KAMU-TV
Television station in College Station, Texas
title: "KAMU-TV" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1970-establishments-in-texas", "pbs-member-stations", "television-channels-and-stations-established-in-1970", "television-stations-in-bryan–college-station", "texas-a&m-university"] description: "Television station in College Station, Texas" topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAMU-TV" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Television station in College Station, Texas ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox television station"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| callsign | KAMU-TV |
| city | College Station, Texas |
| logo | KAMU-TV logo.png |
| branding | KAMU PBS |
| digital | 12 (VHF) |
| virtual | 12 |
| affiliations | |
| airdate | |
| location | |
| country | United States |
| callsign_meaning | For owner Texas A&M University |
| owner | Texas A&M University |
| former_affiliations | NET (February−October 1970) |
| former_channel_numbers | Analog: 15 (UHF, 1970–2009) |
| erp | 3.2 kW |
| haat | 105 m |
| facility_id | 65301 |
| coordinates | |
| licensing_authority | FCC |
| website | |
| :: |
| callsign = KAMU-TV | city = College Station, Texas | logo = KAMU-TV logo.png | logo_size = | branding = KAMU PBS | analog = | digital = 12 (VHF) | virtual = 12 | subchannels = | affiliations = | airdate = | location = | country = United States | callsign_meaning = For owner Texas A&M University | owner = Texas A&M University | former_affiliations = NET (February−October 1970) | former_channel_numbers = Analog: 15 (UHF, 1970–2009) | erp = 3.2 kW | haat = 105 m | facility_id = 65301 | coordinates = | licensing_authority = FCC | website =
KAMU-TV (channel 12) is a PBS member television station licensed to College Station, Texas, United States. Owned by Texas A&M University, it is a sister station to NPR member KAMU-FM 90.9. The two stations share studios on the third floor of the Innovative Learning Classroom Building on the university's campus; KAMU-TV's transmitter is located at adjacent Hensel Park. KAMU-TV serves as the sole PBS member station for the Waco–Temple–Bryan market.
History
KAMU-TV began broadcasting on February 15, 1970. It originally aired on UHF channel 15, and was the first educational station in central Texas.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/TAMU_KAMU.JPG" caption="Moore Communications Center, where KAMU studios are located"] ::
On April 1, 2003, KAMU was the first station in the region to begin broadcasting in HDTV. KAMU made the first live HDTV broadcast in the region on April 22, 2004, with the program Meet the Candidates 2004.
On February 27, 2018, Central Texas College's board of trustees voted to close down KNCT (which served the western third of the Waco–Temple–Bryan market, including Waco and Killeen) over budgetary concerns related to the FCC spectrum repacking that would have required that station to move from RF channel 46 to RF channel 17 starting in 2020, as well as the need to replace its original transmitter. The shutdown of KNCT, which would occur on August 31, 2018, would leave KAMU-TV as the only PBS member station in the market. However, most cable systems on the western side of the market opted to import KLRU from Austin, which had already served as the default PBS member station for the market's southwestern areas.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed: ::data[format=table title="Subchannels of KAMU-TV"]
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | 12.1 | 12.2 | 12.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080i | 16:9 | KAMU-HD | PBS | ||||
| 720p | KAMU SD | Create | |||||
| KAMU SD | PBS Kids | ||||||
| :: |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KAMU's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009. It opted to use channel 12 as its virtual channel, rather than its former analog channel 15. KAMU offered ResearchChannel on subchannel 12.3 until that service was discontinued in August 2010.
References
References
- http://kamu.tamu.edu/aboutus.php{{Dead link. (July 2025)
- LeBas, John. (March 30, 2003). "KAMU makes waves with digital upgrade". [[The Bryan-College Station Eagle]].
- (April 24, 2004). "KAMU has first live HD broadcast". [[The Battalion]].
- [http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/Transition_Files/Phase_Assignment_Closing_PN.csv FCC TV spectrum Phase Assignment Table] {{Webarchive. link. (April 17, 2017 , ''FCC Incentive Auction Television Transition Data Files'', April 13, 2017.)
- (February 28, 2018). "Local PBS station KNCT going dark soon". [[KCEN]].
- (March 3, 2018). "Killeen-Temple public television station KNCT to end broadcasts". [[Waco Tribune-Herald]].
- (March 3, 2018). "Eventual closure of KNCT a tough decision". [[Killeen Daily Herald]].
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::