KAMU-TV
CityCollege Station, Texas
Channels
BrandingKAMU PBS
Programming
Affiliations12.1: PBS (1970–present)
12.2: Create
12.3: PBS Kids
Ownership
OwnerTexas A&M University
History
First air date
February 15, 1970 (1970-02-15)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
15 (UHF, 1970–2009)
NET (February−October 1970)
Call sign meaning
For owner Texas A&M University
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID65301
ERP3.2 kW
HAAT105 m (344 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°37′48″N 96°20′34″W / 30.63000°N 96.34278°W / 30.63000; -96.34278
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.kamutvfm.org

KAMU-TV (channel 12) is a PBS member television station licensed to College Station, Texas, United States. Owned by Texas A&M University, it is a sister station to NPR member KAMU-FM (90.9). The two stations share studios at the Moore Communications Center on the university's campus; KAMU-TV's transmitter is located at adjacent Hensel Park. KAMU-TV serves as the sole PBS member station for the Waco–Temple–Bryan market.

History

KAMU-TV began broadcasting on February 15, 1970.[2] It originally aired on UHF channel 15, and was the first educational station in central Texas.

Moore Communications Center, where KAMU studios are located

On April 1, 2003, KAMU was the first station in the region to begin broadcasting in HDTV.[3] KAMU made the first live HDTV broadcast in the region on April 22, 2004, with the program Meet the Candidates 2004.[4]

On February 27, 2018, Central Texas College's board of trustees voted to close down KNCT (which served the western third of the Waco–Temple–Bryan market, including Waco and Killeen) over budgetary concerns related to the FCC spectrum repacking that would have required that station to move from RF channel 46 to RF channel 17 starting in 2020, as well as the need to replace its original transmitter.[5] The shutdown of KNCT, which would occur on August 31, 2018, would leave KAMU-TV as the only PBS member station in the market.[6][7][8] However, most cable systems on the western side of the market opted to import KLRU from Austin, which had already served as the default PBS member station for the market's southwestern areas.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KAMU-TV
Channel Video Aspect Short name Programming
12.1 1080i16:9KAMU-HDMain KAMU-TV programming / PBS
12.2 480iKAMU SDCreate
12.3 KAMU SDPBS Kids

Analog-to-digital conversion

KAMU's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009. It opted not to use PSIP to remap to channel 15, instead opting to use channel 12 as its virtual channel. KAMU offered ResearchChannel on subchannel 12.3 until that service was discontinued in August 2010.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KAMU-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ http://kamu.tamu.edu/aboutus.php History of KAMU
  3. ↑ LeBas, John (2003-03-30). "KAMU makes waves with digital upgrade". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  4. ↑ "KAMU has first live HD broadcast". The Battalion. 2004-04-24. Archived from the original on 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  5. ↑ FCC TV spectrum Phase Assignment Table, FCC Incentive Auction Television Transition Data Files, April 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ Angeline, Jillian (February 28, 2018). "Local PBS station KNCT going dark soon". KCEN. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ Hoover, Carl (March 3, 2018). "Killeen-Temple public television station KNCT to end broadcasts". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ Ferraro, Julie A. (March 3, 2018). "Eventual closure of KNCT a tough decision". Killeen Daily Herald. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
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