KTFF-DT

KTFF-DT, virtual channel 61 (UHF digital channel 23), is a UniMás owned-and-operated television station serving Fresno, California, United States that is licensed to Porterville. The station is owned by the Univision Local Media subsidiary of Univision Communications, as part of a duopoly with Hanford-licensed Univision owned-and-operated station KFTV-DT (channel 21). The two stations share studios on Univision Plaza near the corner of North Palm and West Herndon Avenues in northwestern Fresno; KTFF's transmitter is located on Blue Ridge in rural northwestern Tulare County.

KTFF-DT
Porterville/Fresno, California
United States
CityPorterville, California
BrandingUniMás 61 Fresno
ChannelsDigital: 23 (UHF)
Virtual: 61 (PSIP)
Subchannels61.1: UniMás
61.2: Blank
61.3: Quest
TranslatorsKTFF-LD 41 (UHF) Fresno
AffiliationsUniMás (O&O; 2013–present)
OwnerUnivision Communications
LicenseeUniMas Fresno LLC
First air dateMay 6, 1992 (1992-05-06)
Call sign meaningTeleFutura Fresno
Sister station(s)KFTV-DT
Former call signsKKAK (1992–1994)
KKAG (1994–1998)
KPXF (1998–2003)
KTFF (2003)
KTFF-TV (2004–2009)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
61 (UHF, 1992–2009)
Digital:
48 (UHF, 2003–2018)
Former affiliationsIndependent (1992–1998)
Pax TV (1998–2003)
TeleFutura (2003–2013)
Secondary:
The Worship Network (2003–?, overnight)
Transmitter power330 kW
Height811 m (2,661 ft)
Facility ID35512
Transmitter coordinates36°17′13.5″N 118°50′19″W
36°17′13.5″N 118°50′19″W (CP)
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
WebsiteUniMás

The station's programming is simulcast to the northern half of the market on low-powered translator station KTFF-LD (virtual and UHF digital channel 41) in Fresno, with transmitter on Bald Mountain near Meadow Lakes. KTFF's feed of UniMás is also used to provide the network nationally on channel 408 for DirecTV subscribers.

History

The station first signed on the air in May 6, 1992 as KKAK; originally operating as an independent station, the station aired a mix of infomercials, religious and home shopping programs. The station changed its call letters to KKAG in 1994. In 1998, KKAG was sold to Paxson Communications (now Ion Media Networks). On August 31 of that year, the station became an owned-and-operated station of Paxson's family-oriented television network Pax TV upon its launch, and changed its call letters to KPXF. In 2003, Paxson sold KPXF to Univision Communications, creating a duopoly with Univision O&O KFTV (channel 21); after the sale was finalized, the station's calls were changed to KTFF, it also became an owned-and-operated station of Univision's secondary network TeleFutura (which relaunched as UniMás on February 7, 2013).

Univision subsequently purchased Shop at Home affiliate KAJA-LP (channel 68, now on channel 41) from Cocola Broadcasting to become a fill-in translator for KTFF, adopting the KTFF-LD call letters (ironically, the KAJA calls are currently used as a brand name for low-power station K68DJ in Corpus Christi, Texas, which also broadcasts on UHF channel 68).

In 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order concerning KTFF and former owner Paxson Communications, denying a review of the sale of KTFF to Univision; it also implemented a deal with Christian Network, Inc. (CNI), parent company of The Worship Network (which formerly carried its programming on Pax TV's stations as both a late night block and later as a dedicated subchannel service), giving the religious broadcaster the right to program KTFF seven days a week from 1 to 6 a.m. In addition, the station was required to provide a digital channel for CNI's exclusive use (so long as certain conditions are met), after KTFF signed on its digital signal, if it used two or more subchannel slots. However, as of 2014, KTFF broadcasts UniMás programming full-time,[1] though the date the station stopped carrying The Worship Network is unknown. It is also unknown if the discontinuance is tied to Pax's successor, Ion Television, ending carriage of The Worship Network in 2010.[2]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[3]
61.1720p16:9KTFF-DTMain KTFF-DT programming / UniMás
61.2KFTV-DTSimulcast of KFTV-DT / Univision
61.3480iQuestQuest

Analog-to-digital conversion

KTFF-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 61, 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 48.[4] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 61, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

Spectrum auction repack

KTFF-DT is one of nearly 1,000 television stations that was required to change their digital channel allocation in the spectrum auction repack in late 2017 or early 2018. KTFF was to reallocate its digital signal to UHF channel 23 in phase one of the repack.[5] The FCC licensed the station to broadcast on channel 23 on December 20, 2018.

References
  1. Per channel listings at zap2it.com, zip:"93705".
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20100123203229/http://www.worship.net/article/january-2010-newsletter/
  3. RabbitEars TV Query for KTFF
  4. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  5. "Repack Info For Univision In Porterville, CA". Ericson, Trip. RabbitEars. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
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