KFTA-TV

KFTA-TV
Fort Smith/Fayetteville, Arkansas United States

City	Fort Smith
Branding	Fox 24 (general) Fox 24 News Edge (newscasts) KNWA (KFTA-DT2 subchannel)
Slogan	It's About Time! (general) The Area's Only 9 P.M. Newscast (newscasts)
Channels	Digital: 27 (UHF) & KNWA-DT 50.2 (UHF) Virtual: 24 (PSIP)
Subchannels	24.1 Fox 24.2 NBC 24.3 Escape 24.4 Bounce TV
Affiliations	Fox (2006–present)
Owner	Nexstar Broadcasting Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.)
First air date	November 12, 1978 (1978-11-12)
Call letters' meaning	ForT Smith, Arkansas
Sister station(s)	KNWA-TV, KTVE-TV, KOLR-TV, KTAL-TV, KARK-TV, KLRT-TV, KASN, KARZ-TV
Former callsigns	KLMN-TV (1978–1982) KPOM-TV (1982–2004)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 24 (UHF, 1978–2009)
Former affiliations	CBS (1978–1980) NBC (1980–2008; secondary from 2006)
Transmitter power	600 kW 1,000 kW (KNWA-DT2)
Height	300 m 267 m (KNWA-DT2)
Facility ID	29560 29557 (KNWA-DT2)
Transmitter coordinates	35°42′36″N 94°8′15″W / 35.71000°N 94.13750°W / 35.71000; -94.13750 36°24′47.8″N 93°57′16.8″W / 36.413278°N 93.954667°W / 36.413278; -93.954667 (KNWA-DT2)
Licensing authority	FCC
Public license information:	Profile CDBS
Website	www.nwahomepage.com

KFTA-TV, virtual channel 24, is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas that is licensed to Fort Smith. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter south of Artist Point. Owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, the station is sister to the NBC affiliate KNWA-TV; the two share studios on Dickson Street in Downtown Fayetteville,^[1] with a sales office and bureau on Kelley Highway in Fort Smith.

History

The station debuted on November 12, 1978 as KLMN-TV, the area's third television station. It took the CBS affiliation from KFPW-TV/KTVP (now KHBS/KHOG). In 1980, it swapped affiliations with KFSM-TV and became the area's NBC affiliate. Two years later, the station changed its calls to KPOM-TV (People On the Move).

Channel 24 struggled during its early years. Besides being the area's newest station, it was hampered by the fact it was a UHF station in a market that is very mountainous. Despite its 2.5 million watt effective radiated power, it only provided a Grade B signal to Fayetteville and could not be seen at all in Rogers and points north. For most of this station's first ten years on the air, viewers in the northern part of the area had to rely on cable to watch the station. Much of the far northern part of the market got a better signal from KSNF in Joplin, Missouri (which, incidentally, switched from CBS to NBC in 1982).

In 1986, the station was sold to Oklahoma City-based Griffin Communications, owners of longtime CBS affiliate KWTV in Oklahoma City, who immediately set about solving the reception problem. It signed-on full-time satellite KFAA-TV in 1989 to provide a better signal in Fayetteville and the northern part of the market. In 2004, Griffin Television sold KPOM/KFAA to Nexstar,^[2] the stations changed their calls to KFTA-TV and KNWA-TV respectively and the latter became the main station. The two stations' operations were merged in a new studio in the historic Campbell-Bell Building in downtown Fayetteville, with KFTA's original studio remaining as the stations' Arkansas River Valley bureau.

In 2006, Nexstar announced that KFTA would become the Fox affiliate for the area, leaving KNWA as the area's sole NBC affiliate. However, KFTA would continue to show NBC daytime programming until 2008. At the same time, Nexstar announced that KFTA would be sold to Mission Broadcasting, although it would continue to be operated by Nexstar under a local marketing agreement with KNWA. The network change took place on August 28 even though Equity Broadcasting, the owner of the former Class A Fox-affiliate KPBI-CA, challenged the sale of KFTA with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).^[3] As of May 19, 2013, Nexstar remains the official owner of KFTA, according to FCC records, due to Nexstar's supplemental application of a clarification of waiver (which the FCC has not yet acted on).

With some programming exceptions, the two stations simulcasted from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. until KFTA's sale was approved. The two now air separate programming schedules.

In October 2012, KNWA/KFTA moved to its current facility on Dickson Street.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel	Video	Aspect	PSIP Short Name	Programming^[4]
24.1	720p	16:9	KFTA-DT	Main KFTA-TV programming / Fox
24.2	1080i	16:9	KNWA-DT	Simulcast of KNWA-TV
24.3	480p	4:3		Escape
24.4	480p	4:3		Bounce TV

KFTA and KNWA each carry the others signal in standard definition as subcarriers of their digital stations alongside their main signals in high definition. This is necessary because KNWA's analog signal only aired at 182,000 watts. That station has a transmitter southeast of Garfield.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KFTA-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 24, in November 2008 analog, because of an analog transmitter failure.^[5] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 27,^[6] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 24.

Programming

Syndicated programming on KFTA includes My Name Is Earl, The Office, Two and a Half Men, and Friends.

Newscasts

KPOM and KFAA relaunched a local newscast in 1999. An earlier local broadcast had aired under various titles until 1992. Currently, KFTA maintains a bureau at its original studios on Kelley Highway in Fort Smith. On October 24, 2012, KFTA and KNWA started producing its newscast in high definition.^[7] Currently, the station provides an hour-long weekday morning newscast at 7 am, a half-hour weeknight newscast at 5:30 pm and a newscast at 9 pm that is seen on weeknights for an hour-long and on weekends for a half-hour. All newscasts are produced by sister station, KNWA.

References

↑ https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/kfta-tv
↑ Nexstar plans to buy Fayetteville's NBC 24/51; Griffin Holdings Co. to sell Fayetteville television station, Arkansas Business (via HighBeam Research), September 8, 2003.
↑ Business, Arkansas. "Fox Network Likely To Switch In Fort Smith". ArkansasBusiness.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KFTA
↑ "Northwest Arkansas' News Source". NWAnews.com. 2009-02-14. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
↑ http://nwahomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=376142

External links

Television stations in Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas River Valley, McDonald County, Missouri and eastern Oklahoma, including Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Rogers

Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television

Local stations

Fayetteville / Springdale / Rogers / Tahlequah	K04DY (NBC translator based in Northeastern State University) KFSM-TV (5.1 CBS, 5.2 MNTV, 5.3 ANT) KAFT (13.1 PBS/AETN, 13.2 AETN Plus World, 13.3 Create, 13.4 AIRS) KAJL-LD (16.1 Telemundo, 16.2 Grit, 16.3 GetTV, 16.4 Buzzr) K22HS-D (22.1 GCN) KHOG (29.1 ABC, 29.2 CW+) KWNL-CD (31.1 UNI, 31.2 MeTV) KEGW-LD 30/KKAF-CD 33/KFFS-CD 36 (xx.1 MundoMax, xx.2 MeTV) KXNW (34.1 MNTV, 34.2 ANT, 34.3 CBS) KWOG (39.1 DS) K48MR-D (48.1 The Family Channel) KNWA (51.1 NBC, 51.2 FOX, 51.3 Grit, 51.4 Laff)

Fort Smith / Van Buren / Sallisaw / Mena	K04RA-D (32.1 A1) KOET 3 (PBS / OETA) KFSM-TV (5.1 CBS, 5.2 MNTV, 5.3 ANT) KXUN-LD (43.1 UNI, 43.2 MeTV) KAFT (13.1 PBS/AETN, 13.2 AETN Plus World, 13.3 Create, 13.4 AIRS) KFLU-LD (20.1 Bounce TV, 20.2 Grit, 20.3 Escape, 20.4 Laff) KFTA (24.1 Fox, 24.2 NBC, 24.3 Escape, 24.4 Bounce TV) KRAH-CD 33/KFDF-CD 44 (xx.1 MundoMax, 31.2 MeTV) KHBS (40.1 ABC, 40.2 CW+)

Adjacent locals

Little Rock	KETS (2.1 PBS, 2.2 Create, 2.3 AETN+/World, 2.4 AIRS) KARK-TV (4.1 NBC, 4.2 Laff) KTHV (11.1 CBS, 11.2 ANT, 11.3 Justice)

Springfield, MO	KYTV (3.1 NBC, 3.2 WeatherNation TV, 3.3 Cozi TV) KOLR (10.1 CBS, 10.2 Laff, 10.3 Grit)

Tulsa	KOTV-DT (6.1 CBS, 6.2 CW, 6.3 News) KTUL (8.1 ABC, 8.2 Comet, 8.3 ANT) KQCW-DT (19.1 CW)

Joplin	KOAM-TV (7.1 CBS, 7.2 FOX) KODE-TV (12.1 ABC, 12.2 Grit, 12.3 Bounce TV) KFJX (14.1 FOX)

Defunct stations

KPBI 46 (Fox/MNTV)
K67EO 67 (CBS via KFSM-TV, Bentonville)

Oklahoma broadcast television areas by city: Ada/Sherman, TX; Amarillo, TX; Fort Smith, AR (Eastern OK); Joplin, MO (Northeast OK); Lawton/Wichita Falls, TX; Oklahoma City Metro; Texarkana, TX–AR/Shreveport, LA; Tulsa (East Central OK)

See also: Little Rock TV; Springfield TV

Fox Network Affiliates in the state of Arkansas

KLRT 16 (Little Rock) KFTA 24 (Fort Smith/Fayetteville) KJNB 39/KJNE 42 (Jonesboro)

See also ABC CBS CW Fox Ion MyNetworkTV NBC PBS Other stations in Arkansas

Nexstar Broadcasting Group

ABC	KAMC² KCAU KMID KODE² KQTV KSVI KTVX WATN WAWV² WDHN WEHT WIVT WJET WMBB WOI WSYR WTVO² WUTR² WVNY² WWTI

CBS	KGPE KLAS KLBK KLST KOLR² KREX / KREG / KREY KTAB KXMB / KXMC / KXMD / KXMA WCIA WFRV WHBF WJMN WMBD WROC WTAJ WYOU²

The CW	KASN² KASW KCWI KGCW KGET¹ KUCW KXMB / KXMC / KXMD / KXMA WBRL WCWJ WLMT WTVW² WWCW WWTI¹

Fox	KADN KARD KCIT² KHMT² KFQX KFTA³ KFXK⁶ KJTL² KLJB⁵ KLRT² KMSS⁵ KPEJ⁵ KWKT WFFF WFFT WFXP² WFXR WFXV WGMB WJKT WLAX / WEUX WNTZ WQRF WYZZ⁴ WZDX

MyNetworkTV	KARZ KCPN² KGJT KJBO² KADN¹ KOZL KSHV⁶ KTPN / KLPN⁶ KYLE WZDX¹ WCIX WLMT¹ WNTZ WPNY WTVO¹ ²

NBC	KADN¹ KAMR KARK KETK KFDX KGET KLAF KNWA KRBC² KSAN² KSEE KSNF KTAL KTSM KTVE² KVEO WBGH WBRE WETM WTWO WVLA⁶

Other	Telemundo KKEY - KTAB¹ Independent station KZUP Independent station/Heroes & Icons WHAG TV CMS company Lakana Online ad company Yashi

Acquisitions	Communications Corporation of America Grant Broadcasting Newport Television West Virginia Media Holdings

¹ These stations broadcast these networks on their digital subchannels. ² Nexstar operates these stations owned by Mission Broadcasting. ³ Sale of the station to Mission Broadcasting is awaiting FCC approval. Nexstar will continue to operate the station. ⁴ Nexstar operates WYZZ owned by Cunningham Broadcasting. ⁵ Nexstar operates this station owned by Marshall Broadcasting. ⁶ Nexstar operates this station owned by White Knight Broadcasting.

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