KWCM-TV (channel 10) is a
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
member
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Appleton, Minnesota
Appleton is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 1,412 at the 2010 census. The town is home to a vacant medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is wholly owned and operated by Correctio ...
, United States, owned by the West Central Minnesota Educational TV Corp. KWCM-TV's studios are located on Pioneer Drive in
Granite Falls, and its transmitter is located near Appleton.
KSMN (channel 20) in
Worthington
Worthington may refer to:
People
* Worthington (surname)
* Worthington family, a British noble family
Businesses
* Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's
* Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...
operates as a full-time
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
of KWCM-TV; this station's transmitter is located near
Chandler, Minnesota
Chandler is a town in Murray County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 270 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Minnesota State Highway 91 and Murray C ...
. KSMN covers areas of southwestern Minnesota that receive a marginal to non-existent
over-the-air signal from KWCM, although there is significant overlap between the two stations'
contours
Contour may refer to:
* Contour (linguistics), a phonetic sound
* Pitch contour
* Contour (camera system), a 3D digital camera system
* Contour, the KDE Plasma 4 interface for tablet devices
* Contour line, a curve along which the function has a ...
otherwise. KSMN is a straight
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
of KWCM; on-air references to KSMN are limited to
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC)-mandated hourly
station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
s during programming. Aside from the transmitter, KSMN does not maintain any physical presence locally in Worthington.
The two stations are collectively branded as Pioneer PBS. Their combined signal can also be received in parts of
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
and
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
. Several other
translators
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
carry the signal into other communities.
History
KWCM went on the air for the first time on February 7, 1966. In the early years, it repeated the signal of
KTCA-TV in the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...
. It adopted the Pioneer Public Television name in 1982, and added KSMN in 1997.
The station is available on the
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
and
Dish Network
DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
feeds for the Twin Cities and
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...
markets
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
. Appleton is part of the Twin Cities market, while Worthington is in the Sioux Falls market. This gives Pioneer a potential audience of 4.8 million people in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. As of November 3, 2019, the station became Pioneer PBS due to PBS' overhaul.
Pioneer-produced shows
Some locally produced shows include ''Postcards'', ''Prairie Sportsman'', ''Funtime Polka'', ''Your Legislators'', ''Country Spires'' and programs produced with the
University of Minnesota Morris
The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offering ...
, ''Prairie Yard and Garden'', ''Academic Challenge'', ''Echoes of Cry of the Marsh'' and ''Minnesota Rivers and Fields''. Some of these shows have also been shown on the
Minnesota Channel
The Minnesota Channel is an American free-to-air television channel originating at Twin Cities Public Television. It features programming related to Minnesota (and some related to Wisconsin and North Dakota), plus coverage of the Minnesota Legis ...
, a statewide network originated at KTCI-TV in the Twin Cities which carries local programs on Saturday and Sunday evenings.
Technical information
Subchannels
The stations' digital signals are
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
KWCM-TV and KSMN shut down their analog transmitters on June 12, 2009.
[http://www.morrissuntribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16452§ion=News] KWCM-TV's digital signal relocated to
VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
channel 10 from
UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
channel 31, while KSMN's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 15.
Translators
A network of digital translators in western Minnesota translates KWCM.
References
External links
Pioneer Public TelevisionRabbitears.info Query - KWCMRabbitears.info Query - KSMN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwcm-Tv
PBS member stations
Television stations in Minnesota
Television channels and stations established in 1966
1966 establishments in Minnesota