KAIT first signed on July 15, 1963 as an independent station, a venture of Fort Smith businessman George Hernreich. It has been affiliated with ABC since 1965. The station is owned and operated by Raycom Media, which obtained the station in 2005 through its purchase of The Liberty Corporation. KATV (channel 7) in Little Rock and the signals of other Little Rock area VHF stations adequately cover parts of the KAIT viewing area. For many years, KAIT also operated a low-powered translator station K11JW operating on Channel 11 in nearby Blytheville, Arkansas.