KGTV (Iowa)
KGTV (channel 17) was a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Owned by Rib Mountain Radio of Wausau, Wisconsin, it operated from November 1953 to April 1955 as the first station in Des Moines itself and the second in central Iowa. KGTV maintained its studios and transmitter on 2nd Avenue near Hobson Drive, then to the north of the city limits.
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| History | |
First air date | November 15, 1953 |
Last air date | April 15, 1955 (1 year, 151 days) |
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| ERP | 22.1 kW, authorized for up to 162 kW |
| HAAT | 470 ft (143 m) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°40′05″N 93°37′05″W |
As the market's only ultra high frequency (UHF) station, KGTV struggled economically at a time when not all television sets sold were able to tune to the new UHF band. While it provided relief to WOI-TV in Ames, until then the only network affiliate in the area, the arrival of WHO-TV on VHF channel 13 in 1954 and impending construction of KRNT-TV on channel 8 led to the suspension of operations. The station was unsuccessful in a multiple-year fight to have channel 11 reclassified from noncommercial to commercial for its use. In 1959, the Iowa State Patrol acquired its facilities for use as the control center of the state police radio network. KGTV's tower remained standing until 1981.