Montana PBS
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Montana PBS is the PBS member network for the state of Montana. It is a joint venture between Montana State University and the University of Montana-Missoula. The network is headquartered in the Visual Communications Building on the MSU campus in Bozeman, Montana, with a separate studio on the UM campus in Missoula.
The network comprises three stations--flagship KUSM channel 9 in Bozeman; full-power satellites KUFM-TV, channel 11 in Missoula and KBGS-TV, channel 16 in Billings--and a network of 60 low-powered repeaters in Montana. KUSM is licensed to MSU, KUFM to UM, and KBGS to the state board of regents.
History
KUSM signed on for the first time on October 1, 1984, making Montana the last state to have its own PBS station, 14 years after Mississippi became the last state east of the Mississippi River with a PBS station within its borders. Since MSU didn't have enough funding at the time to support a public television station, station engineers switched to and from the signal of KUED in Salt Lake City for most PBS programming until 1987. Prior to 1984, Montana received PBS programming from KSPS-TV in Spokane; Prairie Public Television in North Dakota; KRMA-TV in Denver; and KUED. KSPS and Rocky Mountain PBS (formerly KRMA) 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 besides.
Also in 1987, KUSM was added to TCI's cable systems in central and eastern Montana, completely replacing KUED in that part of the state by 1990.
UM had won a construction permit for KUFM-TV in 1992, but had trouble getting on the air until 1996. UM and MSU joined forces to form Montana PBS, which broadcast for the first time as a network on New Year's Day 1997.
Montana PBS's third full-powered station, KBGS-TV in Billings, signed on in late-2009. This UHF, station, however, is licensed to broadcast at 29.8 kW, lower than Montana PBS's repeater for Billings, K20HB channel 20, which broadcasts at 58kW. There also exists a construction permit for another full-powered satellite, KUGF, digital channel 21, in Great Falls.
The network has expanded rather slowly, relying mainly on cable coverage for its viewership. This didn't pose as much of a problem as it may seem at first glance, as cable and satellite are all but essential for acceptable television in most of Montana.
Programming
Due to a strong program for documentary filmmaking at MSU, many programs broadcast on KUSM are locally produced.
Some of the Montana-made programming is now available as a video podcast through a new distribution service called Terra.
Translators
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 (5 watts, Kalispell) and 51 (150kW, Great Falls).
Satellite
Montana PBS is available free-to-air on AMC 21 (125°W) Ku-band satellite television.[1]