KYUR and KTBY, alongside KATN in Fairbanks and KJUD in Juneau, provide ABC, Fox, and CW programming throughout Alaska.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, KIMO enjoyed a run as the leading news station in Anchorage and was credited with raising the quality of television newscasting in the local market.

After lead anchor John Vallentine departed in 1985, the station's news ratings declined, and KTUU-TV (channel 2) established itself as the market leader.

Smith Broadcasting Group bought the stations in 1995 and consolidated news and programming functions in Anchorage, integrating the three ABC affiliates into a statewide setup known as "Alaska's SuperStation".

[3] The next group to file for channel 13—still unused years after KBYR's first attempt—was Willis R. "Bill" Harpel, owner of Anchorage radio station KHAR, in March 1965.

[8][9] Less than three months after channel 13's first broadcast, Bill Harpel died in the Anchorage area's first fatal snowmobile accident on January 13, 1968, aged 46.

[11][12] In late 1969, the FCC approved the sale of the KHAR stations to Alaska-Hawaii Radio,[13] but the potential buyers soon lost interest, and the deal fell apart.

[12] Carl Bracale, the last employee of KHAR-TV, managed to gather a group of people interested in buying the television station and returning it to air.

[20] During the late 1970s and early 1980s, under news director and anchor John Vallentine, KIMO was credited with initiating major improvements in television newscasting in Anchorage.

[30] Also in 1985, KIMO canceled its morning show; KTUU hired its host, Maria Downey, who became the lead female anchor at channel 2 for three decades.

[32] Vallentine made a brief return between 1988 and 1989, but KTUU moved its main news to 6 p.m., at the same time as KIMO,[33] and ratings continued to sink to a 16 percent share in November 1989.

[35] KIMO was fighting Fox affiliate KTBY (channel 4) to maintain third place in overall ratings[36] and shifting to emphasize statewide news coverage over newscasts focusing on Anchorage.

[40] Smith Broadcasting Group of Santa Barbara, California, agreed to buy the Alaska Television Network stations in late 1995.

[44] For viewers outside Anchorage, the reorganization of the ABC affiliates as Alaska's SuperStation meant that KATN and KJUD adopted the scheduling practices of KIMO.

For years after the introduction of same-day satellite sports service to Alaska, KIMO delayed MNF several hours to run in prime time, when it believed there were more available viewers.

[47] In 2004, KIMO began airing Monday Night Football live, though the second half was delayed by several minutes to allow the station to insert an extended halftime news update.

In 1999, the station withdrew from the Alaska Rural Communications Service, which provides network programming to the Alaskan Bush, because of a compensation dispute.

The company intended to have news segments for Alaska anchored by Maria Athens and produced at KTWO-TV in Casper, Wyoming, which it acquired that same year.