KCTU-LD

KCTU-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 43, is a digital low-power television station located in Wichita, Kansas, United States. The station is locally owned by River City Broadcasters, Inc. KCTU maintains studio facilities located on Douglas Avenue (near I-35/K-15) in southeastern Wichita, and its transmitter is located between St. Francis and South Commerce Streets in downtown Wichita. On cable, the station is available on AT&T U-verse channel 43.

History

The station first signed on the air in 1992. On February 1, 1998, KCTU became the first commercial television station in the world to stream its programming online 24 hours a day to reach more viewers. In 2001, KCTU affiliated with Pax TV (now Ion Television). Because of the local programming and other network affiliations carried by the station (including a secondary affiliation with Urban America Television that lasted until that network's shutdown in May 2006), the station did not air as many infomercials as most Pax/i/Ion affiliates. The station dropped the network in 2008.