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| Channels | |
| Branding | ABC 6; Billings CW (DT2) |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KHMT | |
| History | |
First air date | January 8, 1993 (32 years ago) (1993-01-08) |
Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning | "Six", "VI" is theRoman numeral for 6 |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 5243 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 227.5 m (746 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 45°48′27″N108°20′27.8″W / 45.80750°N 108.341056°W /45.80750; -108.341056 |
| Translator(s) | see§ Translators |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KSVI (channel 6) is atelevision station inBillings, Montana, United States, affiliated withABC. Its seconddigital subchannel serves as anowned-and-operated station ofThe CW (viaThe CW Plus). It is owned byNexstar Media Group, which provides certain services toHardin-licensedFox affiliateKHMT (channel 4) underjoint sales andshared services agreements withMission Broadcasting. The two stations share studios on South 24th Street West in Billings; KSVI's transmitter is located on Old Hardin Road east-northeast of the city.
Mid-Rivers Communications (based inCircle, Montana) carries KSVI oncable inGlendive, Montana (the smallestDMA in the U.S. according toNielsen), as that market has no local ABC affiliate of its own.[2][3]
KSVI's programming is relayed ontranslator stationK25BP-D (channel 25) in Billings, in areas where KSVI's signal is poor. It can also be seen inMiles City on K16DH-D (channel 16), and in Howard on K32MN-D (channel 32).
KSVI went on the air January 8, 1993,[4] under the ownership of Big Horn Communications.[5] Big Horn had previously signed on KOUS-TV (channel 4) in 1980. However, for most of its existence, KOUS was plagued by marginal reception in some parts of Billings, since its transmitter was located 18 miles (29 km) east of the city in order to ensure city-grade coverage of its city of license,Hardin.[6][4] In hopes of getting better reception in Billings, Big Horn won aconstruction permit for channel 6 after the allocation was moved fromMiles City.[6]
KOUS signed off for the last time on January 8,[4] and later that day the KOUS intellectual unit—including the ABC affiliation—moved to KSVI on channel 6.[5] At the outset, channel 6's programming was also seen onKYUS-TV (channel 3) in Miles City[7] and KCTZ (channel 7) inBozeman,[8] both of which had previously served as satellites of KOUS. KCTZ was sold toCordillera Communications several months later to become a satellite ofKXLF-TV inButte[8] (eventually becomingKBZK), while KYUS was sold toStephen Marks in 1995[9] (originally proposed to become a satellite ofKXGN-TV inGlendive,[9] KYUS now simulcastsKULR-TV from Billings). Following the sale of KCTZ, KSVI's programming was carried on translators K26DE (channel 26) in Bozeman and K43DU (channel 43) in Butte;[10] this ended whenKWYB signed on in 1996. Channel 6 also, at its sign-on, inherited Billings translator station K25BP, which was originally intended to improve KOUS' signal in Billings.[6]
KSVI added a secondary affiliation withFox in April 1994; this was primarily to carrythe network's NFL coverage,[11] but 15 hours a week of other Fox programs, such asMarried... with Children andThe Simpsons, were aired in overnight and weekend timeslots not programmed by ABC.[12] Following this deal, cable systems in the Billings area removedFoxnet from their lineups.[13] The secondary Fox affiliation ended when channel 4 returned to the air in August 1995 as Fox affiliateKHMT under alocal marketing agreement with KSVI.[14] Also in June 1995, channel 6 added a secondary affiliation withUPN (it had carried the first season of the network'sStar Trek: Voyager on a standalone basis before signing as a formal secondary affiliate that June).[15] this affiliation, which was eventually shared with KHMT,[16] continued[17] until UPN closed down in 2006.
Big Horn Communications sold KSVI to Great Trails Broadcasting Corporation for $17.37 million in 1997.[18] The following year, Great Trails exited broadcasting and sold the station (and its LMA with KHMT), along withWHAG-TV inHagerstown, Maryland, andWFFT-TV inFort Wayne, Indiana, toQuorum Broadcasting Company for $65 million.[19] Nexstar Broadcasting Group acquired Quorum for $230 million in December 2003.[20]
KSVI launched a news operation, shared with sister station KHMT, on April 18, 2002.[21] After 18 months, the newscasts were canceled in September 2003, following Nexstar taking control of the stations in advance of its purchase of Quorum.[22] Though the news operation had won Montana Broadcasters Association andAssociated Press awards during its run, it was not successful in the ratings, as KSVI's newscasts trailedKTVQ (channel 2) andKULR-TV (channel 8) by a substantial margin.[23] Nexstar said that shutting down the news operation was necessary to keep the stations profitable.[22][23]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KSVI-DT | ABC |
| 6.2 | 480i | KSVI-CW | The CW Plus | |
| 6.3 | Mystery | Ion Mystery | ||
| 6.4 | 4:3 | Antenna | Antenna TV |
KSVI, the Billings ABC affiliate, and KHMT, the Fox Television affiliate licensed in Hardin, are teaming up on a local newscast which starts Thursday evening…
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