K09CC
| Company type | Television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | 1954-03-21 |
| Headquarters | Black Eagle , United States |
Area served | Great Falls, Montana and Helena, Montana |
| Owner | Cowles Company |
| Website | www |
KFBB-TV (channel 5) serves as a television broadcaster in Great Falls, Montana, affiliated with the ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV networks. The station is owned by the Cowles Company and operates its studios and transmitter facilities along Old Havre Highway in Black Eagle, although it uses a Great Falls postal address.
In Helena, KHBB-LD (channel 21) acts as a semi-satellite of KFBB-TV, airing identical network and syndicated content while featuring distinct commercial breaks and legal IDs. KHBB-LD is managed from KFBB’s sales office and news bureau situated on Euclid Avenue in Helena, with its transmitter located atop Copper Butte. Both KFBB-TV and KHBB-LD provide Fox programming through their second digital subchannels; prior to 2009, Fox was only available via KHBB-LD in Helena, as Great Falls viewers accessed Fox through KLMN. Additionally, KFBB-TV’s signal is extended by multiple translator stations.
History
KFBB-TV commenced operations on March 21, 1954, becoming Great Falls’ inaugural television station. It initially carried programming from all four major networks but relinquished NBC affiliation to KRTV in 1958. The station continued to broadcast CBS and ABC shows as part of the Skyline Network, which eventually evolved into the Montana Television Network.
Originally under Wilkins Broadcasting ownership alongside KFBB radio (1310 AM, now KEIN), the station had a 27.5% ownership stake held by The Anaconda Company, a prominent Montana mining and media enterprise. In 1959, Anaconda divested its media assets to Lee Enterprises, which then sold KFBB-TV in 1962 to Harriscope Broadcasting. Harriscope secured Montana’s first exclusive ABC affiliation in 1966, ended participation in the Skyline Network, and sold off KFBB radio in 1969. Ownership changed hands again in 1977 when Donald P. Nathanson acquired the station.
Until 1969, KFBB retained a secondary affiliation with CBS and continued airing NBC programs sporadically until 1986 when KTGF (now KJJC-TV) assumed NBC affiliation. The station also aired Sesame Street before Montana established its own PBS network.
Due to its ABC connection, KFBB was carried on cable systems across Alberta and Saskatchewan, maintaining a sales office in Saskatoon alongside Williston stations KUMV-TV and KXMD-TV. This cross-border presence persisted until 1986 when Detroit’s WXYZ-TV replaced KFBB on Canadian cable providers.
After Nathanson’s passing, control of KFBB transferred to his estate in 1981. The following year, ownership moved from the estate to Advance TV based in California, followed by acquisition by Wooster Republican Printing Company from Ohio, which operated the station through various holding entities.
In June 2003, Wooster Republican Printing significantly reduced local news production but retained ownership until November 2004 when it sold KFBB to Max Media of Montana, owner of KTGF. Due to market regulations limiting duopolies, Max Media retained KFBB and divested KTGF. The station underwent several rebranding efforts, including a return to "ABC 5" branding in 2012.
On September 30, 2013, the Cowles Company purchased Max Media’s Montana television group—including KFBB-TV—for $18 million. The transaction was finalized on November 29. Cowles then unified its Montana ABC affiliates into a regional network headquartered at KFBB under the "ABC Montana" brand.
KFBB-DT2/KHBB-LD2 (Fox Montana)
Since July 13, 2009, Fox programming has been broadcast on a subchannel of KFBB. Prior to this, Fox content was exclusively available through KHBB starting in October 2008, as the network had previously been accessible via KLMN. Viewers in Helena originally received Fox through KMTF, then through Foxnet after KMTF switched to Pax TV (later i, now Ion) in 2001, and subsequently from Denver's KDVR following the discontinuation of Foxnet in 2006. Fox airs on digital channel 21.2 in 720p high-definition resolution. The secondary MyNetworkTV service affiliated with Fox is broadcast without branding approximately one hour after Fox’s prime time lineup, following a half-hour newscast and the program Inside Edition on weeknights.
News operation
Out of the three full-service Montana stations owned by Cowles Company, KFBB-TV stands alone in providing an extensive local news lineup. On weeknights, it airs two thirty-minute newscasts at 5 and 6 p.m., along with a 35-minute newscast at 10 p.m. Weekend schedules include half-hour broadcasts at both 5 and 10 p.m. Additionally, KFBB produces a brief ten-minute nightly segment titled 10@10 for Cowles’ other ABC affiliates in Montana—KTMF serving Missoula and Kalispell, and KWYB covering Butte and Bozeman—highlighting sports and weather updates relevant to Montana.
In February 2005, Max Media introduced the regional Montana News Network, which was produced at KFBB but lasted only a short time. Subsequently, KFBB adopted the NewsChannel 5 brand, promoting its commitment to "Live, Local, Late-Breaking Coverage" with morning weather updates, weeknight newscasts at 5:30 and 10 p.m., plus weekend newscasts.
By 2009, KFBB had grown its news staff to become the largest in central Montana. The station embraced the slogan "NewsChannel 5 is Everywhere," underscoring its extensive reporting from Great Falls and three additional bureaus. Weather segments were presented under the "Pinpoint Weather" brand, featuring award-winning tailored forecasts for central and northern Montana. Weekend news coverage was expanded with the addition of a new 5:30 p.m. broadcast alongside the existing 10 p.m. show.
On September 21, 2009, KFBB further broadened its schedule by introducing a new 5 p.m. newscast and shifting the previous 5:30 time slot to 6 p.m., swapping places with ABC World News Tonight. An advertisement published in April 2010’s Signature Montana magazine highlighted that KFBB provides more evening television newscasts than any other station in the market.
Subchannels
The stations' broadcasts are multiplexed as follows:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Identifier | Content | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KFBB-TV | KHBB-LD | KFBB-TV | KHBB-LD | |||
| 5.1 | 21.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KFBB-AB | ABC | ABC |
| 5.2 | 21.2 | KFBB-FO | FOX | Fox and MyNetworkTV | ||
| 5.3 | 21.3 | SWX | SWX Right Now | |||
Analog-to-digital conversion
In April 1997, KFBB-TV was granted its digital television (DTV) channel allocation by the FCC. Originally designated to channel 39, the FCC approved a reassignment to channel 8 in June 2001 and issued a construction permit for digital facilities on March 14, 2002. By April 2002, KFBB-DT had commenced digital broadcasts and received its license on November 1, 2002. The station discontinued analog transmissions on VHF channel 5 on June 12, 2009, in compliance with the federal digital transition deadline. Its digital broadcast continued on VHF channel 8 while maintaining virtual channel 5.
On August 9, 2006, the FCC authorized KHBB-LD’s "flash-cut," permitting the station to convert from analog to digital by August 9, 2009. KHBB-LP terminated analog service on November 27, 2008, and began digital broadcasts featuring ABC programming on channel 21.1 and Fox content on channel 21.2, both delivered in 720p high-definition resolution.
Translators
Unless specified otherwise, all listed translators retransmit KFBB-TV.
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Belt and surrounding areas
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Big Sandy
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Chinook
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Circle and nearby locations
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Conrad
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Denton
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Dodson
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Fort Peck
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Four Buttes and adjacent areas
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Glasgow
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Joplin
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Jordan
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Lewistown
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Malta
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Phillips County
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Saco
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Tampico
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Townsend (retransmits KHBB-LD)
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Whitewater
- Template:FCC-LMS-Facility Wolf Point