceasing operations in 1964. The station's license was then sold in 1965; that year, channel 21 briefly returned to the air as independent station KSJV-TV.
In 1971, the Spanish International Network (the forerunner of Univision) acquired a construction permit to build a new television station on UHF channel 21; KFTV first signed on the air in the summer of 1972.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KFTV-DT | Main KFTV programming / Univision |
| 21.2 | 480i | 4:3 | GetTV | |
| 21.3 | 480i | 4:3 | Escape | |
| 21.4 | 480i | 4:3 | Grit |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KFTV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 21, 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 remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 20.[3] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 21.
News operation
KFTV-DT presently broadcasts seven hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with one hour each on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces the public affairs program Arriba Valle Central, which airs weekday mornings from 5:00 to 7:00 a.m.
The station's news department, whose newscasts are currently titled Noticias 21, won two Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio and Television News Directors Association in the "Best Newscast" in 2001 and 2007; the station also won Regional News Emmys for "Best Newscast" in May 2009, for "Best Evening Newscast" in June 2011 and for "Best Sports Weekly Program" for Accion Deportiva Extra.
In late December 2010, KFTV became the first Spanish-language television station in the Fresno market and the third station overall (after Fox affiliate KMPH-TV (channel 26) and ABC owned-and-operated station KFSN-TV (channel 30)) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.
External links
- KFTV official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KFTV
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KFTV-DT
References
- ↑ The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says July (no date given), while the Television and Cable Factbook says September 20.
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KFTV
- ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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