Subchannels 14.1 Fox/MyNetworkTV | First air date 1997 | |
Branding KSVT Fox 14 (general)
Idaho's First News (newscasts) Slogan Southern Idaho's News Source Channels Digital: 14 (UHF) &
KMVT-DT 11.3 (UHF)
Virtual: 14 (PSIP) Owner Gray Television
(Gray Television Licensee, LLC) | ||
KSVT-LD is the low-powered primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV television station for Southern Idaho's Magic Valley that is licensed to Twin Falls. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 14 (or virtual channel 43.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Flat Top Butte in unincorporated Jerome County east of Jerome and U.S. 93. The station can also be seen on Cable ONE channel 8 and in high definition on digital channel 475. Owned by Gray Television, KSVT is sister to CBS/CW affiliate KMVT and the two outlets share studios on Blue Lakes Boulevard North/U.S. 93 in Twin Falls.
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History
KSVT signed-on in 1997 as an independent station, K43FK. It became KTWT-LP in 2000. The station was a UPN affiliate from late 2004 (picking up the UPN affiliation from KIDA) until September 2006 when UPN merged with The WB (which was seen on KWTE, via The WB 100+) to form The CW; that network was seen on KTWT (via The CW Plus) until 2012, when it switched to MyNetworkTV following the closure of sister station KTID-LP. CW programming remains available through the second digital subchannel of KMVT, which previously simulcast with KTWT. It had a construction permit for a low-power digital station on Channel 14 although LPTV stations are not required to broadcast digital signals.
KTWT joined Fox on July 1, 2012, replacing KXTF; the station began broadcasting its digital signal at that time and branded as "Fox 14" (making it one of a handful of digital stations to brand using its physical channel as opposed to its former analog channel); MyNetworkTV programming is shown out-of-pattern weeknights at 10 p.m. KTWT was also added to a new third digital subchannel of KMVT. On February 27, 2014, the station changed its call letters to KSVT-LD to reflect an increased emphasis on Blaine County and the Wood River Valley, including Sun Valley (from which the call letters are derived).
On March 12, 2015, Gray Television announced that it would purchase KSVT-LD and KMVT from Neuhoff Communications for $17.5 million. The sale was completed on July 1.
Newscasts
With KTWT's transition to Fox affiliation, there was a significant expansion of the news operation of sister station KMVT. More specifically, the CBS affiliate began producing a half-hour extension of its morning newscast Rise and Shine that is seen weekdays at 7 a.m. on KSVT. In addition, this station added half-hour newscasts at 5 p.m. on weeknights only and every night at 9 p.m. The news broadcasts on KSVT utilize a separate news anchor on weeknights and feature more regional, national and international news of the day compared to the newscasts seen on KMVT. As with local newscasts on KMVT, daily newscasts seen on KSVT-LD are broadcast in high definition. Concurrent with the relaunch as KSVT, Neuhoff Communications announced that the station will open a Wood River Valley bureau.