KJJC-TV

KJJC-TV, virtual channel 16 (UHF digital channel 17), is a MeTV-affiliated television station licensed to Great Falls, Montana, United States. The station is owned by KTGF License Corporation. KJJC-TV's transmitter is located on 47th Avenue SW in unincorporated Cascade County, near the Great Falls International Airport. The station's programming is also seen on low-power translators KJJC-LD (channel 7) and KJCX-LD (channel 34) in Helena.

"KTGF" redirects here. For the low-power television station in Great Falls with the call sign KTGF-LD, see KTVH-DT.
KJJC-TV
Great Falls, Montana
United States
ChannelsDigital: 17 (UHF)
Virtual: 16 (PSIP)
BrandingKJJC-TV Network
SloganFaith & Family TV
Programming
Affiliations16.1: MeTV (2014–present)
16.2: Positiv
16.3: TBN
16.4: Smile
16.5: Hillsong Channel
Ownership
OwnerKTGF License Corporation
History
First air dateSeptember 21, 1986 (1986-09-21)
Former call signsKTGF (1986–2018)
KJJC (2018–2019)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
16 (UHF, 1986–2009)
Digital:
45 (UHF, 2003–2018)
Former affiliationsNBC (1986–2005)
Fox (2005–2007)
Independent (2007–2009)
JCTV (September–December 2009)
Dark (December 2009–2012)
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID13792
ERP5 kW
HAAT78 m (256 ft)
Transmitter coordinates47°27′51.8″N 111°21′21.1″W
Translator(s)KJJC-LD 7 Helena
KJCX-LD 34 Helena
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.kjjc.org

History

KJJC-TV started broadcasting on September 21, 1986 as KTGF under the ownership of Continental Television. The station immediately became the city's first full-time NBC affiliate. From its inception, the station was far behind KRTV (channel 3) and KFBB-TV (channel 5) in the ratings. In March 2001, Continental Television sold KTGF (along with KTMF in Missoula and KWYB in Butte) to Max Media.

In 2003, Max Media signed an agreement to purchase KFBB, as well as KULR-TV in Billings, from Dix Communications. Since the Great Falls television market is not large enough to allow a television duopoly, Max immediately put KTGF up for sale. For more than a year, Max Media could not find a buyer for the station. Finally, Max Media sold KTGF in November 2004 to Destiny Communications of Wichita, Kansas.

In April 2005, Beartooth Communications, owner of Helena NBC affiliate KTVH, purchased a low power television permit in Great Falls for channel 50. It became obvious that Beartooth was positioning itself to take the NBC affiliation away from KTGF when the NBC affiliation agreement expired at the end of June. Destiny Communications filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prevent NBC from removing the affiliation and giving it to Beartooth's station, now known as KBGF-LP. As the end of June approached, confusion reigned. Both parties claimed they would be the NBC affiliate on July 1 in Great Falls. On June 29, Destiny announced that it would affiliate with the Fox network beginning July 1. This created another confusing situation because another television station in Great Falls, KLMN, was already the Fox affiliate (although the local cable system did not carry the station). As a result, after the NBC affiliation moved from KTGF to KBGF on July 1, 2005, Fox programming was seen on both KTGF and KLMN for a time. Eventually, KLMN dropped Fox programming for UPN, and in September 2006 became an affiliate of MyNetworkTV.

KTGF logo from May 2007 to September 2009, while it operated as an independent station.

In May 2007, Destiny signed a joint sales agreement with KLMN's parent company, Equity Media Holdings. As a result, Fox programming moved back to KLMN, and KTGF became an independent station. After being offline for several weeks, KTGF unveiled an updated website with a revised logo.

After Destiny defaulted on its debt payments, the station filed to transfer the KTGF license to creditor RGW Investments LLC in September 2009.[1] Shortly afterward, the station affiliated with JCTV.[2]

KTGF went off the air December 19, 2009, citing problems with its microwave system.[3] However, in February 2010, the station was noted as carrying a slide stating that it was no longer airing programming;[4] that March, Max Media, which had retained the studio building and leased it to Destiny, sold the building to a local law firm.[5] These events indicated that KTGF had ceased operations.

KTGF's license was formally transferred to RGW Investments on September 27, 2010.[6] In December 2011, RGW Investments entered into an agreement to sell KTGF to KTGF License Corporation, a company owned by veteran radio and TV broadcaster Roger Lonnquist. The sale closed on March 7, 2012. Soon afterward, the station returned to the air, again as a JCTV affiliate. In September 2013, MeTV announced that KTGF would begin to carry its programming;[7] as of 2014, MeTV programming is carried on its primary channel,[8] with JUCE TV (the former JCTV) being moved to a second subchannel. The station changed its call letters to KJJC on July 1, 2018; the "-TV" suffix was added on May 9, 2019.[9]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[10]
16.1480i4:3KJJC-DTMeTV
16.2KJJC-D2Positiv
16.3KJJC-D3TBN
16.4KJJC-D4Smile
16.5KJJC-D5Hillsong Channel

Newscasts

In KTGF's early years, the station produced a local newscast. However, due to weak ratings and a small news staff that in the end numbered four people, the station closed its local news department on March 5, 1993.[11]

Max Media brought "local" news back to KTGF in 2002 with Big Sky News. Max Media contracted with the Independent News Network to produce local news on Max Media's stations in Montana. The program actually originated in Davenport, Iowa. After a year, Big Sky News was cancelled.

As a Fox affiliate and as an independent station, KTGF broadcast short news updates anchored by Karen Wolf; the only other news programming on the station was the syndicated CBN NewsWatch.

Television tower

The former KJJC television tower is a 244-meter (801 ft)-high guyed TV mast at Great Falls, Montana, United States (47°36′24.7″N 111°21′33.2″W). KJJC's tower was built in 1986 and is the tallest structure of Montana.

gollark: Also your old audio modem.
gollark: I imagine there are 3738383 on the app store.
gollark: Perhaps the quirk only manifests when the amplitudes of each sound are similar and something something standing waves.
gollark: Can you get a spectrum analyser on your phone and stick it in the points too?
gollark: I blame quirks of human audio systems.

References
  1. "Montana TV owner succumbs to debt". Television Business Report. September 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  2. "KTGF turns to JCTV". Great Falls Tribune. October 4, 2009. Archived from the original on October 14, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  3. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. January 13, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  4. "Officially off air". Great Falls Tribune. February 14, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010. Alt URL
  5. "Law firm moving into KTGF building". Great Falls Tribune. March 7, 2010. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  6. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  7. "Me-TV Diginet Adds Five New Affiliates". TVNewsCheck. September 12, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  8. "FCC 398 Children's Television Programming Report". KidVid Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  9. "Call Sign History (KJJC-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  10. RabbitEars TV Query for KJJC
  11. Mort, Denise (March 6, 1993). "KTGF-TV drops local news offering". Great Falls Tribune. p. 1B. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
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