After spending its first three decades as an also-ran, it poached several employees from then-dominant KTSP-TV in 1985, beginning a surge that made it the market leader by 1990.

KPHO-TV moved into the newer, larger KTVK studios; the "Arizona's Family" brand associated with channel 3 was extended to cover both stations, which began sharing news resources.

[3] Originally owned by Buckeye rancher and car dealer Ralph Watkins as well as two other principals, a new stockholder was added to the company in May: former senator Ernest McFarland, who bought a 40 percent interest.

[4] Also seeking channel 3 was Herb Askins, a local businessman,[5] but his Desert Advertising Co. dropped out late in the year, setting up a high-stakes showdown between Phoenix's NBC radio affiliate and the McFarland group in hearings in February 1954.

[8] With no other applications to consider, a Federal Communications Commission hearing examiner recommended the company be granted a construction permit weeks later.

As Delbert Lewis, husband of McFarland's adopted daughter, Jewell, put it in a 1978 interview with The Arizona Republic, his father-in-law wanted channel 3 to be "a family corporation.

In an era when the television industry was already dominated by large station groups, Lewis said that his family took pride in the fact that major decisions were made in Phoenix, not in New York.

In the preceding decade, Delbert Lewis had taken the reins of the station; he was named president of the Arizona Television Company in 1975 and assumed the role of general manager in 1980.

[19] Lewis bankrolled major investments in people, syndicated programming and equipment and dramatically boosted KTVK's promotional budget.

He had no qualms about spending what he believed it would take to increase KTVK's profile; in 1990, he told The Republic that if Miller and others showed that they needed something, he would ensure that they would get it.

Channel 3 also was the most-watched station in the Valley in prime time, even as NBC won its 11th consecutive sweeps period nationally.

In the span of a year, the Arizona Television Company bought Phoenix Magazine and radio station KESZ (99.9 FM), as well as a production studio.

KTVK was already in talks for a new affiliation agreement with ABC that would have more than doubled its hourly compensation rate, but it would still have been less than the network was offering to stations in markets much smaller than Phoenix.

[28]: 18  Ultimately, ABC gave in and awarded its affiliations in Phoenix, Tampa, and Baltimore to Scripps; in informing KTVK, Iger explained that they "had to" do so.

However, despite Tom Murphy's support and channel 3's stronger ratings, CBS ultimately chose a deal with group owner Meredith Corporation and its KPHO-TV.

Meredith also provided CBS security in Kansas City, where the New World switches had dislodged the NBC affiliation, and an upgrade in the Flint, Michigan, market.

KNXV then picked up World News Tonight and Nightline on December 12, the day after Fox programming moved to KSAZ.

[31][32] Despite the loss of ABC programming, the Lewises and station management committed to build KTVK into one of the nation's top independents.

[35] Media America struck a local marketing agreement to operate the new KASW (channel 61) with The WB—which would air on KTVK until KASW launched in September 1995—and children's programming,[36] and it launched the AZ News Channel, a cable offering on Cox Communications systems featuring breaking news and replays of KTVK newscasts[34] that had been in the planning stages since 1993.

[38] The station remained Phoenix's news leader in most time slots, with the exception of 10 pm, when strong NBC programming gave KPNX the lead.

In what Del Lewis described as "the most difficult decision our family has ever made", MAC America sold KTVK and its other remaining assets to the Belo Corporation of Dallas, Texas, for $315 million in July 1999–a handsome return on McFarland's investment 44 years earlier.

[18] The Lewises cited the costs of conversion to digital television, economies of scale that station groups had in purchasing syndicated programming, and competition from cable and satellite TV in their decision to sell; the transaction capped two years of selling the rest of the company, including Phoenix Magazine, the production facility, and the radio stations, which had suffered from the needed investments in programming and news expansion at KTVK.

[18] Later that year, Belo announced that it would purchase KASW from Gregory Brooks, forming the first television duopoly in the Phoenix market just as they were being legalized.

[46] All four people aboard both helicopters were killed, including KTVK pilot Scott Bowerbank and photographer Jim Cox.

[47] An investigation conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the accident was caused by both pilots' inability to see one another and avoid a collision with the other helicopter.

The license assets of KASW were sold to SagamoreHill Broadcasting, with Meredith to operate that station through a shared services agreement.

[59] On May 3, 2021, Gray Television announced its intent to purchase the Meredith Local Media division, including KTVK and KPHO, for $2.7 billion.

[72][73] Gray announced in January 2023 that it would launch the Arizona's Family Sports and Entertainment Network (AZFSEN) over KPHE-LD on March 1, 2023, and that it had acquired the rights to Phoenix Rising FC soccer; KPHE will air all 34 matches, with five simulcasts on KTVK and one on KPHO-TV.

[75] The CEO of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, Josh Bartelstein, had previously cited a "goal of wide distribution" for the teams in the face of cord cutting affecting the availability of RSNs.

[95] As part of the SAFER Act,[96] KTVK kept its analog signal on the air to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.