ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

'The Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network', known on-air as 'Rocky Mountain PBS', is the flagship PBS member station in Colorado. It reaches one million viewers in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and New Mexico. The network is headquartered in downtown Denver.

Contents

History

Programming

Stations

References

External link

History

The network's flagship station, 'KRMA-TV', channel 6 in Denver, signed on January 30, 1956 as an educational station owned by the Denver Public Schools. It is the oldest public television station in the Rockies. Originally broadcasting only two hours of programming a day during the week, KRMA soon became a key PBS member. It was available on cable in nearly all of Colorado and many of the surrounding states, bringing PBS programming to many areas that did not have their own public television stations. Denver Public Schools sold KRMA to Channel Six, Inc., a community group, in 1987.
In 1996, KRMA changed its on-air name to Rocky Mountain PBS to reflect plans for a satellite station in Grand Junction. That station, 'KRMJ', channel 18, was founded October 23 1995 and went on-air in August 1997. In 1999, 'KTSC', channel 8 in Pueblo joined the network. Formerly owned by Colorado State University - Pueblo, KTSC had been the PBS station for Pueblo and Colorado Springs since 1971.
On December 3 2004 'KRMU', channel 20, in Durango, Colorado signed on to serve southwestern Colorado and a small portion of northwestern New Mexico. When KRMU received its license in 2001, it was the nation's first digital television station without a prior analog assignment. As of December 2006, KRMU was rebroadcasting KRMJ's signal, pending establishment of better network links with Denver.
On February 2 2007, Rocky Mountain PBS added its fifth full-service station and second station in western Colorado--'KMAS-TV', channel 24 in Steamboat Springs. KMAS had been Denver's Telemundo station, and brought its programming into Denver itself by way of low-powered satellites. However, its status was placed in doubt when NBC purchased KDEN-TV and moved Telemundo programming there. NBC finally decided to donate KMAS to Rocky Mountain PBS rather than shut it down.
In addition to its five full-service television stations, Rocky Mountain PBS operates one of the largest translator networks in the country.

Programming

Rocky Mountain PBS produces several local programs, such as the weekly "Colorado State of Mind" and the seasonal "Spirit of Colorado" and "LifeWise." 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" and "Jewel of the Rockies," have earned multiple Emmy Awards over the years.
KRMJ and KTSC maintain their own studios at Western Colorado Community College in Grand Junction and CSU-Pueblo, respectively. The satellites occasionally break away from the master control center at KRMA to provide programming targeted for their communities, and each airs local promotions and underwriting. KRMU and KMAS, however, are full satellites of KRMJ and KRMA, respectively. 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.^[1][2]
Rocky Mountain PBS is not affiliated with the other PBS member in Denver, KBDI-TV. KBDI is a "beta" or secondary PBS station serving the same market.

Stations

'Station'

'City'

'Analog Channel'

'Digital Channel'

'Founded'

'Call letters meaning'

'Former callsigns'

'Former affiliations'

'Analog Power'

'Digital Power'

'Analog HAAT'

'Digital HAAT'

'Facility ID'

'Transmitter Coordinates'

KRMA-TV

Denver

6 (VHF)

18 (UHF)

January 30, 1956

'K'nowledge for the 'R'ocky 'M'ountain 'A'rea

NET (1956-1970)

100 kW

115 kW

292 m

331 m

14040

(analog) (digital)

KTSC

Pueblo

8 (VHF)

26 (UHF)

February 3, 1971

'K' 'T'elevision for 'S'outhern 'C'olorado

234 kW

39 kW

720 m

657 m

69170

KRMJ

Grand Junction

18 (UHF)

17 (UHF)

January 1, 1997

'KRM'A Grand 'J'unction

105 kW

17.7 kW

409 m

409 m

14042

KRMU

Durango

20 (UHF)

December 3, 2004

'KRM'A D'U'rango

12.6 kW

130 m

84224

KMAS-TV

Steamboat Springs

24 (UHF)

10 (VHF)

May 1988

'MAS' - means "more" in Spanish; former Spanish-language station

KSBS-TV (1988-2000)

Telemundo (until 2007)

5.01 kW

0.481 kW

157 m

175.2 m

20373

References

1. Request for Main Studio Waiver - KRMU
2. Request for Main Studio Waiver - KMAS

External link

★ Rocky Mountain PBS Web site

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