KLTV

The station first signed on the air on October 14, 1954; it was founded by the locally based company Buford Television, which was owned by Lucille Buford. KLTV has been an ABC affiliate since its debut; however, it initially carried the network as a secondary service, while it shared primary affiliation with both CBS and NBC; the station also aired programming from the DuMont Television Network on a secondary basis until 1955. The station originally operated from studio facilities on Texas Loop 323 on the east side of Tyler. In 1964, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) collapsed Lufkin and Nacogdoches into the Tyler market. Soon afterward, the Buford family bought KTRE and converted it into a semi-satellite of KLTV. KLTV lost the CBS affiliation in September 1984, when Longview-based KLMG-TV (channel 51, now Fox affiliate KFXK-TV) signed on. It retained a secondary affiliation with NBC until KETK-TV (channel 56) signed on in March 1987, resulting in channel 7 becoming an exclusive ABC affiliate. Buford Television owned KLTV and KTRE until 1989, when it sold the stations to Jackson, Mississippi–based Civic Communications. In 1996, KLTV relocated its operations from its longtime studios on Texas Loop 323 in eastern Tyler to a new facility downtown, located in a former savings & loan branch and office complex near the Smith County courthouse; the former studio facility was demolished in November 2007. Civic merged with Cosmos Broadcasting, a division of the Liberty Corporation in 2000. That same year, Liberty sold its insurance businesses to the Royal Bank of Canada, resulting in the retirement of the "Cosmos Broadcasting" banner. Liberty sold itself to Raycom Media in 2006. In October 2004, KLTV celebrated its 50th anniversary. The sale was approved on December 20 and was completed on January 2, 2019. ==News operation==

KLTV presently broadcasts hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with hours each weekday and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays); unlike most ABC affiliates, the stations do not broadcast an early evening newscast on Sundays. Lufkin semi-satellite KTRE simulcasts KLTV's weekday morning, midday, 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and weekend morning and evening newscasts. Channel 7 has been the dominant station in the market for most of its history and its newscasts routinely garner several times the number of viewers of its nearest competitor. KLTV and its staff have received several awards including seven Lone Star Emmy Awards. The station's longtime slogan is "Proud of East Texas", which has been used since 1985. In a June 2006 article, the Longview News-Journal reported KLTV continued its dominance in the area with an estimated 70,000 households tuning into its weeknight 10 p.m. broadcast. KETK-TV was second with about 12,000 viewers and KYTX was watched by an estimated 9,000 viewers. The station was nominated in 2008 for eleven Lone Star Emmy Awards including: best morning and evening newscasts, weather, along with several news/sports specials and reporting. On June 21, 2010, KLTV became the third television station in the Tyler–Longview market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. On September 10, 2012, KLTV debuted an hour-long weekday afternoon newscast at 4 p.m. The station's Telemundo-affiliated subchannel simulcasts newscasts from sister station KEYU in Amarillo. Notable former on-air staff • Sandra Brown – weather anchor • Devin Scillian – news anchor (1986–1989) ==Technical information==

Subchannels The stations' signals are multiplexed: On digital subchannel 7.2, the station carries The365 television network; the subchannel is also carried on Suddenlink Communications digital channel 247. The subchannel launched on December 14, 2005, as the "StormTracker 24/7 Weather Channel", a local weather service consisting of temperatures, weather conditions and a live feed of the station's Doppler radar (branded as the "StormTracker 7 Live Doppler Network") on a rotating schedule; the subchannel affiliated with This TV in December 2009, it later switched to Bounce TV on January 1, 2012. On January 1, 2020, Circle debuted on 7.2, displacing Bounce TV to 7.4. Circle remained until the channel was shut down on December 31, 2023, being replaced by The365. On digital subchannel 7.3, the station carries Telemundo; the subchannel is also carried on Suddenlink channel 22. Analog-to-digital conversion The station installed its digital transmitter tower on September 23, 2005; on December 14, KLTV became the second television station in East Texas to launch a digital signal, broadcasting on VHF channel 10. KLTV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, 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 relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 10 to channel 7 for post-transition operations. Translators On July 27, 2021, Gray Television signed K31PR on the air as a full simulcast partner of the main KLTV signal. Both stations air an identical subchannel line-up, with K31PR's coverage area encompassed entirely by the larger KLTV signal. On March 14, 2023, digital translator K21PE-D was tested at its upgraded site on the KLTV tower, with a license to cover the new signal filed the following day. Concurrently, Gray Television filed a silent notification for K31PR-D, as the translator discontinued broadcasting on March 4, 2023, indicating that the company was doing so in preparation for the channel 31 facility to further upgrade through an upcoming filing. ==Availability==

Cable and satellite On cable, KLTV is available on Suddenlink Communications channel 7 and in high definition on digital channel 720. Dish, DirecTV and several smaller cable providers also carry the station. Over-the-air KLTV is available throughout much of East Texas, such as Tyler, Athens***, Canton***, Carthage*, Gilmer, Henderson, Jacksonville, Jefferson*, Kilgore, Lindale, Longview**, Marshall*, Mineola, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, Palestine***, Pittsburg, Rusk, and Sulphur Springs***. • – This city can receive KLTV over the air despite being in the Shreveport market. • – This city can receive KLTV over the air despite parts of the city being in the Shreveport market. • – This city can receive KLTV over the air despite being in the Dallas–Fort Worth market. In other parts of the market, such as Lufkin, Nacogdoches and Crockett, KLTV is unavailable over the air, but viewers can receive sister station KTRE. ==See also==