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| Channels | |
| Branding |
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| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KSPR-LD, KYCW-LD | |
| History | |
First air date | October 1, 1953 (1953-10-01) |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | Your Television |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 36003 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 623.8 m (2,046.6 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°10′26″N92°56′28.1″W / 37.17389°N 92.941139°W /37.17389; -92.941139 (KYTV) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KYTV (channel 3) is atelevision station inSpringfield, Missouri, United States, affiliated withNBC. It is owned byGray Media alongsideABC affiliateKSPR-LD (channel 33) andBranson-licensedCW affiliateKYCW-LD (channel 24); it is alsosister to Branson-licensedtourist information–formatted stationK17DL-D, channel 17 (which is owned by Branson Visitors TV,LLC, ajoint venture between Gray [50.1%] and Market Branson, LLC [49.9%]). KYTV, KSPR-LD and KYCW-LD share studios on West Sunshine Street in Springfield, while KYTV's transmitter is located on Highway FF north ofFordland.
The station first signed on the air on October 1, 1953, becoming the second television station to sign on in the Springfield market; the first wasCBS affiliate KTTS-TV (channel 10, nowKOLR), which signed on in March of that same year. Founded byLester E. Cox and the Duvalls, it operated from a studio on West Sunshine Street, the first facility located west of theMississippi River that was built specifically for television production. Channel 3 has been an NBC affiliate since its sign-on, although it also shared a secondaryABC-affiliation with KTTS until KMTC (channel 27, nowMyNetworkTV affiliateKOZL-TV) signed on in 1968. On December 26, 1953, KYTV debuted a television broadcast of the showOzark Jubilee, a livecountry music program which originated on radio stationKWTO (560 AM), owned by Lester E. Cox; ABC began televising the program nationally on January 22, 1955, although it temporarily originated fromColumbia until it moved to the Jewell Theatre on April 30 using KYTV's staff and equipment. The station's staff and facilities also played key roles in the production of two other programs that aired on ABC during the 1950s showsTalent Varieties andThe Eddy Arnold Show.
KYTV purchased remote broadcasting equipment in 1954. Its first remote broadcast originated that year from the Ozark Empire Fair. Remote telecasts were also brought to viewers from the Plaza Bowl featuring area bowling teams. Other remotes included SpringfieldChristmas parades, "Man with a Mike" from the Tower Theater on the Plaza, sporting events, and (beginning in 1986) the station'sCelebrate the Ozarks program. KYTV purchased one of the nation's first mobile videotape units in March 1959. That year, the station videotaped the dedication ofTable Rock Dam and produced Harold Bell Wright'sThe Shepherd of the Hills on location in Branson. From March 17 to September 22, 1961, KYTV transmittedFive Star Jubilee to NBC from theLanders Theatre. It was the first networkcolor television program to originate outside ofNew York City orHollywood although KYTV could not yet broadcast the show locally in color. In 1970, the station adopted its current on-air name, "KY3."
In 1973, the station built a 608.4-meter (1,996 ft) transmission tower inMarshfield, which became thetallest structure in Missouri, approaching nearly 2,000 feet (610 m)—more than three times the height of theGateway Arch inSt. Louis.[2] In 1978, the station was sold toHarte-Hanks Communications. Harte-Hanks sold the station toSouth Bend, Indiana-basedSchurz Communications in 1987. In 1997, Schurz migrated KYTV's operations from its original building on West Sunshine Street into new facilities adjacent to the original studio.
In 2000, KYTV erected a 609.4-meter (1,999 ft) tower inFordland for its digital transmitter; the towers in Marshfield and Fordland were surpassed in 2001 by a 609.6-meter (2,000 ft) tower inSyracuse, used byPBS member stationKMOS-TV inSedalia, which was only 0.2 meters (7.9 in) higher than either of KYTV's towers, which remain the second and third tallest structures in the state and are among thetallest structures in the world.
On September 21, 2006, Schurz entered into a deal in which Perkin Media would acquire ABC affiliate KSPR (channel 33, laterKGHZ) fromPiedmont Television and manage that station under ashared services agreement. Under the deal, Schurz controlled all of KSPR's non-license assets, with Perkin serving as the owner of that station'sFCCbroadcast license; channel 33's operations remained at its studio facility on East Saint Louis Street until November 2009, when KSPR moved into a new newsroom and studio addition built onto the Sunshine Street facility.
KYTV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionUHF channel 44, usingvirtual channel 3.[3] As part of theSAFER Act,[4] KYTV kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of thedigital television transition through a loop ofpublic service announcements from theNational Association of Broadcasters.
Schurz announced on September 14, 2015 that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations, including KYTV, K15CZ-D (channel 15, nowKSPR-LD), and the SSA with KSPR, toGray Television for $442.5 million.[5][6] The FCC approved the sale on February 12, 2016,[7] and the sale was completed on February 16, 2016.[8]
KYTV presently broadcasts26+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with4+1⁄2 hours on weekdays and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces the half-hour sports highlight programO-Zone Sports, which airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. The station operates its ownDoppler radar system, called "Storm Tracker 3", near its transmitter in Fordland. All news anchors may also serve as reporters. For many years, channel 3's newscasts have been in first place in the market, and as of 2013, its news programs have ranked #1 in all timeslots according toNielsen Media Research.
Since its sign-on, the station has been airing nightly 6 and 10 o'clock broadcasts. A satellite news gathering truck was purchased in 1986. In November 2006, KYTV debuted a new set for its newscasts, which integrated the weather center into the main studio; it also included a background that could be lowered over the set used for sports segments to convert it into an interview area, which changed with the time of day (such as the morning featuring a picture of a sunrise over Springfield). The former weather area was turned into the "Virtual Newsroom", which was later renamed the "KY3 Web Center", where Internet-related news topics are discussed.
Although KSPR moved into KYTV's studio facilities on November 1, 2009, the two stations continued to maintain separate news departments for nearly eight years, occasionally sharing footage for certain news stories. On January 28, 2010, beginning with the 5:00 p.m. newscast, KYTV began broadcasting its local newscasts inhigh definition; with the upgrade, came the introduction of a new logo and an updated graphics package. In-studio cameras record in HD, however video from field cameras continued to be broadcast instandard definition and upconverted to a16:9widescreen format in the control room until June 28, 2011, when the station began transmitting field video in high definition. On August 22, 2011, KYTV began producing an hour-long extension ofOzarks Today on weekday mornings from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m., and a half-hour 9:00 p.m. newscast (which expanded to one hour in June 2013) for CW affiliate KYCW-LD; this is despite the fact that the station is simulcast on the second digital subchannel of ABC-affiliated sister station KSPR-LD.[9]
In 2017, KSPR's news operation was folded into KYTV's. KSPR retains unique local news broadcasts at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., while at most other times, the stations air combined newscasts. Additionally,Ozarks Today expanded to a fourth hour, airing from 8 to 9, and the KYTV noon news was extended to a full hour.[10] On September 6, 2021, KY3 added an 11 a.m. newscast replacingThe Andy Griffith Show (since that show is already airing on KSPR-LD3, which is affiliated withMeTV).[11]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KYTV-HD | NBC |
| 3.4 | 480i | Outlaw | Outlaw | |
| 3.5 | Justice | True Crime Network | ||
| 3.6 | Quest | Quest | ||
| 33.1 | 720p | KSPR | ABC (KSPR-LD) | |
| 33.2 | 480i | KYCW | The CW (KYCW-LD) inSD |
On December 31, 2008, with the discontinuation ofNBC Weather Plus, the station changed the name of its weather offering toKY3 24/7.
On January 2, 2017, KYTV moved its 24/7 weather channel, which had become known as KY3 Weather Nation, to a subchannel of KYCW-LD. On the same day, it added a subchannel simulcasting ABC programming from KSPR 33.1. KYTV notified viewers, saying, "You may notice two KSPR 33.1 subchannels. That is normal, for now."[15] On May 31, 2017,Cozi TV (which was available on DT3) was moved to a subchannel ofKYCW-LD, mapped to 3.3.
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofMissouri | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Missouri | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofArkansas | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Arkansas | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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