KTMF
 | |
| Missoula, Montana | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
ABC Montana Fox Montana (DT2) |
| Channels | Digital: 23 (UHF) |
| Translators |
KTMF-LD 42 Kalispell K19GD-D Kalispell K14LT-D Polson K11KE Woods Bay |
| Affiliations |
ABC Fox (DT2) |
| Owner |
Cowles Publishing Company (Cowles Montana Media Company) |
| First air date | November 16, 1991 |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 23 (UHF, 1991-2009) Digital: 36 (UHF) |
| Transmitter power | 92.6 kW |
| Height | 642 m |
| Facility ID | 14675 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°1′10″N 114°0′46″W / 47.01944°N 114.01278°W |
| Website | www.abcmontana.com |
KTMF is a full-service television station in Missoula, Montana, broadcasting locally in digital on UHF channel 23 as an affiliate of ABC. Founded April 12, 1989, the station is owned by Cowles Publishing Company. The station's signal is rebroadcast on station KTMF-LD channel 42 in Kalispell and on three other low-power translator stations in the Flathead Lake area of northwestern Montana.
History
On April 12, 1989, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an original construction permit to Continental Television Network (CTN) for a full-service station on channel 23 to serve Missoula. The station, at first known by its application identification number, 881130KG, soon took the call letters KLFV, but before the station went on air, had changed calls again, this time to KTMF. The station was issued a license on February 28, 1991 and signed on later that year. This made Missoula one of the last cities in the nation to get full service from all three major networks. Previously, ABC had been relegated to limited clearances on KECI-TV and KPAX-TV, or via cable from KXLY-TV in Spokane.
In February 2001, CTN sold KTMF, along with the then-KTMF-LP in Kalispell, KWYB in Butte, KWYB-LD in Bozeman and KTGF in Great Falls, to Max Media of Montana. They were the first television station acquisitions in Montana for Max Media.
CTN aired no news on its stations, but soon after Max Media acquired the stations, they began to make plans for a regional newscast for KTMF and its other stations, to debut in early 2002.[1] They launched the newscast, produced by Independent News Network of Davenport, Iowa and branded Big Sky News, in October 2002, [2] but the newscast generated controversy, in part because it tried to simultaneously serve the needs of five communities over 200 miles (322 km) apart, and in part because the newscast did not actually originate in Montana, but rather, in a city approximately 1,175 miles (1,900 km) away, with only one reporter actually assigned to and located in Missoula.
Max Media launched another attempt at a regional newscast for KTMF and its other stations in February 2005, this time branded Montana News Network but this time it was produced out of KFBB in Great Falls.
On September 30, 2013, the Cowles Publishing Company acquired Max Media's Montana television station cluster (KTMF, fellow ABC affiliates KWYB/Butte, KFBB-TV/Great Falls, KHBB-LD/Helena and NBC affiliate KULR-TV/Helena) for $18 million.[3][4] The sale was completed on November 29.[5]
KTMF-LD history
On January 6, 1992, the FCC granted an original construction permit to CTN for a low-power station on channel 59 to serve Kalispell. The station was given callsign K59EQ and after an expired construction permit and a couple of extensions of the new permit, K59EQ was licesnsed on July 11, 1995. The station changed its calls to KTMF-LP later in the same year.
In February 2001, CTN sold the station to Max Media of Montana as part of the same transaction as KTMF and participated in the same newscasts as KTMF. KTMF-LP was granted a permit to move to channel 42 in October 2003 and as of August 2006, the station had completed the move, but had not applied for a license to operate on the new channel.
On May 27, 2010, KTMF-LP was granted a construction permit to flash-cut from analog to digital on channel 42. On January 4, 2013, the station changed its call sign to KTMF-LD. [6]
Digital television
On September 26, 2001, the FCC granted a construction permit to build KTMF-DT on UHF channel 36. The station received Special Temporary Authority (STA) on April 22, 2001 to broadcast at reduced power. KTMF has elected to remain on channel 23 once the transition to digital television is completed.
On February 17, 2009, KTMF shut off their analog transmitter, and began broadcasting KTMF-DT on UHF channel 23.
KTMF airs Fox programming on a subchannel.[7]
News operation
As an ABC affiliate, KTMF airs most of the network schedule. ABC's 6:30 PM network newscast, World News with Diane Sawyer, airs at 5:00 PM on KTMF (Montana is in the Mountain Time Zone, two hours behind the East Coast.) KTMF airs Nightline one-half hour after the 10 PM local evening news ends and fills the overnight schedule with World News Now and America This Morning.
KTMF (ABC) broadcast very little local news and aired 10@10, a 10-minute newscast summarizing local weather and sports. The station did start a news operation in August 2012, with a 9 p.m. newscast planned to launch on its Fox subchannel by September.[8]
In October, 2012 FOX Montana KTMF's subchannel launched the FOX Montana News @ 9. Later on in 2013, they expanded to ABC to launching a newscast 5:30 on March 4, 2013.
Newscast Titles
Slogans
- ABC FOX Montana News (2012 - present)
Newscasts
- FOX Montana News at 9 (2012 - present)
- ABC Montana News at 5:30 (2013 - present)
- ABC FOX Montana News this Morning (2013 - present)
Current personalities
News anchors
- Angela Marshall - weeknights at 5:30 p.m.; also producer and assignment editor
- Sarah Gravlee - weeknights at 9:00 p.m. (KTMF-DT2); also news director
- Brittany Wright - weekdays ABC FOX Montana News this Morning anchor; also reporter
- Ashley Shancez - weekends at 5:30 and 9:00 p.m.; also reporter
Weather
- Dave Cochran - chief meteorologist; weekdays at 5:30 and 9:00 p.m. (KTMF-DT2) and 10@10
- Sarah Fletcher - morning meteorologist; weekday mornings during ABC FOX Montana News this Morning
- Micah Rumsey - weekend meteorologist; seen at 5:30 and 9:00 p.m.; also reporter
Sports
- Dominic Sheldon - sports director; weekdays at 9:00 p.m. (KTMF-DT2) and 10@10
- Shaun Rainey - weekend sports anchor; also sports reporter
- Jeff Eberle - sports reporter
News Reporters
- Jackie Coffin - general assignment reporter
- Emily Foster - general assignment reporter
- Jamie Daniel - Kalispell reporter
Translators
KTMF can be seen in other parts of western Montana on the following translator stations:
- K45DQ-D 45 Hot Springs
- KTMF-LD 42 Kalispell
- K19GD-D Kalispell
- K14LT-D Polson
- K11KE Woods Bay
References
- ↑ http://www.montana.edu/wwwbor/KTMFToAirLocalNewsShowInMissoula.htm
- ↑ http://www.maxmontana.com
- ↑ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License "Federal Communications Commission", 1 October 2013
- ↑ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License "Federal Communications Commission", 1 October 2013
- ↑ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101603117&formid=905&fac_num=14675
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1260967&Service=LD&Form_id=346&Facility_id=14676
- ↑ Malone, Michael (21 July 2009). "Fox on Montana Stations' Digi-Channels". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ↑ Cederburg, Jenna (August 15, 2012). "Fox affiliate to begin half-hour news broadcast in Missoula". The Missoulian. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
External links
- ABCMontana.com (Official Website)
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KTMF
- Query the FCC's TV station database for K11KE
- Query the FCC's TV station database for K14LT-D
- Query the FCC's TV station database for K19GD-D
- Query the FCC's TV station database for K45DQ
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KTMF-TV
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