KCOS (TV)

KCOS, virtual and VHF digital channel 13, branded on-air as PBS El Paso, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to El Paso, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Texas Tech University. KCOS' studios are located on Viscount Boulevard (northeast of I-10) in northwest El Paso, and its transmitter is located atop the Franklin Mountains on the El Paso city limits.

This article is about the PBS member television station in El Paso, Texas. For the unrelated defunct religious television station in Phoenix, Arizona, see KCOS-LP.
"KCOS" is also the ICAO airport code for Colorado Springs Airport.
KCOS
El Paso, Texas
United States
BrandingPBS El Paso
ChannelsDigital: 13 (VHF)
Virtual: 13 (PSIP)
Affiliations13.1: PBS
13.2: El Paso Community College TV[1]
13.3: Create[2]
13.4: Local 15
OwnerTexas Tech University
First air dateAugust 18, 1978 (1978-08-18)
Call sign meaningTrans-PeCOS (Coverage area)
Sister station(s)KTTZ-TV, KTTZ-FM, KTXT-FM
Former channel number(s)Analog:
7 (VHF, 1978–1981)
13 (VHF, 1981–2009)
Digital:
30 (UHF, until 2009)
Transmitter power42 kW
Height259 m (850 ft)
Facility ID19117
Transmitter coordinates31°47′15″N 106°28′49″W
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
Websitewww.kcostv.org

History
Former KCOS logo
KCOS logo used until November 3, 2019

The station first signed on the air on August 18, 1978, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 7. It was the first English-language television station to sign on since KVIA-TV (channel 7) debuted 22 years earlier in September 1956.

Prior to KCOS's debut, El Paso was the largest city in the United States that did not have a PBS member station. Some viewers in the market were able to receive Las Cruces, New Mexico-based KRWG-TV (channel 22). However, the Franklin Mountains significantly impaired KRWG's signal coverage deep into the market, rendering the station unviewable in most of El Paso itself. PBS arranged for NBC affiliate KTSM-TV (channel 9) to carry Sesame Street in the market from the show's 1969 debut until KCOS' sign-on (this was a common practice in other markets throughout the country that similarly lacked access to public television). Until KCOS signed on in 1978, cable providers in the El Paso market piped in KRWG and out-of-market PBS station KNME in Albuquerque.

On July 10, 1981, KCOS switched channel positions with KVIA, the city's ABC affiliate, and moved to VHF channel 13. This was done to give KVIA a greater broadcast signal range on parity with KTSM-TV and CBS affiliate KDBC-TV (channel 4).

On August 12, 2019, a purchase agreement was announced that would see KCOS purchased by Texas Tech University for a token amount of $1,000, due to the El Paso Public Television Foundation struggling to fundraise throughout the decade. All local personnel will remain in place under the new ownership, which would see it become a sister station to Lubbock's KTTZ-TV, KTTZ-FM and KTXT-FM.[3] The sale was completed on September 30, 2019.[4]

On November 4, 2019, KCOS rebranded as PBS El Paso to mark its new ownership, as well as align itself with the new brand identity of PBS unveiled that day.[5]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[6]
13.11080i16:9KCOS-HDMain KCOS programming / PBS
13.2480i4:3EPCC TVEl Paso Community College TV[1]
13.3CREATECreate[2]
13.4CITY-15City of El Paso Information

Analog-to digital conversion

KCOS shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, at 11:30 p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 30 to VHF channel 13 for post-transition operations.[7]

References
  1. "EPCC-TV". Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  2. "Create TV". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  3. Falk, Tyler (12 August 2019). "Deal between Texas stations aids struggling KCOS in El Paso". Current. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  4. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  5. Stith, Deborah Sengupta. "Local station KLRU rebrands as PBS celebrates 50 years". Austin 360. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  6. RabbitEars TV Query for KCOS
  7. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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