KRTV

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KRTV
Krtv.jpgKxlh.jpg
Great Falls, Montana
United States
ChannelsDigital: 7 (VHF)
Virtual: 3
BrandingKRTV: KRTV 3 (general)
KXLH-LD: KXLH 9 (general)
MTN News (newscasts)
SloganMontana's News Leader
Programming
Affiliations3.1: CBS (1969–present)/MTN
3.2: CW+
3.3: Grit (O&O)
3.4: Ion Television (O&O)
3.5: Laff (O&O)
Ownership
OwnerE. W. Scripps Company
(Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC)
KTVH-DT
History
First air date
October 5, 1958 (62 years ago) (1958-10-05) (originally supposed to sign on June 27, 1958; was delayed to October 5 due to high winds)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
3 (VHF, 1958–2009)
NBC (primary, 1958–1969)
ABC (secondary, 1958−1966)
Call sign meaning
KRTV: K GReat Falls TeleVision
KXLH-LD: KXLF Helena (based on original parent station KXLF-TV)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID35567
ERP28.5 kW
HAAT153.5 m (504 ft)
Transmitter coordinates47°32′7.5″N 111°17′5.5″W / 47.535417°N 111.284861°W / 47.535417; -111.284861
Translator(s)KXLH-LD 9 (VHF) Helena
(see article for others)
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.krtv.com
www.kxlh.com

KRTV, virtual channel 3 (VHF digital channel 7), is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Great Falls, Montana, United States. The station is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, and is part of the Montana Television Network, a statewide network of CBS-affiliated stations. KRTV's studios and transmitter are located on Old Havre Highway in Black Eagle, just outside Great Falls.

KRTV also operates a low-powered semi-satellite in Helena, Montana, KXLH-LD (channel 9), which simulcasts all CBS network and syndicated programming as provided by KRTV but airs separate local weeknight newscasts, commercial inserts and station identifications. It also inserts local weather segments into KRTV's newscasts, and shares studios with NBC affiliate KTVH-DT (channel 12) on West Lyndale Avenue in Helena. Master control and some internal operations of KXLH-LD are based at KRTV's facilities.

History[]

KRTV began broadcast on June 27, 1958. That same day, high winds destroyed its broadcasting antenna, and the station was off the air until October 5.[1] The station was primarily an NBC affiliate with some ABC programming. When KFBB-TV took on a primary ABC affiliation in February 1966, KRTV stopped carrying NBC programming. Over the next ten years KRTV gradually phased in more CBS programming. By the summer of 1969, CBS programming exceeded that of NBC, which meant that KRTV would carry CBS to this day. In 1976, KTCM (now KTVH) expanded its coverage to become (until 1986) the default NBC affiliate in a large part of Montana, including Great Falls.

In 2005, KRTV took over the operations of KXLH in Helena, which had previously been a semi-satellite of KXLF-TV in Butte. In 2010, KXLH began airing separate weeknight newscasts at 5:30 and 10 p.m. newscast, with a separate anchor. KXLH was previously known as KXLH-LP channel 25—the station would later flash cut and relocate to channel 9 in 2010.

KRTV offers The CW on its digital signal and is known as Great Falls CW. The subchannel is not seen on KXLH, as the CW affiliate in Helena is a subchannel of KTVH-DT (until 2015, CW programming in Helena was seen on KMTF).

Digital television[]

Digital channels[]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[2][3]
3.1 1080i 16:9 KRTV Main KRTV programming / CBS
3.2 720p CW Great Falls CW
3.3 480i 4:3 Grit TV Grit
3.4 ION Ion Television
3.5 LAFF Laff

Analog-to-digital conversion[]

KRTV shut down its analog signal (VHF channel 3) on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 7.[4] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 3.

Emergency Alert System intrusion[]

On February 11, 2013, at approximately 2:33 p.m. MST, an unknown hacker reportedly gained access to the station's Emergency Alert System, and sent out a Local Area Emergency over the main signal, as well as the CW subchannel, explaining in a pitch-altered voice that "the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living" and that the bodies were considered "extremely dangerous", apparently referencing The Walking Dead. The voice also asked viewers to tune to 920 AM for further information after the station ended operations (no station exists on 920 AM in the Great Falls market).[5][6] Within minutes, station staff informed the public of the system intrusion and that there was no emergency.[7][8]

A similar, possibly related hacking occurred later on the night of February 11 on WNMU and WBUP in Marquette, Michigan.[9][10][11]

On the morning of February 12, DJs from WIZM-FM in La Crosse, Wisconsin were discussing the KRTV EAS intrusion. As part of the segment, they aired an audio clip of the actual EAS intrusion (including the tones), which accidentally triggered not only the radio station's EAS, but also that of their sister TV station, WKBT-DT, which resulted in the same message being seen to viewers of WKBT.[12]

Notable former on-air staff[]

  • Norma Ashby – 26-year career with KRTV

Translators[]

City of license Callsign Channel ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter coordinates Owner
Big Sandy K19JQ-D 19 0.239 kW 32 m (105 ft) 189991 48°9′41.4″N 110°1′51.7″W / 48.161500°N 110.031028°W / 48.161500; -110.031028 (K19JQ-D) Big Sandy TV Club
Chinook K13OU-D 13 0.022 kW 99 m (325 ft) 182694 48°28′8.4″N 109°16′12.6″W / 48.469000°N 109.270167°W / 48.469000; -109.270167 (K13OU-D) E. W. Scripps Company
Conrad K18KM-D 18 0.373 kW 64 m (210 ft) 190001 48°11′13.1″N 112°1′18.4″W / 48.186972°N 112.021778°W / 48.186972; -112.021778 (K18KM-D) Conrad TV District
Denton K12RE-D 12 0.013 kW 32 m (105 ft) 198106 47°20′6.9″N 109°57′17.7″W / 47.335250°N 109.954917°W / 47.335250; -109.954917 (K12RE-D) Denton TV Association
Dodson K10FC-D 10 0.007 kW 1 m (3 ft) 52481 48°23′38.3″N 108°9′23.6″W / 48.393972°N 108.156556°W / 48.393972; -108.156556 (K10FC-D) Phillips County TV Translator District
Fort Peck K22MN-D 22 0.3 kW 162 m (531 ft) 69709 48°1′51″N 106°18′54.1″W / 48.03083°N 106.315028°W / 48.03083; -106.315028 (K22MN-D) Valley County Television District #1
Glasgow K09HY-D 9 0.0054 kW 39 m (128 ft) 69716 48°12′20.1″N 106°37′53.2″W / 48.205583°N 106.631444°W / 48.205583; -106.631444 (K09HY-D) Valley County Television District #1
Havre K09ZB-D 9 0.121 kW 115 m (377 ft) 182692 48°29′40.5″N 109°42′44.3″W / 48.494583°N 109.712306°W / 48.494583; -109.712306 (K09ZB-D) E. W. Scripps Company
Hinsdale K10JK-D 10 0.0031 kW 47 m (154 ft) 27261 48°21′56″N 106°58′39.2″W / 48.36556°N 106.977556°W / 48.36556; -106.977556 (K10JK-D) Hinsdale TV Club
Joplin K27JW-D 27 5.276 kW 864 m (2,835 ft) 168411 48°51′17″N 111°8′29.9″W / 48.85472°N 111.141639°W / 48.85472; -111.141639 (K27JW-D) E. W. Scripps Company
Lewistown K15LD-D 15 1.2 kW 576 m (1,890 ft) 35566 47°10′38.9″N 109°32′8.6″W / 47.177472°N 109.535722°W / 47.177472; -109.535722 (K15LD-D) E. W. Scripps Company
Malta K13GP-D 13 0.009 kW −16 m (−52 ft) 52482 48°20′40.6″N 107°52′15.6″W / 48.344611°N 107.871000°W / 48.344611; -107.871000 (K13GP-D) Phillips County TV Translator District
Phillips County K24MN-D 24 0.2 kW 548 m (1,798 ft) 52499 47°56′2.9″N 108°34′28.3″W / 47.934139°N 108.574528°W / 47.934139; -108.574528 (K24MN-D) Phillips County TV Translator District
Saco K12FB-D 12 0.009 kW 91 m (299 ft) 52494 48°27′45.6″N 107°25′57.3″W / 48.462667°N 107.432583°W / 48.462667; -107.432583 (K12FB-D) Phillips County TV Translator District
Stanford K11WK-D 11 0.3 kW 115 m (377 ft) 62226 47°10′9.8″N 110°16′23.7″W / 47.169389°N 110.273250°W / 47.169389; -110.273250 (K11WK-D) E. W. Scripps Company
Sweetgrass K25NJ-D 25 0.075 kW 73 m (240 ft) 168580 48°58′58.1″N 111°57′26.5″W / 48.982806°N 111.957361°W / 48.982806; -111.957361 (K25NJ-D) East Butte TV Club
Tampico K30LC-D 30 0.318 kW 137 m (449 ft) 69713 48°20′29″N 107°9′0.2″W / 48.34139°N 107.150056°W / 48.34139; -107.150056 (K30LC-D) Valley County Television District #1
K11WQ-D 11 0.654 kW 176 m (577 ft) 182691 48°0′54.3″N 111°21′4.9″W / 48.015083°N 111.351361°W / 48.015083; -111.351361 (K11WQ-D) E. W. Scripps Company
Whitewater K11GX-D 11 0.009 kW 77 m (253 ft) 52488 48°45′37.5″N 107°45′7.2″W / 48.760417°N 107.752000°W / 48.760417; -107.752000 (K11GX-D) Phillips County TV Translator District
Wolf Point K19JR-D 19 0.431 kW 62 m (203 ft) 73379 48°2′7″N 105°31′12″W / 48.03528°N 105.52000°W / 48.03528; -105.52000 (K19JR-D) Wolf Point TV District

Call sign history[]

Further information: KATV

The KRTV callsign was originally used for a UHF station on Channel 17 in Little Rock, Arkansas, affiliated with both CBS and NBC, that was Arkansas' first TV station when it signed on in 1953. However, it went off the air a year later as VHF stations KARK-TV and KTHV were preparing to take its network affiliations. The local ABC affiliate, KATV (previously of Pine Bluff), then moved to Little Rock and took over its studio until it burned down in 1957.

Coincidentally, KRTV wasn't the only station in Great Falls whose callsign was once used in Arkansas; its now-defunct competitor KLMN used the original call letters of Fort Smith station KFTA-TV.

References[]

  1. ^ [1] Guide to the KRTV Papers at the University of Montana
  2. ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for KRTV". www.rabbitears.info.
  3. ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for KXLH-LD". www.rabbitears.info.
  4. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  5. ^ Howerton, Jason (11 February 2013). "Local Station Breaks Into Programming With Emergency Zombie Apocalypse Alert". Mediaite. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  6. ^ Paymer, Alan (February 12, 2013). "4 channels up north, plus 1 in the OC, hacked with notice of zombies". Orange County Register. Retrieved June 11, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Station release (11 February 2013). "Bogus emergency alert message transmitted". KRTV. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  8. ^ Highsmith, Aisha (February 11, 2013). "A Powerful Prankster Could Become One of the Jailing Dead". WNEM-TV. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  9. ^ [2] Archived 2013-02-15 at the Wayback Machine Emergency Broadcast System Hacked
  10. ^ "Remember, Remember the 11th of February". Damn Interesting. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  11. ^ "Bogus Walking Dead Notice Interrupts Programming on 3 Marquette Stations". The Flint Journal. February 12, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  12. ^ [3] Archived 2013-02-15 at the Wayback Machine News 8 Determines Cause of Strange Message About Zombies

External links[]

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