Thank you for visiting the new KACN website, created in August of 2011!
Started in 2007, KACN is a relatively new station. In four short years we have grown from birth to a full slate of programming, and we are gearing up to grow still further!
We’ve evolved from simple low power local broadcast in Anchorage, Alaska, to having a presence on both cable television & satellite TV, allowing us to reach a statewide audience. Now we are entering the world of the Internet, for the first time offering selected programming on demand. Come back to our site frequently (or “Like” us on Facebook ) to see how we continue to grow and change over time.
The Genesis of KACN-TV:
Years ago, Alaskan advocate/educator/broadcaster Dr. Dan Etulain noticed a vast separation between those in rural and urban centers in the State of Alaska. His solution:
“If we could only communicate with people in both areas—the troubles and triumphs, the challenges and opportunities both possess—we as Alaskans would be far richer.”
In January of 2006 North Star Television Network, a company known in Alaska for its outstanding service to both its viewers and advertisers with the NBC affiliates KATH in Juneau, KSCT in Sitka and Sitka Community Television, acquired a construction permit to serve the Anchorage market. In January of 2007, the former Alaska Public Radio Network studios were secured on old Seward Hwy. By February that year, the North Star Television’s engineering team built sturdy, pedestrian studios. KACN-TV is today located in the KDMD-TV building in Anchorage Alaska, and broadcasts programming from the Eagle River area with full power.
KACN-TV is one of a handful of enterprises that can broadcast to all of Alaska. The station transmits over-the-air and digitally on channel 33.3 and on GCI Cable 95 throughout Anchorage and the Mat-Su valley. KACN-TV is also distributed statewide on the Dish Network channel 38, and soon, we shall be on DIRECTV as well.
A larger studio area with significant green screen capabilities and expanded training facilities are being planned. A multi-camera “flypak” is scheduled for acquisition enabling expanded productions in Anchorage and in remote communities. KACN-TV continues to expand services to all Alaskans – rural and urban.
The station’s staff is partnering with different organizations in grant proposal writing in the area of broadband development and utilization, providing youth training, video production and broadcast, news programs, native elders and other cross-cultural presentations and similar services.
Partnerships:
In its short history, KACN-TV has already managed fruitful partnerships with such civic organizations Alaska Commission on Post Secondary Education, Alaska Distance Learning Network, Alaska Federation of Natives, Alaska Football League, Alaska Injury Prevention Center, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska Library Network and Digital Pipeline, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Alaska Pacific University, Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association, Alaska State Tech Prep, Alaska Teacher Placement, Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance, Alaska Vocational Technical Institute, Alaska World Affairs Council, Alaska Writers Guild, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, Best Beginnings, Boys and Girls Club of Alaska, Center for Alaska Native Health Research, Family Centered Services of Alaska, First Alaskans,Ilisagvik Alaska Native Tribal College, Job Corps, Kenai Peninsula College, Native New Life Fellowship, Nine Star Education and Workforce Training, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Rasmuson Foundation, Renewable Energy Alaska Project, State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, State of Alaska Workforce Development, Stone Soup Group, UAA Center for Civil Engagement, UAA Culinary Institute, UAA Department of Journalism, University of Alaska Fairbanks Office of Information Technology and Volunteers of America – Alaska.
KACN-TV seeks to partner with many other organizations, businesses, and individuals who better the lives of Alaskans