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KGUN-TV

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KGUN-TV
Channels
BrandingKGUN 9
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KWBA-TV
History
First air date
June 3, 1956
(68 years ago) (1956-06-03)
Former call signs
  • KDWI-TV (1956–1957)
  • KGUN-TV (1957–1987)
  • KGUN (1987–2009)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 9 (VHF, 1956–2009)
  • Digital: 35 (UHF, 2005–2009)
Independent (1956–1957)
Call sign meaning
Former owner's interest in gun collecting and the Westerns that were filmed in Tucson
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID36918
ERP36.5 kW
HAAT1,140 m (3,740 ft)
Transmitter coordinates32°24′55.6″N 110°42′53.1″W / 32.415444°N 110.714750°W / 32.415444; -110.714750
Translator(s)K27OP-D Oro Valley–Tucson
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.kgun9.com

KGUN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Sierra Vista–licensed KWBA-TV (channel 58), an independent station. The two stations share studios on East Rosewood Street in east Tucson; KGUN-TV's transmitter is located atop Mount Bigelow, northeast of the city.

KGUN-TV went on the air as KDWI-TV, Tucson's third commercial station, in 1956. Within a year, it was sold by its founding owner and took its present call sign and ABC affiliation. The station has generally run second or third in local news throughout its history.

History

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Channel 9 prior to KGUN

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The construction permit that was built as KDWI-TV was not the first the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had awarded for channel 9 in Tucson. Radio station KCNA (580 AM) received a construction permit in December 1952 to set up a station;[2] when it relocated its transmitter facility in 1951, it installed a television "saddle" to support a future antenna on one of its towers.[3] As late as April 1953, KCNA reported it was buying television equipment with an aim to sign on in December.[4] However, the proposed station was scuttled by ownership turnover within KCNA. When the firm abandoned its plans to build the station in late August, it cited concerns that Tucson would not be a viable market for three commercial TV stations—KOPO-TV and KVOA having been constructed in the intervening months—and that it could not offer "minimum worthwhile public service to the viewers".[5]

Construction and early years

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D. W. "Doc" Ingram, a Tucson lumber dealer, and his wife Kathleen,[6] trading as the Tucson Television Company, applied for channel 9 on March 31, 1955, and received a permit just 20 days later on April 19.[7] By February 1956, construction had been finished on an antenna atop Mount Bigelow,[8] which made it the first Tucson station sited on a mountaintop;[9] the other two commercial stations would relocate to Mount Bigelow in 1961.[10] KDWI-TV began telecasting June 3, 1956, from studios on North 6th Avenue; it originally lacked network affiliation, subsisting entirely on movies.[11][12] The studios were outfitted with a car lift, which Ingram had installed to allow the building to be used as a garage should the television venture fail.[13]

In November, Ingram sold KDWI-TV to the Tucson Television Company, an unrelated concern led by Hugh U. Garrett, an oilman from Longview, Texas, and two other East Texas men; the $533,000 sale was accompanied by a 15-year lease of the studios.[14] The call letters were changed to KGUN-TV on March 14,[7] when the station joined ABC, bringing the full network lineup to southern Arizona for the first time.[15][a] With the change from an all-film lineup, local programming was added; the children's show "Marshal KGUN" debuted at that time and ran until 1968.[19] Other remembered programs from this period in station history include the local Romper Room franchise[20] as well as Mexican Theater, which aired Mexican television fare, and the Chiller Saturday night horror movie (hosted by KGUN program director Jack Jacobson).[19][13] For more than 30 years, KGUN covered the Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo parade, the world's longest non-mechanized parade; it dropped coverage after the 2004 edition because it lost money despite good ratings.[21]

Garrett sold the station in 1961 to a group headed by Cincinnati meatpacker Henry S. Hilberg and Edwin G. Richter of Evansville, Indiana, who owned WEHT in that city.[22] Hilberg and Richter sold both stations to Gilmore Broadcasting in 1964; Richter stayed on as manager of KGUN-TV.[23][24] Gilmore then sold KGUN-TV to May Broadcasting for $2.9 million in 1968.[25]

Lee, Emmis, Journal, and Scripps ownership

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May would sell KGUN and KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska, along with two Omaha radio properties, to Lee Enterprises in December 1986.[26] Two years later, Lee began construction of a $4 million studio complex in the Gateway Center complex on Tucson's east side.[27] Lee in turn sold all of its stations to Emmis Communications in 2000. Emmis was credited with a focus on capital expenditures, which had been less of a priority for Lee Enterprises in its later years.[28]

In 2005, Emmis began the liquidation of its television properties, selling KGUN to the Milwaukee-based Journal Broadcast Group, which already owned four radio stations in Tucson; the transfer was part of a $235 million transaction which included KMTV and WFTX-TV in Fort Myers, Florida.[29]

On March 18, 2008, Journal announced plans to buy CW affiliate KWBA-TV from Cascade Broadcasting Group on undisclosed terms, creating a duopoly with KGUN-TV. To make the purchase, Journal had to apply for a failing station waiver; even though Tucson had too few commercial station owners to normally permit another duopoly, it presented financial statements showing it had lost money for three years straight, a situation exacerbated by the loss of Arizona Diamondbacks baseball rights, and pledged to start a local newscast from KGUN-TV for air on KWBA-TV. The FCC permitted the acquisition in June.[30]

On July 30, 2014, it was announced that the E. W. Scripps Company would acquire Journal Communications in an all-stock transaction. The combined firm would retain its broadcast properties, including KGUN, and spin off the print assets as Journal Media Group. The deal made KGUN a sister station to Phoenix's ABC affiliate, KNXV-TV.[31] The FCC approved the deal on December 12, 2014, and shareholders followed suit on March 11, 2015; the merger was completed on April 1.[32][33] Scripps then sold off its radio properties in 2018, including the Tucson stations, which were purchased by Lotus Communications.[34]

On October 5, 2023, the Arizona Coyotes announced their departure from the troubled regional sports network Bally Sports Arizona as during its parent company's bankruptcy, the network rejected the Coyotes' contract. That same day, the team and Scripps Sports announced a new contract. As part of the deal, games will be broadcast by KGUN-TV in Tucson. Because of network programming commitments, most games will air on KGUN's second subchannel, which usually carries Laff, though the station will carry surrounding Coyotes team content on its main channel. The games will also air on a subchannel of KNXV in the Phoenix market and outside of Arizona via the league's out-of-market sports package deal with ESPN+.[35]

Local programming

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News operation

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While the station had aired some form of local news even as KDWI-TV,[36] it was not until the 1960s that the newsroom began to grow in importance and then in size. Mac Marshall served as the driving force for the news department for most of the decade, leaving in December 1968.[37] The decade also brought KGUN's first full-time news reporter, Pat Stevens, who rose from presenting the weather to becoming one of just a handful of female news directors in the United States after being promoted in 1972.[38] The station's reporting on an investigation into a sheriff's deputy resulted in threats being made to KGUN and Stevens;[39] after five years, she was hired as a producer at KABC-TV in Los Angeles.[40] However, the station languished in third place, often remaining a "giant step" behind KOLD and KVOA.[41] Historically, KVOA (from 1980 to the mid-2000s) and KOLD (prior to then and since) have led the news ratings in Tucson.[17] However, KGUN became more competitive in the 1990s and 2000s, most notably under Forrest Carr, a news director who instituted a "Viewer's Bill of Rights" and also established an ombudsman position, making KGUN one of just two U.S. TV stations to have one.[42][43]

KGUN was the first local station to air a morning newscast, doing so in 1987.[44] On April 21, 2014, KGUN began airing a one-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast on KWBA from 7 to 8 a.m. titled Good Morning Tucson Extra.[45]

Non-news programming

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On April 26, 2010, KGUN began producing a lifestyle and entertainment magazine program, The Morning Blend, airing at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays. Journal was already producing similar programs with the same name at its Milwaukee and Fort Myers stations.[46]

Notable former on-air staff

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Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KGUN-TV[52][53]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
9.1 720p 16:9 KGUN HD ABC
9.2 Laff Laff
9.3 480i Antenna Antenna TV/Scripps Sports
9.4 Bounce Bounce TV
9.5 720p ION Ion Television
9.6 SCRIPPS Ion Mystery

The main channel is also simulcast from the KWBA-TV transmitter as an aid to reception in parts of the market, particularly to the south of Tucson.[52]

Beginning with the 2024–25 NHL season, select Utah Hockey Club and Vegas Golden Knights games air on KGUN's Antenna TV subchannel—as with KNXV-TV in Phoenix—during conflicts with sister station KWBA-TV.[54]

After Scripps News ceased operations on November 16, 2024, KGUN replaced the network on its sixth subchannel with Ion Mystery.

Analog-to-digital transition

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KGUN-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 9, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television; KGUN moved its digital signal from its pre-transition UHF channel 35 to VHF channel 9.[55]

Translator

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Since 1967, KGUN-TV has operated a translator on Tumamoc Hill, now K27OP-D on channel 27. This facility, which originally operated on channel 77, was established for the benefit of viewers in the Catalina Foothills, who are shaded from the Mount Bigelow transmitter by terrain.[56]

Note

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  1. ^ Varying reasons have been cited for the change in call sign:
    • A history page on KGUN's website in 2001 quotes then-general manager Tolbert Foster[15] as having said, "Where I come from, DWI don't mean nothin' good" (referring to driving while intoxicated).[16]
    • A 2006 article published for the station's 50th notes the appropriateness of the name for the new Texan owners.[13] A 2013 story mentions that Garrett was a gun collector.[17]
    • A 1986 article notes "Tucson viewers' love of western movies".[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KGUN-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "10 New UHFs, 3 VHFs" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 22, 1952. p. 59. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  3. ^ "New Towers to Hike KCNA's Power". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. October 12, 1951. p. 20A. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "KCNA-TV, Tucson, Ariz. (Ch. 9)" (PDF). Television Digest. April 25, 1953. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  5. ^ Harrington, Norman (September 1, 1953). "No Channel Nine: KCNA Drops TV Plans". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tucson TV Station OK'd". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. April 20, 1955. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b FCC History Cards for KGUN-TV
  8. ^ "New TV Station Names Manager". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. February 4, 1956. p. 1B. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "KDWI-TV Is On The Air". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. June 2, 1956. p. 15, 24. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "KOLD-TV Joins Move To Bigelow Tomorrow". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. September 30, 1961. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "KDWI-TV To Go On Air Today: Films To Be Main Program Fare". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. June 3, 1956. p. 5C. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Ad Club Addressed By Wm. Peterson". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. June 6, 1956. p. 10C. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c Henry, Bonnie (June 1, 2006). "Yesteryear is here again". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. E1, E6. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Tucson TV Station Sold For Over Half-Million". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. November 27, 1956. p. 8B. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Channel Nine TV Station Joins ABC". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. February 3, 1957. p. 6C. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Tucson, Arizona's KGUN Television, Channel 9!". kgun9.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2001. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Hatfield, David (August 30, 2013). "What goes around, goes around again in TV news ratings". Inside Tucson Business. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  18. ^ "KGUN-TV's staff celebrates 30th year". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. June 3, 1986. p. 1D. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. (Note the typo on the year the station changed call signs.)
  19. ^ a b Turner, Tom (June 25, 1995). "Tucson TV: KGUN". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. 1-I, 5-I. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Keating, Micheline (October 18, 1958). "Ring Around The TV Set". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. p. On the Town 13. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Mauet, Sarah (February 24, 2005). "Rodeo parade won't be on TV: KGUN taking a pass because of the expense". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. B1. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "KGUN-TV Sold For $2 Million". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. November 2, 1960. p. 27. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "KGUN-TV Stock Deal Completed". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. January 15, 1964. p. 11. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "New Owner Takes Over KGUN-TV". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. July 17, 1964. p. 24. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "FCC Approves Purchase Of Tucson TV Stations". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. UPI. August 2, 1968. p. 16. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Agreement reached on sale of KGUN-TV to Lee group". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Associated Press. August 22, 1986. p. 12B. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Business Notes". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. July 17, 1988. p. 3F. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Stauffer, Thomas (May 11, 2005). "KGUN likely to be sold as Indy owner quits TV business". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. D1, D5. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Stauffer, Thomas (August 23, 2005). "Journal of Wis. to purchase KGUN-TV; Company adds to its 4 Tucson radio stations". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. D1, D5. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Gay, Gerald M. (June 5, 2008). "FCC grants waiver for purchase of KWBA". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. D1. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ Glauber, Bill (July 30, 2014). "Journal, Scripps deal announced". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 31, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  32. ^ "Scripps, Journal Merger Complete". broadcastingcable.com. April 2015. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  33. ^ "Scripps, Journal Communications Complete Merger And Spinoff". netnewscheck.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  34. ^ Venta, Lance (August 7, 2018). "Lotus Acquires Scripps Stations In Boise & Tucson". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  35. ^ Ortiz, Jenna (October 5, 2023). "Arizona Coyotes land TV deal with Scripps Sports". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  36. ^ "Fraternity Makes Tour Of Television Station". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. November 30, 1956. p. 4D. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "From Midwest: News Director Named For Channel 9 TV". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. January 16, 1969. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Weather girl now in news". Times-Advocate. Escondido, California. Associated Press. July 11, 1973. p. B-4. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ Beard, Betty (November 12, 1974). "TV Station, New Times Warned: Story On Ex-Drug Officer Ires Caller". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. 7A. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ^ Hatfield, David (April 15, 1977). "KGUN's Pat Stevens going to L.A." Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. 11E. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ Hatfield, David (October 9, 1981). "KGUN has lots to say, but nobody's listening". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. 8C. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ Villarreal, Phil (October 8, 2000). "60-Second Profile: Forrest Carr". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. E2. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ Wilson, Steve (May 25, 2000). "This just in: Thoughtful TV news can sell". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. p. A2. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ Radcliffe, Jim (August 11, 1987). "KGUN to launch a.m. news show". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. 7B. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "KWBA Tucson To Launch New Morning Newscast". tvnewscheck.com. April 16, 2014. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  46. ^ Hatfield, David (March 5, 2010). "KGUN 9 introducing show of 4-to-6-minute commercial 'features'". Inside Tucson Business. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  47. ^ Schuster, John (October 30, 2014). "Media Watch: The election commercial blitzkrieg is finally almost done". Tucson Weekly. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  48. ^ "Poland loves us". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. October 8, 2003. p. E1. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ Guthrie, Marisa (February 8, 2010). "Gregory Met the Challenges From the First". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  50. ^ Eck, Kevin (October 11, 2013). "Stella Inger Heading South to KGUN". TVSpy. Adweek. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  51. ^ Eck, Kevin (February 23, 2022). "Portland Reporter Maggie Vespa Leaving KGW in March". TVSpy. Adweek. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  52. ^ a b "Digital TV Market Listing for KGUN-TV". rabbitears.info. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  53. ^ TitanTV schedule with updated listings
  54. ^ "VGK, Scripps Sports Announce Broadcasts in Phoenix, Tucson". Vegas Golden Knights. September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  55. ^ "List of Digital Full-Power Stations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013.
  56. ^ "KGUN Also Operating On Channel 77". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. July 29, 1967. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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