Montana PBS


Montana PBS is the Public Broadcasting Service member public television state network for Montana. It is a joint venture between Montana State University and the University of Montana. The network is headquartered in the Visual Communications Building on the MSU campus in Bozeman, with a separate studio on the UM campus in Missoula.
The network comprises six stations — flagship KUSM-TV in Bozeman and full-power satellites KUFM-TV in Missoula, KBGS-TV in Billings, KUHM-TV in Helena, KUGF-TV in Great Falls and KUKL-TV in Kalispell — and a network of 60 low-powered repeaters in Montana. KUSM and KUHM are licensed to MSU, KUFM to UM, and KBGS, KUGF and KUKL to The Board of Regents of the Montana University System.

History

KUSM signed on for the first time on October 1, 1984, making Montana the last state with an educational station within its borders, 14 years after Mississippi became the last state east of the Mississippi River with its own PBS station. The transmitter was donated by Montana broadcasting pioneer Joe Sample. MSU didn't have enough funding at the time to support a public television station, and the Gallatin Valley didn't have nearly enough people at the time for viewer-supported public television. Station engineers switched to and from the signal of KUED in Salt Lake City for most PBS programming until 1987, giving MSU time to train its staff and build local financial support.
Prior to 1984, Montana viewers had to rely on cable or translators for PBS programming. Depending on the location, cable systems in western Montana piped in KSPS-TV in Spokane or KRMA-TV in Denver, while cable systems in eastern and central Montana piped in Prairie Public Television from North Dakota or KUED. KRMA–now known as Rocky Mountain PBS–and KSPS still operate translators in Montana. Additionally, some commercial stations in Montana, including KTVQ in Billings and KFBB in Great Falls, carried Sesame Street and may have carried other PBS programs.
In 1987, KUSM was added to TCI's cable systems in central and eastern Montana, paving the way for it to become a full member of PBS. TCI began phasing out KUED on its systems in the eastern two-thirds of Montana, with KUSM completely replacing KUED in that part of the state by 1990. By 1991, KUSM began branding as Montana Public Television, reflecting its new statewide reach.
UM had won a construction permit for KUFM-TV in 1992. The station signed on for the first time in 1996, and the two stations began broadcasting as a network on New Year's Day 1997. In 1999, the network rebranded as Montana PBS.
Montana PBS's third full-powered station, KBGS-TV in Billings, signed on in late 2009. The fourth full-powered satellite, KUGF in Great Falls, signed on in fall 2010. KUKL-TV in Kalispell followed in 2011.
The network has expanded rather slowly, relying on cable and satellite coverage for most of its viewership. This didn't pose as much of a problem as it may seem at first glance. Even in the digital era, cable and satellite are all but essential for acceptable television in most of Montana.
On July 1, 2015, Gray Television announced that it would donate the license assets of Helena CW affiliate KMTF to Montana State University for integration into the Montana PBS system as its sixth full-power station. The station, re-called KUHM-TV, will improve reception in areas around Helena unable to receive that city's local translator, K49EH-D.

Programming

Most of the local programs such as Backroads of Montana, 11th and Grant, and Montana Ag Live, as well as Montana historical documentaries and current event programs, are created by independent producers for Montana PBS. Due to a strong program for journalism and radio/television at UM and for documentary filmmaking at MSU, many of the network's local programs are produced by students.
Some of the Montana-made programming is also available online.

Stations

StationCity of licenseChannels
'		First air dateERPHAATFacility IDLicenseeCallsign meaningTransmitter coordinatesPublic license information
KUSM-TVBozeman8
9 		17.9 kW43567Montana State UniversityMontana State University reversed
KUFM-TVMissoula11
11 		12.3 kW66611University of MontanaUniversity oF Montana
KBGS-TVBillings16
16 		29.8 kW169030The Board of Regents of the Montana University SystemBillinGS
KUGF-TVGreat Falls21
21 		23.4 kW169028The Board of Regents of the Montana University SystemMontana State University - Great Falls
KUKL-TVKalispell15
46 		23.4 kW169027The Board of Regents of the Montana University SystemMontana State University - KaLispell
KUHM-TVHelena29
10
'		43.4 kW68717Montana State UniversityMontana State University - Helena Montana

Notes:
Montana PBS operates one of the largest translator networks in Montana.
Montana State University holds licenses for:
Montana State University has also applied for translators on channels 16 and 51.

Digital television

Digital channels

The digital signals of Montana PBS' stations are multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
xx.11080iMontana PBSMain programming / PBS
xx.2480iMontana-KPBS Kids
xx.3480iMontana-CRCreate
xx.4480iMontana-WORLDWorld
xx.5480iMontana-LTVMT simulcast

Analog-to-digital conversion

Montana PBS' stations shut down their analog signals on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television station's in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:
Montana PBS is available free-to-air on AMC 21 Ku-band satellite television.