KTPX-TV
KTPX-TV, virtual channel 44 (UHF digital channel 28), is an Ion Television owned-and-operated station serving Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States that is licensed to Okmulgee. The station is owned by the Ion Media Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, as part of a duopoly with Tulsa-licensed NBC affiliate KJRH-TV (channel 2). KTPX's offices are located on East Skelly Drive in Tulsa, and its transmitter is located near Mounds, Oklahoma. On cable, the station is available on Cox Communications channel 4 in both standard and high definition.[1]
| Okmulgee/Tulsa, Oklahoma United States | |
|---|---|
| City | Okmulgee, Oklahoma |
| Channels | Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 44 (PSIP) |
| Branding | Ion Television |
| Slogan | Positively Entertaining |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Ion Media Networks (a subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company) (Ion Media Tulsa License, Inc.) |
| KJRH-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | July 3, 1997 |
Former call signs | KGLB-TV (1997–1998) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 44 (UHF, 1997–2009) |
| inTV (1997–1998) | |
Call sign meaning | Tulsa's PaX TV |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 7078 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 219 m (719 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°50′2″N 96°7′28″W |
| Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
| Website | iontelevision |
History
The station first signed on the air on July 3, 1997, as KGLB-TV; it originally carried programming from Paxson Communications' infomercial service, the Infomall Television Network (inTV). The station became a charter owned-and-operated station of Pax TV (now Ion Television) when the network launched on August 31, 1998; on that date, the station changed its call letters to KTPX-TV (the KTPX calls were previously used by NBC affiliate KWES-TV in Midland, Texas from 1981 to 1993).
Sale to Scripps
On September 24, 2020, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company announced that it would purchase Ion Media for $2.65 billion, with financing from Berkshire Hathaway. With this purchase, Scripps will divest 23 Ion-owned stations, but no announcement has been made as to which stations that Scripps will divest as part of the move. The proposed divestitures will allow the merged company to fully comply with the FCC local and national ownership regulations. Scripps has agreed to a transaction with an unnamed buyer, who has agreed to maintain Ion affiliations for the stations. If Scripps decides to keep KTPX-TV, this would make it a sister station to NBC affiliate KJRH-TV (channel 2).[2][3][4] The sale was completed on January 7, 2021.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.1 | 720p | 16:9 | ION | Main Ion Television programming |
| 44.2 | 480i | qubo | Qubo | |
| 44.3 | IONPlus | Ion Plus | ||
| 44.4 | Shop | Ion Shop | ||
| 44.5 | LAFF | Laff | ||
| 44.6 | 4:3 | HSN | HSN |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KTPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 44, 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 28.[6] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 44.
Newscasts
Until 2005, KTPX aired rebroadcasts of NBC affiliate KJRH-TV's 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. newscasts at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on tape delay.
References
- Cox Channel Lineup Tulsa Area
- http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2020/09/24/scripps-creates-national-television-networks-business-with-acquisition-of-ion-media-395300/20200924scripps01/
- Cimilluca, Dana. "E.W. Scripps Agrees to Buy ION Media for $2.65 billion in Berkshire-Backed Deal". Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- E.W. Scripps scales up with $2.65 billion Berkshire-backed deal for ION Media
- RabbitEars TV Query for KTPX
- "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.