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Branding |
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Programming | |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner |
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KULR-TV, KFBB-TV, KTMF | |
History | |
First air date | September 27, 1996 |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 18 (UHF, 1996–2009) |
Technical information [1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 14674 |
ERP | 110.7 kW |
HAAT | 585.2 m (1,920 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 46°0′23.7″N112°26′33″W / 46.006583°N 112.44250°W |
Translator(s) | K26ON-D 26 Deer Lodge, etc. |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
Translator | |
KWYB-LD | |
Channels | |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
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History | |
First air date | October 1996 |
Former call signs | K28FB (1996–1997) |
Former channel number(s) |
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Technical information [2] | |
Facility ID | 38576 |
Class | LD |
ERP | 6.5 kW |
HAAT | 204.6 m (671 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 45°38′19.9″N111°15′58.4″W / 45.638861°N 111.266222°W |
Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
KWYB (channel 18) is a television station in Butte, Montana, United States, affiliated with ABC and Fox. Owned by the Cowles Company, the station has studios on Dewey Boulevard in Butte, and its transmitter is located on XL Heights east of the city.
KWYB-LD (channel 28) in Bozeman, Montana operates as a low-power semi-satellite of KWYB. It simulcasts all network and syndicated programming provided by KWYB, but airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. KWYB-LD's transmitter is located southwest of Four Corners, Montana.
Channel 18 was allotted to Butte in 1983. A construction permit for a station to be owned by Community Christian Television was issued in 1986, but failed to materialize. [3]
In 1991, Continental Television Network applied for channel 18 in Butte and was granted a construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission on January 9, 1992. The launch of KWYB was delayed two years by transmitter site arrangements. To house its XL Heights transmitter, it reached a deal with local electric utility Montana Power Company to move into space formerly utilized by the company. However, Montana Power wound up moving out in 1996 instead of the previously planned 1994. This pushed back construction of the physical plant. [4] Station studios offices were set up in a building on West Park Street. [5]
KWYB went on the air September 27, 1996. It assumed the ABC affiliation from two low-power stations operated by KXLF-TV/KCTZ, known as "KBZ", in the Butte and Bozeman areas. When it launched, the station also assumed a secondary affiliation with Fox for NFL football. [6] A month later, K28FB—today's KWYB-LD—began broadcasting to Bozeman. [7]
In February 2001, CTN sold KWYB/KWYB-LP, along with KTMF in Missoula, KTMF-LP in Kalispell, and KTGF in Great Falls, to Max Media of Montana. They were the first television station acquisitions in Montana for Max Media.
Max Media provided operational support to the Equity Broadcasting-owned Fox affiliates in Butte/Bozeman, Missoula, and Great Falls from 2003 to 2008. This arrangement ended in 2008, when Equity assumed programming responsibilities directly. [8] In 2009, after a bankrupt Equity was forced to shut down the stations (including KBTZ channel 24 in Butte and KBTZ-LP channel 32 in Bozeman) because it could not convert them to digital television, the Fox affiliation migrated to digital subchannels of KWYB/KWYB-LD, KTMF/KTMF-LD, and KFBB-TV. [9]
On September 30, 2013, the Cowles Company acquired Max Media's Montana television stations for $18 million. [10] [11] The sale was completed on November 29. [12]
KWYB's first local news service came under Max Media ownership in September 2002, when Max contracted Independent News Network of Davenport, Iowa, to produce a regional newscast for KWYB, KTMF, and KTGF, all third-to-air stations in their markets with no local news at the time. Six reporters, one each in the five areas serviced by the Max Montana stations and another in Helena, contributed reports to Big Sky News at 5 and 10 p.m., which was presented from Iowa. [13] [14] The early newscast was dropped at the start of 2004. [15]
In 2005, Max Media acquired KFBB-TV in Great Falls, selling KTGF. Unlike KTGF, KFBB-TV produced its own local news. At that time, Big Sky News was replaced with a 10 p.m. newscast branded Montana News Network, produced from Great Falls and servicing all of the company's Montana stations except KULR-TV in Billings. [16] This newscast was subsequently discontinued, and for several years the only local newscast on the station was a ten-minute late newscast, 10@10.
As of September 2015 [update] , KWYB airs the state-wide morning newscast Wake Up Montana (produced by KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington) and full early evening and late newscasts, as well as a prime time newscast on its Fox subchannel.
In October 2022, the station rebranded its news output as NonStop Local, as part of a rebranding by Cowles. [17]
The stations' signals are multiplexed:
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | ||
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KWYB | KWYB-LD | KWYB | KWYB-LD | |||
18.1 | 28.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KWYB-AB | KWYBLAB | ABC |
18.2 | 28.2 | KWYB-FO | KWYBLFO | Fox | ||
18.3 | 28.3 | 480i | SWX | SWX Right Now [20] | ||
On June 14, 2002, the FCC granted a construction permit to build KWYB-DT on UHF channel 19. The station received special temporary authority (STA) on April 22, 2003, to broadcast at reduced power. In Butte, KWYB's analog signal went off the air on the original shutoff date on February 17, 2009. [21]
On August 11, 2006, the FCC granted "flash-cut" authorization to KWYB-LD, and on August 11, 2009, analog station KWYB-LP converted to digital station KWYB-LD on channel 28.
KTVQ is a television station in Billings, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of the Montana Television Network, a statewide network of CBS-affiliated stations. KTVQ's studios are located on Third Avenue North in Billings, and its transmitter is located on Sacrifice Cliff southeast of downtown.
KULR-TV is a television station in Billings, Montana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by the Cowles Company. The station's studios are located on Overland Avenue in the Homestead Business Park section of Billings, and its transmitter is located on Coburn Hill southeast of downtown.
The Montana Television Network (MTN) is a statewide network of CBS affiliates in the U.S. state of Montana. It also includes one NBC station. All but one of these stations are owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. In addition, MTN owns the Montana Ag Network, which provides farm and ranch reports on television.
KSVI is a television station in Billings, Montana, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Hardin-licensed Fox affiliate KHMT under joint sales and shared services agreements with Mission Broadcasting. The two stations share studios on South 24th Street West in Billings; KSVI's transmitter is located on Old Hardin Road east-northeast of the city.
Montana PBS is the PBS member public television network for the U.S. state of Montana. It is a joint venture between Montana State University (MSU) and the University of Montana (UM). The network is headquartered in the Visual Communications Building on the MSU campus in Bozeman, with a separate studio on the UM campus in Missoula.
NBC Montana is a regional network of three television stations in western Montana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is headquartered in Missoula, and serves as the NBC affiliate for the Missoula and Butte markets.
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KTVH-DT is a television station in Helena, Montana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside CBS affiliate KXLH-LD. The two stations share studios on West Lyndale Avenue in Helena; KTVH-DT's transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain. KTVH-DT operates low-power translator KTGF-LD in Great Falls, where Scripps also owns CBS affiliate KRTV.
KBTZ, UHF analog channel 24, was a Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Butte, Montana, United States. The station was owned by Equity Media Holdings. KBTZ was simulcast on translator station KBTZ-LP on UHF channel 32 in Bozeman.
KXLF-TV is a television station in Butte, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of the Montana Television Network (MTN), a statewide network of CBS-affiliated stations. KXLF-TV's studios are located on South Montana Street in downtown Butte, and its transmitter is located on XL Heights east of the city. KXLF-TV and KBZK in Bozeman split the media market, and local news for the Butte area is produced from KBZK's Bozeman studios.
KBZK is a television station in Bozeman, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of the Montana Television Network (MTN), a statewide network of CBS-affiliated stations. KBZK has its studios on Television Way in Bozeman; its primary transmitter is located atop High Flat, southwest of Four Corners. KBZK shares a media market with the MTN station in Butte, KXLF-TV; the stations share network and syndicated programming but broadcast separate commercials. News programming for the Bozeman and Butte areas originates from KBZK.
KPAX-TV is a television station in Missoula, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of the Montana Television Network, a statewide network of CBS-affiliated stations. KPAX-TV's studios are located on West Central Avenue in Missoula, and its transmitter is located on TV Mountain north of the city.
KRTV is a television station in Great Falls, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside KTGF-LD, the local NBC affiliate, and is part of the Montana Television Network (MTN), a statewide network of CBS-affiliated stations. KRTV's studios and transmitter are located on Old Havre Highway in Black Eagle, just outside Great Falls.
KFBB-TV is a television station in Great Falls, Montana, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by the Cowles Company, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Old Havre Highway in Black Eagle.
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KMMF, UHF analog channel 17, was a Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Missoula, Montana, United States. Founded on April 25, 2000, the station was owned by Equity Broadcasting. The station's signal was repeated in Kalispell on KMMF-LP channel 34.
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The Cowles Company is a diversified media company in Spokane, Washington, in the US. The company owns and operates The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, founded in 1894, and owned the Spokane Daily Chronicle until it was shut down in 1992. Built by William H. Cowles, the publishing business eventually constructed striking buildings in downtown Spokane for both papers. The Chronicle Building was eventually converted into offices and then residential. The company also owned several other papers and operates Inland Empire Paper Company, television stations, and interests in real estate, insurance, marketing and financial services.