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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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KPNE-FM

Nebraska Public Media, formerly Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), is a state network of public radio and television stations in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is operated by the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission (NETC). The television stations are all members of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), while the radio stations are members of National Public Radio (NPR).

The network is headquartered in the Terry M. Carpenter & Jack G. McBride Nebraska Public Media Center which is located at 1800 North 33rd Street on the East campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and has a satellite studio in Omaha.

History

Television

Nebraska was one of the first states in the nation to begin the groundwork for educational broadcasting. The University of Nebraska successfully applied to have channel 18 in Lincoln allocated for educational use in 1951.

Meanwhile, broadcasting pioneer John Fetzer purchased Lincoln's two commercial TV stations, KOLN-TV (channel 12) in August 1953 and KFOR-TV (channel 10) in February 1954. In order to avoid running afoul of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership regulations and to create a commercial broadcast monopoly for himself in the Lincoln market, Fetzer moved KOLN from its sign-on channel 12 to KFOR's channel 10 and offered to donate the channel 12 license to UNL. Since this would allow UNL to use more signal at less cost, the school quickly jumped at this proposal. KUON-TV went on the air on November 1, 1954, from KOLN-TV's studios, where the stations had to take turns using studio space; when KOLN was live, KUON had to broadcast a film, and vice versa. The station joined the nascent National Educational Television network (which had begun operations in May) upon its sign-on. It was operated in trust for UNL until 1956, when the FCC granted the channel 12 license to the school's Board of Regents. In 1957, KUON moved to its own studios in the Temple Building on the UNL campus. In 1960, the Nebraska Council for Educational Television was created by six school districts in Nebraska. By 1961, five VHF and three UHF channels were allocated for educational use in Nebraska—the largest set ever approved for educational use in a single state. In 1963, the state legislature, per a committee's recommendation, approved plans for a statewide educational television network under the control of the Nebraska Educational Television Commission. A deal was quickly reached in which Lincoln's KUON-TV would remain under UNL's ownership, but serve as the new state network's flagship.

In 1965, KLNE-TV in Lexington became the first station in the new state network, followed a month later (October 1965) by KYNE-TV at channel 26 in Omaha. The state network grew quickly; six stations signed on from 1966 to 1968 to complete the state network. It began a full seven-day schedule in 1969. The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Center opened in 1972; it is named for Carpenter, a state senator who introduced legislation in 1969 to fund the center, and McBride, NET's founding general manager and leader for 43 years. (The KLNE-TV and KLNE-FM transmission tower (40°23′05″N 99°27′32″W / 40.3848101°N 99.4588698°W / 40.3848101; -99.4588698) is on the site of the World War II prisoner-of-war camp, Camp Atlanta, near Holdrege, Nebraska.) National Educational Television would be absorbed into the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in October 1970, and KUON-TV joined the new network.

In 1974, Nebraska ETV adopted a new logo – a red stylized abstract "N" formed from two trapezoids. A year later, NBC unveiled the same logo that Nebraska ETV was using, but for the blue coloring of the right trapezoid in the NBC logo. The commission sued NBC for trademark infringement in February 1976, a suit which generated national attention. In an out-of-court settlement, Nebraska ETV agreed to allow NBC to keep its logo. In return, NBC donated a color mobile unit and other equipment totaling over $800,000. It also paid the commission an additional $55,000 for the costs of rolling out a new logo and eliminating the old logo from all advertising; Nebraska ETV's new logo was unveiled in late 1976.

A CPB study, Study of School Use of Television and Video, found Reading Rainbow (a co-production of NET and Buffalo, New York's WNED-TV until 2006) to be the most used and viewed children's television program in America during the 1990–1991 school year.

Since 1974, NET has operated a studio in Omaha, on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Omaha. It is primarily used when KYNE breaks off from the state network to broadcast programming of specific interest to the Omaha market.

In January 2005, Nebraska ETV and Nebraska Public Radio were united under a single name, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.

Last logo as NET, used from January 2005 until May 14, 2021.

In May 2021, NET changed its name to Nebraska Public Media to more accurately represent the organization's entire impact.

Radio

The Educational Television Commission had its mission broadened to radio in 1984, but it was 1989 before it could begin the groundwork for building a statewide public radio network. For many years, there were only two NPR members in the entire state—Omaha's KIOS and Lincoln's KUCV, which had signed on in 1974. In 1989, however, UNL bought KUCV from Union College. KUCV officially relaunched from its new studios on October 10, 1989. In 2001, KUCV moved from 90.9 FM (where it had been since its sign-on) to 91.1.

In 1990, the commission opened stations in Alliance, Lexington, Columbus, Norfolk, and Hastings. North Platte, Bassett, Merriman, and Chadron followed in 1991. The entire Nebraska Public Radio Network (NPRN) was formally dedicated on October 8 in a special ceremony, broadcast live on NPRN and NETV.

Last logo as NET Radio affiliated with NPR, used in January 2005 until May 14, 2021.

The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Facilities Corporation was established to facilitate lease/purchase of the GTE SpaceNet 3 transponder.

Television stations

Nebraska Public Media consists of nine full-power TV stations that make up the network; all stations have callsigns beginning with the letter K, as licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and ending in NE (the postal abbreviation for Nebraska) except "UON" (University of Nebraska) for the Lincoln station. Combined, they reach almost all of Nebraska, as well as parts of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Eight of the stations are owned by the NETC. Flagship station KUON is owned by the University of Nebraska, but is operated by the Commission through a long-standing agreement between the Commission and NU.

Station City of license
Facility ID ERP HAAT Call sign
meaning
Transmitter coordinates First air date Public license information
KTNE-TV Alliance 13 (13) 47996 27 kW 466 m (1,529 ft) Television Nebraska 41°50′27″N 103°3′18″W / 41.84083°N 103.05500°W / 41.84083; -103.05500 (KTNE-TV) September 7, 1966 Public file
LMS
KMNE-TV Bassett 7 (7) 47981 27 kW 453 m (1,486 ft) Middle Nebraska 42°20′5″N 99°29′2″W / 42.33472°N 99.48389°W / 42.33472; -99.48389 (KMNE-TV) September 1, 1967 Public file
LMS
KHNE-TV Hastings 29 (28) 47987 200 kW 366 m (1,201 ft) Hastings, Nebraska 40°46′20″N 98°5′21″W / 40.77222°N 98.08917°W / 40.77222; -98.08917 (KHNE-TV) November 18, 1968 Public file
LMS
KLNE-TV Lexington 3 (26) 47975 375 kW 331 m (1,086 ft) Lexington, Nebraska 40°23′5″N 99°27′30″W / 40.38472°N 99.45833°W / 40.38472; -99.45833 (KLNE-TV) September 6, 1965 Public file
LMS
KUON-TV Lincoln 12 (12) 66589 75 kW 253 m (830 ft) University of Nebraska 41°8′18″N 96°27′20″W / 41.13833°N 96.45556°W / 41.13833; -96.45556 (KUON-TV) November 1, 1954 Public file
LMS
KRNE-TV Merriman 12 (12) 47971 75 kW 322 m (1,056 ft) Merriman, Nebraska 42°40′37″N 101°42′39″W / 42.67694°N 101.71083°W / 42.67694; -101.71083 (KRNE-TV) December 9, 1968 Public file
LMS
KXNE-TV Norfolk 19 (19) 47995 475 kW 253.2 m (831 ft) Across Nebraska 42°14′15″N 97°16′41″W / 42.23750°N 97.27806°W / 42.23750; -97.27806 (KXNE-TV) November 10, 1967 Public file
LMS
KPNE-TV North Platte 9 (9) 47973 85 kW 334 m (1,096 ft) North Platte, Nebraska 41°1′22″N 101°9′14″W / 41.02278°N 101.15389°W / 41.02278; -101.15389 (KPNE-TV) September 12, 1966 Public file
LMS
KYNE-TV Omaha 26 (17) 47974 21.5 kW 283.6 m (930 ft) Your Nebraska 41°18′32″N 96°1′34.2″W / 41.30889°N 96.026167°W / 41.30889; -96.026167 (KYNE-TV) October 19, 1965 Public file
LMS
  1. ^ Site of the Nebraska Educational Tower Holdrege.
  2. ^ KUON-TV launched on February 18, 1953 as KOLN-TV, changed its callsign to KUON on August 5, 1954 and added the -TV suffix to its callsign on November 1, 1954.
  3. ^ KYNE occasionally breaks off from the Nebraska Public Media state network to broadcast local programming. KYNE's programming became digital-only on February 17, 2009.

Translators

Nebraska Public Media operates 15 translators to widen its coverage area. Nine directly repeat KUON, four repeat KXNE and one repeats KMNE.

Station City of license Channel Parent station Facility ID
K23AA Beatrice 23 KHNE 47983
K24GO Blair 24 KUON 47969
K31OC-D Broken Bow 7 KMNE 181534
K06JC Chadron 6 KTNE 47977
K06KR Crawford 6 KTNE 47991
K34IB Decatur 34 KXNE 47976
K25OG-D Falls City 25 KUON-TV 47970
K08LN Harrison 8 KUON 47992
K33FO Max 33 KPNE 48009
K21OI-D McCook/Culbertson 9 KPNE-TV 47954
K27NI-D Neligh 27 KXNE-TV 47985
K14MI Niobrara 14 KXNE 47988
K33AC Pawnee City 33 KUON 47993
K10JW-D Verdigre 19 KXNE-TV 47989
K20IJ Wauneta 20 KPNE 47980

Cable and satellite availability

Nebraska Public Media is available on nearly all cable systems in Nebraska. Selected cable systems in northern Kansas carry Hastings' KHNE in addition to Smoky Hills PBS; these counties are part of the Hastings/Kearney side of the Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney media market. Additionally, Omaha's KYNE is carried on most cable systems in southwestern Iowa.

On satellite, KUON, KYNE, KPNE, KXNE, and KTNE are carried on the local Lincoln, Omaha, North Platte, Sioux City, and Cheyenne, Wyoming Dish Network feeds, respectively. KTNE is the sole PBS station available to satellite viewers in the Cheyenne market, due to FCC regulations that prohibit Wyoming PBS to be seen in that market, since KWYP-TV in Laramie is located in the Denver television market. KHNE, KYNE, and KXNE are available on the Lincoln, Omaha, and Sioux City DirecTV feeds, respectively.

Digital television

Subchannels

The signals of Nebraska Public Media's television stations are multiplexed:

Nebraska Public Media multiplex
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
xx.1 1080i 16:9 NE-PBS Main Nebraska Public Media programming / PBS
xx.2 NE-W World
xx.3 720p NE-C Create
xx.4 480i NE-KIDS PBS Kids
xx.5 NE-FNX First Nations Experience

Analog-to-digital conversion

During 2009, in the lead-up to the analog-to-digital television transition that would ultimately occur in 2009, Nebraska Public Media shut down the analog transmitters of its stations on a staggered basis. Listed below are the dates each analog transmitter ceased operations as well as their post-transition channel allocations:

  • KUON-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, in Autumn 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 40 to VHF channel 12.
  • KHNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 29, on February 17, 2009, the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 28, using virtual channel 29.
  • KLNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 26, using virtual channel 3.
  • KMNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, in autumn 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 15 to VHF channel 7.
  • KPNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 9, in autumn 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 16 to VHF channel 9.
  • KRNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, in autumn 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 17 to VHF channel 12.
  • KTNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, in autumn 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 24 to VHF channel 13.
  • KXNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 19, in November 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 16 to former UHF analog channel 19.
  • KYNE-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 26, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 17, using virtual channel 26.

Radio stations

Nebraska Public Media's radio stations are governed by the NET Commission and the NET Foundation for Radio Board. It consists of all NPR member stations in the state except for KIOS in Omaha; that station is operated by the Omaha Public Schools. Programming consists of classical music and NPR news and talk.

Nebraska Public Media Radio can also be heard on the FNX television channel.

There are nine full-power stations in the state network:

Station Frequency City ERP HAAT Callsign meaning
KUCV 91.1 FM Lincoln (flagship) 100 kW 210 m (689 ft) Union College (original owner) Voice
KCNE-FM 91.9 FM Chadron 8.4 kW 103 m (338 ft) Chadron, Nebraska
KHNE-FM 89.1 FM Hastings 68 kW 329 m (1,079 ft) Hastings, Nebraska
KLNE-FM 88.7 FM Lexington 65 kW 296.8 m (974 ft) Lexington, Nebraska
KMNE-FM 90.3 FM Bassett 100 kW 402 m (1,319 ft) Middle Nebraska
KPNE-FM 91.7 FM North Platte 88 kW 288 m (945 ft) North Platte, Nebraska
KQNE-FM 89.9 FM Falls City 3.2 kW 137 m (449 ft) Quality Radio for Nebraska
KRNE-FM 91.5 FM Merriman 100 kW 294 m (965 ft) Merriman, Nebraska
KTNE-FM 91.1 FM Alliance 100 kW 404 m (1,325 ft) Towards Nebraska
KXNE-FM 89.3 FM Norfolk 45 kW 300 m (984 ft) Across Nebraska

The state network also has four low-power repeater/translator signals.

Station Frequency City Parent Station
K209FS 89.7 FM Columbus KXNE
K224CH 92.7 FM Culbertson KPNE
K208CB 89.5 FM Harrison KTNE
K227AC 93.3 FM Max KPNE

K209FS went off the air in July 2023 due to the dismantling of its broadcast tower. NPM is seeking a new location for the translator but ultimately will replace it with a higher-power station, KUNE-FM.

Programming

Although Nebraska Public Media provides PBS programming, it also produces original programs, such as:

News operation

The Nebraska Public Media News team was led by News Director Dennis Kellogg until 2022. The news department produces regular "Signature Stories" for air on Nebraska Public Media's radio stations.

References

  1. ^ McGuire, Jana (Fall 2004). "50 Years of Service NET". Nebraska Alumni Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "NET Television's 60 Anniversary Celebrates Its Educational Focus". NET Nebraska (press release). September 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  3. ^ "ETV Comes to Omaha University". Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  4. ^ Levine, Ken (8 September 2011). "One of NBC's great blunders".
  5. ^ Shales, Tom (19 July 1985). "At NBC, All's Well That N's Well". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. ^ Ellis, Jon (May 15, 2021). "NET No More: PBS, NPR Stations Rebrand as Nebraska Public Media". Northpine.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "FCC History Cards for KUON-TV".
  8. ^ "TV Listings- Find Local TV Listings and Watch Full Episodes - Zap2it.com".
  9. ^ "TV Listings- Find Local TV Listings and Watch Full Episodes - Zap2it.com".
  10. ^ "Welcome to nginx". Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-09-12. Digital delay muddles broadcasters' plans, BRYAN REDEMSKE, Omaha WORLD-HERALD, February 6, 2009
  11. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KUON
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Nebraska Public Media Launches FNX|First Nations Experience as Fifth TV Channel".
  14. ^ "Nebraska Public Media Columbus FM Translator Going Off Air". Nebraska Public Media (press release). 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  15. ^ "Weekly Log: Public Radio Off Air in Neb. Town; New Mpls. Anchor". NorthPine. 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  16. ^ "News".

40°49′52″N 96°40′20″W / 40.831117°N 96.672095°W / 40.831117; -96.672095 (Nebraska Public Media)