KXGN-TV
Encyclopedia
KXGN-TV channel 5 is a television station in Glendive, Montana
, a primarily agricultural
region in eastern Montana, which is the smallest of the 210 US Nielsen
-designated broadcast television market areas in the United States
; the market serves a total potential home-market audience of a mere five thousand households in Dawson
and Prairie
counties in eastern Montana. The market is also the smallest in North America. KXGN celebrated its 50th year on the air in November 2007.
KXGN is affiliated with the CBS
Television Network, and also airs news and other programs from the Montana Television Network
, a network of CBS affiliates in Montana.
KXGN-TV is owned by Glendive Broadcasting Corporation. Glendive Broadcasting also operates two of the three Glendive radio stations. KXGN radio
(1400 AM) and KDZN
(96.5 FM) have been owned by Glendive Broadcasting since the late 1970s and 1986 respectively.
affiliate on its second digital subchannel
; until September 2009, its primary feed carried NBC on a secondary basis in addition to CBS. KXGN was the last "Big 3" station in the US to air more than one network's programming on a single feed. In the past, KXGN also carried ABC
and Fox
programming; the station also carried UPN
during the overnight hours until UPN closed on September 15, 2006 to combine with The WB to form The CW network (currently CW programming is seen on cable-only channel CW Glendive, formerly KWZB).
KXGN also offered programming from The Sportsman Channel
during the late-night hours on weekends, until that channel restricted availability to cable and satellite systems.
; Emilie Boyles doubles as the station's sole reporter and editor. Former longtime personality Ed Agre was once profiled by Sports Illustrated
for his duties in this capacity. "Dapper" Dan Frenzel, KXGN's weekend TV weatherman and radio DJ since April 1964, served as vice president and general manager of the station from 1988 until his death (due to a heart condition) in 2003.
All other "local" newscasts on KXGN are simulcasts from Billings
' KTVQ
(with the exception of its morning newscast), as an affiliate of the Montana Television Network
. The Early Show
from CBS is the only news on KXGN in the morning. Likewise, KXGN's NBC subchannel simulcasts newscasts from another Billings station, KULR-TV
; unlike the main channel, this arrangement includes KULR's morning newscast, Today in Montana. An early evening edition of Montana East News airs on KXGN-DT2 at 4:55 p.m., after The Dr. Oz Show
.
programming lineup from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; some other CBS programs, particularly daytime
programming, are also aired one hour ahead of normal. Until September 2009, KXGN would, at 9 p.m., air NBC programming that is either airing at that time or recorded earlier that evening. While the station did also carry all of NBC's soap opera
s (Days of our Lives
and, until September 2007, Passions
) in later years in addition to CBS's, NBC's other programs did not air on KXGN, opting instead to show CBS's programming or local shows.
Even after dropping NBC from its primary subchannel, KXGN has retained the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. CBS prime-time block intact, opting to show syndicated programming at 9 p.m., including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
on weeknights. In contrast, KXGN-DT2 generally clears NBC programming in their normal time periods.
A full-time NBC affiliate, KUMV-TV
from Williston, North Dakota
, was and still is available on cable, as well as via a local 2630-watt repeater in Glendive, K13PL channel 13; due to KXGN's NBC-affiliated subchannel and its prior secondary affiliation, this is one of very few situations where a commercial network has, in effect, two different affiliates in the same city.
K13IG is the only translator owned by KXGN—all others are either owned by local governments or television associations.
TV channel 10 by the FCC
in September 2004 after receiving multiple extensions of the original May 1, 2002 deadline to go digital due to financial hardship. In fall 2008, it received FCC permission to place its final post-transition digital signal
on its existing channel, VHF 5, reducing the cost of its digital transition by an estimated $100,000 by not simulcasting digitally on another channel during transition.
By 2007, Glendive would be the only remaining US terrestrial television market to have no digital signals at all.
Initial obstacles to small-market digital transition included the limited number of households which would be able to receive the digital signal over-the-air (many depend on repeaters or cable to receive TV at all), the high costs involved and the small number of ATSC TV sets in use in the local area. Costs of installing a new hilltop digital transmitter in Makoshika
plus new digital-capable microwave equipment, while undisclosed by KXGN, were estimated to be in the upper six figure range.
KXGN-TV's digital broadcast equipment was scheduled to be delivered just before the original February 17, 2009 shutdown of analogue broadcasting; as of February 15, the equipment had yet to arrive. Once the national shut-off date had been extended, a clearly unready KXGN opted to take advantage of the new transition date, June 12, 2009. KXGN's digital conversion was completed in June 2009 with relatively minimal disruption.
The exemption of LPTV operations from the 2009 DTV transition
requirement left KXGN as an analogue signal for viewers of numbered repeater stations long after the main signal became entirely digital. Individual KXGN broadcast translator sites, however, needed to update their equipment in order to convert the new digital signal back to analogue for rebroadcast; the readiness of these facilities and the availability of the KXGN-DT 5 signal over the air at the individual repeater sites was largely unknown until the transition's completion. While the added capacity available on a digital signal allows the station to dedicate a digital subchannel to full NBC programming (as is currently the case) or even (through Miles Community College
) to obtain Montana PBS
feeds, translator viewers retain their existing analogue coverage and do not currently receive any extra channels.
While KXGN was also (albeit indirectly) listed as one of the charter affiliates of the new .2 Network
, originally slated to begin broadcast sometime in 2008, as of 2010 this network has yet to sign on and any proposed affiliations therefore remain uncertain.
Glendive, Montana
Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States. The population was 4,935 at the 2010 census.The town of Glendive is located in South Eastern Montana and is considered by many as an agricultural hub of Eastern Montana...
, a primarily agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
region in eastern Montana, which is the smallest of the 210 US Nielsen
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
-designated broadcast television market areas in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; the market serves a total potential home-market audience of a mere five thousand households in Dawson
Dawson County, Montana
-Economy:Dawson County is known for its dryland grain, coal mines and gas and oil wells. There are 522 current farms and ranches, and 296 commercial businesses.-Demographics:...
and Prairie
Prairie County, Montana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,199 people, 537 households, and 354 families residing in the county. The population density was -Demographics:...
counties in eastern Montana. The market is also the smallest in North America. KXGN celebrated its 50th year on the air in November 2007.
KXGN is affiliated with the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Television Network, and also airs news and other programs from the Montana Television Network
Montana Television Network
The Montana Television Network is a network of CBS affiliates in Montana, all but one owned by the Evening Post Publishing Company.MTN was founded by Montana broadcasting pioneer Joseph S. "Joe" Sample. He signed on KOOK-TV in Billings, Montana's second television station, in 1953. He bought...
, a network of CBS affiliates in Montana.
KXGN-TV is owned by Glendive Broadcasting Corporation. Glendive Broadcasting also operates two of the three Glendive radio stations. KXGN radio
KXGN (AM)
KXGN is a radio station in Glendive, Montana, USA. The station is owned by Glendive Broadcasting, owner of KXGN-TV and KDZN FM. KXGN signed on in 1957.-Programming:...
(1400 AM) and KDZN
KDZN
KDZN is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Glendive, Montana, serving East Central Montana. KDZN is owned and operated by Stephen A. Marks Radio Group.-History:...
(96.5 FM) have been owned by Glendive Broadcasting since the late 1970s and 1986 respectively.
Multiple affiliations
In addition to its primary programming, KXGN operates an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate on its second digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
; until September 2009, its primary feed carried NBC on a secondary basis in addition to CBS. KXGN was the last "Big 3" station in the US to air more than one network's programming on a single feed. In the past, KXGN also carried ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
programming; the station also carried UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
during the overnight hours until UPN closed on September 15, 2006 to combine with The WB to form The CW network (currently CW programming is seen on cable-only channel CW Glendive, formerly KWZB).
KXGN also offered programming from The Sportsman Channel
The Sportsman Channel
Sportsman Channel is a television speciality channel dedicated to hunting, shooting and fishing programming. It launched in 2003.-History:Sportsman Channel was started in 2003 by C. Michael Cooley and Todd D. Hansen of Muskego, Wisconsin...
during the late-night hours on weekends, until that channel restricted availability to cable and satellite systems.
News programming
KXGN airs a five-minute daily evening local newscast called Montana East News at 9:55 p.m., after Who Wants to Be a MillionaireWho Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
; Emilie Boyles doubles as the station's sole reporter and editor. Former longtime personality Ed Agre was once profiled by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
for his duties in this capacity. "Dapper" Dan Frenzel, KXGN's weekend TV weatherman and radio DJ since April 1964, served as vice president and general manager of the station from 1988 until his death (due to a heart condition) in 2003.
All other "local" newscasts on KXGN are simulcasts from Billings
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
' KTVQ
KTVQ
KTVQ is the CBS TV affiliate in Billings, Montana, USA. It broadcasts on channel 2 and is owned by the Evening Post Publishing Company...
(with the exception of its morning newscast), as an affiliate of the Montana Television Network
Montana Television Network
The Montana Television Network is a network of CBS affiliates in Montana, all but one owned by the Evening Post Publishing Company.MTN was founded by Montana broadcasting pioneer Joseph S. "Joe" Sample. He signed on KOOK-TV in Billings, Montana's second television station, in 1953. He bought...
. The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
from CBS is the only news on KXGN in the morning. Likewise, KXGN's NBC subchannel simulcasts newscasts from another Billings station, KULR-TV
KULR-TV
KULR-TV is an NBC affiliate broadcasting on channel 11 in Billings, Montana. KULR is currently owned by Max Media.KULR's programming and schedule is also seen on KYUS-TV in Miles City, Montana; that station is owned and operated by the Marks Radio Group, who also owns several radio stations in...
; unlike the main channel, this arrangement includes KULR's morning newscast, Today in Montana. An early evening edition of Montana East News airs on KXGN-DT2 at 4:55 p.m., after The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
.
Programming
KXGN airs the entire CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
programming lineup from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; some other CBS programs, particularly daytime
CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...
programming, are also aired one hour ahead of normal. Until September 2009, KXGN would, at 9 p.m., air NBC programming that is either airing at that time or recorded earlier that evening. While the station did also carry all of NBC's soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s (Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
and, until September 2007, Passions
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
) in later years in addition to CBS's, NBC's other programs did not air on KXGN, opting instead to show CBS's programming or local shows.
Even after dropping NBC from its primary subchannel, KXGN has retained the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. CBS prime-time block intact, opting to show syndicated programming at 9 p.m., including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
on weeknights. In contrast, KXGN-DT2 generally clears NBC programming in their normal time periods.
A full-time NBC affiliate, KUMV-TV
KMOT
KMOT, channel 10, is an NBC affiliate located in Minot, North Dakota. The station serves the northern half of the Western North Dakota television market...
from Williston, North Dakota
Williston, North Dakota
-Demographics:Preliminary data from a 2010 housing study indicates that population has grown by nearly 22 percent over the past decade; the actual increase might be much higher. Williston is in western North Dakota's booming oil patch, and adequate, affordable housing has become a concern. The...
, was and still is available on cable, as well as via a local 2630-watt repeater in Glendive, K13PL channel 13; due to KXGN's NBC-affiliated subchannel and its prior secondary affiliation, this is one of very few situations where a commercial network has, in effect, two different affiliates in the same city.
Translators
Like many other Montana stations, KXGN relies heavily on a mix of broadcast translators and cable TV systems to extend its reach to more viewers.- BakerBaker, MontanaBaker is a city in and the county seat of Fallon County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2010 census.It was named after A.G. Baker, an engineer with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St...
: K10JP - CircleCircle, MontanaCircle is a town in and the county seat of McCone County, Montana, United States. The population was 644 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Circle is located at ....
: K13BC - CulbertsonCulbertson, MontanaAs of the census of 2000, there were 716 people, 295 households, and 192 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,213.7 people per square mile . There were 356 housing units at an average density of 603.5 per square mile...
: K34GY - EkalakaEkalaka, MontanaEkalaka is a town in and the county seat of Carter County, Montana, United States. The population was 410 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ekalaka is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of .Known for its sandstone rock and open plains, Ekalaka is part...
: K09BE - PlentywoodPlentywood, MontanaAs of the census of 2000, there were 2,061 people, 857 households, and 522 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,756.1 people per square mile . There were 1,020 housing units at an average density of 869.1 per square mile...
: K44ID (defunct, K46GS is the only active TV transmitter licensed to this location) - PlevnaPlevna, MontanaAs of the census of 2000, there were 138 people, 63 households, and 40 families residing in the town. The population density was 301.4 people per square mile . There were 81 housing units at an average density of 176.9 per square mile . The racial makeup of the town was 97.83% White and 2.17% Asian...
: K03HD, K09IV - PoplarPoplar, MontanaAs of the census of 2000, there were 911 people, 325 households, and 206 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,406.0 people per square mile . There were 350 housing units at an average density of 1,308.5 per square mile...
: K05KK - SidneySidney, MontanaSidney is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Montana, United States, less than away from the North Dakota border. The population was 5,191 at the 2010 census. The city lies along the Yellowstone River and is in proximity to the badlands of the Dakotas...
: K13IG
K13IG is the only translator owned by KXGN—all others are either owned by local governments or television associations.
Transition to ATSC digital
KXGN was allocated ATSCATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
TV channel 10 by the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
in September 2004 after receiving multiple extensions of the original May 1, 2002 deadline to go digital due to financial hardship. In fall 2008, it received FCC permission to place its final post-transition digital signal
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
on its existing channel, VHF 5, reducing the cost of its digital transition by an estimated $100,000 by not simulcasting digitally on another channel during transition.
By 2007, Glendive would be the only remaining US terrestrial television market to have no digital signals at all.
Initial obstacles to small-market digital transition included the limited number of households which would be able to receive the digital signal over-the-air (many depend on repeaters or cable to receive TV at all), the high costs involved and the small number of ATSC TV sets in use in the local area. Costs of installing a new hilltop digital transmitter in Makoshika
Makoshika State Park
Makoshika State Park is the largest of Montana's state parks at more than 11,000 acres . It is located east of Glendive. The park contains spectacular badlands which conceal dinosaur fossils. The park contains rock from the Hell Creek Formation and dinosaurs such as Triceratops are found there...
plus new digital-capable microwave equipment, while undisclosed by KXGN, were estimated to be in the upper six figure range.
KXGN-TV's digital broadcast equipment was scheduled to be delivered just before the original February 17, 2009 shutdown of analogue broadcasting; as of February 15, the equipment had yet to arrive. Once the national shut-off date had been extended, a clearly unready KXGN opted to take advantage of the new transition date, June 12, 2009. KXGN's digital conversion was completed in June 2009 with relatively minimal disruption.
The exemption of LPTV operations from the 2009 DTV transition
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
requirement left KXGN as an analogue signal for viewers of numbered repeater stations long after the main signal became entirely digital. Individual KXGN broadcast translator sites, however, needed to update their equipment in order to convert the new digital signal back to analogue for rebroadcast; the readiness of these facilities and the availability of the KXGN-DT 5 signal over the air at the individual repeater sites was largely unknown until the transition's completion. While the added capacity available on a digital signal allows the station to dedicate a digital subchannel to full NBC programming (as is currently the case) or even (through Miles Community College
Montana University System
The Montana University System was created on July 1, 1994, when the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education restructured the state's colleges and universities, with the goal of streamlining the state's higher education in the wake of decreased state funding...
) to obtain Montana PBS
KUSM
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-Missoula...
feeds, translator viewers retain their existing analogue coverage and do not currently receive any extra channels.
While KXGN was also (albeit indirectly) listed as one of the charter affiliates of the new .2 Network
.2 Network
.2 Network was the name of a planned television network designed for digital television subchannels owned by Guardian Enterprise Group that will replace the GTN network on a date never announced....
, originally slated to begin broadcast sometime in 2008, as of 2010 this network has yet to sign on and any proposed affiliations therefore remain uncertain.