states city kansas city missouri branding kcpt kansas city pbs channels digital 18 uhf virtual 19 psip affiliations .1 pbs .2 pbs encore .3 create owner public television 19 inc. first air date march 29 1961 ; 55 years ago 1961 03 29 call letters meaning kansas city public television sister station s ktbg former callsigns kcsd tv 1961 1972 former channel number s analog 19 uhf 1961 2009 former affiliations net 1961 1970 transmitter power 55 kw height 1 165 ft 355 m facility id 53843 transmitter coordinates 39 4 58.7 n 94 28 50.1 w 39.082972 n 94.480583 w 39.082972 ; 94.480583 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.kcpt.org kcpt virtual channel 19 uhf digital channel 18 is a pbs member television station serving kansas city missouri and kansas city kansas united states . the station is owned by public television 19 inc. . kcpt maintains studio facilities which are shared with sister adult album alternative radio station ktbg 90.9 fm located on east 31st street in kansas city missouri s union hill section adjacent to the transmitter tower of cbs affiliate kctv channel 5 and its transmitter is located near 23rd street and stark avenue in kansas city missouri s blue valley section . on cable the station is available on time warner cable and surewest channel 11 comcast channel 4 and at & t u verse channel 19 . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 programming 4 references 5 external links history edit kcpt s former logo replaced on february 9 2016 live broadcast of kcpt s ruckus event . the station first signed on the air on march 29 1961 as kcsd . it was founded by the kansas city school district and originally operated as a member station of national educational television ; it later became a charter member of the public broadcasting service pbs when it launched on october 6 1970 . the school district put the station s license up for sale in 1971 . a group of civic leaders formed a nonprofit broadcasting entity called public television 19 inc. and bought the license . the station changed its callsign to kcpt in january 1972 . that fall it began broadcasting pbs programs in color for the first time . in 1973 the station held its first televised auction . in 1984 kcpt relocated its operations to facilities in the union hill neighborhood of kansas city missouri located south of downtown kansas city which had originally served as the broadcast facility of kctv channel 5 from 1955 to 1983 ; that station s trademark transmission tower still rises above the building . in 2002 kcpt won a national emmy award for best documentary for be good smile pretty a film which documents tracy droz tragos journey to find the father she lost in vietnam . in 2008 kcpt began broadcasting its programming in high definition . in december 2013 kcpt gained a sister radio station when public television 19 inc. finalized its purchase of ktbg 90.9 fm in warrensburg from the university of central missouri for 1.1 million plus 550 000 in in kind services ; the transmitter for the station would also be moved 20 miles west to adequately cover most of the kansas city area . 1 digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 2 19.1 720p 16 9 kcpt 1 main kcpt programming pbs 19.2 480i kcpt 2 pbs encore 19.3 4 3 kcpt 3 create in addition to its main channel kcpt operates two digital subchannels kcpt2 on digital channel 19.2 offers programming from the pbs encore service kcpt create on digital channel 19.3 features how to and other instructional programming from the create network ; both subchannels launched in 2008 . analog to digital conversion edit kcpt shut down its analog signal over uhf channel 19 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 remained on its pre transition uhf channel 18 . 3 through the use of psip digital television receivers display the station s virtual channel as its former uhf analog channel 19 . programming edit in addition to carrying pbs programs and programs syndicated for public television distribution kcpt produces local programs such as kansas city week in review rare visions & roadside revelations the political affairs program ruckus check please kansas city and the local show . some of kcpt s former on air program hosts have included john masterman the host of kansas city illustrated and laurel defoe who joined the station from commercial outlet wdaf tv channel 4 . references edit mook ben 19 april 2013 . kansas city pubtv buys triple a music station . current.org website . retrieved 25 april 2013 . rabbitears tv query for kcpt dtv tentative channel designations for the first and second rounds pdf . retrieved 2012 03 24 . external links edit official website query the fcc s tv station database for kcpt biafn s media web database information on kcpt tv v t e television stations in kansas city reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television local stations wdaf tv 4.1 fox 4.2 antenna tv 4.3 this tv kctv 5.1 cbs kmbc tv 9.1 abc 9.2 metv kajf ld 16.1 silent 16.2 gettv 16.3 sbn 16.4 lc 16.5 qvc kcpt 19.1 pbs 19.2 pbs encore 19.3 create kcks ld 25.1 this 25.2 justice tv 25.3 q 25.4 heartland 25.5 newsmax 25.6 weathernation 25.7 rev n tv 25.8 untamed sports 25.9 the works 25.10 buzzr kcwe 29.1 the cw 29.2 movies kcdn ld 35.1 ds kmci tv 38.1 ind. 38.2 bounce 38.3 escape 38.4 grit kshb tv 41.1 nbc 41.2 cozi tv 41.3 laff k45io d 45.1 hsn kukc lp 48 uni kpxe tv 50.1 ion 50.2 qubo 50.3 life 50.4 ion shop 50.5 qvc over air 50.6 hsn ksmo tv 62.1 mntv 62.2 mundomax local cable channels fox sports kansas city jayhawk television network time warner cable sports channel 6 news lawrence adjacent locals st. joseph kqtv 2.1 abc ktaj tv 16.1 tbn 16.2 hillsong 16.3 smile juce tv 16.4 enlace 16.5 salsa kbjo ld 21.1 the cw knpn ld 26.1 fox 26.2 news press 3 now 26.4 tmd sedalia kmos tv 6.1 pbs 6.2 create 6.3 world topeka ktwu 11.1 pbs 11.2 mhz pbs kids 11.3 create pbs encore wibw tv 13.1 cbs 13.2 mntv metv ksnt 27.1 nbc 27.2 fox ktka tv 49.1 abc 49.2 wx 49.3 the cw defunct stations kujh lp 14 ind. kcty 25 dumont see also st. joseph tv topeka tv omaha tv des moines tv columbia jefferson city tv v t e television stations in the platte purchase of missouri including st. joseph reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television local stations kqtv 2.1 abc ktaj 16.1 tbn 16.2 hillsong 16.3 smile juce tv 16.4 enlace 16.5 salsa kbjo ld 21.1 the cw knpn ld 26.1 fox 26.2 np3 now 26.4 tmd knpg ld 30.1 tmd nbc adjacent locals kansas city wdaf 4.1 fox 4.2 antenna 4.3 this tv kctv 5.1 cbs kmbc 9.1 abc 9.2 metv kcpt 19.1 pbs 19.2 pbs hd 19.3 create kcwe 29.1 cw 29.2 movies kmci 38.1 ind. 38.2 bounce 38.3 escape 38.4 grit kshb 41.1 nbc 41.2 cozi tv 41.3 laff kpxe 50.1 ion 50.2 qubo 50.3 life 50.4 ion shop 50.5 qvc over air 50.6 hsn ksmo 62.1 mntv 62.2 mundomax lincoln kuon 12.1 pbs net 12.2 world 12.3 create omaha kmtv 3.1 cbs 3.2 laff 3.3 escape wowt 6.1 nbc 6.2 cozi tv 6.3 antenna tv ketv 7.1 abc 7.2 metv kxvo 15.1 cw 15.2 this tv 15.3 grit khin 36.1 3 pbs iptv kptm 42.1 fox 42.2 mntv 42.3 estrella topeka ktwu 11.1 pbs 11.2 create 11.3 pbs hd wibw 13.1 cbs 13.2 mntv this ksnt 27.1 nbc 27.2 fox local cable channels news press 3 now see also kansas city tv topeka tv omaha tv v t e pbs member stations in the state of missouri kmos 6.1 sedalia ketc 9.1 st. louis kcpt 19.1 kansas city kozk 21.1 kozj 26.1 springfield joplin see also abc cbs cw fox ion mynetworktv nbc pbs other stations in missouri v t e the kansas city area kansas city missouri the metro area history timeline economy neighborhoods architecture fountains barbecue jazz broadcast film education sports retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title kcpt & oldid 743751094 categories pbs member stationstelevision channels and stations established in 1961television stations in missouritelevision stations in kansastelevision stations in the kansas city metropolitan area navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 11 october 2016 at 01 50 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to 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