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KLRU (channel 18), branded Austin PBS, is a PBS member
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...
in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, United States, owned by the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. In 2022, KLRU moved into its "Austin Media Center" studios located on the Austin Community College Highland Campus, which was redeveloped from the former Highland Mall. KLRU occupies in what was previously the mall's
Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company a ...
department store. The station's transmitter is located in the West Austin Antenna Farm in unincorporated Travis County. In addition to airing program content from PBS, it produces original programming including the national music series ''
Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
''. KLRU was founded in 1979 as a full-time satellite of
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
PBS member KLRN. That station had long doubled as the PBS member for Austin as well, but provided a marginal signal at best to much of Austin's inner ring. Soon after KLRU was brought on line, its owner, the Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council, laid the groundwork for repurposing it as a full-fledged PBS station for the Austin area. This culminated in 1986, when KLRU severed the electronic umbilical cord with KLRN and became a separately-programmed station. A year later, the Capital of Texas Public Broadcasting Council was formed as KLRU's owner.


History

When KLRN in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
was built, it was intended to serve as the
National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American non-commercial educational, educational terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It op ...
station for both San Antonio and Austin. While there was interest in building a public television station in Austin, there was not enough funding until the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
got involved. It had studios in both cities (in Austin, at the Jesse H. Jones Communications Center on the UT campus). In hopes of providing enough signal to reach both San Antonio and Austin, the transmitter was located in New Braunfels, a suburb of San Antonio located halfway between the two cities. This arrangement proved insufficient to cover all of Travis and Williamson counties, and reception in Austin had been poorer than expected due to intervening hilly terrain. It did not help that Austin is north of New Braunfels, leaving it with only secondary coverage from KLRN. The Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council, owner of KLRN, filed to build a new television station on Austin's
non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...
reserved channel 18 in 1975 and received a construction permit on September 3, 1976. ( Guide to reading History Cards) It was to serve as a full-time satellite of KLRN, and was primarily intended to reach up to 100,000 homes in Austin's inner ring where KLRN coverage was poor or nonexistent. Austin ABC affiliate
KVUE KVUE (channel 24) is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Steck Avenue just east of Loop 1 in northwest Austin, and its transmitter is located ...
leased space on its transmitter for the new station. In 1978, KLRN began a public fundraising drive to raise the money to build KLRU. Its construction enabled 23 additional school districts to benefit from the station's educational programming. The transmitter was activated on April 24, 1979, and programs began May 4. Born at a time when its ownership was embroiled in other controversies involving operations, the station's first license was only for one year due to misrepresentations over matching donations during the fund drive. From the moment KLRU signed on, officials envisioned a future in which KLRN and KLRU were separate, locally-focused PBS member stations. Only a year after KLRU hit the airwaves, it received its own Austin-based governing board, though it continued under the ownership of the Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council. In 1984, KLRN moved to a new tower in San Antonio. Two years later, for financial reasons, officials began exploring an outright split of the two stations. In particular, they believed a split would allow KLRU to be "a better (corporate) citizen" in Austin and use its longstanding ties to UT to increase local programming. The split was approved in September 1986 and took place in two stages. Separate branding for both stations was instituted on October 1, 1986. In 1987, the two stations officially went their separate ways when the Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council split into two nonprofit organizations, with KLRU coming under the ownership of the Capital of Texas Public Broadcasting Council. In addition to the Austin market, KLRU claims
Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
and Falls counties, which are in the Waco
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Bryan market, as part of its primary coverage area. It became the default PBS member for the western half of the Waco market via cable after KNCT ended its membership with PBS on August 31, 2018. On November 4, 2019, the station dropped its call sign brand after 33 years and rebranded as "Austin PBS" to coincide with PBS' rebranding the same day and the 50th anniversary of the parent network.


Programming


Programs produced by KLRU

* ''Arts In Context'' – Documentary series focusing on creativity and the arts
klru.org/artsincontext
* ''
Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
'' – A PBS music program that helped establish Austin as the "Live Music Capital of the World". * ''Austin Now'' – A weekly series that examines people, ideas, and issues that define Austin. (not currently in production) * ''Austin Revealed'' – An oral history project sharing the stories of Austin's past and present to encourage discussion and thought around the city's future. * ''BBQ with Franklin'' – Cooking tips from Aaron Franklin. * ''Blackademics TV'' –Top Black Studies scholars engage with projects and research focused on education, performance and youth empowerment. * ''Central Texas Gardener'' – A natural gardening program hosted by Tom Spencer. * ''Civic Summit'' – KLRU's program for discourse on public affairs
klru.org/civicsummit
* ''Docubloggers'' – A high-tech look at the life of Austin. (no longer in production) * ''In Context'' – A series on design, architecture, and art. (no longer in production, became ''Arts In Context'') * ''The Intergalactic Nemesis'' – A 17-part live-action graphic novel- a mash-up of a radio play and comic book. * ''
Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the End of slavery in the United States, ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's n ...
Jamboree'' – Celebrate the history and rich culture of African Americans in Central Texas
klru.org/juneteenth
* ''Overheard'' – A weekly interview series, formerly known as '' Texas Monthly Talks''; it is hosted by ''
Texas Tribune ''The Texas Tribune'' is a nonprofit politics and public policy news website headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Its stated aim is to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events. ''The Texas Tr ...
'' editor Evan Smith
klru.org/overheard
* ''Painted Churches of Texas'' – Documentary on the painted churches located in Central Texas. * ''Special Session'' – Seen while the
Texas State Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a po ...
is in session, it is a magazine show that looks at issues that are important to Texans; it is hosted by Paul Stekler. (not currently in production) * ''
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
Presents'' – A feature and short film series presented by the
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
Film Festival in association with the ''
Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
'' weekly newspaper. * ''What's That, Buzz?'' – A 12-part web series that explores the world of sound effects and Foley. Learn how sounds effects are made and how professionals in the field do their job.


Programs produced in Austin and presented by KLRU

* '' The Biscuit Brothers'' – A television series about country music for children. * '' The Daytripper'' – KLRU is the presenting station of the program, which is produced by Hogaboom Road, Inc., highlighting travel destinations across Texas; it is hosted by Chet Garner. * ''Downtown'' – A weekly series spotlighting the people, places, and things associated with downtown Austin and how it differs from other cities' downtown areas. (no longer in production) * ''Hardly Sound'' – Hardly Sound is a documentary TV series focusing on Texas underground music and artists, showcasing their stories, the creative process, and sharing a dialogue within the creative community. * ''The Forgotten Americans'' – A 2000 documentary produced by Galán Productions for PBS * ''One Square Mile: Texas'' – Produced by filmmakers Carl and Elisabeth Crum. ''One Square Mile: Texas'' is a documentary television series that depicts Texas culture from the perspective of distinct square miles across the Lone Star State. The series is a microcosm of Texas life and a collective portrait of the state. The series represents the many faces and facets of Texas from the perspective of the individual while spanning the emotional, demographic & physical landscapes.


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's signal is
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource— ...
: KLRU-Q was a locally programmed channel with PBS/KLRU encores and additional programs not aired on the primary channel. ''Q Night at the Movies'' on Saturday nights focused on film. It aired from July 1, 2009, until August 2, 2021, when it was replaced by the World Channel.


Analog-to-digital conversion

KLRU shut down its analog signal on April 16, 2009. Before shutting down the signal forever, it played its nightly sign-off from the 1970s one last time.List of Digital Full-Power Stations
The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22, using
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered as digits on a receiver's ...
18.


References


External links


Official website
{{PBS Texas 1979 establishments in Texas Austin City Limits PBS member stations Television channels and stations established in 1979 LRU