Wyoming PBS

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = Wyoming PBS
city =
station_
station_slogan = Belongs to you and me
station_branding = Wyoming PBS
analog = see table below
digital = see table below
other_chs =
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate = May 10, 1983
location = statewide Wyoming
callsign_meaning = see table below
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Central Wyoming College
licensee =
sister_stations =
former_affiliations =
effective_radiated_power = see table below
HAAT = see table below
class =
facility_id = see table below
coordinates = see table below
homepage = [http://www.wyoptv.org/ www.wyoptv.org]

Wyoming PBS is the PBS member station in the state of Wyoming. It currently consists of KCWC-TV, channel 4 in Riverton (but licensed to Lander), KWYP-TV, channel 8 in Laramie, KPTW, channel 6 in Casper, and an extensive network of low-power repeater stations across the state.

The network is owned by Central Wyoming College, a community college in Riverton, with studios located on the Central Wyoming College campus.

History

Wyoming had been among the first states to begin the groundwork for a noncommercial educational/public television station, doing so in 1951, three years before any television station was on the air in the state. However, due to numerous delays, it would be several years before the idea even got beyond the planning stages. In the meantime, KRMA-TV in Denver, Colorado brought PBS programming to much of the state on cable. Other parts of Wyoming were served by KTNE-TV in Alliance, Nebraska, part of the Nebraska ETV Network; and KUED and KBYU-TV in Salt Lake City. KRMA (now known as Rocky Mountain PBS) and KUED still operate several translators in Wyoming, as much of the state is considered part of the Denver and Salt Lake City markets.

Central Wyoming College applied for the channel 4 license in Riverton in the late 1970s and had to fight a commercial station in nearby Casper to keep the channel designated as non-commercial. After securing the largest single federal grant for a public television station at the time, KCWC-TV finally went on the air on May 10, 1983. This made Wyoming the next-to-last state to get a public television station on the air within its borders; CWC filed just days before Montana State University filed for KUSM in Bozeman, Montana; which went on the air over a year after KCWC.

Initially, KCWC's coverage was limited to the area around Riverton. Over the years, however, it built a network of low-powered translators that brings its signal to 85% of the state. This wasn't as problematic as it may seem; this expansion effort was done largely in conjunction with the state's cable systems. Cable is all but essential for acceptable television in much of Wyoming.

KWYP-TV signed on in 2004 to replace two translators that had served Laramie and Cheyenne since the late 1980s.

KPTW signed on in March 2007 [http://americanbandscan.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-low-band-vhf-tv-station.html] .

In May 2008, the network re-branded as Wyoming PBS.

tations

Notes:
*1. Because they were granted original construction permits after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997 [http://www.transmitter.com/FCC97115/chanplan.html] , these stations did not receive companion channels for digital television stations. Instead, on or before February 17, 2009, which is the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KWYP-TV and KPTW will be required to turn off their analog signals and turn on their digital signals (called a "flash-cut").

Repeaters

Wyoming PBS operates a network of low-power translator stations across the state of Wyoming--one of the largest such systems in the country.

*Big Piney — K24DA
*Buffalo — K11UT
*Clark — K07QA
*Clarks Fort — K02LH
*Cody — K49AI
*Dubois — K25AU
*Evanston — K23DS, K54EH
*Freedom — K31DC
*Gillette — K28CH
*Greybull — K50JC
*Jackson — K50BL
*North Fork — K07RS
*Pinedale — K14IL
*Rawlins — K26HV
*Rock Springs — K22BK
*Saratoga — K09OC
*Sheridan — K26BE
*Shoshoni — K42ER
*South Fork — K11GG
*Sunlight Basin — K11QL
*Teton Village — K19FG, K25ID

External links

* [http://www.wyoptv.org/ Wyoming PBS Website]
*TVQ|KCWC-TV
*TVQ|KPTW
*TVQ|KWYP-TV
*BIA|KCWC|TV|TV
*BIA|KWYP|TV|TV
*BIA|KPTW|TV|TV