For most of its history, Heart of the Black Hills was under scrutiny from network officials, the viewing public, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for deficient technical operations. In 1966 and 1967, FCC inspectors found numerous violations of FCC technical rules. In 1967, more than 2,000 viewers asked NBC and the FCC for help in improving the station's quality. In 1969, an FCC inspector deemed KRSD-TV/KDSJ-TV's signal unfit for broadcast. On September 13, 1970, NBC struck an affiliation deal with KOTA, and CBS programs moved to KRSD-TV.