WKAR-TV
Encyclopedia
WKAR-TV is a PBS
-member station serving the Lansing, Michigan
area. It is owned by Michigan State University
. The station broadcasts on digital channel 40, which redirects to its former analog channel 23 via PSIP). Its studios are located on MSU's campus in East Lansing, its city of license
. WKAR's transmitter is located on Kinawa Road in Meridian Township, Michigan between East Lansing and Williamston
. WKAR transmits its signal from an antenna with a height of 969 feet.
WKAR-TV is part of the Broadcasting Services Division of MSU. WKAR-TV's studios and offices are located in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building, at the southeast corner of Wilson and Red Cedar Roads on the MSU campus.
WKAR's SD analog channel is available on Comcast's Flint system on channel 21, but for unknown reasons, none of its digital subchannel
s are available.
. It was the third station on the air, but the second, in Los Angeles
, went dark not long after it went on. KUHT
in Houston is the oldest.
Despite MSU's long history in broadcasting, WKAR-TV struggled for viewers because television sets at that time were not required to have UHF tuning capability. Viewers needed an expensive converter to watch channel 60, and the picture was marginal at best even with one. With this in mind, MSU unsuccessfully tried to persuade the FCC
to redesignate channel 10, the only other VHF channel allocated to the Lansing area, for noncommercial use.
Eventually, MSU cut a deal with Jackson Telecasters to share channel 10. So in 1959, WKAR-TV changed its call sign to WMSB (for Michigan State Broadcasting) and moved to channel 10. It shared the frequency with Jackson Telecasters' new station, NBC
affiliate WILX-TV
. The two broadcasters maintained separate studios and offices and shared the same transmitting facilities in Onondaga
. WMSB was on the air for 30 percent of the broadcast day, but WILX had all of prime time. WMSB would often give its time to WILX in case of breaking news, or if NBC aired sports or special events during WMSB's time.
In 1972, WKAR-TV resumed full-time broadcasting on channel 23. This was made possible by the All Channels Act
of 1961 (requiring all TV sets sold in the United States
to receive UHF channels starting in 1964), the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
and the subsequent development of PBS in 1969. The channel 23 dedication show was simulcast on both channels 10 (WMSB) and 23 (WKAR-TV), after which WMSB went silent and WILX began broadcasting on channel 10 full time.
In 1981, WKAR-TV moved from the Quonset hut
it had occupied since the station first signed-on to the Communication Arts and Sciences Building. The Breslin Student Events Center
occupies the former studio location today.
WKAR-TV serves as the flagship station for Michigan Public Broadcasting (MPB) television programs. Programs distributed statewide on a weekly or monthly basis include "QuizBusters", "Off the Record
, "BackStage Pass" as well as specials like the Governor of Michigan
's annual "State of the State" address.
WKAR-TV also held a yearly phone-in auction spanning over several days, where viewers could bid on items which were donated by local businesses and volunteers. When it was first held in 1977, it was the first of its kind in mid-Michigan. In 2007, citing a poorer economy, and the fact that they can raise more money by putting their resources into other developmental activities, the fundraising event ceased at the conclusion of the 30th WKAR-TV Auction.
WKAR's aerial signal signs off at night from 12:00 AM–7:00 AM on the digital television signal. The station remains on the air 24/7 on cable.
also went off the air at about 4 p.m. That station returned to the air by mid-September. While the transmitter was under repair, WJIM-TV (now WLNS) aired some of WKAR's programming, such as Sesame Street
. Cause of the fire remains unknown.
WKAR's digital signal is multiplexed. On November 4, 2007 WKAR Life and WKAR World were added to the digital lineup. On April 6, 2008 WKAR Life became WKAR Create.
On January 13, 2009, WKAR closed its analog signal, with aerial broadcasting being strictly digital-only after that date. It is the second station in the Lansing market (after WHTV
) to go digital-only. At the conclusion of national analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, WKAR moved its digital signal from UHF Channel 55 to UHF Channel 40. However, through PSIP, it redirects to its former analog channel.
On June 18, 2010, construction of a new broadcast tower for WKAR-TV and WKAR-FM was approved during a Michigan State University Board of Trustees meeting. A new antenna is scheduled to replace the antenna currently broadcasting on the older tower. This new tower will replace the aging tower originally built in 1953. It will also improve reception for both TV and FM signals. The project is scheduled to begin October 11, 2010, and be completed by May 2011.
Channel
Programming
23.1
Main WKAR programming / PBS HD
23.2
SD simulcast of 23.1
23.3
Create
23.4
PBS World
WKAR-TV offers several companion services. Most of these services carry PBS digital services usually carried as subchannels by other member stations. Comcast
Cable in the Greater Lansing/East Lansing/Meridian areas may offer some channels at longer hours than the aerial digital subchannels.
service, with some local programming from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Channel. KAR-4 was only available on cable in East Lansing and Meridian Township. It is unknown when this service was discontinued (the Annenberg Channel closed in October 2008), as TV listings and WKAR's website no longer have any references to this channel.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
-member station serving the Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
area. It is owned by Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. The station broadcasts on digital channel 40, which redirects to its former analog channel 23 via PSIP). Its studios are located on MSU's campus in East Lansing, its city of license
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
. WKAR's transmitter is located on Kinawa Road in Meridian Township, Michigan between East Lansing and Williamston
Williamston, Michigan
Williamston is a city in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is at the southeast corner of Williamstown Township, but is politically independent. A portion of Williamston was annexed from adjacent Wheatfield Township. Downtown Williamston is located at the intersection of Grand...
. WKAR transmits its signal from an antenna with a height of 969 feet.
WKAR-TV is part of the Broadcasting Services Division of MSU. WKAR-TV's studios and offices are located in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building, at the southeast corner of Wilson and Red Cedar Roads on the MSU campus.
WKAR's SD analog channel is available on Comcast's Flint system on channel 21, but for unknown reasons, none of its digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s are available.
History
WKAR-TV went on the air in January 1954 broadcasting on channel 60. It's call letters are the same as WKAR Radio (which first went on the air in 1922 with the call letters being assigned randomly, and do not reflect the university's early agricultural roots). Both WKAR Radio and WKAR-TV are licensed to Michigan State University. It is the second-oldest educational television station in the United States, and the oldest east of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. It was the third station on the air, but the second, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, went dark not long after it went on. KUHT
KUHT
-Technical firsts:The station is also noted in Houston for many technical firsts at the local level. In 1981, KUHT became Houston's first closed captioned television station, and ten years later, in 1991, it became the first station in Houston to offer Descriptive Video Service , and other services...
in Houston is the oldest.
Despite MSU's long history in broadcasting, WKAR-TV struggled for viewers because television sets at that time were not required to have UHF tuning capability. Viewers needed an expensive converter to watch channel 60, and the picture was marginal at best even with one. With this in mind, MSU unsuccessfully tried to persuade the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to redesignate channel 10, the only other VHF channel allocated to the Lansing area, for noncommercial use.
Eventually, MSU cut a deal with Jackson Telecasters to share channel 10. So in 1959, WKAR-TV changed its call sign to WMSB (for Michigan State Broadcasting) and moved to channel 10. It shared the frequency with Jackson Telecasters' new station, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WILX-TV
WILX-TV
WILX-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Michigan. Licensed to the nearby town of Onondaga, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 4 in Lansing, and Comcast channel 10 in East Lansing and Jackson. It can...
. The two broadcasters maintained separate studios and offices and shared the same transmitting facilities in Onondaga
Onondaga, Michigan
Onondaga is an unincorporated community in Onondaga Township in the southwestern corner of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the Grand River at approximately 20 miles south of Lansing and approximately 15 mile northwest of Jackson....
. WMSB was on the air for 30 percent of the broadcast day, but WILX had all of prime time. WMSB would often give its time to WILX in case of breaking news, or if NBC aired sports or special events during WMSB's time.
In 1972, WKAR-TV resumed full-time broadcasting on channel 23. This was made possible by the All Channels Act
All Channels Act
The All-Channel Receiver Act , commonly known as the All-Channels Act, was passed by the United States Congress in 1961, to allow the Federal Communications Commission to require that all television set manufacturers must include UHF tuners, so that new UHF-band TV stations could be received by...
of 1961 (requiring all TV sets sold in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to receive UHF channels starting in 1964), the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 set up public broadcasting in the United States, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and eventually the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio .When Lyndon B...
and the subsequent development of PBS in 1969. The channel 23 dedication show was simulcast on both channels 10 (WMSB) and 23 (WKAR-TV), after which WMSB went silent and WILX began broadcasting on channel 10 full time.
In 1981, WKAR-TV moved from the Quonset hut
Quonset hut
A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I...
it had occupied since the station first signed-on to the Communication Arts and Sciences Building. The Breslin Student Events Center
Breslin Student Events Center
The Jack Breslin Student Events Center is a multi-purpose arena at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena opened in 1989, and is named for Jack Breslin, MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began pushing for the arena in 1969. It is home to the Michigan...
occupies the former studio location today.
Off the Record (WKAR TV series)
Off the Record is a weekly, political talk program produced by Michigan public television station WKAR-TV in East Lansing, Michigan, and broadcast statewide on PBS member stations throughout Michigan...
, "BackStage Pass" as well as specials like the Governor of Michigan
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
's annual "State of the State" address.
WKAR-TV also held a yearly phone-in auction spanning over several days, where viewers could bid on items which were donated by local businesses and volunteers. When it was first held in 1977, it was the first of its kind in mid-Michigan. In 2007, citing a poorer economy, and the fact that they can raise more money by putting their resources into other developmental activities, the fundraising event ceased at the conclusion of the 30th WKAR-TV Auction.
WKAR's aerial signal signs off at night from 12:00 AM–7:00 AM on the digital television signal. The station remains on the air 24/7 on cable.
Fire
At approximately 3:36 p.m. on August 21, 1978, a fire broke out at WKAR's transmitter site, knocking the station off the air for the next 2 months and causing $900,000 (in 1978 dollars) in damage. WKAR-FMWKAR-FM
WKAR-FM is a public radio station in East Lansing, Michigan; broadcasting on the FM dial at 90.5 MHz. It is owned by Michigan State University, and is sister station to the AM radio and television stations with the same call letters....
also went off the air at about 4 p.m. That station returned to the air by mid-September. While the transmitter was under repair, WJIM-TV (now WLNS) aired some of WKAR's programming, such as Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. Cause of the fire remains unknown.
Digital television
WKAR-DT began broadcasting on Channel 55 on January 15, 2004.WKAR's digital signal is multiplexed. On November 4, 2007 WKAR Life and WKAR World were added to the digital lineup. On April 6, 2008 WKAR Life became WKAR Create.
On January 13, 2009, WKAR closed its analog signal, with aerial broadcasting being strictly digital-only after that date. It is the second station in the Lansing market (after WHTV
WHTV
WHTV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Central Michigan that is licensed to Jackson, Michigan. It broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 18 from a transmitter in Okemos. Owned by Venture Technologies Group, the station is operated through a joint sales...
) to go digital-only. At the conclusion of national analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, WKAR moved its digital signal from UHF Channel 55 to UHF Channel 40. However, through PSIP, it redirects to its former analog channel.
On June 18, 2010, construction of a new broadcast tower for WKAR-TV and WKAR-FM was approved during a Michigan State University Board of Trustees meeting. A new antenna is scheduled to replace the antenna currently broadcasting on the older tower. This new tower will replace the aging tower originally built in 1953. It will also improve reception for both TV and FM signals. The project is scheduled to begin October 11, 2010, and be completed by May 2011.
Digital programming
>PBS World
PBS World is a 24-hour United States over-the-air digital subchannel showing public TV non-fiction, science, nature, news, public affairs and documentaries...
WKAR-TV offers several companion services. Most of these services carry PBS digital services usually carried as subchannels by other member stations. Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
Cable in the Greater Lansing/East Lansing/Meridian areas may offer some channels at longer hours than the aerial digital subchannels.
WKAR Create
WKAR Create is broadcast on the channel that formerly carried KAR2. From 7 a.m. to midnight (24/7 on cable) WKAR Create carriers the Create service, a channel broadcasting lifestyle programming. The change from WKAR Life to WKAR Create was due to viewer feedback.WKAR World
WKAR world is broadcast on the channel that formerly carried KAR3. WKAR World carries the PBS WorldPBS World
PBS World is a 24-hour United States over-the-air digital subchannel showing public TV non-fiction, science, nature, news, public affairs and documentaries...
service, with some local programming from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
KAR4
KAR4 broadcast educational programming for teachers from the AnnenbergAnnenberg Foundation
The Annenberg Foundation is a private foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations in the United States and around the world...
Channel. KAR-4 was only available on cable in East Lansing and Meridian Township. It is unknown when this service was discontinued (the Annenberg Channel closed in October 2008), as TV listings and WKAR's website no longer have any references to this channel.