Owned by The Marks Group, it shares studios with radio stations KXGN (1400 AM) and KDZN (96.5 FM) on South Douglas Street in downtown Glendive; KXGN-TV's transmitter is located at Makoshika State Park.

[2] Its status as the smallest station in the United States has earned it notoriety in the broadcasting industry; over its history, publications including the Los Angeles Times and Sports Illustrated have profiled KXGN-TV.

In 1948, he started KXGN radio as a hedge against the possible decline of the movie theater business and to reach rural consumers with advertisements for his picture house in Glendive.

[6]: 71  The hookup allowed Moore to raise enough money to relocate the station to its present studio facilities, a former implement dealership,[8] and a higher tower site in 1963.

[6]: 71 Moore was also able to get ahead of the cable problem by purchasing a 50 percent stake in the cable system built to serve Glendive with television in 1968, and even after local viewers could subscribe to a choice in programming, KXGN remained popular because of its extensive community service orientation and unduplicated coverage of eastern Montana.

The Burlington Northern railroad had stopped operating through Glendive years prior; low oil prices depressed the region's energy sector; the worst drought since the 1930s negatively impacted the livestock and feed industries; and after Black Monday in 1987, national spot advertising sales dropped precipitously.

To cut costs, KXGN dropped the Associated Press newswire, laid off staff, and canceled its public affairs show, the weekly Let's Talk About It.

The commission also cited the availability of other electronic media through two Glendive-licensed radio stations, six other signals, and the cable system (which Moore sold off in 1986[3]), as well as a daily newspaper.

[15] While many stations had a May 1, 2002, deadline to start a digital signal, KXGN-TV requested and received multiple extensions due to financial hardship.

[21] In early 2024, Marks sold its Montana and North Dakota radio stations, including KXGN and KDZN, to operations manager Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media, while retaining KXGN-TV and KYUS-TV in Miles City.

Even after dropping NBC from its primary subchannel, KXGN has retained the 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. CBS prime time block intact, opting to show syndicated programming at 9:00 p.m.[24] Since 1990, KXGN-TV has been a formal member of the Montana Television Network (MTN), airing the noon and evening newscasts of KTVQ in Billings and contributing Eastern Montana news to MTN.

[30] Like many other Montana stations, KXGN relies heavily on a mix of broadcast translators and cable TV systems to extend its reach to more viewers, many of them outside of the defined Glendive market, from Ekalaka in the south to Scobey and Plentywood in the north.