| Revision as of 18:46, 1 November 2021 editSammi Brie (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Template editors150,821 edits start improving← Previous edit | Revision as of 22:38, 1 November 2021 edit undoDavemck (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users120,224 editsm Clean up duplicate template arguments using findargdupsNext edit → | ||
| Line 44: | Line 44: | ||
| Under Moore's ownership, KGVO-TV switched its primary affiliation to NBC in 1965, though it still carried some CBS and ABC programming.{{r|high}} The transmitter was destroyed by fire in November 1966;<ref>{{cite news|title=KGVO-TV Returns To Direct Broadcast|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88159706/|page=7|work=The Daily Missoulian|date=November 26, 1966}}</ref> the FCC permitted the installation of two interim translators to get the station back on air until the TV Mountain facility could be reconstructed.{{r|hc-keci}} | Under Moore's ownership, KGVO-TV switched its primary affiliation to NBC in 1965, though it still carried some CBS and ABC programming.{{r|high}} The transmitter was destroyed by fire in November 1966;<ref>{{cite news|title=KGVO-TV Returns To Direct Broadcast|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88159706/|page=7|work=The Daily Missoulian|date=November 26, 1966}}</ref> the FCC permitted the installation of two interim translators to get the station back on air until the TV Mountain facility could be reconstructed.{{r|hc-keci}} | ||
| Additionally, the station pursued a policy of regional expansion. It built a translator on channel 9 in Kalispell—which had been without a local broadcast service for six years since the folding of ] in 1959—that was the first authorized for 100 watts on the VHF band.<ref name="high">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88159304/|work=The Montana Standard-Post|title=First high power VHF TV translator is state station|page=11|date=October 9, 1965}}</ref> That December, the FCC simultaneously approved a channel 6 translator for KGVO-TV in Butte and a translator for Butte's local station, CBS affiliate ], in Missoula.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88058324/|date=December 3, 1965|page=8|work=Montana Standard-Post|title=New television translator at Butte okayed|access-date=October 30, 2021|archive-date=October 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030225338/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88058324/new-television-translator-at-butte/|url-status=live}}</ref> Both of these services were replaced with high-power, full-service repeaters of KGVO-TV. KCFW-TV began broadcasting on June 10, 1968,<ref name="roll">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58499507/|title=KCFW Preparing to Roll |
Additionally, the station pursued a policy of regional expansion. It built a translator on channel 9 in Kalispell—which had been without a local broadcast service for six years since the folding of ] in 1959—that was the first authorized for 100 watts on the VHF band.<ref name="high">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88159304/|work=The Montana Standard-Post|title=First high power VHF TV translator is state station|page=11|date=October 9, 1965}}</ref> That December, the FCC simultaneously approved a channel 6 translator for KGVO-TV in Butte and a translator for Butte's local station, CBS affiliate ], in Missoula.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88058324/|date=December 3, 1965|page=8|work=Montana Standard-Post|title=New television translator at Butte okayed|access-date=October 30, 2021|archive-date=October 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030225338/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88058324/new-television-translator-at-butte/|url-status=live}}</ref> Both of these services were replaced with high-power, full-service repeaters of KGVO-TV. KCFW-TV began broadcasting on June 10, 1968,<ref name="roll">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58499507/|title=KCFW Preparing to Roll|page=10|work=The Missoulian|date=June 4, 1968|first=Richard|last=Eggert}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88160427/|page=2|title=Television Station Goes On Air|date=June 11, 1968|work=The Daily Inter Lake}}</ref> while the Butte translator was replaced with KTVM in May 1970. In 1976, primary coverage of ABC programs shifted from KECI to KXLF and its Missoula satellite, ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87463313/kpax-kxlf-are-abc-affiliates/|title=KPAX, KXLF Are ABC Affiliates|page=2-A|work=The Missoulian|date=June 19, 1976}}</ref> | ||
| Dale Moore's Western Broadcasting Company reached a deal to sell KECI, KCFW, and KTVM to Eagle Communications, Inc.—a company formed by former '']'' producer Robert Precht and Advance Communications, owner of ] in ]—in 1977.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88161399/|title=Western Broadcasting Sells Three TV Stations|work=The Missoulian|date=October 20, 1977|page=16}}</ref> Despite a protest from a citizens' group, Montanans for Quality Television, the deal received FCC approval in September 1978,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88161475/|title=Missoula TV fetches bundle|date=September 17, 1978|work=The Missoulian|page=24}}</ref> and on November 1, KGVO-TV became KECI-TV. The new owners pledged to improve news coverage, in part under a pact with the citizens' group,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85354726/|title=New TV station owner vows to improve programs|date=November 2, 1978|first=Steve|last=Shirley|page=14|work=The Missoulian}}</ref> The Eagle stations also aired '']'' for three years from 1978 to 1981, dropping the program due to a lack of underwriters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88162130/|title=Local station cancels 'Sesame Street' show|page=9|work=The Missoulian|date=December 3, 1981}}</ref> | Dale Moore's Western Broadcasting Company reached a deal to sell KECI, KCFW, and KTVM to Eagle Communications, Inc.—a company formed by former '']'' producer Robert Precht and Advance Communications, owner of ] in ]—in 1977.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88161399/|title=Western Broadcasting Sells Three TV Stations|work=The Missoulian|date=October 20, 1977|page=16}}</ref> Despite a protest from a citizens' group, Montanans for Quality Television, the deal received FCC approval in September 1978,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88161475/|title=Missoula TV fetches bundle|date=September 17, 1978|work=The Missoulian|page=24}}</ref> and on November 1, KGVO-TV became KECI-TV. The new owners pledged to improve news coverage, in part under a pact with the citizens' group,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85354726/|title=New TV station owner vows to improve programs|date=November 2, 1978|first=Steve|last=Shirley|page=14|work=The Missoulian}}</ref> The Eagle stations also aired '']'' for three years from 1978 to 1981, dropping the program due to a lack of underwriters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88162130/|title=Local station cancels 'Sesame Street' show|page=9|work=The Missoulian|date=December 3, 1981}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 22:38, 1 November 2021
Network of western Montana NBC affiliates | This article is missing information about the stations' news operation. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (February 2015) |
| File:NBC Montana logo.svg | |
| File:MeTV Montana.png | |
| Type | Broadcast television network |
|---|---|
| Branding | NBC Montana (branding) MeTV Montana (DT2) |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | Regional |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Headquarters | Missoula, Montana |
| Broadcast area | Western Montana |
| Owner | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Launch date | July 1, 1954 (70 years ago) (1954-07-01) |
| Digital channel(s) | (see article) |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Affiliation(s) | x.1: NBC (since 1957, secondary until 1965) x.2: MeTV x.3: Charge! |
| Affiliates | See list |
| Former affiliations | Primary: CBS (1954–1965) Secondary: ABC (1954–1976, 1984–1990) DuMont (1954–1956) CBS (1965–1966, 1976–1984) PBS (per program, 1976–1984) DT3: This TV (until 2013) Movies! (2013–20??) |
| Official website | www |
Download coordinates as:
NBC Montana is a regional network of three television stations in western Montana, all affiliated with NBC.
The flagship station is KECI-TV in Missoula, broadcasting on virtual and VHF digital channel 13. It includes two semi-satellites: KCFW-TV (channel 9) in Kalispell and KTVM-TV (channel 6) in Butte. It also serves Bozeman via Class A translator KDBZ-CD (channel 29), which directly repeats KTVM. All stations are owned and operated by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
The stations air the same programming most of the time, but KCFW and KTVM air their own commercials and legal identifications, as well as partially separate local newscasts.
The combined signal of the three full-power stations and numerous low-power transmitters provides at least Grade B coverage of approximately 45 percent of the state. The stations reach an estimated 200,000 households. The coverage area stretches from Salmon, Idaho, through Helena to Bozeman in the east. It also includes parts of southern Alberta, Canada near the U.S.–Canada border.
KECI's studios, which house master control and internal operations for all three stations, are located on West Main Street in downtown Missoula. KCFW is based on 1st Avenue in downtown Kalispell, while KTVM is based on Dewey Avenue in Butte.
History
On March 11, 1953, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted Mosby's, Incorporated, owner of KGVO (1290 AM), a construction permit for a new television station on channel 13 in Missoula. Construction began in November 1953 on the road to the mountaintop facility, the first of its kind in the state and at the highest elevation of any television transmitter of the period in the northwestern United States; while two stations had gone on the air in Butte and a third in Billings, neither was located atop a mountain.
KGVO-TV began telecasting July 1, 1954. Originally, the station was a primary CBS affiliate, owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS radio, but also carried programming from ABC and DuMont; it would lose DuMont when the network shut down in 1956. While the studios were originally at the transmitter site, owner Arthur Mosby purchased an American Legion hall in downtown Missoula that had been gutted by fire and renovated it to serve as new studios. On December 1, 1956, the station's studios moved from its transmitter location to its radio sister's studios on West Main Street in downtown Missoula and concurrently changed its call letters to KMSO-TV, representing Missoula's airport code. By 1957, KMSO had added a secondary affiliation with NBC. Mosby sold KGVO radio to Dale Moore in 1959 but held on to KMSO-TV until 1964, when Moore bought channel 13 as well; upon taking over, he changed its call letters back to KGVO-TV.
Under Moore's ownership, KGVO-TV switched its primary affiliation to NBC in 1965, though it still carried some CBS and ABC programming. The transmitter was destroyed by fire in November 1966; the FCC permitted the installation of two interim translators to get the station back on air until the TV Mountain facility could be reconstructed.
Additionally, the station pursued a policy of regional expansion. It built a translator on channel 9 in Kalispell—which had been without a local broadcast service for six years since the folding of KGEZ-TV/KULR in 1959—that was the first authorized for 100 watts on the VHF band. That December, the FCC simultaneously approved a channel 6 translator for KGVO-TV in Butte and a translator for Butte's local station, CBS affiliate KXLF-TV, in Missoula. Both of these services were replaced with high-power, full-service repeaters of KGVO-TV. KCFW-TV began broadcasting on June 10, 1968, while the Butte translator was replaced with KTVM in May 1970. In 1976, primary coverage of ABC programs shifted from KECI to KXLF and its Missoula satellite, KPAX-TV.
Dale Moore's Western Broadcasting Company reached a deal to sell KECI, KCFW, and KTVM to Eagle Communications, Inc.—a company formed by former The Ed Sullivan Show producer Robert Precht and Advance Communications, owner of KFBB-TV in Great Falls—in 1977. Despite a protest from a citizens' group, Montanans for Quality Television, the deal received FCC approval in September 1978, and on November 1, KGVO-TV became KECI-TV. The new owners pledged to improve news coverage, in part under a pact with the citizens' group, The Eagle stations also aired Sesame Street for three years from 1978 to 1981, dropping the program due to a lack of underwriters.
Eagle demonstrated an increased commitment to the Butte area, which from the launch of KTVM in 1970 was not being served by any specific local programming. After expressing interest in establishing a Butte office in 1978, the station did so in 1982 and began producing local news reports for inclusion in KECI's newscasts. Precht Communications, a sister company to Sullivan Productions, acquired full control of Eagle Communications by 1981.
In 1984, KXLF and the other Montana Television Network stations became full-time CBS outlets. As a result, most ABC programs moved to the Eagle network. Between 1984 and 1989, KECI aired an 11 p.m. late local newscast—highly unusual in the Mountain Time Zone—which gave it more time to air ABC programs but created further scheduling headaches and put its late news at a disadvantage. Viewers cited confusion over the availability of programs, and returning the late news to 10 p.m. allowed Eagle to restore The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live to its lineup en route to becoming a sole NBC affiliate. A full-time ABC outlet, KTMF (channel 23), was established in 1990.
In 1997, Precht sold the station to Lamco Communications, who in turn sold their stations to Bluestone Television in 2004. Bonten Media Group acquired the BlueStone stations in 2007.
The Bozeman repeater signed on in 1990 as K42BZ. In 2014, it was upgraded to Class A status as KDBZ-CD.
On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations for $240 million. The sale was completed September 1.
Stations
Main stations
| Station | City of license | Channels (VC / RF) |
First air date | Call letters’ meaning |
ERP | HAAT | Transmitter coordinates | Facility ID | Public license information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KECI-TV | Missoula | 13 13 (VHF) |
July 1, 1954 (70 years ago) (1954-07-01) | Former owner Eagle Communications, Incorporated | 41.3 kW | 610 m (2,001 ft) | 47°1′4″N 114°0′50″W / 47.01778°N 114.01389°W / 47.01778; -114.01389 (KECI-TV) | 18084 | Profile LMS |
| KCFW-TV | Kalispell | 9 9 (VHF) |
June 10, 1968 (56 years ago) (1968-06-10) | Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish, the three largest towns in its broadcast area | 2.5 kW 17 kW (CP) |
850 m (2,789 ft) 67 m (220 ft) (CP) |
48°0′48″N 114°21′58″W / 48.01333°N 114.36611°W / 48.01333; -114.36611 (KCFW-TV) | 18079 | Profile LMS |
| KTVM-TV | Butte | 6 6 (VHF) |
May 12, 1970 (54 years ago) (1970-05-12) | "Television Montana" | 19.2 kW | 591.3 m (1,940 ft) | 46°0′27″N 112°26′33″W / 46.00750°N 112.44250°W / 46.00750; -112.44250 (KTVM-TV) | 18066 | Profile LMS |
| KDBZ-CD | Bozeman | 6 29 (UHF) |
1992 (33 years ago) (1992) | From former K42BZ translator call sign | 15 kW | 235 m (771 ft) 206.7 m (678 ft) (CP) |
45°40′24″N 110°52′5″W / 45.67333°N 110.86806°W / 45.67333; -110.86806 (KDBZ-CD) | 18083 | Profile LMS |
Translators
Digital television
Digital channels
The stations' digital signals are multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KECI-TV | KCFW-TV | KTVM-TV KDBZ-CD |
KECI-TV | KCFW-TV | KTVM-TV KDBZ-CD | |||
| 13.1 | 9.1 | 6.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KECI-DT | KCFW-DT | KTVM-DT | Main programming / NBC |
| 13.2 | 9.2 | 6.2 | 480i | 4:3 | MeTV-SD | MeTV | ||
| 13.3 | 9.3 | 6.3 | CHARGE! | Charge! | ||||
Analog-to-digital conversion
All stations shut down their analog signals on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:
- KECI-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 40 to VHF channel 13.
- KCFW-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 9; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 38 to VHF channel 9.
- KTVM-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 33 to VHF channel 6.
Notable former on-air staff
- Dari Nowkhah: former sports director for KCFW; later anchor of ESPN SportsCenter; currently lead anchor at the SEC Network
- Meg Oliver: ABC News reporter, former anchor of Up to the Minute, worked as a reporter and anchor at KCFW
References
- ^ Template:FCC letter
- "Work Is Started On Road to Television Site". The Daily Missoulian. November 3, 1953. p. 1.
- 1955–56 Telecasting Yearbook-Marketbook (PDF). 1955. p. 170. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- "Legion Post Sells Building". The Daily Missoulian. July 17, 1956. p. 12.
- "KGVO-TV Changed to KMSO-TV; Station Moves Into New Studios" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. December 3, 1956. p. 94. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- 1957–58 Telecasting Yearbook-Marketbook (PDF). 1957. p. 164. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 28, 1959. p. 98. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- "Sale of KMSO-TV approved by commission" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 14, 1964. p. 10. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- ^ "First high power VHF TV translator is state station". The Montana Standard-Post. October 9, 1965. p. 11.
- "KGVO-TV Returns To Direct Broadcast". The Daily Missoulian. November 26, 1966. p. 7.
- "New television translator at Butte okayed". Montana Standard-Post. December 3, 1965. p. 8. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- Eggert, Richard (June 4, 1968). "KCFW Preparing to Roll". The Missoulian. p. 10.
- "Television Station Goes On Air". The Daily Inter Lake. June 11, 1968. p. 2.
- "KPAX, KXLF Are ABC Affiliates". The Missoulian. June 19, 1976. p. 2-A.
- "Western Broadcasting Sells Three TV Stations". The Missoulian. October 20, 1977. p. 16.
- "Missoula TV fetches bundle". The Missoulian. September 17, 1978. p. 24.
- Shirley, Steve (November 2, 1978). "New TV station owner vows to improve programs". The Missoulian. p. 14.
- "Local station cancels 'Sesame Street' show". The Missoulian. December 3, 1981. p. 9.
- "KTVM pledges more coverage". The Montana Standard. November 11, 1978. p. Time Out 3.
- "Eagle TV lands in Butte". The Montana Standard. August 14, 1982. p. Time Out 4.
- Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1982 (PDF). 1982. p. A-38. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985 (PDF). 1985. p. C-36. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- McInally, Mike (August 4, 1989). "KECI plans to shuffle time for late news". The Missoulian. p. E-21. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- Ragsdale, Anne (September 25, 1989). "Eagle changes TV lineup". p. A-5.
- Holien, Mick (January 15, 2004). "Missoula's KECI among 12 stations sold in Lamco acquisition". The Missoulian. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- "Bonten Closes on $230M BlueStone Buy". TVNewsCheck. June 5, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- "Sinclair Buying Bonten Stations For $240M". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- RabbitEars TV Query for KECI
- RabbitEars TV Query for KCFW
- RabbitEars TV Query for KTVM
- "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- FCC-07-90A1
External links
| Broadcast television in Western Montana and The Flathead, including Missoula (Missoula County) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missoula | |||||
| Kalispell | |||||
| Distant stations |
| ||||
| Defunct | |||||
| Broadcast television in Southwestern Montana, including Bozeman and Butte | |
|---|---|
| Butte | |
| Bozeman | |
| Cable channels | |
| Defunct |
|
| |
| Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state of Montana | |
|---|---|
| ABC |
|
| CBS / MTN |
|
| Fox |
|
| NBC |
|
| The CW |
|
| MyNetworkTV |
|
| Ion Television |
|
| PBS (Montana PBS) |
|
| Other |
|
| Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast TV stations |
|  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Channels |
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Programming | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acquisitions | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missoula, Montana | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suburbs |  | ||||||||
| Education |
| ||||||||
| Geography |
| ||||||||
| History |
| ||||||||
| Media |
| ||||||||
| Breweries | |||||||||
| Services |
| ||||||||
| Sports |
| ||||||||
| University of Montana | |||||||||