KHMT

KHMT is a full-power television station licensed to Hardin, Montana, and serving the Billings, Montana, designated market area. The station broadcasts as a Fox affiliate and is owned by Mission Broadcasting, while Nexstar Media Group operates it alongside KSVI, the market's dual ABC and CW affiliate. KHMT and KSVI share studio facilities on South 24th Street West in Billings, while KHMT's transmitter is located in southeastern Yellowstone County, southeast of Indian Arrow. The station began broadcasting on November 26, 1980, under the call sign KOUS-TV. Its early history reflected the incomplete network coverage then available in Billings. KOUS initially operated primarily as an independent station, although it carried some NBC programming. In 1982 it became a primary NBC affiliate, helping provide Billings with a full-time NBC service at a point when NBC programming was still largely limited to secondary clearances on existing stations. In 1984, the owners of KOUS formally consolidated their ownership with KYUS-TV in Miles City by purchasing that station for $200,000. KYUS subsequently operated as a satellite of KOUS. KOUS changed network affiliations in 1987. NBC moved its affiliation to KULR-TV, and channel 4 assumed KULR's former ABC affiliation. The station's programming was also simulcast in Bozeman on newly launched KCTZ. Reception in portions of Billings was difficult because KOUS's transmitter stood about 18 miles east of the city, prompting the creation of a Billings translator. The ownership company later obtained a construction permit for a new channel 6 facility in Billings. On January 8, 1993, the KOUS intellectual unit moved from channel 4 to channel 6, becoming KSVI. KSVI inherited KOUS's ABC affiliation, while KYUS, KCTZ, and the Billings translator became associated with the new channel 6 operation. The channel 4 license was subsequently sold to the National Indian Media Foundation, which entered into a local marketing agreement with KSVI. Channel 4 returned to the air on August 16, 1995, under the call sign KHMT and as a Fox affiliate. Under the foundation's ownership, the station presented itself as the only full-power television station with entirely Native American ownership and became Montana's first primary Fox affiliate. Before KHMT's launch, Foxnet had supplied the Billings market with a cable-only Fox service from 1991 through 1994; KSVI then carried Fox secondarily for approximately a year before KHMT assumed the primary affiliation. KHMT added a secondary UPN affiliation in 1997, sharing that service with KSVI until UPN ceased operations in 2006. Ownership changed several times. Wolf Mountain Broadcasting, the National Indian Media Foundation subsidiary that became the station's licensee, sold KHMT to VHR Broadcasting in 2002. Mission Broadcasting acquired the station in 2003, at the same time that Quorum Broadcasting, then associated with KSVI, merged with Nexstar Broadcasting Group. The resulting operating arrangement placed KHMT and KSVI under shared Nexstar management while keeping the stations under separate ownership structures. KHMT has also experimented with local news. KOUS launched a news operation in 1982, but that effort was later discontinued. A new KHMT/KSVI news operation began on April 18, 2002. It received Montana Broadcasters Association and Associated Press awards and was known for assertive reporting and questioning. However, the operation struggled to attract viewers; its prime-time newscast reportedly drew only a 3 percent share and ranked well behind the area's established news providers. Nexstar ended the newscasts in September 2003, approximately 18 months after launch, stating that discontinuation was necessary to avoid turning the stations' operation from profitable to loss-making. KHMT converted to digital-only broadcasting on June 12, 2009. Its coverage footprint is supplemented by a network of translators across Montana. Mid-Rivers Communications also carries the station by cable in Glendive, a market without its own local Fox affiliate. Today, KHMT's principal identity is as a Fox network outlet for the Billings region, supported by shared facilities and operational resources with KSVI.

KHMT traces its broadcast history to KOUS-TV, which signed on November 26, 1980, as a station serving the Billings region from a transmitter east of the city. It was initially operated largely as an independent station, but became a primary NBC affiliate in 1982. That affiliation helped address a longstanding gap in Billings, where NBC programming had previously been carried mainly through secondary clearances on other network stations. In 1984, KOUS's ownership consolidated its relationship with KYUS-TV in Miles City by acquiring that station. KYUS then became a satellite of KOUS. In 1987, NBC transferred its Billings affiliation to KULR-TV. KOUS responded by taking KULR's former ABC affiliation, while its programming was also simulcast in Bozeman through KCTZ. Reception limitations in Billings led to the establishment of a translator, and the station's owners later pursued a new channel 6 facility for the city. On January 8, 1993, the KOUS programming and intellectual unit moved to channel 6 and became KSVI. The new station retained the ABC affiliation, and KOUS's former satellites and translator were aligned with KSVI. The channel 4 license was then sold to the National Indian Media Foundation. Through a local marketing agreement with KSVI, channel 4 returned on August 16, 1995, as KHMT, a Fox affiliate. The station was promoted as the first primary Fox affiliate in Montana and, under its then-owner, as the country's only full-power television station with 100 percent Native American ownership. KHMT added UPN as a secondary affiliation in 1997, sharing the service with KSVI until UPN ended in 2006. The licensee subsequently became Wolf Mountain Broadcasting, which sold the station to VHR Broadcasting in 2002. Mission Broadcasting acquired KHMT in 2003. The transaction occurred during the merger of Quorum Broadcasting, associated with KSVI, into Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Nexstar has operated KHMT with KSVI, while Mission has remained the station's owner. Local news has been an intermittent part of the station's history. KOUS created a short-lived news service in 1982. KHMT and KSVI later introduced a joint news operation on April 18, 2002. Although the broadcasts received Montana Broadcasters Association and Associated Press recognition, audience performance was poor. The prime-time newscast reportedly obtained only a 3 percent viewing share, far behind established competitors. The operation was discontinued in September 2003 after Nexstar took control of the stations' operations; management said the decision was necessary to prevent the operation from producing a loss. KHMT became a digital-only broadcaster on June 12, 2009. Its regional availability is extended through numerous translators, and Mid-Rivers Communications carries the station in Glendive, where there is no local Fox affiliate. The station remains a Billings-area Fox outlet with studios shared with KSVI in Billings and a transmitter in southeastern Yellowstone County.

• 2009

  Digital-only broadcasting begins

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  KHMT completes the United States digital television transition on June 12.

• 2003

  Mission Broadcasting becomes owner

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  Mission Broadcasting acquires KHMT amid the Quorum-Nexstar combination.

• 2002

  Shared local news service launches

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  KHMT and KSVI begin a joint local news operation.

• 1995

  KHMT launches as Fox affiliate

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  Channel 4 resumes broadcasting as KHMT on August 16 and becomes a primary Fox affiliate.

• 1993

  KOUS intellectual unit moves to channel 6

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  The channel 4 operation signs off and its programming identity moves to channel 6 as KSVI.

• 1987

  KOUS takes ABC affiliation

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  Following NBC's move to KULR-TV, KOUS assumes KULR's former ABC affiliation.

• 1984

  KYUS becomes a KOUS satellite

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  KOUS's owners purchase KYUS-TV and subsequently operate it as a satellite.

• 1982

  Primary NBC affiliation begins

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  KOUS becomes a primary NBC affiliate after a period of largely independent programming.

• 1980

  KOUS-TV signs on

  [1]KHMTen.wikipedia.org

  The station begins broadcasting on November 26 under the KOUS-TV call sign.

A local Fox television outlet serving the Billings market, with regional reach supported by translators and shared operations with KSVI.

• Broadcast television · 1995

  Fox affiliate television service

  KHMT's principal offering is over-the-air and distributed television programming from Fox for viewers in the Billings, Montana market. The station combines network programming with local commercial inventory and regional distribution through translators.

• News broadcasting · 2002

  Local news programming

  KHMT has operated local news services at different points in its history. The most recent shared KHMT-KSVI news operation began in 2002 and ended in 2003 after weak audience performance and unfavorable economics.

• 2003

  End the local news operationStrategy

  Background

  The shared prime-time newscast reportedly attracted only a 3 percent viewing share and operated behind established local competitors.

  Action taken

  Nexstar discontinued the KHMT-KSVI newscasts in September 2003.

  Aftermath

  KHMT returned to a primarily network-and-syndication model without a regular locally produced newscast.

  Reported prime-time newscast viewing share. 3% (2003)

  Source

• 2002

  Launch a shared local news operationProduct launch

  Background

  The stations sought to provide a local news product alongside their network programming.

  Action taken

  KHMT and KSVI introduced jointly produced newscasts on April 18, 2002.

  Aftermath

  Despite industry awards, the operation drew weak ratings and was later closed.

  Source

• 1995

  Re-enter the market as a Fox affiliateStrategy

  Background

  After the former KOUS intellectual unit moved to channel 6, the channel 4 license was available for a new operating identity.

  Action taken

  The National Indian Media Foundation relaunched channel 4 as KHMT through a local marketing agreement with KSVI and affiliated it primarily with Fox.

  Aftermath

  KHMT became Montana's first primary Fox affiliate and established its current core network identity.

  Source

1. 1KHMTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KHMT official websiteyourbigsky.com