Fox 13 (KSTU Salt Lake City)
U.S. center
Background
KSTU signed on the air in October 1978 as an independent UHF station in Salt Lake City, founded by Springfield Television of Massachusetts, making it one of the first commercial UHF outlets in Utah. Adams Communications acquired the station in 1984 after merging with Springfield Television. In October 1986, KSTU became a charter affiliate of the newly launched Fox broadcast network, adopting the brand identity it still carries today. Fox Corporation owned and operated the station directly from 1989 until 2007, when it sold KSTU and seven other Fox O&O stations to Local TV LLC, a private equity vehicle of Oak Hill Capital Partners. Tribune Company purchased Local TV LLC in 2013 for approximately $2.75 billion. In September 2019, E.W. Scripps Company acquired KSTU as part of a package of eight stations divested when Nexstar Media Group bought Tribune Media; the deal expanded Scripps to roughly 60 stations in 42 markets. Under Scripps, KSTU continues to produce local news while carrying Fox network entertainment and sports programming. Media Bias/Fact Check rates its local news as 'least biased' with high factual reporting standards, a profile typical of independently owned local Fox affiliates that differ significantly from the Fox News Channel in tone and editorial direction.
Sources
- KSTU – Wikipedia
- KSTU – Salt Lake City News – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
- FOX 13 Salt Lake City Media Bias – AllSides
- Scripps closes acquisition of eight TV stations from Nexstar-Tribune merger divestitures
- About FOX 13 KSTU-TV – fox13now.com
- History of KSTU – fox13now.com
Profile compiled 2026-07-11; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.