KOZK

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KOZK / KOZJ
city =
station_
station_slogan = nowrap|Public Broadcasting for the Ozarks
station_branding = Ozarks Public Television
analog =
KOZK: 21 (UHF)
KOZJ: 26 (UHF)
digital =
KOZK: 23 (UHF)
KOZJ: 25 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate = KOZK: January 1975 [The "Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook" says January 21, while the "Television and Cable Factbook" says January 20.]
KOZJ: June 1, 1986
location = KOZK: Springfield, Missouri
KOZJ: Joplin, Missouri
callsign_meaning = KOZK: OZarKs
KOZJ: KOZK Joplin
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Missouri State University
licensee = Board of Governors of Missouri State University
sister_stations =
former_affiliations =
effective_radiated_power = KOZK:
1107 kW (analog)
100 kW (digital)
KOZJ:
51.3 kW (analog)
55 kW (digital)
HAAT = KOZK: 617 m (both)
KOZJ:
284 m (analog)
281 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = KOZK: 51102
KOZJ: 51101
coordinates = KOZK:
coord|37|10|11.1|N|92|56|29.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
KOZJ:
coord|37|4|34.9|N|94|32|16.3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KOZJ
homepage = [http://www.optv.org/ www.optv.org]

KOZK is the PBS member station in Springfield, Missouri. Owned by Missouri State University, it broadcasts on channel 21. It operates a full-time satellite, KOZJ, channel 26 in Joplin. The two stations are known on-air as Ozarks Public Television. Together, the two stations serve the Ozarks region of southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma.

History

KOZK's history can be traced to Springfield Community Television, a non-profit group that was formed in 1974 to bring public television to the area. After securing a license from the FCC and funding from various groups, KOZK was finally able to sign on the air in January 1975, broadcasting from a former Naval Reserve center located on the campus of Drury University. From there they would go from a station that operated five days a week with seven staffers to a 24 hour operation with 25 employees. The station borrowed transmitter space from Springfield's CBS affiliate, KOLR.

In 1986 KOZJ signed on as KOZK's sister station in Joplin. Its business offices are located in downtown Joplin, with its broadcasting equipment located at Missouri Southern State University. Prior to 1986, the Joplin/Pittsburg market had been one of the few markets in the country without a PBS station of its own.

In 1990 the station moved to the new Shewmaker Communications Center on the campus of Drury College. In 2001, the board agreed to sell the station to Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State), and later that year the station's headquarters moved to Strong Hall on the SMS campus.

KOZK currently multicasts on its digital:

21.1/26.1: OPT-1 Standard Definition (a simulcast of the analog version)

21.2/26.2: PBS National HD feed (now available 24 hours a day)

21.3/26.3: Create, a how-to/DIY network

External links

* [http://www.optv.org/ OPTV's website]
*TVQ|KOZK
*TVQ|KOZJ
*BIA|KOZK|TV|TV
*BIA|KOZJ|TV|TV

References