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KYUS-TV

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KYUS-TV
Currently silent
Channels
Programming
Affiliations
  • Independent (1969–1970)
  • NBC (1970–1984; via KOUS, 1984–1987; via KULR-TV, 1998–2024)
  • ABC (via KOUS/KSVI, 1987–1996)
  • Fox (secondary 1994–1995, primary 1995–1998)
  • UPN/The WB (secondary, 1997–1998)
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 29, 1969 (55 years ago) (1969-08-29)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 3 (VHF, 1969–2009)
Call sign meaning
Cayuse, a type of Native American pony[2][3]
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID5237
ERP2.9 kW
HAAT30 m (98 ft)
Transmitter coordinates46°25′34″N 105°51′40″W / 46.42611°N 105.86111°W / 46.42611; -105.86111 (KYUS-TV)
Links
Public license information

KYUS-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Miles City, Montana, United States, which is currently silent. It broadcasts to eastern Montana from a transmitter northwest of the city. The station is owned by The Marks Group, which also owns KXGN-TV in Glendive, with a sale to Montana State University pending.

At one point known as the smallest network affiliate in the country, KYUS has largely served as a satellite of other stations since 1984. Purchased in 1995 by Marks Radio Group, which also owned several radio stations in Montana, the station became a standalone primary Fox affiliate, later supplemented with UPN and The WB. KYUS-TV became a full-time satellite of NBC affiliate KULR-TV in Billings in 1998 via a brokerage agreement with the Cowles Company; this later evolved into an informal agreement with no exchange of money, while Marks continued to operate the station as a public service. This agreement concluded at the end of 2024, at which point KYUS went silent.

History

[edit]

KYUS-TV went on the air on August 29, 1969,[5] under the ownership of Custer Broadcasting Corporation.[6] Originally an independent station, it joined NBC in 1970.[7] In its early years, KYUS was known as the smallest network affiliate in America.[8][2] The station's principal owner, David Rivenes, did the news, sports, weather and reporting himself[8] — he was also featured in the late-1970s on NBC's Real People and in TV Guide for his career. He also hosted much of the station's other local programming (which comprised up to five hours of the KYUS schedule) along with his wife, Ella;[8] in a 1980 interview with Sports Illustrated, Rivenes said that the local programs, which were broadcast in lieu of acquiring syndicated programming, were "what the FCC wants: real public service television".[2] During the station's early years, KYUS did not turn a profit and was supported by Rivenes's title insurance business;[2] Rivenes told a reporter from The Washington Star in 1978, "I don't know exactly what cash flow is, but I know we don't have it."[9] Low local advertising rates, approximately $10 a minute in 1977, caused the station to lose money, and many ads were often bartered out for services from meals to propane to malted milk.[10]

In 1984, the Rivenes family sold KYUS to the owners of KOUS-TV for $200,000;[8][a] at that point, channel 3 became a satellite of KOUS, and the station's local programming was discontinued.[8][12] KYUS, along with KOUS, switched to ABC in 1987.[13] After KOUS moved its programming to KSVI (channel 6) in 1993, KYUS became a satellite of KSVI.[14]

As a satellite of KOUS-TV and KSVI, KYUS-TV was on the verge of closure several times, as the station generated insufficient revenue to cover its costs. In addition, the station's owner, Big Horn Communications, had difficulties listing KYUS for sale due to the size and location of Miles City; one media brokerage company, Blackburn & Company, said it was "economically impossible" for KYUS to operate as a standalone station. Ultimately, Big Horn sold the station to Stephen A. Marks in 1995. Marks originally proposed to operate KYUS as a satellite of KXGN-TV, his CBS and NBC affiliate in Glendive.[15] However, shortly after, KYUS-TV announced it would become a Fox affiliate.[16] By 1997, channel 3 had also added secondary affiliations with UPN and The WB.[17] After two years with Fox, KYUS-TV became a satellite of KULR-TV under a time brokerage agreement on May 1, 1998.[18] The original agreement expired after ten years; KYUS-TV then broadcast KULR-TV's programming under a series of informal agreements, receiving no payment and keeping no advertising income. Although the station generated no revenue of its own, Marks continued to operate it as a public service.[18][19]

In 2006, Stephen Marks added radio stations KMTA and KKRY to his Miles City holdings.[20] Marks died on May 11, 2022;[21] in early 2024, his estate sold Marks' Montana and North Dakota radio stations, including KMTA and KYUS-FM (the former KKRY), to Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media, while retaining KYUS-TV and KXGN-TV.[22] KYUS-TV ceased operations on December 31, 2024,[23] the same date KXGN-TV dropped their NBC subchannel (itself largely a KULR simulcast) and ceased all in-studio production,[24][25] but a special temporary authority request to remain silent was not filed until June 27, 2025, due to an "inadvertent oversight". In the request, Mary Marks—the executor of Marks' estate—stated KYUS was in the process of being sold and was considering airing "alternate programming sources" in the interregnum.[23] On July 8, 2025, the Marks Group filed to sell KYUS-TV and KXGN-TV to Montana State University—owner of Montana PBS, the state's public television broadcaster—for $375,000;[1] the remainder of the stations' value will be credited as a donation. KYUS-TV and KXGN-TV, which were the Marks Group's final broadcast properties, will bring over-the-air public television service to far eastern Montana for the first time; except for translators in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the state, Montana PBS did not previously own transmitters east of Billings.[26]

Subchannels

[edit]

KYUS-TV broadcast the same channels as KULR-TV, using virtual channel 3 instead of 8:

Subchannels of KYUS-TV[27]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
3.1 1080i 16:9 KYUS-DT NBC
3.2 KULRSWX SWX Right Now

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Rivenes had been a minority owner of KOUS-TV when it began in 1980.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Assignments #274855". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. July 8, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Kennedy, Ray (September 15, 1980). "The man who brought surfing to Montana". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  3. ^ Wishart, David J. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. p. 505. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  4. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KYUS-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ "Miles City Has New TV Station". The Billings Gazette. Associated Press. September 14, 1969. p. 12. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1971 (PDF). 1971. p. A-35. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "Media reports" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 29, 1970. p. 39. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e "David, Ella Rivenes". Great Falls Tribune. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Hanson, Christopher (January 8, 1979). "Tiniest TV station is Miles City boast". The Independent-Record. Helena, Montana. The Washington Star. p. 13. Retrieved June 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Emmers, Robert H. (May 4, 1977). "Crazy times at smallest TV station". The Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. p. 1-E. Retrieved June 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Clawson, Roger (June 6, 1980). "Third station promised by autumn". The Billings Gazette. p. 16-D. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Gilles, T. J. (June 17, 1984). "One-of-a-kind TV station signs off without fanfare". Great Falls Tribune. p. 1-G. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. C-38. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  14. ^ Smith, Doug (August 1993). "TV News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 27, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  15. ^ Caton, William F. (February 27, 1995). "In re Application of Big Horn Communications, Inc. (Assignor) and KYUS Broadcasting Corporation (Assignee) For Consent to Assign the License for Station KYUS-TV, Channel 3 Miles City, Montana" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  16. ^ "Glendive may get Fox channel". The Billings Gazette. March 19, 1995. p. 8B. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Smith, Doug (July 1997). "TV News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 27, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Time Brokerage Agreement" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. April 29, 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  19. ^ "Re: KYUS-TV Broadcasting Corporation … Response to Staff Letter Dated September 5, 2014" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. September 22, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "Stations Sold In Miles City". All Access. November 30, 2006. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  21. ^ "Marks Media Group President Stephen Marks Passes Away". Inside Radio. May 16, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  22. ^ Ellis, Jon (February 12, 2024). "Ops Manager Buys Marks Radio Stations in Montana, North Dakota". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Suspension of Operations and Silent Authority of a DTV Station Application: #0000274349". Federal Communications Commission. June 27, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  24. ^ Heidner, Brendan (December 23, 2024). "KXGN-TV to undergo restructuring, beginning with ending NBC programming". Glendive Ranger-Review. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  25. ^ Conley, William (March 22, 2025). "KXGN TV to sell off treasure trove of broadcasting artifacts ahead of sale of station". Glendive Ranger-Review. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  26. ^ Wyllie, Julian (July 10, 2025). "Montana PBS to acquire three stations in underserved region of the state". Current. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  27. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KYUS". RabbitEars. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
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