KTMF
Encyclopedia
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 Max Media of Montana
. The station's signal is rebroadcast on station KTMF-LP channel 42 in Kalispell
and on three other low-power translator stations in the Flathead Lake
area of northwestern Montana.
(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 KTMF-LP in Kalispell, KWYB
in Butte
, KWYB-LP 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. They launched the newscast, produced by Independent News Network of Davenport, Iowa
and branded Big Sky News, in October 2002, 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.
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. No word on when the flash-cut will commence.
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.
, 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 broadcasts very little local news. The Montana News Network regional newscast no longer airs on KTMF, so there is no early evening local newscast. The late local news, called 10@10, is a 10-minute newscast summarizing local weather and sports.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in Missoula, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
, broadcasting locally in digital
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
on UHF channel 23 as an affiliate of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Founded April 12, 1989, the station is owned by Max Media of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. The station's signal is rebroadcast on station KTMF-LP channel 42 in Kalispell
Kalispell, Montana
Kalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2010 census put Kalispell's population at 19,927 up 5,704 over 2000. At 40.1% this is the largest percentage of growth of any incorporated city in Montana. Kalispell is the largest city and commercial center...
and on three other low-power translator stations in the Flathead Lake
Flathead Lake
Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the western part of the contiguous United States. With a surface area of between and , it is slightly larger than Lake Tahoe. The lake is a remnant of the ancient inland sea, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial. Flathead Lake...
area of northwestern Montana.
History
On April 12, 1989, the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(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
KPAX-TV
KPAX-TV is a television station in Missoula, Montana, broadcasting locally on channel 8 as an affiliate of CBS, with programming from The CW on digital. The station is owned by Evening Post Publishing Company. The station is part of the Evening Post's Montana Television Network, a network of...
, or via cable from KXLY-TV
KXLY-TV
KXLY-TV, virtual channel 4, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Spokane, Washington, USA. KXLY-TV is owned by Spokane Television Group, a subsidiary of Morgan Murphy Media, it is one of five local Spokane TV stations seen in Canada on the Shaw Direct satellite provider.-History:Although KHQ...
in Spokane
Spokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
.
In February 2001, CTN sold KTMF, along with KTMF-LP in Kalispell, KWYB
KWYB
KWYB is a full-service television station in Butte, Montana, broadcasting locally in digital on UHF channel 19 as an affiliate of ABC. The station's signal is rebroadcast on KWYB-LD UHF channel 28 in Bozeman...
in Butte
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, KWYB-LP in Bozeman
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
and KTGF
KTGF
KTGF, digital channel 45, was a television station in Great Falls, Montana. The station was owned by Destiny Communications, and was last affiliated with JCTV.-History:...
in Great Falls
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
, 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. They launched the newscast, produced by Independent News Network of Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
and branded Big Sky News, in October 2002, 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.
KTMF-LP 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. No word on when the flash-cut will commence.
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
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
programming on a subchannel.
Programming
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 4:30 PM on KTMF (Montana is in the Mountain Time ZoneMountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
, 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
World News Now
World News Now is an American overnight news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company's television network. Its tone is often lighthearted, irreverent and humorous...
and America This Morning.
KTMF broadcasts very little local news. The Montana News Network regional newscast no longer airs on KTMF, so there is no early evening local newscast. The late local news, called 10@10, is a 10-minute newscast summarizing local weather and sports.
Translators
KTMF can be seen in other parts of western Montana on the following translator stations:- K45DQ-D 45 Hot SpringsHot Springs, MontanaHot Springs is a town on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Sanders County, Montana, United States. The population was 531 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1910, it was incorporated in 1929.-Geography:Hot Springs is located at ....
- KTMF-LP 42 KalispellKalispell, MontanaKalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2010 census put Kalispell's population at 19,927 up 5,704 over 2000. At 40.1% this is the largest percentage of growth of any incorporated city in Montana. Kalispell is the largest city and commercial center...
- K19GD-D KalispellKalispell, MontanaKalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2010 census put Kalispell's population at 19,927 up 5,704 over 2000. At 40.1% this is the largest percentage of growth of any incorporated city in Montana. Kalispell is the largest city and commercial center...
- K14LT-D PolsonPolson, MontanaPolson is a city in Lake County, Montana, United States, on the southern shore of Flathead Lake. It is also on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The population was 4,041 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lake County...
- K11KE Woods BayWoods Bay, MontanaWoods Bay is a census-designated place in Lake County, Montana, United States. The population was 748 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Woods Bay is located at ....