This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sinclair Broadcasting, the parent company of KUTV-Ch. 2, has reached an agreement to buy KJZZ-Channel 14 from Larry H. Miller Communications.
The sale price — $6.5 million, according to an FCC filing — includes eight translators that carry the KJZZ signal throughout Utah and into adjoining states.
Representatives of KUTV, Sinclair and Larry H. Miller Communications did not immediately return calls seeking further information.
The deal has been submitted to the Federal Communications Commission for approval. Should the FCC sign off, the purchase will create a TV triopoly in Utah; Sinclair already owns both KUTV and KMYU, which is licensed in St. George.
This would be the second time that KJZZ has been partnered with KUTV. Channel 2 (under previous ownership) handled technical operations for Channel 14 from 2005-2010, and aired some KUTV-produced local newscasts on KJZZ.
Since 2010, KJZZ has contracted with Bonneville Communications, the parent company of KSL-Channel 5, for those technicl operations. That deal would end if the Sinclair purchase is approved.
Channel 14 went on the air in April 1989 as KXIV — XIV being the Roman numerals for 14 — and was owned by American Stores. In February 1993, the station was sold to Larry H. Miller, who turned it into the broadcast home of his NBA franchise, the Utah Jazz, and changed the call letters to KJZZ.
While Channel 14 telecast the majority of Jazz games for more than a decade, that number dwindled as Miller made deals with FSN-Utah (now ROOT Sports) to air more of the schedule on cable. The number of games on KJZZ fell to just 16 in the 2008-2009 season, just before the entire local TV package moved to cable.
Channel 14 was an affiliate of the now-defunct UPN (United Paramount Network) from 1995-2001; it affiliated with MyNetworkTV from 2006-2008, although it mostly delayed that network's programming until late-night.
Channel 14 was also the local broadcast TV home of University of Utah football and basketball from 1995 until 2006, when the Mountain West Conference — which counted Utah among its members at the time — launched its own cable TV channel.
Since then, KJZZ has broadcast little but syndicated game shows, sitcoms and dramas. Local programming was largely confined to high school football (and some prep basketball), In the fall of 2015, Channel 14 began airing some Weber State football and basketball games.