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Billings Radio and TV Station Photos from the John in Montana Collection
The Billings radio and TV stations photos from the John in Montana collection are listed in alphabetical order by call letters. Due to the large amount of photos for Billings, some stations are on seperate pages.
Coburn Road Antenna Farm
KGHL-TV / KULR-TV / KULR-DT
KOOK-TV / KTVQ / KTVQ-DT / Billings CW
KBGS: Until early June 2009 PBS broadcasts in Billings were seen on translator K20HB. The translator remains on while conversion to digital continues. KBGS ditital channel 16 broadcasts 4 channels. 16-1 is KBGS HD PBS main programming. 16-2 KBGS-K features kids programs. 16-2 KBGS-C offers crafts and how to programs. 16-4 features various programs from Montana government broadcasts.
KBGS's Harris DiamondCD UHF ATSC Transmitter is located in the KTVQ transmitter building. This photo is from 2009. Note the touch screen transmitter controls. Harris' eCDi Monitor and Control as seen in 2009.
KBGS call letters are derived from the city of location, BillinGS.
The KBGS 16-1 on air ID from June 2009 doesn't include KBGS yet.
KBLG: Radio 910 Billings came on the air September 25, 1955 as KOYN. You will find more information about KOYN down the page. On July 10, 1986 the call letters were changed to KBLG. The 4140 King Avenue East station and tower photo is from 1987. Note the horse.
KBLG's studios are now located at 2075 Central Avenue sharing the building with other Cherry Creek Radio stations KRKX FM 94.1 "Montana's Home of Rock 'N Roll" - KRZN FM 96.3 "The Zone" - and KYYA-FM 93.3 "Y93" .
The KBLG control room photo is from 2000.
The next KBLG picture shows how the 4140 King Avenue East transmitter building and tower looked in 2008.
KBMY: KBMY Radio 1240 came on the air September 8, 1946. Don Foote started KBMY as Billings' 2nd radio station. Some of you remember Wonderland Park which was also owned by Foote. That was located next to KBMY on Laurel Road. The KBMY Radio 1240 5080 Laurel Road, Billings station and tower photo is from 1972. KBMY left the air on September 30, 1983 due to financial difficulties.
For a number of years this facility was silent. It returned to the air February 26, 1989 as KZBO, then on February 26, 1990 it became KUUS with the slogan "KWS" See below for a photo of the KUUS studios. On April 1, 1993 the facility became part of the now defunct May School of Broadcasting and was changed to KMAY. On October 24, 1997 it became KMZK. Sadly, this tower was removed September 29, 1998 for a pre-fab house business. KMZK's antenna is now shared with KURL. See below for information on KURL.
The wonderful KBMY billboard is from 1978.
KCTR: The KCTR-FM 102.9 "Cat Country 103" Coburn Road Antenna Farm tower photo is from 2008. 102.9 FM Billings came on the air August 14, 1979 as KOOK-FM.
The call letters were changed to KBIT on January 16, 1984 and then on March 1, 1988 the change was made to KCTR-FM.
The KCTR-FM studios are on the 23rd floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 27 North 27th in downtown Billings along with other GAPWEST stations KBBB FM 103.7 - KBUL 970 - KKBR 97.1 "K-Bear" - and KMHK "The Hawk."
The control room photo is from 2006. That's Montana's best country DJ, well, at least John In Montana thinks so; Jeff Womack hamming it up during his show perhaps doing some old "Hee Haw" material. Jeff has since left radio and is now Spokane's favorite weekend weather man on KHQ-TV Channel 6.
KGHL: The KGHL studio and tower photo is from 1972. The I-90 at Zoo Drive exit building and towers are still there today, but are not being used and, sadly,are scheduled for destruction.
KGHL Radio came on the air June 8, 1928 when Charles O. Campbell, who owned Northwestern Auto Supply, wanted Billings to have a radio station. Starting out at 250 watts on 950, the move to 790 was in March of 1941. Note that tall self-supporting tower. When constructed, the 568' tower was the tallest of its kind in the United States!
The next photo from 2008 shows the building and towers still there.
The next photo from 2007 gives you a view of how the towers look when driving on I-90.
The KGHL billboard photo is from 1977. The drawing of the city scene is interesting. Note the large clock atop the one building. That, of course, was the world's largest revolving clock located atop the Security Bank building.
For a number of years in the 1980's and 1990's KGHL's studios were located at 2070 Overland Park. Note the tower and antenna used to send the signal out to the transmitter site.
The final KGHL 790 photo is of their new transmitter site and tower located off I-90 at the Johnson Lane exit.
KGHL is now located at 222 North 32nd Street in the Granite Tower building
KGHL-FM: The KGHL-FM 98.5 van photo is from 2008. The FM came on the air in August of 1978 as KBMS. The call letters were changed to KIDX on December 9, 1978. Briefly from March 9, 1998 until April 17, 1998 they used the KOOK-FM call letters. Then back to KIDX. Finally on December 13, 1999 the calls were changed to KGHL-FM. They use the slogan "The Wolf" adding to the many animal slogans used in this market.
KKBR: The two photos for KKBR Radio FM 97.1 "K-Bear" are from 2000. Note the sign above the control room window.
The on air DJ has quite a view being 23 stories above Billings in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. 97.1 FM came on the air December 17, 1963 as Billings' first FM using the call letters KURL-FM. The station was sold and on August 27, 1979 they became KKOZ "Cozy" which was changed to KZLS on October 14, 1981. The KKBR call letters were assigned April 19, 1993. Read more about KURL and KZLS below.
KOOK: KOOK Radio 970 came on the air March 20, 1951. They retined the KOOK "cook" call letters until November 4, 1985 when they changed to KBIT. On March 1, 1988 they became KCTR and simulcast the KCTR-FM format. April 11, 1994 they switched to KDWG "The Dog" and then on April 17, 1998 the call letters were changed to KBUL "The Bull" with a country format until September 10, 2001 when the format was changed to all news. Amazing that this change was just one day before 9-11. The KBUL call letters remain, but now that means "The Bulletin."
The photo of the 7002 South Billings Boulevard studios and towers is from 1975. A more recent photo of those towers looking east is next. Now KBUL, this photo is from 2008.
The KOOK billboard photo is from 1977.
KOUS-TV: The KOUS-TV on air ID is from 1982. Channel 4 Hardin came on the air November 26, 1980 as KOUS-TV and an NBC affiliate for the Billings market. Studios were located in Hardin. Their tower is 18 miles from Billings which created poor reception in Billings, their target city. KOUS-TV started a newscast in 1982. They stopped doing a newscast a few months later. That facility was replaced by KSVI Channel 6 in Billings on January 8, 1993.
Channel 4 returned to the air August 16, 1995 as KHMT "Fox4" becoming Billings' 4th TV station.
KOUS-TV news anchor Ed Connors is pictured in this on air shot from 1982.
KOYN: KOYN Radio 910 came on the air September 25, 1955 as KOYN. The call letters were pronounced "coin."
On July 10, 1986 the call letters were changed to KBLG. The 4140 King Avenue East station and tower photo is from 1972. This area is now filled with houses around the station and tower. Information on KBLG is above on this page.
KRKX: The KRKX Radio FM 94.1 2075 Central Avenue control room photo is from 2000. DJ Sam Talkington is pictured. 94.1 started out as KFBA on September 9, 1987. The call letters were changed to KRKX "Montana's Home of Rock 'n Roll" on July 13, 1989.
The KRKX van photo is from 2000.
KRSQ: The KRSQ Radio FM 101.9 van photo is from 2008. Hot 101.9.
KSVI: The KSVI TV Channel 6 and KHMT Channel 4 "Fox4" studios are shared at 445 South 24th Street West in Billings.
The station photo is from 2008.
KSVI came on the air January 8, 1993.
KURL: KURL Radio 730 came on the air October 15, 1959 as a top 40 rock station. The station used the slogan "Push Button One On Your Radio Dial" and even published a weekly music survey. John In Montana collects surveys and if you have a KURL Top 40 Chart please contact John at the e-mail address in the footer of this page. The call letters are pronounced "curl." The facility is now a religious station.
The first photo is of the 636 Haugen Street studios and tower as they looked in 1972.
The next photo is from 2008. KMZK Radio 1240 now shares the tower.
An interesting side note on KURL was that on December 17, 1963 KURL-FM came on the air at 97.1. That facility was sold and later became KKOZ, then KZLS, and ending up as KKBR. See info above and below on these stations. In April of 2008 KURL added FM buying K248BL 97.5 and simulcasting KURL 730. Perhaps the original KURL-FM 97.1 should have never been sold?
KUUS: For part of the time 1240 has been on the air, the station was KUUS starting February 26, 1990. On air known as "KWS" as noted in the sign, the "UU" part forming a "W" K-double U-S. The KUUS radio 1240 300 North 25th Street station photo is from 1987. On April 1, 1993 the calls were changed to KMAY. See KBMY above for more details.
KWMY - KPBR - KPLN: Connoisseur Media operates three FM stations in Billings. KWMY FM 92.5 "My 92.5" "KPLN FM 106.7 "Planet 106.7" and KPBR FM 105.9 "The Bar" with studios in the Swanson Building at 101 Grand Avenue. The station photo is from 2007. All three came on the air in March of 2006. KWMY is licensed to Park City, KPLN is licensed to Lockwood, and KPBR is licensed to Joliet.
The KWMY vehicle photo is from 2008.
KYYA: The KYYA Radio FM 93.3 1645 Central Avenue studio photo is from 1978. FM 93.3 came on the air April 5, 1969 as KOYN-FM with a country music format. The change to KYYA was made around the time the photo was taken. The country music format was ended and they became a top 40 rock station using a taped automation system. The bad part about that was if you listend long enough the same songs would follow each other until new tapes arrived. KYYA "Y-93.3" moved to 2075 Central Avenue where they share studios with other Cherry Creek Radio stations.
KYYA put up billboards to promote the change. The billboard photo is from 1978.
The Y93.3 large RV was used for many years as a remote vehicle. This photo is from 2000.
KYYA moved to 2075 Central Avenue along with KCMT, KRKX, and KBLG. The first photo is from 2000.
KCMT changed call letters to KRZN as reflect in the next photo from 2008.
The KYYA "Y-93" control room photo is from 2000.
KZLS: The KZLS Radio FM 97.1 300 North 25th Street studio location photo is from 1987. 97.1 came on the air December 17, 1963 as KULR-FM to become Billings first FM station. When ownership changed later, on August 27, 1979 they became KKOZ "Cozy" which was changed to KZLS on October 14, 1981. The KKBR call letters were assigned April 19, 1993. For more, read the KURL information above.
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Friday, March 26, 2010
