View source for KTTW

{{Short description|Television station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota}}
{{distinguish|WTTW}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station dual
| name1 = KTTW
| digital1 = 7 ([[VHF]])
| virtual1 = 7
| affiliations = {{ubl|class=nowrap|'''7.1:''' [[Tri-State Christian Television|TCT]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| country = United States
| airdate1 = {{start date and age|1987|5|29|p=y|br=y}}
| city1 = [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]
| former_channel_numbers1 = '''Analog:''' 17 ([[UHF]], 1987–2009)
| owner = [[Tri-State Christian Television]]
| licensee = Radiant Life Ministries, Inc.
| former_affiliations1 = {{ubl|[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (1987–2020)|[[This TV]] (2020–2021)|[[Cozi TV]] (until 2020)}}
| erp1 = 7.5 [[kW]]
| haat1 = {{convert|217.6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id1 = 28521
| coordinates1 = {{coord|43|30|14|N|96|34|18.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| name2 = KTTM
| digital2 = 12 (VHF)
| virtual2 = 7
| airdate2 = {{start date and age|1991|8|31|p=y|br=y}}
| city2 = [[Huron, South Dakota]]
| former_channel_numbers2 = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 12 (VHF, 1991–2009)|'''Digital:''' 22 (UHF, until 2009)|'''Virtual:''' 12 (until 2020)}}
| former_affiliations2 = {{ubl|Fox (1991–2020)|This TV (2020–2021)}}
| erp2 = 12.6 kW
| haat2 = {{convert|257|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id2 = 28501
| coordinates2 = {{coord|44|11|39.0|N|98|19|5.0|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KTTM}}
}}
'''KTTW''' and '''KTTM''' (channel 7) are [[religious television station]]s licensed respectively to [[Sioux Falls]] and [[Huron, South Dakota]], United States, [[owned and operated]] by [[Tri-State Christian Television]] (TCT). KTTW's transmitter is located in [[Rowena, South Dakota|Rowena]], while KTTM's tower is near [[Alpena, South Dakota]].

KTTM operates as a full-time satellite of KTTW; its existence is only acknowledged in [[station identification]]s.

Established as a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate on channel 17 in 1987, KTTW was the fourth commercial station to be built in Sioux Falls and the first Fox affiliate in the state. KTTM went on the air in 1991. Its owner, Independent Communications, Inc., sold the programming and Fox affiliation, as well as its five dependent translators, to [[Gray Television]] in 2020, resulting in the establishment of Fox Sioux Falls, a subchannel of [[KDLT-TV]]. It then sold the KTTW and KTTM facilities and licenses to Radiant Life Ministries, a sister company of TCT.

==History==
After applying on June 1, 1984, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) granted Family Broadcasting Company, Inc., of [[Fairfield, Iowa]], a construction permit to build a new commercial television station on channel 17 in Sioux Falls in November of that year. Work began in earnest in 1986,<ref name="Argu861016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103963742/new-tv-station-is-in-the-works/|date=October 16, 1986|page=3C|first=Julie|last=Bolding|title=New TV station is in the works|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><!-- Thu --> and the station began broadcasting on May 29, 1987. Family Broadcasting soon reorganized as Independent Communications, Inc. Upon sign-on, channel 17 affiliated with [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]],<ref name="Argu870707"/> which had launched its prime time schedule only a month earlier. However, Fox did not consider itself a network at the time, but a "satellite-delivered national program service" that only carried programming on weekends.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-05-ca-24-story.html|title=Fox makes its sly, crafty debut|first=David|last=Crook|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 5, 1987}}</ref> Thus, for all intents and purposes, KTTW was programmed as an independent, as was the case with most early Fox affiliates. It filled the weekday schedule with cartoons, home shopping shows, and fare from the [[Hit Video USA]] service and [[American Christian Television System]].<ref name="Argu870707">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103963786/station-channels-new-shows-to-city/|date=July 7, 1987|page= 5A|first=Ann|last=Grauvogl|title=Station channels new shows to city|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><!-- Tue --> Chuck Poppen was the general manager, with rental company owner Jim Elmen as the major financial backer of the venture; the Elmens would own 89 percent of KTTW. Elmen recalled in 1991 that he bought into the station to give viewers a chance to see programming that had previously only been seen on cable, particularly children's programming. By then, the station had significantly upgraded its programming, airing both ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' as well as [[Minnesota Twins]] baseball and [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] basketball.<ref name="Argu910908">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103963985/new-kids-on-the-dial/|date=September 8, 1991|page=1F|first=Joyce|last=Terveen|title=New kids on the dial|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sun -->

On August 31, 1991, KTTM signed on, expanding coverage to cities including Huron and [[Mitchell, South Dakota|Mitchell]].{{r|Argu910908}} By this time, the station had turned the corner from what Elmen would recall as "a couple years of H-E-double-L" financially.<ref name="Argu970420">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103964146/poppen-dedicated-to-kttw-growth/|date=April 20, 1997|page=1G, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103964178/ 4G]|first=Bob|last=Keyes|title=Poppen dedicated to KTTW growth|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The station moved to offices on West 11th Street in 1995, which it would occupy for 25 years.{{r|Argu970420}} In 1997, Poppen resigned, citing differences with the majority stakeholders.<ref name="Argu970517">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103964075/kttw-founder-general-manager-steps-down/|date=May 17, 1997|page=1D|first=Jill|last=Callison|title=KTTW founder, general manager steps down|newspaper=Argus-Leader|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sat --> After the [[Digital television transition in the United States|digital television transition]], in 2009, KTTW changed its branding from its former analog channel 17 to its digital physical channel of 7.

On November 2, 2020, KTTW's non-license assets were purchased by [[Gray Television]], owner of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[KSFY-TV]] (channel 13) and NBC affiliate [[KDLT-TV]] (channel 46); Fox programming moved to KDLT on digital subchannel 46.2. [[Cozi TV]], which was also carried on KTTW, moved to subchannel 46.4. KTTW and KTTM's main channels began carrying [[This TV]].<ref name="foxonkdlt">{{cite web|url=http://www.northpine.com/blog/2020/11/02/fox-changes-channels-in-sioux-falls/|title=FOX Changes Channels in Sioux Falls|first=Jon|last=Ellis|website=Northpine.com|date=November 2, 2020|access-date=November 3, 2020}}</ref> Independent also sold five translators of KTTW, at [[Aberdeen, South Dakota|Aberdeen]], [[Brookings, South Dakota|Brookings]], [[Pierre, South Dakota|Pierre]], [[Watertown, South Dakota|Watertown]], and [[Worthington, Minnesota]], to Gray for $1.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1823163&Service=LD&Form_id=345&Facility_id=28491|title=Application for Transfer of Control of a Corporate Licensee or Permittee, or for Assignment of License or Permit of TV or FM Translator Station or Low Power Television Station|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=November 4, 2020|access-date=November 7, 2020}}</ref>{{efn|KTTW had a sixth translator, K44ME-D in [[Lowry, South Dakota|Lowry]]. That translator closed on January 31, 2019, when the Five County TV Translator District that operated it ceased operations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ppioneer.com/articles/cc-commission-learns-that-tv-translator-district-will-be-ending/|date=January 3, 2019|title=CC Commission learns that TV Translator District will be ending|work=Prairie Pioneer|access-date=March 3, 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref>}} According to a local business publication, Independent Communications was exiting television altogether and intended to sell or donate KTTW "to a nonprofit entity in the near future".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.siouxfalls.business/kttw-exiting-broadcast-business-fox-moves-to-gray-television/|title=KTTW 'exiting broadcast business'; Fox moves to Gray Television|work=SiouxFalls.Business|date=November 10, 2020|access-date=November 11, 2020}}</ref> On February 10, 2021, it was announced that [[Marion, Illinois]]–based Tri-State Christian Television would acquire the license assets of KTTW/KTTM for $850,000.<ref name="kttwtotct">{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/assignmentDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff3776504460177822a9c122346&id=25076ff3776504460177822a9c122346|title=Assignments|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=February 11, 2021|accessdate=February 11, 2021}}</ref> The transaction was completed on December 21;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/consummationDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff37dda7617017dde4c9b200847&id=25076ff37dda7617017dde4c9b200847|title=Notification of Consummation|publisher=Licensing and Management System, [[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=December 21, 2021|access-date=December 21, 2021}}</ref> the stations switched to TCT programming the next day.

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
KTTW and KTTM both broadcast TCT and additional national multicast channels:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KTTW<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KTTW#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KTTW|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=February 12, 2025}}</ref> and KTTM<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KTTM#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KTTM|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=February 12, 2025}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan="10" |[[16:9]] || KTTW HD || [[Tri-State Christian Television|TCT]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.2
| rowspan="9" |[[480i]] || ONTV4U || [[OnTV4U]] ([[Infomercial]]s)
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.3 
| SBN || [[Sonlife]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.4 
| LAFF || [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.5 
| Bounce || [[Bounce TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.6 
| Grit || [[Grit (TV network)|Grit]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.7 
| IONPlus || [[Ion Plus]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.8
| Positiv || [[Positiv]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.9 
| GDT || Infomercials
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.10 
| Quest || [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]]
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
Both stations shut down their analog signals for the 2009 analog shutoff date:<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 |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>
* KTTW shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 17; the station's digital signal broadcasts on its pre-transition [[VHF]] channel 7.
* KTTM shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 22 to VHF channel 12.

==Note==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Sioux Falls TV}}
{{TV Stations South Dakota}}
{{Minnesota TV}}
{{Iowa TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kttw}}
[[Category:1987 establishments in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Bounce TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Plus affiliates]]
[[Category:Grit (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Laff (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Quest (American TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1987]]
[[Category:Television stations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota|TTW]]
[[Category:Tri-State Christian Television stations]]