Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on South Best Business Road in Kuna, and its transmitter is located at the Bogus Basin ski area summit in unincorporated Boise County.
[2] Movement to build channel 12 began in earnest when the Peyton Broadcasting Corporation applied for a construction permit in March 1980, believing that the Boise market had grown to the point where it could sustain an independent despite its comparative size.
The company was led by Cary Jones of Chicago—and named for one of his uncles[3]—and included his stepfather, longtime independent station executive John Serrao; his mother and brother; and two investors from out of state.
[7] The station produced and aired a Sunday night public affairs program, Canyon Forum, hosted by a reporter from the Idaho Press Tribune newspaper.
[9] This success inspired at least one other small-market outlet to make a go of independence: the founding owner of KUSK in Prescott, Arizona, cited KTRV as an encouraging sign for the future of his station.
[10] Jones sold KTRV to Idaho Independent Television, a subsidiary of The Toledo Blade Company (Block Communications), in 1985 for $4.9 million.
The format took inspiration from Block-owned WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky, and from KSTU in Salt Lake City, both Fox affiliates that had started local newscasts earlier in the decade.
Recalling the name of the station licensee from 1985, general manager Ricky Joseph told Broadcasting & Cable, "We really have the opportunity to be what's on our license: Idaho Independent Television.
"[23] Prime time was initially filled with a double run of 30 Rock at 7 p.m. and Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 8 p.m.[23] The news department was to be expanded with six new employees,[24] part of a shake-up that promised a competitive and crowded news landscape in a market long dominated in ratings and revenue by KTVB but which was facing economic headwinds due to a fall-off in new construction.
Bill Lamb, vice president of Block Communications, informed the media in a written statement, "A network affiliate requires a different business model than does an independent station.