Anchorage, AK – The board of directors of KTUU-TV today approved construction of a new state-of-theart high-definition (HD) facility for the local NBC affiliate.
"This is a major milestone for Channel 2", said President and General Manager Andy MacLeod. "As we celebrate our 60th Anniversary this year, there is no better time to look toward the future. This 40,000- square-foot facility is an investment in Alaska, and it will give us the unparalleled ability to grow and develop content across all media platformslong into the future."
The station plansto locate the facility on a four-acre tract in midtown Anchorage at the corner of 40th Avenue and Denali Street. The new location, just a block and a half from KTUU-TV's current studios, will allow the station to maintain a central location within Anchorage. It will also be located in close proximity to fiber hubs that serve all of Alaska. "Not only will the location be strategically advantageous for us," MacLeod said, "but the new facility with be equipped throughout with the most cutting edge technology, allowing us to modernize our daily workflow, improve efficiency and broadcast our news product with ever-increasing quality. We are committed to delivering the highest quality product possible and continuing to push the frontier of media in Alaska."
Overall, the new building will be a third larger than KTUU's current home. "We are intently focused on the future," said MacLeod. "The new facility will be designed for growth, flexibility and adaptability." KTUU-TV operates as Northern Lights Media Inc. and is owned by Schurz Communications Inc., a 140- year-old family-owned and operatedmedia company headquartered in South Bend, IN.
Budgetary approval by the Schurz board will allow KTUU-TV to finalize a contract with Neeser Construction Inc., one of the top builders in Alaska, to complete the design and construction ofthe facility. The station has been working with Neeser since August, 2012 on plansfor the building. KTUU-TV plans to collaborate with Beck Associates, headquartered in Texas, for the integration management,technical design and construction of the new facility. Beck is a nationwide leader in the video and television integration business and has worked with clients ranging from ESPN, BELO Corporation and many local stationslocated across the U.S. Construction on the new facility will begin within a few months, and the building is expected to be ready for occupancy by late Spring, 2014. "We're obviously happy to be getting an upgrade, but we're even more excited about the potential benefits for our viewers all across the state," said News Director Tracy Sabo. "This new facility will allow Channel 2 to deliver the finest in news content and special programming, with the unrivaled quality that Alaskans demand of the state's number one news source. That's our focus, and that's our mission as we March 25, 2013 KTUU-TV strive to tell Alaska's story as an independent news source."
KTUU-TV's early beginnings date back to 1953. Overthe ensuing six decades,the station has built a reputation of excellence as Alaska's most watched news source, producing more than 22-hours of news and sports content each week on television.Online, KTUU.com has become a digital news leader, and Channel 2's mobile News and Weather applications are on the leading edge of mobile journalism in Alaska. Neilsen Media research shows that Channel 2 News products reach more than 80-percent of the adults who watch local news in a week, and more than 75-percent of those viewers watch Channel 2 News exclusively. That strong reach and brand loyalty are augmented by added distribution to the state's capital and more than 244 rural communitiesthroughout Alaska.
KTUU press release