WKAR-TV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WKAR-TV | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| East Lansing/Lansing, Michigan | |
| Channels | 23 (VHF) analog, 55 or 23.1 (UHF) digital |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Owner | Michigan State University |
| Founded | January 1954 (on ch. 60, moved to ch. 10 in 1959 and to ch. 23 in 1972) |
| Call letters meaning | W K(C)ollege of AgRiculture (from MSU's original name, Michigan Agricultural College) |
| Former callsigns | WMSB (1959-71) |
| Former affiliations | NET (1954-70) |
| Website | wkar.org/tv/ |
WKAR-TV is a PBS-member station serving the Lansing, Michigan area. It is owned by Michigan State University. The station broadcasts on channel 23 analog / 55 digital, and its studios are located on MSU's campus in East Lansing, its city of license. WKAR's transmitter is located on Kinawa Road in Meridian Township, Michigan between East Lansing and Williamston. WKAR transmits its signal from an antenna with a height of 969 feet.
WKAR-TV is part of the Broadcasting Services Division of MSU. WKAR-TV's studios and offices are located in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building, at the southeast corner of Wilson and Red Cedar Roads, on the Michigan State University campus.
[edit] History
WKAR-TV went on the air in January 1954 broadcasting on channel 60. It is the second-oldest educational television station in the United States, and the oldest east of the Mississippi River. It was the third station on the air, but the second, in Los Angeles, went dark not long after it went on. KUHT in Houston is the oldest.
Despite MSU's long history in broadcasting, WKAR-TV struggled for viewers because television sets at that time were not required to have UHF tuning capability. Viewers needed an expensive converter to watch channel 60, and the picture was marginal at best even with one. With this in mind, Michigan State unsuccessfully tried to persuade the FCC to redesignate channel 10, the only other VHF channel allocated to the Lansing area, for noncommercial use.
Eventually, MSU cut a deal with Jackson Telecasters to share channel 10. So in 1959, WKAR-TV changed its calls to WMSB (for Michigan State Broadcasting) and moved to channel 10. It shared the frequency with Jackson Telecasters' new station, NBC affiliate WILX-TV. WMSB was on the air for 30 percent of the broadcast day, but WILX had all of prime time. The two broadcasters maintained separate studios and offices and shared the same transmitting facilities in Onondaga. The station brought back the old WKAR-TV calls on November 15, 1971. [1]
In 1972, WKAR-TV resumed full-time broadcasting on channel 23. This was made possible by the All Channels Act of 1961 (requiring all TV sets sold in the United States to receive UHF channels starting in 1964), the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and the subsequent development of PBS in 1969. The channel 23 dedication show was simulcast on both channels 10 and 23, after which WILX began broadcasting on channel 10 full time.
In 1981, WKAR-TV moved from the Quonset hut studios it had occupied since the station first signed-on to the Communication Arts Center. The Breslin Student Events Center occupies the former studio location today.
WKAR-TV serves as the flagship station for Michigan Public Broadcasting (MPB) television programs. Programs distributed statewide on a weekly or monthly basis include QuizBusters, "Off the Record," "Michigan At Risk", as well as specials like the Governor of Michigan's annual "State of the State" address.
[edit] Digital TV
WKAR-TV broadcasting on channel 23, is mid-Michigan's Public Television station. The station produces numerous programs about state and local issues and broadcasts a diverse schedule of programs from PBS and other sources. WKAR-TV broadcasts in stereo, with closed captions for the hearing-impaired. Descriptive Video Service (DVS), which describes visual action for the sight-impaired, is also provided when available. More than 100,000 households served by Comcast cable system can watch the station 24-hours-a-day.
WKAR-DT MSU's digital television station began broadcasting on January 15, 2004.
- 23.1 presents the PBS high definition channel, PBS-HD.
- 23.2 presents a simulcast of WKAR-TV.
'KAR2 is a 24-hour service of public TV programs featuring children' s shows during the daytime and educational offerings for teachers overnight. As one of three channels from Broadcasting Services providing additional programming on Comcast cable system serving the Greater Lansing/East Lansing/Meridian area, 'KAR2 is available in more than 100,000 homes on cable channel 18 (Lansing) and 20 (East Lansing/Meridian).
'KAR3 offers "Create" a 24-hour lifestyle channel, featuring travel, cooking, gardening, craft and home renovation programs. As one of three channels from Broadcasting Services providing additional programming on Comcast cable systems serving the Greater Lansing/East Lansing/Meridian area, 'KAR3 is available in more than 100,000 homes on cable channel 18 (Lansing) and 20 (East Lansing/Meridian).
'KAR4 is a 24-hour TV service featuring educational offerings for teachers. As one of three channels from Broadcasting Services providing additional programming on Comcast cable services (East Lansing/Meridian only), 'KAR4 is seen on cable channel 29.
[edit] External link
| Broadcast Television in the Lansing/Jackson market (Nielsen DMA #110) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
WLNS 6 (CBS) - WILX 10 (NBC, The AccuWeather Channel on DT2) - WHTV 18 (MyNetworkTV) - WKAR 23 (PBS) - W27CN 27 (TBN / TCT) - WPXD 31 (ION) - WZPX 43 (ION) - WSYM 47 (Fox) - WLAJ 53 (ABC/The CW on DT2) |
||
| Local cable television channels | ||
|
Michigan Channel (Ann Arbor) - WNMU 13 (Marquette) - WCML 6 / WCMU 14 / WCMW 21 / WCMV 27 / W69AV 69 / W46AD 46 (Alpena / Mt. Pleasant / Cadillac / Traverse City) - WDCP 19 / WDCQ 35 (University Center / Bad Axe) - WKAR 23 (East Lansing) - WFUM 28 (Flint) - WGVU 35 / WGVK 52 (Grand Rapids / Kalamazoo) - WTVS 56 (Detroit) |
|
| See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, WB and Other stations in Michigan and CBC, CTV, Global, SRC and Other stations in Ontario | |
