KFBB-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 143.3 m (470 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 47°32′8″N 111°17′5″W / 47.53556°N 111.28472°W |
Translator(s) | see § Translators |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
Translator | |
KHBB-LD | |
Channels | |
Branding | NonStop Local Helena |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
|
History | |
Founded | July 7, 1992 |
Former call signs | KHBB-LP (1992–2008) |
Former channel number(s) |
|
Call sign meaning | Helena Buttrey Broadcast Inc. |
Technical information[2] | |
Facility ID | 34413 |
Class | LD |
ERP | 5 kW |
HAAT | 220.3 m (723 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 46°46′11.7″N 112°1′24.9″W / 46.769917°N 112.023583°W |
Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
KFBB-TV (channel 5) 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 (with a Great Falls mailing address).
KHBB-LD (channel 21) in Helena operates as a semi-satellite of KFBB-TV. As such, it simulcasts all network and syndicated programming as provided through KFBB-TV, but airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. KHBB-LD is operated out of KFBB's sales office and news bureau on Euclid Avenue in Helena, while its transmitter is located atop Copper Butte. Both stations offer Fox via their second digital subchannels (until 2009, only KHBB-LD did so, as Fox programming in Great Falls was seen on KLMN[3][4]). KFBB-TV is also repeated on several translators.
History
KFBB-TV began broadcasting on March 21, 1954. As the first television station in Great Falls, KFBB-TV was affiliated with all four major networks, and would broadcast programming from all three until KRTV signed on and took the NBC affiliation in October 1958. KFBB-TV continued to air CBS and ABC programming as a member of the Skyline Network (as the Montana Television Network was then called).
At first KFBB-TV was owned by Wilkins Broadcasting along with KFBB radio (1310 AM, now
KFBB's ABC affiliation allowed it to be carried on cable television systems in both Alberta and Saskatchewan; it even maintained a sales office in Saskatoon, as did Williston stations KUMV-TV and KXMD-TV. This arrangement continued until 1986, when KFBB was largely replaced by a satellite signal from WXYZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Detroit.
An April 1981 application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requested transfer of control of the licensee corporation from owner Donald P. Nathanson to his estate, following his death.[7] In early 1982, the station saw a flurry of transfers that saw KFBB-TV moved, first from the Nathanson estate to Advance TV of California, then from Advance TV to Wooster Republican Printing Company of Ohio, which would operate the station through various holding companies (e.g., KFBB Corporation, KFBB LLC, Dix Communications).
In June 2003, Wooster Republican Printing made deep cuts in local news production, ending morning, noon and weekend newscasts. It retained KFBB until November 2004, when it was sold to Max Media of Montana, owner of KTGF. Since the Great Falls market did not have enough full-power television stations to allow a broadcast duopoly, Max Media kept the more-established KFBB and sold KTGF. In 2008, the station began using an on-air logo identical to the former logos of ABC affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland and CBS affiliate KREX-TV in Grand Junction, Colorado—neither station is related to KFBB. In 2012, the station returned to the "ABC 5" branding (which had been used prior to 2006).
On September 30, 2013, the
Soon after the purchase, Cowles merged its Montana ABC stations into a regional network based at KFBB, under the branding "ABC Montana."KFBB-DT2/KHBB-LD2 (Fox Montana)
Since July 13, 2009, KFBB's subchannel has been carrying
News operation
Of the three full-service television stations in Montana owned by Cowles Company, only KFBB-TV offers a significant schedule of local news. There are two half-hour local newscasts at 5 and 6 p.m. and a 35-minute newscast at 10 p.m. each weeknight, plus half-hour newscasts at 5 and 10 p.m. on the weekends. KFBB also produces a ten-minute nightly newscast for Cowles' other ABC Montana stations, KTMF in Missoula and
In February 2005, Max Media instituted a regional newscast, branded as Montana News Network, which was produced at KFBB. The regional newscast did not last long. KFBB was then rebranded NewsChannel 5, with a focus on "Live, Local, Late-Breaking Coverage". In addition to the morning weather cut-ins and its weeknight newscasts at 5:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts, the station soon added weekend newscasts back to the lineup.
In 2009, KFBB added staff to become the largest news team in central Montana. The newscasts took on a new slogan, "NewsChannel 5 is Everywhere", to capitalize on its reporting strength in Great Falls and its three bureaus. The weather segments took on the identity of "Pinpoint Weather", showcasing the station's award-winning customized forecasts for central and northern Montana. The station also increased its news production on the weekend, adding a 5:30 p.m. newscast, as well as the 10 p.m. weekend news already running.
On September 21, 2009, KFBB expanded further, adding a 5 p.m. newscast and moving the 5:30 newscast to 6 p.m., swapping with ABC World News Tonight. A full page ad in Signature Montana magazine in April 2010 highlighted the fact that KFBB has the most TV newscasts in the evening in the market.
Technical information
Subchannels
The stations' signals are
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KFBB-TV | KHBB-LD | KFBB-TV | KHBB-LD | |||
5.1 | 21.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
KFBB-AB | ABC | ABC |
5.2 | 21.2 | KFBB-FO | FOX | Fox and MyNetworkTV | ||
5.3 | 21.3 | SWX | SWX Right Now[13] |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KFBB-TV received its digital television (DTV) allocation from the FCC in April 1997. Originally, KFBB-DT was to be on channel 39,
On August 9, 2006, the FCC granted "flash-cut" authorization to KHBB-LD, meaning that on or before August 9, 2009, analog station KHBB-LP would shut down and digital station KHBB-LD would commence broadcasting on channel 21. On November 27, 2008, KHBB-LP turned off its analog signal and began broadcasting in digital, with ABC programming on 21.1, and Fox programming on 21.2. Both subchannels broadcast in 720p high definition.
Translators
All translators relay KFBB-TV unless noted.
- K17KE-D Belt, etc.
- K10BK-D Big Sandy
- K24KU-D Chinook
- K14AG-D Circle, etc.
- K23LX-D Conrad
- K10RC-D Denton
- K12GP-D Dodson
- K35NF-D Fort Peck
- K31MJ-D Four Buttes, etc.
- K07JG-D Glasgow
- K34PM-D Joplin
- K07VA-D Jordan
- K36PB-D Lewistown
- K07IC-D Malta
- K26LG-D Phillips County
- K09BX-D Saco
- K32JU-D Tampico
- K07EJ-D Townsend (translates KHBB-LD)
- K13DU-D Whitewater
- K27JQ-D Wolf Point
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFBB-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KHBB-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Today's Digital Upgrade Will Leave Some in Area without Fox for a While," Richard Ecke, Great Falls Tribune, June 12, 2009.
- ^ Malone, Michael (July 21, 2009). "Fox on Montana Stations' Digi-Channels". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
- ^ "TV Guide: Calgary-Southern Alberta Edition".
- ^ http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/1998/..%5C..%5CDecisions%5C1988%5CDB88-221.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Public Notice Comment". Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2006.
- ^ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License "Federal Communications Commission", October 1, 2013
- ^ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License "Federal Communications Commission", October 1, 2013
- ^ "CDBS Print".
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KFBB
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KHBB-LD
- ^ Lutz, Andrea (December 7, 2016). "Where to watch: SWX 24hr 'Sports and Weather'". ABCFOXMontana.com. Cowles Company. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- ^ "6TH R & O DTV Channel Allotments - Montana".
- ^ http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/2001/da011322.txt [bare URL plain text file]
- ^ "NAB NEWS RELEASE-4/30/02-21 MORE STATIONS SIGN ON WITH DIGITAL SIGNALS". Archived from the original on July 11, 2003.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.