| KECI: Missoula, Montana KCFW: Kalispell, Montana KTVM: Butte / Bozeman, Montana |
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|---|---|
| Branding | KECI 13 / KCFW 9 / KTVM 6 & 42 Montana's News Channel |
| Slogan | Earning Your Trust, Everyday |
| Channels | Digital: KECI: 13 (VHF) KCFW: 9 (VHF) KTVM: 6 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | See below |
| Affiliations | NBC Me-TV This TV |
| Owner | Bonten Media Group, LLC (BlueStone License Holdings, Inc.) |
| First air date | KECI: July 1, 1954 KCFW: June 10, 1968 KTVM: May 12, 1970 |
| Call letters' meaning | KECI: Eagle Communications Incorporated KCFW: Kalispell Columbia Falls Whitefish (the three largest towns in its broadcast area) KTVM: TeleVision Montana |
| Former callsigns | KECI: KGVO-TV (1954-1957, 1964-1978) KMSO-TV (1957-1964) KCFW: none KTVM: none |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: KECI: 13 (VHF, 1954-2009) KCFW: 9 (VHF, 1968-2009) KTVM: 6 (VHF, 1970-2009) |
| Former affiliations | CBS (primary, 1954-c.1970) ABC (secondary 1954-1991) PBS (per program, 1976-1984) |
| Transmitter power | KECI: 30 kW KCFW: 2.5 kW KTVM: 11.2 kW |
| Height | KECI: 610 m KCFW: 850 m KTVM: 591.3 m |
| Facility ID | KECI: 18084 KCFW: 18079 KTVM: 18066 |
| Transmitter coordinates | KECI: KCFW: KTVM: |
| Website | www.nbcmontana.com |
NBC Montana is a network of three television stations in western Montana, all affiliated with NBC.
The flagship station is KECI in Missoula, broadcasting on channel 13. It includes two semi-satellites: KCFW, channel 9 in Kalispell, Montana, and KTVM, channel 6 in Butte, Montana (which also serves Bozeman via a translator on channel 42. This is reflected in its "KTVM 6 & 42" branding). The stations air the same programming most of the time, but KCFW and KTVM air their own commercials as well as partially separate local newscasts.
The combined signal of the three VHF stations and numerous low-power transmitters cover approximately 45 percent of the state. The stations reach an estimated 200,000 households. The coverage area includes Salmon, Idaho, and parts of Alberta, Canada near the U.S.-Canada border.
The digital signals of all full-powered NBC Montana stations moved to their analog VHF channels after the 2009 US analog shutdown due to severe local terrain problems with its existing UHF DTV signal in mountainous regions.[1]
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KECI hit the airwaves on July 1, 1954 as KGVO-TV, owned by Montana broadcasting pioneer Arthur Mosby and his Western Broadcasting Company along with KGVO radio. It shared a studio with its radio sister on West Main Street in downtown Missoula. For a few years in the late 1950s and early 1960s it was known as KMSO-TV, but reverted to KGVO-TV in 1964.
Originally, the station carried programming from all three networks, but was a primary CBS affiliate owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS radio. It was the first television station in Montana to be interconnected to the main networks (via a private relay from Spokane). While it was known as KMSO-TV, it was a member of the Skyline Network (now MTN), along with KXLF-TV in Butte, KOOK-TV in Billings (now KTVQ), and KFBB-TV in Great Falls.
Then in March 1966, shortly after KFBB-TV switched over to ABC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) combined Missoula and Butte into a single television market, and KGVO-TV became the combined market's primary CBS affiliate, with a secondary ABC affiliation. However, by the early 1970s, Missoula and Butte had broken off into separate markets again, and channel 13 was a primary NBC affiliate, sharing ABC with KPAX-TV. [2] The switch may have occurred as early as KPAX' sign-on in 1970.
Channel 13 took its current calls in 1978 after KGVO radio was sold off, but is still based in the West Main Street studio. The station offered a few PBS programs, particularly Sesame Street, from 1976 until Montana PBS opened in 1984. It also continued to run ABC in off-hours until KTMF signed on in 1991.
KCFW signed on in 1968 as a semi-satellite of KGVO-TV. It is the only full-power station in the Flathead. KTVM was added in 1970, also as a semi-satellite of KGVO-TV. The Bozeman repeater signed on in 1990.
| Programming | KECI | KCFW | KTVM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main NBC Montana programming / NBC | 13.1 | 9.1 | 6.1 |
| Me-TV | 13.2 | 9.2 | 6.2 |
| This TV | 13.3 | 9.3 | 6.3 |
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