KTBO-TV

KTBO-TV is a religious television station serving Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and surrounding communities. The station is owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), a Christian television network, and carries TBN programming over the air in the Oklahoma City market. Its transmitter is located on Oklahoma City's northeast side near the John Kilpatrick Turnpike and Interstate 44. The present KTBO-TV began broadcasting on March 6, 1981, from studios formerly used by KOCO-TV on Northwest 63rd Street. It was the first television station constructed and launched directly by TBN and became the network's fourth station overall, following KTBN-TV in Santa Ana, California, KPAZ-TV in Phoenix, and WHFT-TV in Miami. Its opening was marked by a live presentation of TBN's flagship program, Praise the Lord, during which network founders Paul and Jan Crouch performed a ceremonial switch-on for the Oklahoma City operation. KTBO-TV is distinct from KLPR-TV, an earlier independent station that used the channel 14 allocation from 1966 until 1967. The current KTBO license did not claim KLPR-TV's operating history, so the station's institutional history begins with its 1981 launch. Over time, KTBO became a local outlet for TBN's nationally distributed Christian programming, rather than a general-entertainment station built around extensive locally produced news or sports coverage. The station became involved in a notable local programming dispute in 1989. KTBO encouraged viewers to contact Cox Communications and Multimedia Cablevision to protest Cinemax's scheduled broadcast of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. Multimedia ultimately blacked out Cinemax's broadcasts of the film, while Cox declined to preempt them and temporarily removed KTBO from its cable lineup. The episode illustrated the station's role as a religious broadcaster willing to mobilize its audience around questions of Christian representation and television content. KTBO adopted digital broadcasting in 2002 and, like other TBN-owned full-power stations, ended analog transmission in 2009. Its most serious technical interruption occurred on October 27, 2020, when severe freezing rain caused the collapse of its approximately 1,175-foot transmission tower. The ice accumulation was reported at roughly three inches, and the collapse also affected a TBN-operated radio transmission facility. TBN sought temporary regulatory authority to remain off the air while arranging an interim transmission solution. In January 2021, KTBO returned to over-the-air service through a temporary lease arrangement using the second digital subchannel of KUOT-CD, in standard definition. The station resumed transmission from a replacement tower on September 18, 2021. Today KTBO-TV remains an active TBN affiliate and owned station. Its core offering is broadcast distribution of Christian teaching, worship, inspirational, and family-oriented programming, supplemented by the technical function of serving as TBN's Oklahoma City-market outlet.

The channel 14 allocation in Oklahoma City was initially associated with KLPR-TV, an independent station that operated from May 31, 1966, through December 1967. KTBO-TV is a separate later operation and has not treated KLPR-TV as part of its own station history. KTBO-TV launched on March 6, 1981, as a project of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The station broadcast from facilities previously occupied by KOCO-TV on Northwest 63rd Street. Its launch had particular significance within TBN: KTBO was the first station built from the ground up and signed on directly by the network, and it was only the fourth station in TBN's growing group after the network's flagship KTBN-TV in Santa Ana, California, KPAZ-TV in Phoenix, and WHFT-TV in Miami. The opening broadcast consisted of TBN's Praise the Lord program, with Paul and Jan Crouch, the network's co-founders, participating in a ceremonial switch-on for the Oklahoma City station. The station's principal role was to distribute TBN's Christian television service to the Oklahoma City market. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional independent or network-affiliated general-entertainment station, KTBO served as a local broadcast platform for religious teaching, worship, inspirational programs, and other TBN content. Its local significance also extended beyond transmission: in 1989, the station organized a viewer campaign against Cinemax's planned broadcast of The Last Temptation of Christ. KTBO urged viewers to contact local cable operators, including Cox Communications and Multimedia Cablevision, to object to the film. Multimedia responded by blacking out Cinemax's broadcasts of the movie across its relevant systems. Cox chose not to preempt the broadcasts and temporarily removed KTBO from its cable lineup, creating a short-lived carriage dispute tied to the station's advocacy. KTBO entered the digital era on December 1, 2002, when it began transmitting a digital signal on UHF channel 15. TBN-owned full-power stations later completed the transition away from analog transmission on April 16, 2009. The station's service has therefore combined its local broadcast identity with TBN's wider network programming and changing distribution technology. A major interruption occurred on October 27, 2020. A severe early-season ice storm affected Central Oklahoma, depositing roughly three inches of ice on KTBO's approximately 1,175-foot tower. The weight and associated structural stress caused the tower to collapse. A TBN-owned and operated radio transmitter was also involved in the incident. Because the tower was essential to the station's normal broadcast operation, KTBO could not immediately maintain its ordinary over-the-air service. TBN submitted a special temporary authority request to the Federal Communications Commission on November 5, seeking permission to remain off the air for up to 180 days while it pursued a temporary transmission arrangement and planned reconstruction. In January 2021, KTBO restored terrestrial availability through a temporary lease with The Edge Spectrum, Inc. The station's programming was relayed in standard definition on the second digital subchannel of KUOT-CD, allowing TBN to retain an over-the-air presence while permanent facilities were being rebuilt. KTBO returned to transmission from a replacement tower on September 18, 2021. The restoration reestablished the station's conventional Oklahoma City broadcast service and concluded the extraordinary temporary distribution period caused by the 2020 tower failure. KTBO-TV remains an active religious television station owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Its enduring identity is that of TBN's Oklahoma City outlet: a local broadcast brand whose principal service is the distribution of Christian programming to viewers in Central Oklahoma.

• 2021

  Temporary over-the-air distribution begins

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTBO resumes terrestrial distribution in January through KUOT-CD's second digital subchannel under a temporary leasing arrangement.

• 2021

  Replacement tower enters service

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTBO resumes normal over-the-air broadcasting from a new transmission tower on September 18.

• 2020

  Transmission tower collapses

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  A major ice storm causes the station's approximately 1,175-foot tower to collapse on October 27.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  TBN-owned full-power stations, including KTBO, complete the transition away from analog broadcasting.

• 2002

  Digital transmission begins

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTBO begins transmitting a digital television signal on UHF channel 15 on December 1.

• 1989

  Station mobilizes viewers in Cinemax film dispute

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTBO encourages viewers to contact local cable providers over Cinemax's planned broadcast of The Last Temptation of Christ, leading to different responses from Multimedia Cablevision and Cox Communications.

• 1981

  KTBO-TV signs on

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KTBO-TV begins broadcasting on March 6 as the first station constructed and launched directly by the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

• 1966

  KLPR-TV begins operating on the channel 14 allocation

  [1]KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The earlier independent KLPR-TV begins broadcasting on the Oklahoma City channel 14 allocation. KTBO-TV would later operate under a separate license and does not claim KLPR as part of its history.

A local Oklahoma City broadcast outlet for Trinity Broadcasting Network programming, positioned around Christian faith, inspirational content, worship, teaching, and family-oriented television.

• Religious television broadcasting · 1981

  KTBO-TV broadcast service

  KTBO-TV's core service is the local over-the-air distribution of Trinity Broadcasting Network programming in the Oklahoma City market. The schedule is centered on Christian teaching, worship, inspirational programming, ministry content, and family-oriented television rather than a broad locally produced general-entertainment lineup.

• Digital broadcast distribution · 2002

  KTBO digital television service

  KTBO began digital transmission in 2002 and later operated as a digital television outlet following the end of analog broadcasting by TBN-owned full-power stations in 2009. The station's digital infrastructure supports delivery of TBN programming to viewers using terrestrial television reception.

• 1989Cinemax protest campaign

  Oklahoma City · Central Oklahoma

  KTBO urged viewers to contact Cox Communications and Multimedia Cablevision to object to Cinemax's planned airing of The Last Temptation of Christ, a film that had generated strong opposition among some religious groups.

  Outcome. Multimedia Cablevision blacked out Cinemax's broadcasts of the film. Cox declined to preempt the broadcasts and briefly dropped KTBO from its cable lineup.

  Source

• 2021

  Temporary relay through KUOT-CDStrategy

  Background

  KTBO needed an interim distribution method while its permanent transmission tower was being reconstructed.

  Action taken

  The station entered a temporary leasing arrangement with The Edge Spectrum, Inc., using KUOT-CD's second digital subchannel to relay TBN programming in standard definition.

  Aftermath

  KTBO restored service to viewers during the rebuilding period and returned to its own replacement transmission facility in September 2021.

  Source

• 2020

  Request for temporary authority after tower collapseOther

  Background

  The collapse of KTBO's main transmission tower during an October 2020 ice storm prevented the station from immediately continuing normal over-the-air operations.

  Action taken

  TBN filed a special temporary authority request on November 5 seeking permission to remain off the air while it arranged temporary transmission facilities and rebuilt the tower.

  Aftermath

  KTBO returned to temporary terrestrial service through KUOT-CD in January 2021 and later resumed broadcasting from a replacement tower.

  Source

1. 1KTBO-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Trinity Broadcasting Networktbn.org