KXTL

KXTL is one of the region's pioneering stations, signing on as KGIR on January 31, 1929.^[5] Founded by Ed Craney, the station was the cornerstone of the Z-Bar Network, which linked Montana stations using a cow brand as its logo.^[6] Ed Craney founded the network to give isolated Montana communities access to high-quality national content that individual local stations could not afford on their own.^[7] By linking the stations via telephone circuits, Craney was able to feed NBC national programming from the flagship station in Butte to the smaller markets across the state. The original studios were located on the fourth floor of Shiner's Furniture on Park Street after a planned location at the Finlen Hotel was blocked. In 1946, Craney transitioned the station to the KXLF call sign to match his other "XL" branded properties.^[8]

The station operated as KXLF until 1984, when it was sold separately from KXLF-TV and briefly adopted the call sign KCEZ.^[9] The Federal Communications Commission officially assigned the current KXTL call sign on August 1, 1985.^[10] In June 2006, KXTL was acquired by Cherry Creek Radio from Fisher Radio Regional Group as part of a 24 station deal with a total reported sale price of $33.3 million.^[11] Effective June 17, 2022, the station was acquired by Townsquare Media from Cherry Creek Broadcasting as part of an $18.75 million multi-market transaction.^[12]