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| Programming | |
|---|---|
| Subchannels | |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| History | |
First air date | October 1, 1984 (1984-10-01) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| For technical information, see§ Stations. | |
Montana PBS is thePBS memberpublic television network for theU.S. state ofMontana. It is ajoint venture betweenMontana State University (MSU) and theUniversity of Montana (UM). The network is headquartered in the Visual Communications Building on the MSU campus on West Grant Street inBozeman, with a separate studio inside the Performing Arts and Radio/TV Center (PARTV) on the UM campus on Campus Drive inMissoula.
The network's original station, KUSM-TV in Bozeman, first went on the air on October 1, 1984, making Montana the last state to have its own public television station.[1] After initially relying on other PBS stations for much of its programming, the network grew to provide statewide coverage, officially adopting the Montana PBS brand in 1999.
Today, the Montana PBS network comprises eight full-power stations and a large network of translators that rebroadcast its signal throughout the state. In addition to carrying national PBS programming, the network is known for producing local content, including its long-running seriesBackroads of Montana and programs created by students from both universities.
In 1983, severalGallatin Valley residents led by Nancy Fikkema andRobert Cutietta formed Montanans for Children's Television (MCT) to press for a PBS station in the area. They wanted to give the few residents without access tocable a way to watch public television, especiallyPBS children's programming.[1] At the time, Montana viewers had to rely oncable ortranslators for PBS programming. Depending on the location, cable systems in western Montana piped inKSPS-TV inSpokane or KRMA-TV inDenver, while cable systems in eastern and central Montana piped inPrairie Public Television fromNorth Dakota orKUED inSalt Lake City. KRMA–now known asRocky Mountain PBS–and KSPS still operate translators in Montana. Additionally, some commercial stations in Montana, includingKTVQ in Billings andKFBB in Great Falls, carriedSesame Street and may have carried other PBS programs.
TheUniversity of Utah, owner of KUED, was willing to bring a KUED satellite station to Bozeman if there was enough local support. However, the only viable facilities for such a station were at MSU, and school officials balked at using educational funds for public benefit. With this in mind, MCT published a survey in theBozeman Chronicle asking if at least 2,000 people were willing to contribute $2 per month for a local public television station. After the survey found there was sufficient public support, KUSM signed on for the first time on October 1, 1984. The transmitter was donated by Montana broadcasting pioneer Joe Sample. MSU did not have enough funding at the time to support a public television station, and the Gallatin Valley did not have nearly enough people at the time for viewer-supported public television. Station engineers switched to and from KUED's signal for most PBS programming until 1987, giving MSU time to train its staff and build local financial support.[1] With KUSM's debut, Montana became the last state with an educational station within its borders, 14 years afterMississippi became the last state east of theMississippi River with its own PBS station.
In 1987, KUSM became a full member of PBS. In 1988, KUSM was added toTCI's cable systems in the eastern two-thirds of Montana, fromButte eastward. KUED had been carried on TCI and its various predecessors since 1965. TCI began phasing out KUED on its systems in the summer of 1988, with KUSM completely replacing KUED in that part of the state by 1990.[1]
Early on, UM partnered with MSU to extend KUSM's reach to western Montana. By 1991, KUSM began branding as Montana Public Television, reflecting its new statewide reach.[1]
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 onNew 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 June 12, 2009; it already operated a translator in that city.[2] The fourth full-powered satellite, KUGF in Great Falls, signed on October 21, 2010.[1] KUKL-TV in Kalispell followed in late 2012.[3]
The network has expanded rather slowly, relying on cable and satellite coverage for most of its viewership. This did not pose as much of a problem as it may seem at first glance due to a partnership with the state's cable systems. 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 HelenaCW affiliate KMTF to Montana State University for integration into the Montana PBS system as its sixth full-power station (the station'sCW Plus programming would continue to be carried on a subchannel of NBC affiliateKTVH, which Gray sold toCordillera Communications in correlation to the deal).[4] The station, re-calledKUHM-TV, improved reception in areas around Helena unable to receive that city's local translator, K49EH-D.
Montana State University agreed to purchase bothKXGN-TV inGlendive (and its associated translator network) andKYUS-TV inMiles City fromThe Marks Group on July 8, 2025, for $375,000, also for integration into Montana PBS;[5] the remainder of the stations' value was credited as a donation.[6] The sale was consummated on October 22, with both stations, along with KXGN'sSidney–Fairview translator K13DG-D, joining the Montana PBS network.[a][7][8] The addition of KXGN-TV and KYUS-TV brought over-the-air public television service to far eastern Montana for the first time; except for translators in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the state, Montana PBS did not previously have transmitters east of Billings.[6][9]
Most of the local programs such asBackroads of Montana,11th and Grant, andMontana 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.
The eight full-service television licenses comprising Montana PBS include:
Notes:
Montana PBS is additionally rebroadcast over a network of ninelow-power digitaltranslator stations, operating one of the largest translator networks in the state of Montana. MSU acquired the West Glacier transmitter from Canyon TV in 2014 for the nominal purchase price of one dollar. In 2018, it acquired the five translators led by KSKC-CD (now K27MS-D), the public television station ofSalish Kootenai College, and incorporated them into the network.[10][11] Not owned by the network are additional translators run by TV districts.
The following translators rebroadcast KBGS-TV:[12]
The following translators rebroadcast KUFM-TV:[13]
The following translators rebroadcast KUGF-TV:[14]
The following translators rebroadcast KUKL-TV:[15]
The following translators rebroadcast KUSM-TV:[16]
The following translator rebroadcasts KXGN-TV:[17]
Full-power stations 
Low-power translatorsThe digital signals of Montana PBS' stations aremultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| xx.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | [callsign]-HD | PBS |
| xx.2 | 480i | [callsign]-K | PBS Kids | |
| xx.3 | [callsign]-C | Create | ||
| xx.4 | [callsign]-W | World | ||
| xx.5 | [callsign]-L | MPAN simulcast |
Montana PBS' stations shut down their analog signals on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television station's in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:[18]
Montana PBS is availablefree-to-air onAMC 21 (125°W)Ku-bandsatellite television.[19]
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofMontana | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Montana | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS |
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| Other | ||
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