Eagle Communications era
Dale Moore's Western Broadcasting Company reached a deal to sell KGVO-TV, KCFW, and KTVM to Eagle Communications, Inc.—a company formed by former The Ed Sullivan Show producer Robert Precht and Advance Communications, owner of KFBB-TV in Great Falls—in 1977.[16] Despite a protest from a citizens' group, Montanans for Quality Television, the deal received FCC approval in September 1978,[17] and on November 1, KGVO-TV became KECI-TV. The new owners pledged to improve news coverage, in part under a pact with the citizens' group.[18] The Eagle stations also aired Sesame Street for three years from 1978 to 1981, dropping the program due to a lack of underwriters.[19]
Eagle demonstrated an increased commitment to the Butte area, which had never been served by any specific local programming, even after the launch of KTVM. After expressing interest in establishing a Butte office in 1978,[20] the station did so in 1982 and began producing local news reports for inclusion in KECI's newscasts.[21] Precht Communications acquired full control of Eagle Communications by 1981.[22] NBC signed primary affiliation agreements with the Eagle stations in 1983; though they were dual NBC–CBS affiliates on paper, the best CBS shows aired on KXLF–KPAX, and CBS had turned down Eagle's bid for primary affiliation with that network to protect its relationship with the other stations in the Montana Television Network (MTN).[23]
In 1984, KXLF–KPAX and the other MTN stations became full-time CBS outlets. As a result, most ABC programs moved to the Eagle network.[24] Between 1984 and 1989, KECI aired an 11 p.m. late local newscast—highly unusual for the Mountain Time Zone (most network affiliates in the Mountain Time Zone aired their late newscasts at 10 p.m.). While this allowed KECI to clear more ABC programs, it created further scheduling headaches and put its late news at a disadvantage.[25] Viewers cited confusion over the availability of programs, and returning the late news to 10 p.m. allowed Eagle to restore The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live to its lineup en route to becoming a sole NBC affiliate.[26] A full-time ABC outlet for Missoula, KTMF (channel 23), was established in 1990.[27]
The 1980s also saw Eagle seek to increase its presence in Bozeman. It first attempted to buy the construction permit for KCTZ (channel 7), which had sought an ABC affiliation only to have its hopes dashed by Eagle's June 1984 acquisition of the ABC rights in the Missoula–Butte market.[28][29] The opposition of two local residents and radio station owners caused the deal to languish for 16 months at the FCC until the green light was given in January 1986,[30] and the deal fell apart when the commission agreed with a petitioner who claimed the purchase was duplicative. When KCTZ began broadcasting, it caused interference issues to KTVM's signal in the Bozeman area.[31] In 1989, Eagle purchased the construction permit for low-power K42BZ, which took to the air as a translator for KTVM in January 1990.[32] In 2002, after the introduction of the Class A television service, the FCC approved K42BZ to be designated as a Class A station.[33]
