 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding |
|
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Operator | Sinclair Broadcast Group viaLMA |
| KTUL,KMYT-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | October 26, 1980 (1980-10-26) |
Former channel number |
|
| Independent (1980–1986) | |
Call sign meaning | Okie, "Oklahoma's Independent" (reference to previous status) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 11910 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 400 m (1,312 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 36°1′36″N95°40′45″W / 36.02667°N 95.67917°W /36.02667; -95.67917 |
| Translator(s) | KTUL 8.2 (14.2 UHF) Tulsa |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KOKI-TV (channel 23) is atelevision station inTulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with theFox network. It is owned byRincon Broadcasting Group alongsideMyNetworkTV affiliateKMYT-TV (channel 41). The two stations share studios on East 27th Street and South Memorial Drive (nearW. G. Skelly Park) in the Audubon neighborhood of southeast Tulsa; KOKI-TV's transmitter is located on South 273rd East Avenue (between 91st Street South and 101st Street South, next to theMuskogee Turnpike) in the westerncity limits ofCoweta.
KOKI-TV began broadcasting on October 26, 1980, as Tulsa's firstindependent station and the first UHF station in the market sinceKCEB briefly used the channel in 1954. It was built by a consortium of local businessmen known as Tulsa 23 Ltd. It competed with channel 41, then known as KGCT and KTFO, throughout the 1980s and 1990s but was the stronger station in ratings and programming. In 1987, it became Tulsa's first affiliate of the Fox network.
Tulsa 23 sold KOKI-TV toClear Channel Television in 1989. Under Clear Channel, whose radio division owned stations in Tulsa, channel 23 became profitable with the growth of the Fox network. The operation expanded with control and a later purchase of channel 41 as well as the 2002 debut of a local news department. Initially producing just a 9 p.m. newscast, the station steadily expanded news coverage under the successive ownerships of Clear Channel,Newport Television, andCox Media Group. Cox sold KOKI-TV and a number of smaller-market stations toImagicomm Communications in 2022, and in 2025Rincon Broadcasting Group acquired part of Imagicomm's portfolio. Rincon sold the Fox affiliation in February 2026 toSinclair Broadcast Group, owner of TulsaABC affiliationKTUL, and Fox23 and its programming became a subchannel of that station as a result.
Ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 23 inTulsa was first used byKCEB, a station that began broadcasting on March 14, 1954, under the ownership of oil entrepreneur Edward Beck. It was Tulsa's second television station, afterKOTV (channel 6), and broadcast fromLookout Mountain with programming fromNBC and theDuMont Television Network.[2] KCEB was a financial failure, losing more than $600,000 in its operation before it closed on December 24 of that year. The site was sold to KTVX (channel 8, nowKTUL) to aid in its relocation fromMuskogee.[3]
The dormantUHF channel 23 allocation was contested by two applicants seeking aconstruction permit. Wilson Communications, owned byDetroit businessman andBuffalo Bills ownerRalph Wilson, filed an application with theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 7, 1978.[4] Tulsa 23, Ltd., which filed on September 5, was led by Benjamin F. Boddie. The group included prominent local business leaders such asHelmerich & PayneCEO Walter H. Helmerich II andWilliams Companies executives John H. and Charles P. Williams.[5][6] The FCC awarded the license to Tulsa 23 on December 12, 1979.[6][7]
KOKI-TV signed on October 26, 1980, as the market's firstindependent station,[8] It was also the first UHF television station to operate in Tulsa since KCEB.[9] becoming Tulsa's first new commercial television station since 1954, and the market's first independent station. Branded as "Tulsa 23", it operated from studios on East 46th Place in southeast Tulsa, using second-hand equipment. The station ran on a lean budget, airing a mix of classicsitcoms,westerns anddrama series,cartoons,feature films, and a limited number of sports events andreligious programs aimed largely at older and rural audiences.[10] Its transmitter facility was located nearCoweta inWagoner County, utilizing a 1,392-foot (424 m) tower.[9]
KOKI gained competition on March 18, 1981, whenKGCT-TV began broadcasting on channel 41.[11] KOKI outdistanced KGCT in the ratings; KOKI-TV had obtained a 5% share of television viewing in Tulsa as of the May 1981Arbitron ratings, while KGCT was not registering viewers.[12] A 1983Ogilvy & Mather study found KOKI was the only Tulsa station to increase viewership from May 1981 to May 1983, posting significant gains in early-evening, prime time, and late-night slots, while the three network affiliates saw declines in those same dayparts. Its strongest window was the 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. slot known as "early fringe", where it had an audience share of 19 percent.[13]
The slogan used to promote KOKI's film offerings, "Oklahoma's Movie Star", became the subject of a federaltrademark infringement lawsuit filed in October 1982 againstHome Box Office Inc. overCinemax's "We Are Your Movie Star" campaign. In November 1983, U.S. District Judge James Ellison issued an injunction against HBO, a decision upheld by theTenth Circuit on December 9, forcing Cinemax to abandon the campaign.[14][15]
When theFox network launched in October 1986, it had no affiliate in Tulsa, discussing possible terms of affiliation with KOKI and KGCT. Even though KGCT's manager had sent over what he thought was an affiliation contract, Fox claimed it was only a sample agreement. Fox's vice president of affiliate relations, Bob Mariano, spoke highly of a possible affiliation with KOKI and told theTulsa World that the network had one major concern with channel 41: "Our problem at the moment with KGCT is that it is not carried on Tulsa Cable."[16] In August 1987, Fox agreed to affiliate with KOKI.[17] KOKI absorbed some of KGCT's programming after that station left the air in March 1989.[18]
Tulsa 23 agreed to sell KOKI-TV toSan Antonio–basedClear Channel Television for $6.075 million on March 6, 1989. It was the third station to be owned by Clear Channel, whose radio division had expanded into Tulsa in 1974.[19][20] Citing prolonged losses caused by an economic downturn spurred by an oil exploration slump in the region during the 1980s, Clear Channel sought a "failed station" waiver of FCC rules barring radio–television cross-ownership in the same market, arguing the purchase would provide KOKI—which had never turned a profit—with needed financial support to remain operational and expand itspublic affairs programming. The FCC approved the sale and waiver on November 17, 1989,[21] and the deal closed two weeks later.[22] As Fox grew into a major network, KOKI became profitable by 1993, producing $5 million per year in cash flow.[23]
In November 1993, Clear Channel Television entered into alocal marketing agreement with RDS Broadcasting to provide programming, advertising, and administrative services for channel 41, by this point back on the air and known as KTFO.[24] That station became aUPN affiliate when the network launched in January 1995.[25][26] In 1999, the FCC legalizedduopolies—the outright ownership of two broadcast licenses in a market[27]—and Clear Channel acquired KTFO outright.[28]
As early as 1994, Fox expressed interest in KOKI starting a local news department. General manager Hal Capron was skeptical that the market could absorb more local news or that the outlay in setting up a news operation would be worth it.[29] Though Capron announced that a newscast might debut by August 1997,[30] plans were delayed.[31] Coinciding with Fox's airing ofSuper Bowl XXXI in January 1997, channel 23 debuted an in-house weather service including a five-minute weather forecast to air at 10 p.m. nightly.[32] Capron announced in August 2001 that the station would begin airing an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast in January 2002, timed toSuper Bowl XXXVI, which would air on Fox.[33][a] The news director came to the station from Clear Channel'sWFTC inMinneapolis.[35] The 9 p.m. news launched after the Super Bowl on February 3, 2002.[36]
The news department launch coincided with Clear Channel building new studios to bring its Tulsa television and radio stations under one roof. In 2000, the company bought the former Oertle's discount store on Memorial Drive and renovated it to suit its needs.[37][38]
In the years after launching the 9 p.m. newscast, KOKI's news department expanded into other dayparts. A weeknight-only 5:30 p.m. newscast premiered on June 17, 2002, expanding to 5 p.m. the following year.[39][40][41] A morning newscast,Fox23 News Daybreak, debuted on April 24, 2006, as a four-hour broadcast from 5 to 9 a.m.[42][43]
On April 20, 2007, following its $18.7 billion buyout byprivate equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners andBain Capital, Clear Channel agreed to sell its television stations toProvidence Equity Partners for $1.2 billion.[44][45][46] The FCC approved the deal on December 1, 2007, and it was finalized on March 14, 2008. Providence formedNewport Television to manage the stations.[47][48][49][50][51]
On August 11, 2011, a man later dubbed "Tower Guy" by local media outlets, entered a restricted area at the KOKI–KMYT facility and climbed a transmission tower, prompting a prolonged police standoff.[52][53] After more than 150 hours (the longest inTulsa Police Department history), the standoff ended on August 16 when a retired police negotiator persuaded him to come down. He was taken to a hospital for treatment after being safely removed from the tower[54][55][56][57][58][59]
On July 19, 2012, Newport Television announced it would sell KOKI-TV and KMYT, along with stations inJacksonville, Florida, to Cox Media Group for $253 million. The deal placed KOKI and KMYT under common ownership with Cox's Tulsa radio stations. The FCC approved the sale on October 23, 2012, and it was finalized on December 3.[60][61][62][63][64] In 2019, a majority stake in Cox Media Group was sold toApollo Global Management. The transaction was completed on December 17, 2019.[65]
During the 2010s, KOKI added more newscasts in evening and morning time slots. On January 18, 2010, KOKI debuted a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast.[66][67] The early evening news block expanded on September 23, 2013, with the debut of a half-hour weeknight newscast at 6 p.m.[68] Weekend morning newscasts followed in 2014.[69][70] By the mid-2010s, the station had the leading 9 p.m. news but rated a distant second to KOTV in mornings and third or fourth in other time periods. It also ranked third in revenue.[71]
On March 29, 2022, Cox Media Group announced it would sell KOKI-TV, KMYT-TV and 16 other stations toImagicomm Communications, an affiliate of the parent company of theINSP cable channel, for $488 million;[72] the sale was completed on August 1.[73]
On April 3, 2025, Imagicomm announced that it would sell seven stations, including KOKI-TV, to Rincon Broadcasting Group;[74] the deal was completed on July 18.[75]
Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner ofKTUL, acquired the Fox affiliation from Rincon in February 2026. On February 9, KOKI's main channel schedule and Fox affiliation moved to KTUL 8.2, with a simulcast on 23.1 continuing until March 1, when KOKI's main channel will switch to airingRoar.[76]
KOKI-TV's transmitter is located on South 273rd East Avenue (between 91st Street South and 101st Street South, next to theMuskogee Turnpike) in the westerncity limits ofCoweta.[1] The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KOKI-TV | Fox →Roar (eff. March 2, 2026) |
| 23.2 | 480i | 4:3 | MeTV | MeTV |
| 23.3 | 16:9 | Dabl | Dabl |
KOKI-TV began transmitting adigital television signal on UHF channel 22 on October 1, 2002.[82] The station shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 23, on June 12, 2009, the officialdigital television transition date.[83][84] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22, usingvirtual channel 23.[85]
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofOklahoma | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Oklahoma | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS |
| |
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other |
| |
| ||
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofKansas | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Kansas | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS |
| |
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
| ||
