KTVK

Shortly after he returned from the Senate, Mac and several friends formed the Arizona Television Company to start a television station in Phoenix. McFarland had long been intrigued by the still-new medium.

In 1955, shortly after he became governor, he opened KTVK, Phoenix’s third television station. He chose the call letters “because TV will be our middle name.”

KTVK (Channel 3 Phoenix) was the ABC affiliate for much of Arizona until 1995, and then became one of the nation’s most successful independent stations. It remained in the hands of McFarland’s family until 1999.

(photo credit: R and L: McFarland collection; Center: Scott Burns)