Prairie Public Television

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Prairie Public Television
Statewide North Dakota
Branding	Prairie Public Television
Channels	(see grid) analog, (see grid) digital
Affiliations	PBS
Owner	Prairie Public Broadcasting
Founded	1964
Former affiliations	NET (1964-1970)
Website	www.prairiepublic.org

Prairie Public Television (or simply PPTV) is a public television network primarily serving the U.S. state of North Dakota, but also reaching neighboring states of Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota and Canadian provinces. Part of Prairie Public Broadcasting along with the Prairie Public radio network, the network currently has seven analog broadcast stations. The flagship station for Prairie Public Television is KFME 13 of Fargo, ND.

Contents 1 History 2 Logos 3 Local Programming 4 Stations 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

In 1959, KFME signed on as North Central Educational Television, the predecessor organization to PPTV. Prairie Public Television (PPTV) started broadcasting in 1963 in Fargo, North Dakota as KFME, the first educational TV station to go on the air in the state of North Dakota.

KFME then set up a satellite station in 1974, KGFE in Grand Forks, marking the beginning of what is now the statewide PPTV network. KFME acquired a color VTR in 1967, and color cameras were purchased in 1975. KGFE has been available on cable TV in Winnipeg since 1975^[1], and Brandon, both of Manitoba. PPTV purchased a satellite earth station in 1978 to receive PBS programming. KBME in Bismarck was established afterward in 1979, with KSRE in Minot following suit in 1980 and, KDSE in Dickinson in 1982. PPTV purchased the Fargo American Life Building in 1983 and moved into the new broadcasting facilities to there in 1984. In 1989 PPTV went to a 24 hour broadcast schedule. Prairie School Television began in 1988, and the Prairie Satellite Network distance education network, with 70 sites was completed in 1994. Later, KWSE in Williston signed on in 1983, and KJRE in Ellendale/Jamestown signed on in 1992.

Prairie Public Television became the first broadcaster in North Dakota to broadcast in high definition, with KFME-DT and KBME-DT, of Fargo and Bismarck respectively, debuting in 2002. Digital-only station KCGE-DT signed on from Crookston, targeting Grand Forks, in 2003, with the rest of the PPTV analog stations broadcasting in HDTV by 2004. The transmitter for KGFE was damaged in May 2004, due to ice buildup on the tower, which caused very large chunks of ice to fall off and go through the roof of the transmitter building. This caused water damage to the transmitter's equipment, as well as damage to the roof of the transmitter site. KGFE went back on the air on February, 2005 on low power. KMDE-DT of Devils Lake signed on in 2005, covering the western half of KGFE's viewing area.

Several documentaries about southern Manitoba have been produced, including: Portage Avenue: Dreams of Castles in the Sky, Red River Divide, Assiniboine Park: A Park for all Seasons, Lake Winnipeg's Paradise Beaches, among others.

[edit] Logos

Prairie Public Television logo from 1989

[edit] Local Programming

Prairie Public TV has broadcast a weekly regional program, of various names through most of its history:

• SPIN (1976)
• North Dakota This Week (1980)
• Skyline (early 1980s)
• Prairie News Journal (1990–1997)
• PlainsTalk (1998) - hosted by Matt Olien
• Prairie Pulse (2004–present) - hosted by John Harris

Prairie Public Television also broadcasts Almanac from TPT of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[edit] Stations

Call sign	Analog Channel	Digital Channel	Location	Also serves	Callsign meaning
KFME (flagship)	13	23	Fargo	Valley City	Fargo-Moorhead Educational
KGFE	2	561	Grand Forks	Devils Lake	Grand Forks Educational
KBME	3	22	Bismarck		Bismarck-Mandan Educational
KSRE	6	40	Minot		Souris River Educational
KDSE	9	20	Dickinson		Dickinson/Stark County Educational
KWSE	4	51	Williston		WilliSton Educational
KJRE	19	20	Ellendale	Jamestown	James River Educational
KCGE-DT	none	16	Crookston, MN	Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, MN	Crookston/Grand Forks Educational
KMDE (DT)	none	25	Devils Lake		Minnewaukan-Devils Lake Educational
K11QD	11	none	Hazen
K07NE	7	none	Lisbon
Cable	3	305 (Shaw)	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Cable	2	none	Brandon, Manitoba

^{1: KGFE is assigned digital channel 56, but it is currently not on the air. KGFE will eventually be replaced with digital-only stations KCGE and KMDE.}

[edit] See also

• Prairie Public (radio)
• Prairie Public Broadcasting

[edit] References

1. ^ "Videon Will Offer Viewers New Fare", Winnipeg Free Press, July 11, 1975, p. 11.

[edit] External links

• Prairie Public Broadcasting website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KFME
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KGFE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KCGE-DT
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KMDE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KBME
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KSRE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KDSE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KWSE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KJRE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K07NE
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K11QD