KTVB has been sold in larger transactions three times since 1990: to the Providence Journal Company, Belo Corporation, and Gannett, whose broadcast division split off as Tegna in 2015.

[3] The construction permit was granted on December 23,[4] KIDO already had some equipment on hand; the month before, it conducted a closed-circuit demonstration of television at its AM transmitter site.

[8] From studios on 700 Crestline Drive, KIDO-TV began broadcasting on July 12, 1953; Philo Farnsworth, a television pioneer, was one of the guests of honor at the dedication.

[13] National live programming became a reality beginning with the 1955 World Series after a microwave transmission link between Boise and Salt Lake City was set up by the two stations.

[13] KIDO-TV's tower was relocated to Deer Point in 1956, which together with an increased effective radiated power extended the station's coverage to a further 80,000 people.

[23] Citing a lack of local viewership and the availability of NBC stations from Spokane and Portland,[24] KTVB took KTVR out of service on March 7, 1975, while the deal was pending;[25] it did not return to the air under OEPBS ownership until February 1977.

[13] Davidson—long the only female owner within the NBC television network among 125 men at annual meetings[18]—announced the sale of KTVB to King Broadcasting in 1979.

[31] The sale was conceived by Davidson to ensure the continued existence of the station, as she feared a large estate tax burden for her family were she to die, diminishing KTVB's profits and ability to invest.

[32] King Broadcasting took over in April 1980, retaining senior management;[33] it ceased carrying paid religious programming on Sunday mornings to conform with its new owners' policies.

[44] The subchannel more recently has served as an outlet for local sports coverage, including for the 2023-24 season a package of Boise State Broncos men's basketball games[45] and Idaho Steelheads minor league hockey.

In 1955, then-KIDO-TV partnered with Twin Falls radio station KTFI to obtain a construction permit for channel 13 in that city, awarded as KHTV.

The station grant was reinstated despite protests by KLIX-TV (channel 11, now KMVT) that it would put the local outlet out of business; it was sold and dropped the proposal.

[50][51] Renewed interest in bringing KTVB over-the-air to Twin Falls began in 1981, when King Broadcasting filed for a construction permit for a low-power TV station.

[68] In 2020, the station debuted a local lifestyle program, the midday Idaho Today, and reformatted its weeknight 5 p.m. news as the interactive The 208.

[83][84] To solve issues some viewers had receiving the station, KTVB was authorized to increase its effective radiated power weeks after the switch.