KLRU

KLRU

Austin, Texas United States
Branding	KLRU. Austin's PBS
Channels	Digital: 22 (UHF) Virtual: 18 (PSIP)
Subchannels	18.1 PBS 18.2 Create 18.3 PBS Encore 18.4 V-me
Affiliations	PBS
Owner	Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council
First air date	May 3, 1979[1] (satellite of KLRN until 1984)
Call letters' meaning	variation of KLRN
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 18 (UHF, 1979–2009)
Transmitter power	700 kW
Height	357.5 m
Facility ID	8564
Transmitter coordinates	30°19′19.3″N 97°48′12.6″W / 30.322028°N 97.803500°W / 30.322028; -97.803500
Website	www.klru.org

KLRU, virtual channel 18 (UHF digital channel 22), is a PBS member television station located in Austin, Texas, United States. The station is owned by the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. KLRU's studios are located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, and its transmitter is located on the West Austin Antenna Farm in unincorporated Travis County. In addition to airing program content from PBS, it produces original programming including the national music series Austin City Limits.

History

The station first signed on the air on May 3, 1979 as a satellite of KLRN in San Antonio. Before KLRU's sign-on, KLRN had served both cities from the Jesse H. Jones Communications Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Channel 18 adopted a separate programming schedule in 1984, though it continued under the ownership of KLRN's governing board, the Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council. In 1987, the two stations finally went their separate ways, with KLRU coming under the ownership of the Capital of Texas Public Broadcasting Council, which continues to own the station today.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Analog-to-digital conversion

KLRU shut down its analog signal on April 16, 2009. Before shutting down the signal forever, it played its nightly sign-off from the 70's one last time. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22,^[5] using PSIP to display KLRU's virtual channel as 18 on digital television receivers.

Programs produced by KLRU

• Austin City Limits – A long-running PBS music program that helped establish Austin as the "Live Music Capital of the World."
• Austin Now – A weekly series that examines people, ideas, and issues that define Austin.
• The Biscuit Brothers – A television series about music for children.
• Central Texas Gardener – A natural gardening program hosted by Tom Spencer.
• The Daytripper – KLRU is the presenting station of the program, which is produced by Hogaboom Road, Inc., highlighting travel destinations across Texas; it is hosted by Chet Garner.^[6]
• Docubloggers – A high-tech look at the life of Austin.
• Downtown – A weekly series spotlighting the people, places, and things associated with downtown Austin and how it differs from other cities' downtown areas.
• The Forgotten Americans – A 2000 documentary produced by Galán Productions for PBS
• In Context – A series on design, architecture, and art.
• Overheard – A weekly interview series, previously known as Texas Monthly Talks; it is hosted by Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith.
• Special Session – Seen while the Texas State Legislature is in session, it is a magazine show that looks at issues that are important to Texans; it is hosted by Paul Stekler.
• SXSW Presents – A feature and short film series presented by the South by Southwest Film Festival in association with the Austin Chronicle weekly newspaper.

References

External links

• KLRU official website
• Austin American-Statesman story
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KLRU
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for KLRU
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KLRU-TV