An original construction permit was granted on December 6, 1984, to American

Television of Utah, Inc., a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based American Stores

Company, for a full-power television station on UHF channel 14 to serve Salt Lake
City and the surrounding area. American Stores had filed for the construction
permit in 1979; its original intention for the station was to broadcast
subscription television programming, as it would eventually do on a microwave
distribution system known as American Home Theatre. In 1981, Skaggs
Telecommunications Services, a division of American Stores, had built a studio
facility to house its various divisions, including the planned television station.
[1] The construction permit took the call letters KAHT.[2]

By the time the construction permit was awarded, however, STV had fallen out of
favor. Instead, in late 1986, American reached a deal with the Grant Broadcasting
System, which had started new independent television stations in Chicago, Miami and
Philadelphia, to form a joint venture which would run channel 14.[3] The
construction permit took the call letters KGBS in November 1986.[4] Grant, however,
was headed for its own problems, filing not long after for bankruptcy
reorganization.[3] The joint venture never came to fruition; channel 14 was renamed
again on February 29, 1988, to KXIV-TV (representing the Roman numeral for 14); and
American Television took up the task of building the station. Transmission tests
began in January 1989 from a transmitter on Little Farnsworth Peak,[5] and KXIV
began broadcasting programming on February 14 as "Real TV", broadcasting a general
entertainment lineup.[6] "Real TV" cast itself as an alternative to the programming
offered by Salt Lake's existing television stations, emphasizing classic shows.[7]

K-Jazz
However, it was changes elsewhere in the Salt Lake television landscape that would
change the future—and the name—of KXIV. KSTU, the Fox affiliate, was on its last
season of a multi-year deal to broadcast 25 games of the NBA's Utah Jazz. Motivated
by Fox's expanding offerings, KSTU had telegraphed to Jazz owner Larry H. Miller
that it would not renew its deal, leaving the Jazz without a broadcast television
partner for the 1993–1994 NBA season.[8] As a result, Miller bought KXIV in a
transaction totaling nearly $9 million,[8] with $1.725 million going toward the
license.[9] With the Jazz, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (which Miller also owned and
who already had several games a year on channel 14), and syndicated coverage of the
expansion Colorado Rockies, Miller set out to build a higher-profile[10]
independent station with a heavy focus on sports coverage. The call letters changed
to KJZZ in June, after the radio station in Phoenix agreed and after the conclusion
of the NBA playoffs; Miller also financed the construction of new translators to
bring KJZZ's signal to outlying communities in Utah and eastern Nevada.[11]

When he said ethnic, I don't think he meant ethnic Albanians.

Adam Ware, COO of UPN, on the stated reasons for KJZZ's disaffiliation from the
network[12]
In November 1993, KJZZ affiliated with the upstart United Paramount Network,[13]
which began broadcasting in January 1995. The relationship would last more than
five years, but changes in UPN's programming mix sat uncomfortably with station
management and generated a response that drew national attention. In October 2000,
KJZZ opted out of its affiliation agreement, and the network announced it would
move its programs to KAZG, then a small home shopping station based in Ogden, in
January 2001. In explaining its rationale for the change, KJZZ station manager
Randy Rigby noted that channel 14 was "uncomfortable with programming content and
the lack of performance, financially, in this area" and called some of the
network's programming "over the edge of cutting edge".[14] However, while UPN
objected to network preemptions for Jazz games and KJZZ sought continued network
compensation at a time when it was being phased out, underperformance was not the
only evident reason for KJZZ's desire to disaffiliate. The network's chief
operations officer, Adam Ware, revealed that KJZZ had sent a letter asking for an
opt-out clause "should UPN increase the urban/ethnic programming above the current
two hours" per week—evidently referring to UPN's Monday night lineup of programming
for a predominantly Black audience, which was underperforming on channel 14.[12]
The station already had barely promoted UPN shows and did not brand itself with the
network.[15]

In the fall of 2005, KJZZ entered into a local marketing agreement with CBS owned-
and-operated station KUTV (channel 2). As a result, second runs of shows like Dr.
Phil, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! were added to the schedule (the latter two
shows had aired on KTVX for about two decades prior to moving to KJZZ) as well as
newscasts from KUTV.[16] KJZZ also affiliated with MyNetworkTV, launched by Fox
Television Stations in 2006; however, KJZZ ran the network's programming on tape
delay at 11 p.m. initially (instead of the recommended 7 p.m. timeslot for the
Mountain Time Zone), before later moving it to midnight.[17]

Return to independence

Logo, 2008–2016
KJZZ dropped MyNetworkTV and became an independent station again on August 18,
2008. The MyNetworkTV affiliation then moved to St. George-based KCSG (also on
channel 14), which covers the Salt Lake City area via coverage on local cable
television providers[18] (the programming service has since moved to KMYU, channel
12, which serves the Wasatch Front via KUTV's digital subchannel).

Over the course of the late 2000s, KJZZ-TV moved all operations from the original
Skaggs facility west of Salt Lake City International Airport and into the
EnergySolutions Arena downtown, selling off the facility in 2010.[19] It had also
tried its hand at local programs such as The KJZZ Cafe and Home Team, but those
efforts were axed in late 2008 due to poor viewership and revenues.[20]

Larry H. Miller died on February 20, 2009. His son, Greg Miller, had taken over as
CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies several months earlier.[21] FCC
records show a transfer of 48% ownership of the station to a trust to which Larry
Miller's widow, Gail, was trustee, in April 2009. Thus, Gail Miller directly owned
48% of the station, with Larry Miller's sons holding the remainder.[22] After the
LMA between KJZZ and KUTV concluded in 2010, KSL-TV owner Bonneville International
began managing KJZZ under a new LMA.[23]

On April 4, 2016, Larry H. Miller Communications Corporation agreed to sell KJZZ-TV

and eight translators to Sinclair Broadcast Group for $6.5 million.[24][25] The
sale was completed on June 17, 2016;[26] concurrently, the station's relationship
with Bonneville and KSL-TV ended, as KJZZ had become a sister station to KUTV and
KMYU.[27]

Programming
Syndicated programming
Syndicated programming currently on KJZZ-TV (as of December 2020) includes Judge
Mathis, The People's Court, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Wheel of Fortune,
Jeopardy!, Family Feud, Divorce Court, Access Daily, Family Guy, American Dad! and
25 Words or Less.

KJZZ is only one of two independent stations to air Jeopardy! and Wheel, along with
KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona.

Sports programming
From 1993 to 2009, KJZZ was the over-the-air broadcaster of Utah Jazz regular
season NBA games. The Utah Jazz signed a new exclusive 12-year agreement with
regional sports network FSN Utah (now AT&T SportsNet Utah) on October 20, 2009,
ending the team's broadcasts on KJZZ-TV and making the team's telecasts cable-
exclusive.[28]

KJZZ-TV began a partnership with the Utah Utes athletic department in 1995,
broadcasting Utes men's and women's basketball games, as well as five football
games a year.[10] While the arrangement ended when the MountainWest Sports Network
was formed, KJZZ had Utes football rights in the 2011 season, between the Utes
leaving for the Pac-12 Conference and the 2012 establishment of the Pac-12 Network.
[29]

Newscasts
Main article: KUTV § News operation
The first local newscasts on channel 14 were produced under agreement with KSL-TV,
in the form of a local 9 p.m. newscast that aired from October 21, 1991, to
September 18, 1992. This was Salt Lake's first newscast in the timeslot, beating
KSTU's news to air by more than two months, and the first news share of its kind in
the Mountain Time Zone; it was canceled due to low ratings.[30]

In September 2005, KUTV began producing weekday morning 9 a.m. and nightly 9 p.m.
newscasts for KJZZ-TV. The newscasts were canceled after nearly five years on May
31, 2010.[31]

On January 9, 2017, KUTV launched the 8 a.m. hour of its morning newscast for KJZZ.
The latter also added a simulcast of KMYU's 7 p.m. newscast and a revival of the 9
p.m. newscast, marking the return of the partnership between KUTV and KJZZ for the
first time in nearly 7 years when the LMA broke off in 2010. The 7 a.m. hour moved
from KUTV to KJZZ in 2018 when a new affiliation agreement required KUTV to clear
the entirety of CBS This Morning.[32]

Technical information
KJZZ-TV is Salt Lake City's ATSC 3.0 television station, launching Next Gen TV
broadcasts on June 30, 2020, in association with KUTV and the Nexstar Media Group
stations in the market, KTVX and KUCW; the main feeds of all four stations are
carried on the ATSC 3.0 multiplex.[33]

Subchannels
KJZZ-TV provides five subchannels, which are carried in ATSC 1.0 format on the
multiplexes of the other stations participating in the ATSC 3.0 arrangement.

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short name Programming[34] ATSC 1.0 host
14.1 1080i 16:9 KJZZ Main KJZZ-TV programming KUCW
14.2 480i Comet Comet KUTV
14.3 TBD TBD KTVX
14.4 Charge Charge! KTVX
14.5 Dabl Dabl KUTV
ATSC 3.0 lighthouse
Channel Video Aspect Short name Programming[34]
2.1 KUTV ATSC 3.0 simulcast of KUTV / CBS
4.1 KTVX ATSC 3.0 simulcast of KTVX / ABC
14.1 KJZZ Main KJZZ-TV programming
30.1 KUCW ATSC 3.0 simulcast of KUCW / The CW
Analog-to-digital conversion
KJZZ-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 14, on June 12, 2009, as part
of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[35] The
station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 46,[36] using
PSIP to display KJZZ-TV's virtual channel as 14 on digital television receivers.

Translators
See also: KUCW § Translators, KUTV § Translators, and KTVX § Translators
KJZZ-TV extends its coverage throughout the entire state of Utah, plus parts of
Idaho and Nevada, using an extensive network of community-owned translator
television stations listed below.

Note: In ATSC 1.0 format, the KJZZ subchannels are carried on translators of the
three stations that host them.

City of license Callsign Channel ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter

coordinates Owner
Alton K34FO-D 34 0.038 kW 235 m (771 ft) 71846 37°22′26.1″N
112°32′10.4″W Western Lake Kane County Special service District #1
Antimony K29MB-D 29 0.033 kW −6 m (−20 ft) 182439 38°10′56.7″N
112°2′27.2″W Piute County
Beryl
Modena
Newcastle K23DV-D 23 0.1 kW 154 m (505 ft) 29174 37°42′13.8″N
113°44′31.8″W Iron County
Bicknell
Teasdale K21NA-D 21 0.072 kW 125 m (410 ft) 125509 38°16′59.7″N
111°30′38.8″W Wayne County
Blanding
Monticello K35NO-D 35 0.5 kW 1,073 m (3,520 ft) 58880 37°50′22.5″N
109°27′44.6″W San Juan County
Bluff K16MP-D 16 0.0025 kW 16 m (52 ft) 167961 37°16′13″N
109°33′16.4″W
Boulder K35NL-D 35 0.01 kW −15 m (−49 ft) 182245 37°53′53″N
111°25′10.5″W Garfield County
Caineville K35NM-D 0.054 kW −30 m (−98 ft) 182485 38°21′38.2″N
110°53′39.4″W Wayne County
Cedar Canyon K33EB-D 33 0.2 kW 475 m (1,558 ft) 29175 37°35′56.8″N
112°51′25.9″W Iron County
Circleville K20NB-D 20 0.045 kW −239 m (−784 ft) 182426 38°12′40.8″N
112°14′4.1″W Piute County
Clear Creek K30PQ-D 30 0.07 kW −75 m (−246 ft) 182414 39°38′45.1″N
111°9′17.5″W Carbon County
Coalville & ADJ. K31KC-D 31 0.008 kW −215 m (−705 ft) 167177
40°55′26.1″N 111°23′53″W Summit County
Duchesne K29MW-D 29 0.102 kW −49 m (−161 ft) 183090 40°9′17.7″N
110°23′31.6″W Duchesne County
East Price K25OZ-D 25 0.028 kW −84 m (−276 ft) 182187 39°36′37.8″N
110°48′49.5″W Carbon County
Emery K27IS-D 27 0.012 kW 97 m (318 ft) 167224 38°55′51.9″N
111°11′27.6″W Emery County