KWYB

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Television station in Butte, Montana

title: "KWYB" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1996-establishments-in-montana", "american-broadcasting-company-affiliates", "cowles-company", "fox-broadcasting-company-affiliates", "mynetworktv-affiliates", "television-channels-and-stations-established-in-1996", "television-stations-in-butte,-montana"] description: "Television station in Butte, Montana" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWYB" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Television station in Butte, Montana ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox television station dual"]

Field	Value
name1	KWYB
city1	Butte, Montana
logo	Non-Stop Local ABC-Fox Montana 2022.svg
logo_size	250px
branding
digital1	19 (UHF)
virtual1	18
affiliations
translators	K26ON-D 26 Deer Lodge, etc.
airdate1
country	United States
former_channel_numbers1	Analog: 18 (UHF, 1996–2009)
owner	Cowles Company
licensee	Cowles Montana Media Company
sister_stations	KULR-TV, KFBB-TV, KTMF
erp1	110.7 kW
haat1	585.2 m
facility_id1	14674
coordinates1
licensing_authority	FCC
website
name2	KWYB-LD
city2	Bozeman, Montana
digital2	28 (UHF)
virtual2	28
airdate2
former_callsigns2	K28FB (1996–1997)
former_channel_numbers2
erp2	6.5 kW
haat2	204.6 m
facility_id2	38576
class2	LD
coordinates2
::

KWYB (channel 18) in Butte, Montana, and KWYB-LD (channel 28) in Bozeman, Montana, are television stations serving as the ABC and Fox affiliates for Southwestern Montana. Owned by the Cowles Company, KWYB maintains studios on Dewey Boulevard in Butte, and its transmitter is located on XL Heights east of the city.

KWYB-LD operates as a low-power semi-satellite of KWYB. It simulcasts all network and syndicated programming provided by KWYB, but airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. KWYB-LD's transmitter is located southwest of Four Corners, Montana.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/ButteBoze.jpg" caption="KWYB's "ABC 18" and "ABC 28" logos, used during the mid-2000s"] ::

Channel 18 was allotted to Butte in 1983. A construction permit for a station to be owned by Community Christian Television was issued in 1986, but failed to materialize.

In 1991, Continental Television Network applied for channel 18 in Butte and was granted a construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission on January 9, 1992. The launch of KWYB was delayed two years by transmitter site arrangements. To house its XL Heights transmitter, it reached a deal with local electric utility Montana Power Company to move into space formerly utilized by the company. However, Montana Power wound up moving out in 1996 instead of the previously planned 1994. This pushed back construction of the physical plant. Station studios offices were set up in a building on West Park Street.

KWYB went on the air September 27, 1996. It assumed the ABC affiliation from two low-power stations operated by KXLF-TV/KCTZ, known as "KBZ", in the Butte and Bozeman areas. When it launched, the station also assumed a secondary affiliation with Fox for NFL football. A month later, K28FB—today's KWYB-LD—began broadcasting to Bozeman.

In February 2001, CTN sold KWYB/KWYB-LP, along with KTMF in Missoula, KTMF-LP in Kalispell, and KTGF in Great Falls, to Max Media of Montana. They were the first television station acquisitions in Montana for Max Media.

Max Media provided operational support to the Equity Broadcasting-owned Fox affiliates in Butte/Bozeman, Missoula, and Great Falls from 2003 to 2008. This arrangement ended in 2008, when Equity assumed programming responsibilities directly. In 2009, after a bankrupt Equity was forced to shut down the stations (including KBTZ channel 24 in Butte and KBTZ-LP channel 32 in Bozeman) because it could not convert them to digital television, the Fox affiliation migrated to digital subchannels of KWYB/KWYB-LD, KTMF/KTMF-LD, and KFBB-TV.

On September 30, 2013, the Cowles Company acquired Max Media's Montana television stations for $18 million. The sale was completed on November 29.

News operation

KWYB's first local news service came under Max Media ownership in September 2002, when Max contracted Independent News Network of Davenport, Iowa, to produce a regional newscast for KWYB, KTMF, and KTGF, all third-to-air stations in their markets with no local news at the time. Six reporters, one each in the five areas serviced by the Max Montana stations and another in Helena, contributed reports to Big Sky News at 5 and 10 p.m., which was presented from Iowa. The early newscast was dropped at the start of 2004.

In 2005, Max Media acquired KFBB-TV in Great Falls, selling KTGF. Unlike KTGF, KFBB-TV produced its own local news. At that time, Big Sky News was replaced with a 10 p.m. newscast branded Montana News Network, produced from Great Falls and servicing all of the company's Montana stations except KULR-TV in Billings. This newscast was subsequently discontinued, and for several years the only local newscast on the station was a ten-minute late newscast, 10@10.

, KWYB airs the state-wide morning newscast Wake Up Montana (produced by KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington) and full early evening and late newscasts, as well as a prime time newscast on its Fox subchannel.

In October 2022, the station rebranded its news output as NonStop Local, as part of a rebranding by Cowles.

Technical information

Subchannels

The stations' signals are multiplexed: ::data[format=table title="Subchannels of KWYB{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWYB#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KWYB|access-date=April 25, 2022|website=rabbitears.info|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411014406/https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWYB#station|url-status=live}} and KWYB-LD{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWYB-LD#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KWYB-LD|access-date=April 25, 2022|website=rabbitears.info|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417133659/https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWYB-LD#station|url-status=live}}"] | Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | KWYB | KWYB-LD | KWYB | KWYB-LD | 18.1 || 28.1 | 18.2 || 28.2 | 18.3 || 28.3 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 720p | 16:9 | KWYB-AB | KWYBLAB | ABC | | | | | | | | | KWYB-FO | KWYBLFO | Fox | | | | | | | | | | | 480i | SWX | url=http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/34000860/where-to-watch-swx-24hr-sports-and-weather|title=Where to watch: SWX 24hr 'Sports and Weather'|last=Lutz|first=Andrea|website=ABCFOXMontana.com|publisher=Cowles Company|date=December 7, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032628/http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/34000860/where-to-watch-swx-24hr-sports-and-weather|url-status=live}} | | | | | | | | | | ::

On June 14, 2002, the FCC granted a construction permit to build KWYB-DT on UHF channel 19. The station received special temporary authority (STA) on April 22, 2003, to broadcast at reduced power. In Butte, KWYB's analog signal went off the air on the original shutoff date on February 17, 2009.

On August 11, 2006, the FCC granted "flash-cut" authorization to KWYB-LD, and on August 11, 2009, analog station KWYB-LP converted to digital station KWYB-LD on channel 28.

References

(June 16, 1986). "For the Record". Broadcasting.
Tom, Patricia-Anne. (July 24, 1996). "In Butte: TV station debuting". The Montana Standard.
Stucke, John. (July 26, 1996). "Board OKs permit: TV station to hit local air waves". The Montana Standard.
(October 11, 1996). "Fox plans full NFL coverage for Butte". The Montana Standard.
(October 24, 1996). "TV news station changes affiliation". [[Bozeman Daily Chronicle]].
Becker, Michael. (March 10, 2008). "Fox Network goes dark for over-air viewers". Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Malone, Michael. (July 21, 2009). "Fox on Montana Stations' Digi-Channels". [[Broadcasting & Cable]].
(October 1, 2013). "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
(October 1, 2013). "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
"CDBS Print".
Struckman, Todd. (October 10, 2002). "First from afar: Live from Iowa, it's Big Sky News". Missoula Independent.
Britton, Beth. (September 24, 2002). "KTGF launches newscast". Great Falls Tribune.
McCartney, Leslie. (January 11, 2004). "KXLF-TV not leaving". The Montana Standard.
Larcombe, James E.. (February 27, 2005). "Max Media launches new TV station". Great Falls Tribune.
"Washington, Montana stations consolidate under 'NonStop Local' brand".
"RabbitEars TV Query for KWYB".
"RabbitEars TV Query for KWYB-LD".
Lutz, Andrea. (December 7, 2016). "Where to watch: SWX 24hr 'Sports and Weather'". [[Cowles Company]].
(February 16, 2009). "One station turning off the analog". The Montana Standard.

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