KTVQ-DT2

KTVQ-DT2 is the digital secondary channel of KTVQ, a television station serving Billings, Montana, and the surrounding market. The subchannel has been associated with The CW and is positioned as a local broadcast outlet carrying network entertainment programming in addition to any locally scheduled material provided by the parent station. Its distribution depends on KTVQ's over-the-air digital signal and may also extend through local cable or other television services that carry the station's multicast channels. KTVQ-DT2 operates within the institutional and technical framework of KTVQ, whose history reaches back to the launch of KOOK-TV on November 9, 1953. KTVQ was the first television station in Billings and the third television station established in Montana. The station began as a CBS, ABC, and DuMont affiliate, later carried NBC programming on a secondary basis, and became a primary CBS affiliate in 1980. In 1972, the television station adopted the KTVQ call sign after the former owner sold KOOK radio and the shared call letters could no longer be retained. KTVQ subsequently became the principal Billings operation of the Montana Television Network, a statewide group of Montana broadcast stations. The parent station's ownership history includes Garryowen Broadcasting under Joseph Sample, SJL Broadcasting, Cordillera Communications, and, since 2019, The E. W. Scripps Company. KTVQ is part of Scripps' broader broadcast portfolio and remains associated with the Montana Television Network. Its studios are in Billings, while its main transmitter is located at Sacrifice Cliff southeast of downtown. These facilities support KTVQ's main CBS service and its digital multicast offerings, including KTVQ-DT2. As a CW outlet, KTVQ-DT2's principal offering is television programming supplied by The CW, a network known for scripted entertainment and related broadcast content. The channel complements KTVQ's primary CBS service by giving the station group an additional programming stream and allowing the Billings market to receive CW programming through a local over-the-air station. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about the subchannel's launch date, staffing, independent news operation, or programming schedule; those details should not be inferred from the history of KTVQ itself. The channel's present status, branding, and distribution should therefore be confirmed against current station and network listings.

KTVQ-DT2 is a digital subchannel carried by KTVQ, the Billings, Montana television station historically known as KOOK-TV. Because the available reference material primarily documents the history of the parent station rather than the secondary channel, the subchannel's own launch date and early operating history are not established here. KTVQ's origins date to an application filed by The Montana Network on December 13, 1952, for a television station on channel 2 in Billings. The Federal Communications Commission granted the construction permit on February 4, 1953, and KOOK-TV began broadcasting on November 9 of that year. It initially carried CBS, ABC, and DuMont programming. The station was built by the owners of KOOK radio and became the first television station in Billings. Joseph Sample acquired majority control of the KOOK radio and television properties in 1956. The television operation moved into a new downtown Billings radio and television center completed in 1959. Sample later purchased KXLF-TV in Butte and KRTV in Great Falls, creating the foundation of the Montana Television Network. KPAX-TV in Missoula later became part of the statewide group. In 1972, after KOOK radio was sold, the television station changed its call sign to KTVQ. KTVQ carried some NBC programming during the late 1960s and 1970s while maintaining its CBS relationship, but it became a primary CBS affiliate in 1980. The Montana Television Network's regional news operation was later moved from Great Falls to Billings, and KTVQ became the leading local-news station in the market by 1987. Sample sold the network to SJL Broadcasting in 1983. Evening Post Industries' Cordillera Communications acquired KTVQ in 1994 and had previously acquired the remainder of the Montana Television Network. The E. W. Scripps Company completed its purchase of Cordillera's broadcast properties, including MTN, in 2019. KTVQ-DT2 represents the station's digital multicast expansion and has been used as a CW-affiliated service for the Billings market. The subchannel benefits from KTVQ's transmission facilities, local market presence, and ownership within the Montana Television Network. Available sources do not establish a separate corporate entity, independent newsroom, or standalone management structure for KTVQ-DT2.

• 2019

  Scripps completes Cordillera acquisition

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  The E. W. Scripps Company completed its purchase of Cordillera Communications' broadcast properties, including KTVQ and the Montana Television Network.

• 1987

  KTVQ becomes the Billings news leader

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  Ratings reported by Arbitron and Nielsen showed KTVQ ahead of KULR-TV across all time slots.

• 1980

  KTVQ becomes a primary CBS affiliate

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  KTVQ ended its earlier shared use of NBC programming and became a primary CBS station.

• 1972

  Television station adopts the KTVQ call sign

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  After KOOK radio was sold, the television station changed its call sign to KTVQ on September 1.

• 1969

  Montana Television Network foundation expands

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  Sample's acquisition of KRTV in Great Falls, following the earlier purchase of KXLF-TV in Butte, established the core of the Montana Television Network.

• 1956

  Joseph Sample acquires the KOOK stations

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph Sample acquired majority control of the KOOK radio and television properties.

• 1953

  KTVQ predecessor begins broadcasting

  [1]KTVQen.wikipedia.org

  KOOK-TV, the predecessor of KTVQ, began broadcasting in Billings on November 9, becoming the city's first television station.

Local CW affiliate and digital multicast service associated with KTVQ in the Billings television market.

• Television programming

  CW network programming

  The principal offering associated with KTVQ-DT2 is programming from The CW, delivered to viewers in the Billings market through KTVQ's digital multicast transmission. The service gives the local station an additional entertainment channel beyond its primary CBS affiliation. The available reference material does not provide a complete schedule or identify specific programs carried by the subchannel.

• Broadcast television distribution

  KTVQ digital multicast service

  KTVQ-DT2 is distributed as a digital secondary stream of KTVQ rather than as a separately documented full-power station. Its coverage is based on KTVQ's broadcast facilities in Billings and may be supplemented by television distributors that carry the station's multicast channels.

1. 1KTVQen.wikipedia.org