KTVN (channel 2) is a television station in Reno, Nevada, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., the station maintains studios on Energy Way in Reno, and its transmitter is located on Slide Mountain in unincorporated Washoe County.

KTVN
Channels
BrandingKTVN 2 News Nevada
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerSarkes Tarzian, Inc.
History
First air date
June 4, 1967 (57 years ago) (1967-06-04)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 2 (VHF, 1967–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 32 (UHF, 1999–2001)
  • 13 (VHF, 2001–2019)
ABC (1967–1972)
Call sign meaning
Television Nevada
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID59139
ERP20.6 kW
HAAT891.4 m (2,925 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°18′56.2″N 119°53′6″W / 39.315611°N 119.88500°W / 39.315611; -119.88500
Translator(s)see § Translators
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.ktvn.com

History

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A group of nine Reno residents, headlined by KBET (1340 AM) station manager Robert Stoddard and former KOLO-TV vice president Lee Hirshland, filed on December 22, 1965, for a new channel 2 television station in the city.[2][3] A construction permit was granted on July 27, 1966.[4] After a delay induced by an unsuccessful legal action from KOLO-TV, which sought to block the grant of the permit,[5][6] then an objection by radio station KNEV to the location of its transmitter site,[7] KTVN signed on the air on June 4, 1967, as an ABC affiliate.[8] It took over the CBS affiliation on May 10, 1972, replacing previous affiliate KOLO-TV.[9]

During the 1970s, the station operated a satellite station, KEKO-TV (channel 10) in Elko.[9] KEKO signed on April 18, 1973; it was off-the-air from January 24, 1974, to June 27, 1975.[10] On December 23, 1975, Washoe Empire informed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that KEKO's transmitter and equipment had been destroyed in a fire; on April 14, 1976, the FCC granted special temporary authority (STA) to Washoe Empire to operate a KTVN translator on channel 10 (at the time, Washoe Empire had made no decision about returning KEKO to the air).[11] On April 8, 1977, at the station's request, the FCC canceled the KEKO license effective March 18.[12] Channel 10 in Elko is currently used by KENV-DT, which formerly operated as a satellite of KRNV-DT until its disaffiliation from NBC on January 1, 2018; it is now a TBD-operated station.

Sarkes Tarzian bought KTVN from Washoe Empire for $12.5 million in 1980.[13]

News operation

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KTVN is the only station in the Reno market to not have a midday newscast. KTVN airs the CBS Evening News at 6 p.m. and KOLO-TV also airs their national newscast at 6 p.m. while KRNV is the only station to air their national newscast at 5:30 p.m. KOLO-TV began competing with KTVN on the 4:30 a.m. newscast which debuted on October 13, 2014.

Notable current on-air staff

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Notable former on-air staff

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Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KTVN[14]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
2.1 1080i 16:9 2 CBS Main KTVN programming / CBS
2.2 480i NEWSY Scripps News
2.3 ion TV Ion Television
2.4 DEFY Defy TV
2.5 TRUE Grit
21.3 480i 16:9 Comet Comet (KNSN-DT3)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

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KTVN ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on June 12, 2009, the official date on 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 VHF channel 13,[15] using virtual channel 2.

As part of the SAFER Act, KTVN kept its analog signal on the air until June 30 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.[16]

Translators

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References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KTVN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ FCC History Cards for KTVN
  3. ^ "Reno Men Seek New TV Station". Reno Evening-Gazette. January 3, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  4. ^ "Third Reno Television Station Approved". Reno Evening Gazette. July 28, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "New Reno TV Station Delayed". Nevada State Journal. September 15, 1966. p. 13. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Court OK's Third Reno TV Station". Nevada State Journal. October 12, 1966. p. 8. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "Legal Delay For New TV Station". Reno Evening Gazette. February 18, 1967. p. 10. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  8. ^ 1968 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1968. p. A-36. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "CBS switch in Reno" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 17, 1972. p. 42. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  10. ^ Television Factbook 1976 Edition (PDF). 1976. p. 520-b. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  11. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 26, 1976. p. 54. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  12. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 9, 1977. p. 102. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  13. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 26, 1980. pp. 40–1. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  14. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KTVN". Rabbitears.info. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  15. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  16. ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
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