About Us/History
History
of Smoky Hills Public Television
Smoky
Hills Public Television was incorporated in March of 1978 as a part of
the plan to extend public television service to un-served areas in central
and western Kansas. Initial funding for the station was received from
the State of Kansas and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program
(PTFP) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA).
In 1981, the corporation purchased a 100-year-old, native stone building
in Bunker Hill, renovated it into a modern broadcast facility, and erected
a 1,119-foot tower. The station broadcast its first signal as KOOD-TV
(Channel 9) on November 10, 1982. Translators soon extended service to
the Hoxie, Phillipsburg and Concordia areas.
Smoky Hills expanded its service into southwest Kansas in 1989 via two
full-power stations (KSWK-TV, Lakin, and KDCK-TV, Dodge City). In 1991,
a second set of translators was constructed to serve the areas of Oakley,
Goodland, Oberlin and Norton.
When the Federal Communications Commission mandated that television broadcasting
change to a digital system, Smoky Hills Public Television and the other
public television stations in Kansas, operating through the Kansas Public
Broadcasting Council (KPBC), developed a state-wide plan for conversion
to the new standard.
The Kansas Legislature, along with PTFP and NTIA, helped fund the first
phase, providing matching funds for transmission facilities. The grants
also allowed Smoky Hills to convert its master control and supporting
systems to digital technology. KOOD-DT, KSWK-DT, and KDCK-DT all signed
on in 2003.
In 2002, $2,000,000 was received from the Rural Utilities Service of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to match $1,200,000 in Kansas funding to
construct a high-power digital television station, including a 1,200-foot
tower, to serve northwest Kansas. KWKS-DT signed on June 1, 2007. As the
next step in its transition from analog to digital television, five of
Smoky Hills’ northwest translators will be decommissioned at the
end of October, 2007.
Today, Smoky Hills Public Television serves 70 counties in Kansas and
one in Nebraska via its over-the-air signal, 120 cable systems and DirecTV
and the Dish Network.
Committed since its inception to making excellent cultural and intellectual
content from all corners of the world available to all Kansans, Smoky
Hills presents the extraordinary programming of the Public Broadcasting
System (PBS) and other national and international sources.
Believing that the best of Kansans’ artistic imaginations, personal
expression and stories deserve to be celebrated with each other and the
world, Smoky Hills Public Television produces between 50-60 hours of Kansas-related
programming each year – as diverse as public affairs, the arts,
historical documentaries and western Kansas high school sports. Smoky
Hills Public Television has twice been recognized as “Television
Station of the Year” by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters,
and has won numerous other awards for its productions.
Believing that education is a cornerstone of our society and the most
important enabler for all aspects of life, Smoky Hills Public Television
broadcasts nine hours of safe, non-violent, educational children’s
programming every weekday. The station’s educational outreach programs
have provided literacy training to thousands of teachers and parents throughout
central and western Kansas, and distributed tens of thousands of books,
often the first book a disadvantaged Kansas child will own.
As a not-for-profit institution, Smoky Hills Public Television receives
a portion of its funding each year from federal and state sources, but
the largest portion of the revenue necessary to operate the station comes
from local support.
One of the most significant sources of support is Membership, which allows
individual viewers to make a contribution to their public television station.
Through the Horizon Society, major donors provide generous support to
Smoky Hills Public Television. Viewers also can make significant legacy
gifts in support of Smoky Hills Public Television through planned giving
contributions.
Businesses and individuals also help defray the costs of programs on Smoky
Hills by becoming a program underwriter – providing financial support
for general programming or specific programs or local productions.
Smoky Hills Public Television is a community licensee, owned by the citizens
it serves and governed by a board of directors selected from its membership.
Rooted and involved in its community, Smoky Hills Public Television has
been celebrating the best of Kansas community life and connecting Kansans
with each other for a quarter of a century.
Throughout the 25 years of its service, Smoky Hills Public Television
has been a leader in its industry and an outstanding steward of the trust
placed in it by the people of central and western Kansas.
More than just a television station, the institution of Smoky Hills Public
Television looks to a bright future as it continues to nourish the curiosity
and enrich the lives of the people of central and western Kansas and make
Kansas a better place to live and work.