View source for KFTV-DT

{{short description|Univision TV station in Hanford, California}}
{{other uses|FTV (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|WFTV}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = KFTV-DT
| city                   = Hanford, California
| logo                   = KFTV21.png
| logo_size              = 265px
| branding               = {{lang|es|italic=no|Univision 21}}; {{lang|es|Noticias 21}}
| digital                = 21 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 21
| subchannels            =
| translators            =
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''21.1:''' [[Univision]]|'''21.6:''' [[UniMás]] ([[KTFF-DT]])|''for others, see {{Section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[TelevisaUnivision]]
| licensee               = {{nowrap|KFTV License Partnership, [[General partnership|G.P.]]}}
| location               = [[Hanford, California|Hanford]]–[[Fresno, California]]
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1972|9|20|p=y}}
| last_airdate           =
| callsign_meaning       = Fresno Television <!--and SIN loved its TV calls at this time!-->
| sister_stations        = [[KTFF-DT]]
| former_callsigns       = KFTV (1972–2009)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 21 (UHF, 1972–2009)|'''Digital:''' 20 (UHF, until 2020)}}
| former_affiliations    = SIN (1972–1987)
| erp                    = 316 kW
| haat                   = {{convert|610|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 34439
| coordinates            = {{coord|37|4|22|N|119|25|53|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = [https://www.univision.com/local/fresno-kftv univisionfresno.com]
}}
'''KFTV-DT''' (channel 21) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Hanford, California]], United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language [[Univision]] network to the [[Fresno]] area. It is [[owned and operated]] by [[TelevisaUnivision]] alongside [[Porterville, California|Porterville]]-licensed [[UniMás]] outlet [[KTFF-DT]] (channel 61). The two stations share studios on Univision Plaza near the corner of North Palm and West Herndon avenues in northwestern Fresno; KFTV-DT's transmitter is located on Blue Ridge in rural northwestern [[Tulare County]].
== History ==
KFTV has existed in its current form since 1972; however, its license predates Spanish-language television in the Fresno market by more than a decade, having seen two separate attempts to launch an independent station in the Hanford area before being sold and relaunched.
===Early years===
Gann Television Enterprises, a limited partnership of Harold D. Gann, Louis Maccagno and George L. Naron, filed for a construction permit to build a new TV station on channel 21 in Hanford on October 31, 1960; the application was granted on March 29, 1961.<ref name="hc">{{FCC letter|hcards=yes|callsign=KFTV-DT|letterid=84596}}</ref> Before signing on, Maccagno was replaced by C. B. Stewart. From a transmitter site at Lakeside Park, where [[California State Route 99|Highway 99]] crosses the [[Kings River (California)|Kings River]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73836414/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=January 17, 1962|page=12|title=Channel 21 Is The Hanford Station|first=Harold|last=Gann|work=Hanford Sentinel}}</ref> KDAS, an independent station, went on air under special temporary authority on December 20, 1961.{{r|hc}} The "Local Hometown TV" station offered a variety of locally produced programs, including news, sports and church services.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72892092/take-a-look-kdas-tv-channel-21/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|title=Take a Look! KDAS-TV Channel 21|date=December 15, 1962|work=Hanford Sentinel|page=12}}</ref>
The joint partnership of Gann, Stewart and Naron ended in discordant fashion. In late November, the other two partners filed a suit against Gann asking for the dissolution of the partnership, alleging that Gann's conduct had caused the resignation of a number of employees and that resultant turnover had left the station in a "technical and engineering turmoil".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73836831/|date=December 1, 1962|title=Superior Court Notes|work=Hanford Sentinel|page=2|accessdate=March 18, 2021}}</ref> The station was transferred to a new partnership run by Naron and Sweeney in June 1963{{r|hc}} and remained operational for another 18 months; channel 21 received authority to go silent from the FCC on December 23, 1964.{{r|hc}}
In January 1965, the sale of KDAS to car dealer Harvey F. Himes and Cy Newman, both of Fresno, was announced; the new owners announced plans to change the call sign to KSJV-TV, for "San Joaquin Valley", and relocate the transmitter to a mountaintop site.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73837536/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=January 5, 1965|title=Hanford TV Station Is Sold To Fresno Men|page=1-C|work=Fresno Bee}}</ref> In addition, the station would be affiliated with a proposed television network known as the Unisphere Broadcasting System.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73837626/|title=Fresnans Plan To Purchase Kings TV Station|date=November 17, 1965|accessdate=March 18, 2021|page=14-B|work=Fresno Bee}}</ref> The sale was not filed with the FCC until November, and it was not until February 1966 when the transaction was approved and the new call letters adopted.{{r|hc}} On February 10, channel 21 returned to the air, with its inaugural program being an hour of live entertainment from the Hanford studios in the Civic Center Building.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73837757/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=February 5, 1966|title=Hanford TV Station Will Return to Air|page=1|work=Hanford Sentinel}}</ref> It lasted just over three months. On May 14, Cy Newman announced the station would go off the air after the next day's programming for new equipment and technical changes,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72859453/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=May 14, 1966|page=15|work=Hanford Sentinel|title=Hanford Station Leaves the Air}}</ref> an outage slated to last three weeks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72859422/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=May 15, 1966|work=The Fresno Bee|title=TV Station In Hanford Will Be Out 3 Weeks|page=24-B}}</ref> The former studio area in the Civic Center Building was used by [[Kings County, California|Kings County]] to house the probation department.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72891812/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=September 5, 1967|title=Kings County Borrows $750,000 from Bank|page=1|work=Hanford Sentinel}}</ref>
On December 8, 1967, the FCC moved to delete the channel 21 permit for failure to prosecute; KSJV Television, Inc., challenged the decision, and its petition for reconsideration was granted in April 1968.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1968/1968-04-15-BC.pdf|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=April 15, 1968|work=Broadcasting|page=112|title=For the Record}}</ref>
===As a Spanish-language station===
[[File:KFTV-DT Logo.png|200px|thumb|left|Former logo, used until December 31, 2012.]]
The reason that KSJV had staved off deletion was because Newman had found a buyer: the Spanish International Network, which at the time owned just two operating stations, in [[San Antonio]] and Los Angeles. In the sale, Newman noted that his group had lost over $100,000 since returning to air as KSJV-TV in 1966.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1968/1968-04-08-BC.pdf|pages=74, 75|work=Broadcasting|title=Changing hands|date=April 8, 1968|accessdate=March 18, 2021}}</ref> The FCC granted the sale in March 1969, but SIBC did not immediately return channel 21—now bearing new KFTV call letters—to air, as it filed to move the transmitter to Black Mountain.{{r|hc}}
It was not until September 20, 1972, that KFTV returned to air, the three weeks having turned into more than six years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838272/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=September 21, 1972|work=The Fresno Bee|page=B5|title=Spanish-Language TV Station Opens}}</ref> Operated initially as a satellite of [[KMEX]] in Los Angeles and with [[Danny Villanueva]] as its first general manager,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838237/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=July 16, 1972|title=New Valley Video Station Will Air All Programs In Spanish|work=The Fresno Bee|page=9 TV}}</ref> ground was broken in February 1973 for a new Hanford studio complex,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838312/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=February 10, 1973|work=The Hanford Sentinel|title=TV Station Breaks Ground|page=4}}</ref> which opened on April 30.<ref name="life">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838657/|title=KFTV Adds To Life In The Valley|first=Dean|last=Simpson|page=D1|date=April 25, 1976|accessdate=March 18, 2021|work=The Fresno Bee}}</ref>
In December 1977, SIN began distributing its programming by satellite to KFTV.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73839532/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=February 18, 1978|title=Channel 21: From a Fledgling To a Big Station|page=15|work=The Hanford Sentinel}}</ref> In 1985, studio operations moved from Hanford to a new facility on Ashlan Avenue in Fresno.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838545/|title=KFTV's Jimenez is 'bullish' on his station's future|first=Dennis|last=Pollock|work=Fresno Bee|pages=J3, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838569/ J23]|date=November 24, 1985|accessdate=March 18, 2021}}</ref> KFTV and sister station [[KTFF-DT]], acquired in 2003, relocated from the Ashlan Avenue facility to a larger site on Herndon Avenue, which also houses the Univision Radio cluster in the market, in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73874352/|page=E1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73875065/ E2]|work=The Fresno Bee|title=Fresno's Univision station gets a fresh morning look|first=Rick|last=Bentley|date=February 1, 2007|accessdate=March 19, 2021}}</ref>
==News operation==
Shortly after building its Hanford studios, KFTV began producing local newscasts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73839625/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|title=20 years of serving Hispanics|first=Lanny|last=Larson|date=October 16, 1972|work=The Fresno Bee|page=F5}}</ref> The station's first news anchor, Pedro Santos, was the longest-tenured in Fresno when he took a job as public relations director for KFTV in 1994.<ref name="puts">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73839666/|date=October 25, 1996|first=Lanny|last=Larson|title=KFTV puts Santos back on air in new role|page=E7|work=The Fresno Bee|accessdate=March 18, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Univision KFTV 21 Fresno CA - 2023.jpg|thumb|left|Univision KFTV Channel 21's modern studio and office space in Northern Fresno]]
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 (broadcasting)|public affairs]] program {{lang|es|Arriba Valle Central}}, which airs weekday mornings from 5 to 7&nbsp;a.m. After producing a dinner-hour local newscast since 1973, KFTV launched {{lang|es|Arriba Valle Central}} in 1990 and a late local news program in 1996.{{r|puts}} Weekend newscasts were instituted in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|title=New news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73873300/|work=Fresno Bee|page=B6|date=March 22, 2004|accessdate=March 19, 2021}}</ref>
The station's news department, whose newscasts are currently titled {{lang|es|Noticias 21}}, won two [[RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award|Edward R. Murrow Awards]] from the [[Radio-Television News Directors Association]] in the "Best Newscast" category 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 {{lang|es|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 Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[KMPH-TV]] (channel 26) and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] owned-and-operated station [[KFSN-TV]] (channel 30)) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]].
==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KFTV-DT<ref>[http://rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KFTV#station RabbitEars TV Query for KFTV]</ref>
! [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! Short name
! Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.1
| [[720p]] || [[16:9]] || KFTV-DT || [[Univision]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.2
| rowspan=4|[[480i]] || [[4:3]] || getTV || [[Get (TV network)|Get]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.3
| rowspan=4|16:9 || LAFF|| [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.4
| GRIT || [[Grit (TV network)|Grit]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.5
| Crime || [[True Crime Network]]
|- style="background-color: #E6FFF7;"
! scope = "row" | 21.6
| 720p || UNM HD || [[UniMás]] ([[KTFF-DT]])
|}
{{legend|#E6FFF7|Simulcast of subchannels of another station}}
===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KFTV shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 21, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |format=PDF |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> using [[virtual channel]] 21.
===Spectrum auction repack===
KFTV was one of nearly 1,000 television stations in the United States that had to change their digital channel allocation in the spectrum auction repack in 2019–2020. KFTV reallocated to UHF channel 21 in phase ten of the repack.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/repackchannels.php?country=B&city=Hanford&state=CA&mktid=&owner=Univision&sort=|title=Repack Plan For Univision In Hanford, CA|work=Ericson, Trip|publisher=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=April 17, 2017}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.univision.com/local/fresno-kftv KFTV official website]
{{Fresno TV}}
{{Univision California}}
{{Univision Communications}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kftv-Dt}}
[[Category:1972 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Get (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Grit (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Mystery affiliates]]
[[Category:Spanish-language television stations in California|FTV-DT]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1972]]
[[Category:Television stations in Fresno, California|FTV-DT]]
[[Category:True Crime Network affiliates]]
[[Category:Univision affiliates]]