In 1970, in response to the numerous complaints about KRSD-TV and KDSJ-TV's technical operations, FCC hearing examiner Thomas Donahue recommended granting the stations one-year license renewals, rather than the standard five-year renewal. However, the next year, the full commission unanimously voted 5-0 (with two abstentions) to overrule Donahue and deny the renewals outright. The final decision stated that KRSD-TV/KDSJ-TV had been out of compliance with technical standards since at least 1961, and that their signals had deteriorated to the point of unacceptability by "at least 1965." As a result, by 1966, Black Hills cable systems refused to carry KRSD-TV, forcing the FCC to allow area cable providers to pipe in stations from neighboring markets. It also criticized the Daniels brothers for failing to correct violations from earlier inspections—including what the FCC Broadcast Bureau described as some of the worst violations the FCC had ever uncovered. While a handful of radio stations had been ordered off the air for technical violations, it was the first time that the FCC had shuttered a television station due to technical issues.