The Billings Metropolitan Area is served by two major news television stations, four major non-news television stations, one community television station, 25 commercial radio stations and one major daily newspaper. Note: Community 7 is only available through cable or satellite.
Channel | Call sign | Affiliation | Subchannel | Branding | Owner | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | KTVQ (Cable 5) | CBS | 2.1 | Q2 | The E. W. Scripps Company | - |
The CW (Cable 11) | 2.2 | The Billings CW | ||||
GRIT | 2.3 | GRIT | ||||
4 | KHMT (Cable 4) | Fox/Jewelry Television | 4.1 | Fox 4 | Mission Broadcasting | - |
Grit | 4.2 | - | ||||
Laff | 4.3 | - | ||||
6 | KSVI (Cable 10) | ABC | 6.1 | ABC 6 | Nexstar Media Group | - |
Escape | 6.2 | - | ||||
Bounce | 6.3 | - | ||||
8 | KULR-TV (Cable 9) | NBC | 8.1 | KULR-8 | Cowles Publishing Company (Under Cowles Montana Media) | - |
SWX Montana | 8.2 | - | ||||
14 | KINV-LD | MeTV | 14.1 | - | Yellowstone Valley Community TV, Inc. | [1] |
16 | KBGS-TV | PBS | 16.1 | MontanaPBS | Board of Regents of the Montana University System | |
16.2 | PBS Kids | - | ||||
16.3 | Create | |||||
16.4 | World | |||||
16.5 | Legislature | See also: TVMT |
The Billings Gazette was first published in 1885 and has since grown to become the largest newspaper in Montana and Northern Wyoming. The Billings Gazette is published as a daily newspaper and also publishes Billings Business, Thrifty Nickel, Magic City Magazine, Montana Land Magazine, Welcome Home, and Lifewise to target niche audiences. [2] The Billings Gazette is currently owned by Lee Enterprises. [3]
The Yellowstone County News is a weekly newspaper which was first published in 1977 by Dave and Jan Willms from their home in Ballantine, Montana. [4] It covers a wide variety of topics and issues each week including news from the Yellowstone County Commissioners and other public government meetings, as well as hyperlocal news pertaining to the geographic area of Yellowstone County. [5] It was owned by Pete Robison and Rebecca Tescher-Robison from 1993 to 2014. In 2014, Yellowstone County News was purchased by Jonathan McNiven and Tana McNiven, who own and operate the newspaper currently. [6]
Founded in 1997, Billings Outpost was a weekly newspaper, distributed in Billings and nearby municipalities. It was edited and published by David Crisp. [7] Its publication was suspended on January 28, 2016. [8]
The Billings Times is a weekly legal/statistical newspaper that was established in 1891. [9] The newspaper reports on legal publications and also reports vital statistics, such as births, deaths, and marriages, in the Yellowstone County Area. [10] It also advertises all major city contracts for the City of Billings. [11] Since 1960, the newspaper has been operated by the Turner Family. [9] It ceased in 2024. [12]
Last Best News was an online news site that covered Billings, Montana. [13] [14]
Frequency | Call sign | Genre | Branding | Owner | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
89.3 | KLMT | Christian | Pilgrim Radio | Western Inspirational Broadcasters, Inc. | - |
90.9 | KLRV | Contemporary Christian | K-LOVE Radio | Educational Media Foundation | - |
91.7 | KEMC | News / Talk / Variety | Yellowstone Public Radio | Montana State University Billings | - |
94.1 | KRKX | Country | 94.1 K-SKY | Connoisseur Media | - |
95.5 | KCHH | News/Talk | News Radio 95 | Townsquare Media Billings License, LLC | - |
96.3 | KRZN | Modern rock | The Zone | Connoisseur Media | - |
97.1 | KKBR | Contemporary hit radio | K-Bear | Townsquare Media Billings License, LLC | - |
98.5 | KEWF | Country | 98.5 The Wolf | Radio Billings, LLC | - |
101.1 | KFHW | News / Sports / Talk | YCN Radio | Yellowstone County News, LLC | |
101.9 | KRSQ | Contemporary hit radio | Hot 101.9 | Radio Billings, LLC | - |
102.9 | KCTR | Country | Cat Country | Townsquare Media Billings License, LLC | - |
103.7 | KMHK | Classic rock | The New 103.7 The Hawk | Townsquare Media Billings License, LLC | - |
105.1 | KYSX | Country | Twang 105.1 | Bmg Billings, LLC | - |
105.9 | KWMY | Classic hits | My 105.9 | Connoisseur Media | - |
106.7 | KPLN | Modern hits | The Planet 106.7 | Connoisseur Media | - |
107.5 | KRPM | Adult Contemporary | Magic 107.5 | Radio Billings, LLC | - |
Frequency | Call sign | Genre | Branding | Owner | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
730 | KYYA | Talk radio | - | Connoisseur Media | Part of Northern Broadcasting System Radio |
790 | KGHL (AM) | Classic country | The Mighty 790 | KGHL Radio, LLC | Part of Northern Broadcasting System Radio |
910 | KBLG | Sports radio | ESPN 910 KBLG | Connoisseur Media | Part of Northern Broadcasting System Radio |
970 | KBUL (AM) | Talk radio | News Radio 970 KBUL | Townsquare Media Billings License, LLC | - |
1230 | KHDN | Talk radio | Big Sky Radio | Sun Mountain, Inc. | station is currently silent |
1240 | KJCR (AM) | Contemporary Christian | - | WTL Communications, Inc. | Part of Northern Broadcasting System Radio |
Montana is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to the north. It is the fourth-largest state by area, but the eighth-least populous state and the third-least densely populated state. Its capital is Helena, while the most populous city is Billings. The western half of the state contains numerous mountain ranges, while the eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands, with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state.
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the seat of Lewis and Clark County.
Livingston, occasionally referred to as L-Town by locals, is a city and county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040.
Billings is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, which had a population of 184,167 in the 2020 census. With one of the largest trade areas in the United States, Billings is the trade and distribution center for much of Montana east of the Continental Divide. Billings is also the largest retail destination for much of the same area. The Billings Chamber of Commerce claims the area of commerce covers more than 125,000 square miles (320,000 km2). In 2009, it was estimated to serve over 500,000 people.
Huntley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. The population was 411 at the 2000 census. Huntley lent its name to the Huntley Project, a federal irrigation project that began delivering water to the arid district in 1907. Today, Huntley is an eastern suburb of Billings and is located east of Shepherd and west of Worden.
Laurel is a city in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. It is the third largest community in the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is located in the Yellowstone Valley, as an east–west terminal division point of the BNSF Railway. The population was 7,222 at the 2020 census.
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 692 miles (1,114 km) long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains and high plains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming, and stretching east from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park. It flows northeast to its confluence with the Missouri River on the North Dakota side of the border, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Williston.
The Billings Gazette is a daily newspaper based in Billings, Montana, that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in Montana and is geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation.
Montana Rail Link was a privately held Class II railroad in the United States. It operated on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway and leased from its successor BNSF Railway. MRL was a unit of The Washington Companies and was headquartered in Missoula, Montana.
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 Billings Police Department is a police department in Billings, Montana, the main law enforcement service in Billings, Montana. It is the largest city police force in Montana with 162 sworn officers/80 civilian employees covering 41 square miles (110 km2) and a population of about 115,000. The city is divided into nine beats and patrolled by 75 officers. Organizationally the department is broken up into the Operations (Patrol) Division and the Investigations Division.
KFHW-LP is a radio station at 101.1 FM in Billings, Montana. It was originally licensed in 2001 by Best of Billings Schools Association. In March 2022, control of the station was transferred to Tana McNiven and Jonathan McNiven, and changed the station's main brand/market name to "YCN Radio."
Richard Shaw Wheeler was an American writer and former newspaper editor. He is best known for his novels set in the American West, including the "Barnaby Skye" series. Wheeler was the 2001 recipient of the Owen Wister Award for lifetime contributions to Western literature, and is a six-time Western Writers of America Spur Award winner.
Miles City is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Billings, Montana, USA.
Craig Lancaster is an American author, playwright, and journalist, best known for his novels 600 Hours of Edward, its sequel, Edward Adrift, and The Summer Son. His other notable works include a short story collection as well as numerous articles and essays produced during his career as a newspaper writer and editor. The author, a two-time High Plains Book Award winner, was lauded as "one of Montana's most important writers."
The Billings Wolves were a professional indoor football team based in Billings, Montana and members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Wolves began play in 2015 as an expansion team of the IFL. The Wolves were owned by Ron Benzel and coached by Chris Dixon. The Wolves played their home games at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.
Yellowstone National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located one mile north of Laurel, Yellowstone County, Montana, at 55 Buffalo Trail Road, administered by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. The 10.5 acres (4.2 ha) cemetery began as a satellite cemetery of Black Hills National Cemetery; Sturgis, South Dakota. On 18 May 2015 the Department of Veterans Affairs created five national areas of responsibility. Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado, in the newly formed Continental Division, assumed supervisory responsibility for Yellowstone National Cemetery. Yellowstone National Cemetery is the first of eight smaller national burial grounds the Department of Veterans Affairs began in its Rural Veterans Burial Initiative for largely rural states in America.
Michael "Mike" Yakawich is an American politician serving as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 51st district. He was appointed to the House in April 2022.
Yellowstone County News (YCN) is a weekly newspaper based in Huntley, Montana which provides hyperlocal news coverage to the Yellowstone County, Montana area, which includes Billings, Laurel, Shepherd, Huntley, Worden, Ballantine, and Pompey's Pillar. It is currently owned and operated by Jonathan and Tana McNiven.