KTPX-TV (channel 44) is a television station licensed to Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States, serving as the Ion Television outlet for the Tulsa area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside NBC affiliate KJRH-TV (channel 2). KTPX-TV's offices are located on East Skelly Drive in Tulsa, and its transmitter is located near Mounds, Oklahoma.

KTPX-TV
CityOkmulgee, Oklahoma
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KJRH-TV
History
First air date
July 3, 1997 (27 years ago) (1997-07-03)
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 (reflecting network's former branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID7078
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT219 m (719 ft)
Transmitter coordinates35°50′2″N 96°7′29″W / 35.83389°N 96.12472°W / 35.83389; -96.12472
Links
Public license information
Websiteiontelevision.com

History

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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 January 13 of that year, 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

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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. The purchase made KTPX-TV a sister station to NBC affiliate KJRH-TV (channel 2).[2][3][4] The sale was completed on January 7, 2021.

On February 27, 2021, KTPX-DT2 began to simulcast KJRH's main schedule, and was re-mapped to channel 2.11.

Programming

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KTPX airs the entire Ion schedule and since the repeal of the Main Studio Rule, it carries the network without any local content outside of an hourly on-screen station identification; the station is also not currently used by KJRH to carry preempted NBC and syndicated programming.

Newscasts

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Until 2005, KTPX aired rebroadcasts of KJRH-TV's 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on tape delay.

Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KTPX-TV[5]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
2.11 720p 16:9 KJRH NBC (KJRH-TV)
44.1 ION Ion Television
44.3 480i CourtTV Court TV
44.4 Grit Grit
44.5 Mystery Ion Mystery
44.6 Jewelry Jewelry Television
44.7 QVC QVC
44.8 HSN HSN
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

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KTPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 44, on June 12, 2009, the official date on 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] using virtual channel 44.

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KTPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Breaking News – Scripps Creates National Television Networks Business with Acquisition of ION Media". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Cimilluca, Dana. "E.W. Scripps Agrees to Buy ION Media for $2.65 billion in Berkshire-Backed Deal". Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  4. ^ E.W. Scripps scales up with $2.65 billion Berkshire-backed deal for ION Media
  5. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KTPX". RabbitEars. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
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