Rocky Mountain PBS
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Channels |
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Branding | Rocky Mountain PBS |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner | Rocky Mountain Public Media, Inc. |
KUVO | |
History | |
First air date | January 20, 1956 |
NET (1956–1970) | |
Technical information | |
Translator(s) | see § Translators |
Links | |
Website | www.rmpbs.org |
Rocky Mountain PBS is a network of
The network's offices and network operations center are located at the Buell Public Media Center on Arapahoe Street in Denver's
(89.3 FM) in Denver, which joined the organization in a merger announced in January 2013.History
The network's flagship station, KRMA-TV (channel 6) in Denver, first signed on the air on January 30, 1956, as an
Originally broadcasting only two hours of programming a day during the week, KRMA soon became a key PBS member, distributing PBS programming to many areas in the Rocky Mountain region that did not have educational stations of their own. From the 1960s onward, it began building translators across Colorado and surrounding states. It was also carried by nearly every
In response to requests from viewers on the
In 1999, KTSC (channel 8) in Pueblo joined the network after it was sold by the University of Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo). The station had originally operated as a separate PBS station for Pueblo, Colorado Springs and southern Colorado from its sign-on on February 3, 1971. Until KRMJ's sign-on, KRMA and KTSC had been the only full PBS members in Colorado (as mentioned above, Denver's KBDI is a "beta" PBS member).
On December 3, 2004, KRMU (channel 20) in Durango signed on to serve southwestern Colorado and a small portion of northwestern New Mexico. When KRMU received its license in 2001, it was the first television station in the United States to operate a digital signal without a companion analog channel assignment.
On February 2, 2007, Rocky Mountain PBS added its fifth full-service station and its second station in western Colorado, KMAS-TV (channel 24) in
On January 16, 2013, it was announced that the non-profit investigative journalism organization I-News Network and public radio station KUVO (89.3 FM) had reached an agreement to merge with Rocky Mountain PBS. The merger is intended to broaden the reach of their content to new platforms and ensure formal collaboration between the outlets. The deal was expected to close in April 2013.[1] With the merger, the corporate name was modified to Rocky Mountain Public Media.
In 2020, RMPBS moved out of the Bannock Street facility and into the new Buell Studios building which also house radio stations KUVO and Urban Alternative formatted The Drop.
Programming
Rocky Mountain PBS produces several local programs, such as the weekly Colorado State of Mind, Arts District and the seasonal Colorado Experience. However, the network has focused much of its production efforts on local documentaries, which often take months or years to produce. Many of these documentaries (such as La Raza de Colorado, Jewel of the Rockies,
Satellite stations KRMJ and KTSC occasionally break away from the KRMA feed to provide programming targeted for their respective communities, and each station airs separate local promotions and underwriting. KRMU is a full-time satellite of KRMJ, while KRMZ is a full-time satellite of KRMA. Citing costs at each station, Rocky Mountain PBS applied for and received waivers of the FCC's main studio rule, which requires that each full-service station maintain a main studio within its local service area.[2][3]
Stations
Station | City of license (Other cities served) |
Channels VC / RF |
First air date | Call letters' meaning |
Former affiliations | ERP | HAAT
|
Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates | Public license information |
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KRMA-TV | Denver | 6 33 ( UHF )
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January 30, 1956 | Knowledge for the Rocky Mountain Area | NET (1956–1970) | 115 kW
|
331 m (1,086 ft) | 14040 | 39°40′17.4″N 105°13′8″W / 39.671500°N 105.21889°W | Public file LMS |
KTSC1 | Colorado Springs )
|
8 8 ( VHF )
|
February 3, 1971 | 1Television for Southern Colorado | 22.4 kW | 720 m (2,362 ft) | 69170 | 38°44′43″N 104°51′39″W / 38.74528°N 104.86083°W | Public file LMS | |
KRMJ | Grand Junction | 18 18 (UHF) |
January 1, 1997 | KRMA Grand Junction | 17.7 kW | 409 m (1,342 ft) | 14042 | 39°3′58.4″N 108°44′45.7″W / 39.066222°N 108.746028°W | Public file LMS | |
KRMU | Farmington, NM )
|
20 20 (UHF) |
December 3, 2004 | KRMA Durango | 12.6 kW | 130 m (427 ft) | 84224 | 37°15′46″N 107°53′58″W / 37.26278°N 107.89944°W | Public file LMS | |
KRMZ2, 3 | Steamboat Springs | 24 10 (VHF) |
May 1988 | Disambiguation of KRMA | Telemundo (until 2007) | 0.481 kW | 175.2 m (575 ft) | 20373 | 40°27′43.2″N 106°50′59.8″W / 40.462000°N 106.849944°W | Public file LMS |
Notes:
- 1. KTSC joined RMPBS in 1999 and also covers Colorado Springs. "SC" could stand for either Southern Colorado or State College. Southern Colorado State College was CSU-Pueblo's name at the time the station signed on.
- 2. KRMZ used the callsigns KSBS-TV from 1988 to 2000, and KMAS-TV from 2000 to 2007.
- 3. KRMZ (then KMAS-TV) joined RMPBS in 2007.
Subchannels
The digital signals of Rocky Mountain PBS' stations are
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
xx.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
xxxx-DT | Main RMPBS programming / PBS |
xx.2 | 480i | Kids | PBS Kids | |
xx.3 | Create | Create | ||
xx.4 | World | World |
Analog-to-digital conversion
During 2009, in the lead-up to the analog-to-digital television transition that would ultimately occur on June 12, Rocky Mountain PBS shut down the analog transmitters of its stations on a staggered basis. Listed below are the dates each analog transmitter ceased operations as well as their post-transition channel allocations:[5]
- KRMA-TV shut down its analog signal, over SAFER Act,[6] KRMA kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.
- KTSC shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 8, on June 12, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 26 to VHF channel 8 for post-transition operations.
- KRMJ shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 18, on June 12, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 17 to channel 18 for post-transition operations.
- KRMZ shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 24, on February 17, 2009, the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 10, using virtual channel 24.
KRMU signed on in December 2004 as a digital-only station, although it also had endured a temporary shutdown in early 2009 in final preparation for the transition.
Translators
In addition to its five full-service television stations, Rocky Mountain PBS operates one of the largest translator networks in the country, serving portions of Colorado, Wyoming,
All 25 translators within the RMPBS system operate as digital signals, and as such carry the primary channel and two subchannels from their respective parent transmitters.
- K35OR-D Aguilar (translates KTSC)
- K13XW-D Akron (translates KRMA-TV)
- K36GX-D Basalt (translates KRMJ)
- K24HQ-D Boulder (translates KRMA-TV)
- K31CW-D Carbondale (translates KRMJ)
- K33IW-D Coaldale (translates KTSC)
- K11PS-D Collbran(translates KRMJ)
- K24JO-D Crawford (translates KRMJ)
- K35OO-D Del Norte (translates KTSC)
- K19KN-D Eads, etc. (translates KTSC)
- KRMA-TV (DRT) Fort Collins(translates KRMA-TV)
- K29IT-D Gateview (translates KTSC)
- K25PC-D Gateway (translates KRMJ)
- K32NO-D Glenwood Springs(translates KRMJ)
- K28HA-D Grand Valley(translates KRMJ)
- K32NU-D Haxtun(translates KRMA-TV)
- K02QI-D Hesperus (translates KRMU)
- K15FD-D Holyoke (translates KRMA-TV)
- K20HM-D Idalia (translates KRMA-TV)
- K36IH-D Ignacio (translates KRMJ)
- K35OM-D La Veta(translates KTSC)
- K29HM-D Lake George (translates KTSC)
- K31NI-D Lamar (translates KTSC)
- K29JL-D Las Animas (translates KTSC)
- K07PA-D Manitou Springs(translates KTSC)
- K33PB-D Mesa (translates KRMJ)
- K32CW-D Montrose (translates KRMJ)
- K35NS-D Montrose (translates KRMJ)
- K06GW-D New Castle (translates KRMJ)
- K13SN-D Nucla(translates KRMJ)
- K09PJ-D Ouray (translates KRMJ)
- K35ON-D Paonia(translates KRMJ)
- K26FM-D Peetz (translates KRMJ)
- K23DX-D Pitkin (translates KTSC)
- K26GX-D Pleasant Valley (translates KRMA-TV)
- K07ZG-D Powderhorn Valley (translates KTSC)
- K19HG-D Redstone (translates KRMJ)
- K31IW-D Ridgway (translates KRMJ)
- K32HL-D Rulison (translates KRMJ)
- K31IX-D Salida (translates KTSC)
- K35OQ-D San Luis (translates KTSC)
- K32IK-D San Luis Valley (translates KTSC)
- K20OE-D Silt (translates KRMJ)
- K26LH-D Snowmass Village(translates KRMJ)
- K08OX-D Thomasville(translates KRMJ)
- K15GL-D Trinidad, Valdez, etc. (translates KTSC)
- K15ED-D Waunita Hot Springs (translates KTSC)
- K27OV-D Woody Creek(translates KRMJ)
See also
- American Archive of Public Broadcasting for some KRMA (now Rocky Mountain PBS) shows, documentaries and serials.
- KBDI-TV, a secondary PBS station in Broomfield.
References
- Denver Post. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ "Request for Main Studio Waiver - KRMU". Federal Communications Commission. July 8, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2007.
- ^ "Request for Main Studio Waiver - KMAS". Federal Communications Commission. November 21, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2007.
- ^ "Stations for Owner - Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
External links
- www.rmpbs.org - Rocky Mountain PBS official website