| KBTC-TV / KCKA | |
|---|---|
| KBTC logo | |
| KBTC: Tacoma, Washington KCKA: Centralia, Washington | |
| Branding | KBTC |
| Channels | Analog: KBTC: 28 (UHF) KCKA: 15 (UHF) Digital: |
| Subchannels | KBTC: 28.1/27.1 KBTC-TV 28.2/27.2 Create 28.3/27.3 Annenberg Media 28.4/27.4 World View KCKA: 15.1/19.1 KCKA-TV 15.2/19.2 Create 15.3/19.3 Annenberg Media 15.4/19.4 World View network = |
| Translators | K65BU Grays River |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Owner | Bates Technical College |
| First air date | KBTC: September 25, 1961 KCKA: October 2, 1982 |
| Call letters’ meaning | KBTC: Bates Technical College |
| Former callsigns | KBTC: KTPS-TV (1961-1980) KTPS (1980-1992) KCKA: none |
| Former affiliations | NET (1961-1970) |
| Transmitter Power | KBTC: 604 kW (analog) 45 kW (digital) KCKA: 661 kW (analog) 43.7 kW (digital) |
| Height | KBTC: 219 m (analog) 235 m (digital) KCKA: 347 m (analog) 334 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | KBTC: 62469 KCKA: 62468 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | KBTC: |
| Website | www.kbtc.org |
KBTC-TV is a public television station in Tacoma, Washington, affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It broadcasts on analog channel 28 and digital channel 27, and Comcast cable channel 12. Its offices and broadcasting center are located on the campus of owner Bates Technical College. The property was purchased from KSTW when that station moved to Renton in 2001.
Bates Technical College also owns KCKA analog channel 15 which signed on the air October 2 1982 and digital channel 19 in Centralia, where it repeats KBTC's programming, and owned public radio station KBTC-FM 91.7 until 2004, when it was sold to Public Radio Capital and became KXOT.
In addition to reaching a local over-the-air audience, KBTC is transmitted to Comcast Cable viewers in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, and many areas of southwest Washington.
The station originally signed on the air September 25 1961 as KTPS-TV and licensed to Tacoma School District No. 10, owned by the Tacoma Public Schools. Previous to that time, KTPS had operated on Channel 62. Bates took over in 1992 and changed the calls to KBTC on October 12 1992.
There had been plans for KCPQ to produce a newscast oriented at Tacoma and south Puget Sound for air on KBTC. However, as of June 2005, those plans appear to have been abandoned.
Local production[]
KBTC's local production Full Focus is a half hour documentary style show that looks at some of the people, places, and historical events that have helped shape western Washington. The show has profiled the artist Trimpin, baseball legend Fred Hutchinson, the Pacific Rim bonsai collection and has featured many other stories, including a 2006 interview with Sesame Street's Bob McGrath.
External links[]
- Official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KBTC-TV
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KCKA
- Query the FCC's TV station database for K65BU
BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KBTC-TV
BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCKA-TV
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