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Hub AI
KPBT-TV AI simulator
(@KPBT-TV_simulator)
Hub AI
KPBT-TV AI simulator
(@KPBT-TV_simulator)
KPBT-TV
KPBT-TV (channel 36), branded Basin PBS, is a PBS member television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, serving the Permian Basin area. Owned by Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, Inc., the station maintains studios at the historic Ritz Theater on North Main Street in downtown Midland and a transmitter near Gardendale.
Public television came to the Permian Basin in 1986 when Odessa College started KOCV-TV from studios and a transmitter located on its campus. However, in 2003, budget cuts mandated by the state of Texas led the college to discontinue support for the station and seek another licensee. The station was transferred to the Ector County Independent School District, but the station's financial needs surpassed the school system's capacity; less than two years after agreeing to take on KOCV-TV, it began looking for a buyer.
The school district transferred the station to a community licensee, Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, in December 2005. The station changed its call sign to KPBT-TV. It continued to rely on temporary office space for its operations until renovating the Ritz Theater in downtown Midland in 2019. In addition to airing national public television programming, KPBT-TV produces local music and public affairs specials.
In 1983, Odessa College, owner of KOCV-FM, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new educational TV station on channel 36 in Odessa. The college already had a broadcasting program and aired a nightly newscast on cable. For PBS programming, cable viewers received KERA-TV from Dallas. The original application for federal grant money was denied in July 1983. The FCC granted a construction permit in November 1984, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved a grant application in 1985, sufficient to start KOCV-TV. Even though it delayed the launch, Odessa College opted to build its own tower on the campus to avoid having to pay fees to lease another facility.
KOCV-TV began broadcasting on March 24, 1986. Cable companies in the Permian Basin continued to carry KERA for a short time to allow the new station to work out technical bugs; channel 36 also supplanted KERA as the area's provider of instructional television programming. The station's first significant local programming debuted in 1991 with the premiere of West Texas Journal, a weekly news roundtable.
Odessa College continued to own KOCV-TV until 2003, when it moved to divest the station in the face of state-mandated budget cuts. The state ordered the college to immediately cut seven percent of its budget and anticipate further reductions in funding for two further fiscal years, and the college—facing declining student interest—responded by cutting all $400,000 of its funding for the station. This covered equipment costs and employee salaries. The move put the station's future, as well as its conversion to digital broadcasting and a planned partnership with the University of Texas Permian Basin, in jeopardy. Odessa College began to discuss transferring ownership with various educational entities and other PBS member stations. In April, trustees of the Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) approved acquiring KOCV-TV from Odessa College; the college would continue to house key station equipment, but studios would move to the ECISD broadcast center. ECISD would benefit from grant money already received to begin digital broadcasting and provide automation that would allow for 24-hour programming. KOCV-DT began operating in October 2003.
The ECISD found itself unable to sustain KOCV-TV's operations. Funding it received to run the station from various sources was insufficient, with a shortfall of about $150,000. More than half of its overall revenue came from grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. After considering closing the station, the district decided to retain the license until August 31, 2005, to find a potential buyer for KOCV-TV. Two options existed: find another educational institution to run the station or form a community licensee—a non-governmental body—to take it over. Midland College analyzed purchasing KOCV-TV.
While the sale process was under way, in 2005, the station began branding as Permian Basin PBS. ECISD officials announced that a call sign change would likely accompany any transfer to a new owner.
KPBT-TV
KPBT-TV (channel 36), branded Basin PBS, is a PBS member television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, serving the Permian Basin area. Owned by Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, Inc., the station maintains studios at the historic Ritz Theater on North Main Street in downtown Midland and a transmitter near Gardendale.
Public television came to the Permian Basin in 1986 when Odessa College started KOCV-TV from studios and a transmitter located on its campus. However, in 2003, budget cuts mandated by the state of Texas led the college to discontinue support for the station and seek another licensee. The station was transferred to the Ector County Independent School District, but the station's financial needs surpassed the school system's capacity; less than two years after agreeing to take on KOCV-TV, it began looking for a buyer.
The school district transferred the station to a community licensee, Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, in December 2005. The station changed its call sign to KPBT-TV. It continued to rely on temporary office space for its operations until renovating the Ritz Theater in downtown Midland in 2019. In addition to airing national public television programming, KPBT-TV produces local music and public affairs specials.
In 1983, Odessa College, owner of KOCV-FM, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new educational TV station on channel 36 in Odessa. The college already had a broadcasting program and aired a nightly newscast on cable. For PBS programming, cable viewers received KERA-TV from Dallas. The original application for federal grant money was denied in July 1983. The FCC granted a construction permit in November 1984, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved a grant application in 1985, sufficient to start KOCV-TV. Even though it delayed the launch, Odessa College opted to build its own tower on the campus to avoid having to pay fees to lease another facility.
KOCV-TV began broadcasting on March 24, 1986. Cable companies in the Permian Basin continued to carry KERA for a short time to allow the new station to work out technical bugs; channel 36 also supplanted KERA as the area's provider of instructional television programming. The station's first significant local programming debuted in 1991 with the premiere of West Texas Journal, a weekly news roundtable.
Odessa College continued to own KOCV-TV until 2003, when it moved to divest the station in the face of state-mandated budget cuts. The state ordered the college to immediately cut seven percent of its budget and anticipate further reductions in funding for two further fiscal years, and the college—facing declining student interest—responded by cutting all $400,000 of its funding for the station. This covered equipment costs and employee salaries. The move put the station's future, as well as its conversion to digital broadcasting and a planned partnership with the University of Texas Permian Basin, in jeopardy. Odessa College began to discuss transferring ownership with various educational entities and other PBS member stations. In April, trustees of the Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) approved acquiring KOCV-TV from Odessa College; the college would continue to house key station equipment, but studios would move to the ECISD broadcast center. ECISD would benefit from grant money already received to begin digital broadcasting and provide automation that would allow for 24-hour programming. KOCV-DT began operating in October 2003.
The ECISD found itself unable to sustain KOCV-TV's operations. Funding it received to run the station from various sources was insufficient, with a shortfall of about $150,000. More than half of its overall revenue came from grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. After considering closing the station, the district decided to retain the license until August 31, 2005, to find a potential buyer for KOCV-TV. Two options existed: find another educational institution to run the station or form a community licensee—a non-governmental body—to take it over. Midland College analyzed purchasing KOCV-TV.
While the sale process was under way, in 2005, the station began branding as Permian Basin PBS. ECISD officials announced that a call sign change would likely accompany any transfer to a new owner.