KYUR, channel 13 in Anchorage, is the flagship station of a trio of ABC and digital CW affiliates covering "The Last Frontier" under the "Alaska's Superstation" banner, which also includes KATN and KJUD. It is owned by Vision Alaska. Its transmitter is located at the Knik TV Mast in Knik, Alaska.
| |
| Anchorage, Alaska | |
|---|---|
| Branding | ABC 13 KYUR (general)
Your Alaska Link(newscasts) |
| Slogan | Alaska's Superstation
Your Alaska Link |
| Channels | Digital: 12 (VHF) |
| Translators | K03FW 3 Kenai |
| Affiliations | ABC (since 1971)
The CW (DT2) |
| Owner | Vision Alaska LLC
(Vision Alaska I LLC) |
| First air date | October 31, 1967 |
| Call letters' meaning | YoUR Alaska Link |
| Former callsigns | KHAR-TV (1967-1971)
KIMO (1971-2010) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog:
13 (VHF, 1967-2009) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1970-1971)
PBS (per program, 1971-1975) |
| Transmitter power | 41 kW |
| Height | 240 m |
| Facility ID | 13815 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 61°25′19.8″N149°52′27.8″W |
| Website | youralaskalink.com |
History[]
KYUR signed on the air on October 31, 1967 as KHAR-TV. It was the third television station in Anchorage, after KTVA and KENI-TV (now KTUU-TV). The station was launched by Willis R. "Bill" Harpel, who operated the station under the corporate name Sourdough Broadcasters Inc. Shortly after the station's launch, Bill Harpel died in a snowmachining accident. His widow, Patricia, took over the reins at a time when the station's future was in doubt; KHAR was, at the time, unable to obtain a network affiliation, forcing it to operate as an independent station. Finally, in 1970, it took the NBC affiliation from KENI. Patricia Harpel became sole owner of Sourdough Broadcasters at around the same time. KHAR swapped affiliations with KENI a year later and joined ABC; that same year, it changed its call letters to KIMO.
In 1972, KIMO opened its own taping facility in Seattle so it could tape ABC shows directly off the network feed without having to use Hawaii as a middleman. The station brought Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and some other PBS programs to Anchorage in the early 1970s, beforeKAKM signed on in 1975.
The station had the top local newscasts in Anchorage from 1977 until 1986, when it was surpassed by KTUU.
"Alaska's Superstation" was created in 1995.
The station's last logo as KIMO, used until January 2011.
Smith Media sold KIMO and the remainder of the "ABC Alaska's Superstation" system to Vision Alaska LLC in 2010.[1] The station was taken over by Coastal Television, owners of Fox affiliate KTBY, under a shared services agreement that June; on January 1, 2011, KIMO changed its call letters to KYUR.
Digital television[]
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Channel
(PSIP) |
Programming | Freq
(MHz) |
Video
PID |
Audio
PID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | KYUR (ABC) | 207 | 49 | 52 |
| 13.2 | KWBX-DT (CW) (unofficial call letters) | 207 | 65 | 68 |
On-air staff[]
Current on-air staff[]
- Mark Colavecchio - 5PM co-anchor
- Megan Mazurek - 9PM FOX4 Anchor and reporter
- Natasha Sweatte - 5PM & 10PM anchor and reporter
- John Thompson - Host of "Alaska Sports Now"
- Janessa Webb - Weather anchor
- Corinna Delgado - Reporter
- Mike Ford - Reporter
- Russ Slaten - Reporter/Photographer
- Kirsten Adams - Reporter
Former on-air staff[]
- Steven Douglas was the former meteorologist
- Ty Hardt was the KIMO news director before Trill Gates
- Maria Downey briefly worked as a news reporter before joining KTUU in 1985.
- Herb Shaindlin (1930-2008) was the station's first news director. He once remarked that in the early days in this position, he mostly shot news footage with an 8mm camera. He would later become the station's news commentator, and spent several decades hosting various talk shows on KFQD. He was inducted into the Alaska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 1998.[2]
- Kathy Tebow Sharp, weather anchor (1980s), Miss Alaska in 1976.
- Cindy Suryan, a native of Kodiak, preceded Sharp as Miss Alaska. She joined the station as anchor not long after, and remained at the station for almost a decade.
- John Vallentine joined the station as news anchor in the 1970s. He had previously been a news anchor in Milwaukee and Phoenix. The Valentine-Suryan team anchored what was the top-rated newscast during the late 1970s and early 1980s (while ABC at the same time was the top-rated network).
News/station presentation[]
Newscast titles[]
- KIMO Evening News (1970s)
- Action News 13 (1970s-early 1980s)
- Alaska Statewide News (1980s-early 1990s, 1999-2001)
- KIMO News 13/KIMO 13 News (1980s-1996)
- Newslink Alaska (1996-1999)
- ABC Alaska News (2001-2010)
- Your Alaska Link (2010-present)
Station slogans[]
- KHAR-TV Channel 13 in Color (1967-early 1970s)
- Channel 13 is Alaska's Choice (early 1970s)
- Alaska's Most Complete and Comprehensive Coverage of News, Weather and Sports (mid 1970s)
- Action News 13: Where the Action Is (late 1970s)
- We're Still the One, on Channel 13 (1979-1980; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- You and Me and Channel 13 (1980-1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Now is the Time, Channel 13 is the Place (1981-1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Come on Along to Channel 13 (1982-1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- That Special Feeling on Channel 13 (1983-1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- We're With You on Channel 13 (1984-1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- You'll Love It on Channel 13 (1985-1986; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Together on Channel 13 (1986-1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Something's Happening on Channel 13 (1987-1990; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Alaska's Watching Channel 13 (1990-1992; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- If It's Channel 13, It Must Be ABC (1992-1993; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Where The News Comes First (1993-1995)
- Alaska's Superstation (1995-present; general slogan)
- A Difference You Can Trust (1995-2007; news slogan)
- To the Point (2007-2010; news slogan)
- Your Alaska Link (2010-present)
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ "Alaska TV group sold". Television Business Report. January 15, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ "Anchorage Host Herb Shaindlin Dies At 78". allaccess.com. October 7, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2010.