The Alaska Rural Communications Service (ARCS) is a statewide network of low-powered

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 ear ...

s, serving 235 communities throughout the Alaskan Bush areas. Developed in the late 1970s, the network is based in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

, and is operated by

Alaska Public Media Alaska Public Media is a non-profit organization with member television and radio stations that are part of PBS, NPR and other public broadcasting networks. Formerly known as Alaska Public Telecommunications, Inc., Alaska Public Media relies upo ...

. Programming is beamed via satellite to the rural transmitters owned by the Alaska state government. Low powered television broadcasts began in 1959, with a transmitter in the Suntrana- Healy area. In 1972, the Alaskan Public Broadcasting Commission (APBC) received

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

permission to test the use of videotapes to bring television to areas of Alaska with no ability to access terrestrial repeaters; tests began in three villages the next year. Alaska's state legislature then provided funding to the state's Office of Telecommunications to lease a satellite transponder and modify existing telephone earth stations for television in 1976. The first satellite-fed television transmissions began on January 15, 1977, in

Tenakee Springs Tenakee Springs ( tli, Tʼanag̱eey) is a city on Chichagof Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 131, up from 104 at the 2000 census. Geography Tenakee Springs is located on the nort ...

. A Telecommunications Committee under the

Alaska Federation of Natives The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska. Its membership includes 178 villages (both federally recognized tribes and village corporations), thirteen regional native corporations, and twelve r ...

selected programming for the new service, the committee became known as the Rural Alaska Television Network (RATNET). In 1995, after state funding cuts, Bethel Broadcasting, Incorporated, operators of KYUK, assumed responsibility for the service. Control of ARCS passed from Alaska Public Broadcasting, Inc. to Alaska Public Media, which also operates Anchorage's PBS member station

KAKM KAKM, virtual channel 7 (VHF digital channel 8), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Owned by Alaska Public Media, it is sister to National Public Radio ( NPR) membe ...

, in 2021. Programming on ARCS is a selection of shows from the four commercial broadcast networks (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

, CBS,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

) and

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

, via the Anchorage stations; plus

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

programming from

and other PBS members in the state; occasionally, ARCS produces some of its own programming (including local sports coverage). Anchorage stations provide their programming to ARCS free of charge with the condition that advertising is allowed to remain. There is currently no CW programming available on ARCS (nor did it air programming from

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

), and though in the past the network carried

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

programming from

KYES-TV KAUU (channel 5) is a television station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KTUU-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios on East 40th Avenue in An ...

(and previously,

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

), it has not since its 2009 conversion from a network to an all-repeat

programming service Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

; it did carry other syndicated programming from that station, mainly on weekends, until KYES-TV took over the CBS affiliation from KTVA on August 1, 2020 (KYES-TV's former programming shifted to its fourth subchannel and will continue to air on ARCS on weekends). In late February 2021, KYES's

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

were changed to KAUU, to complement sister station

KTUU KTUU-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual CBS/ MyNetworkTV affiliate KAUU (channel 5). Both stations share studios on East 40th Avenue ...

. Even though much of ARCS' programming contains commercials, the operation of ARCS is partially funded by donations from its viewers, just like member stations of PBS, as well as those of the Christian-based

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...

. Many of ARCS' stations which were in analog were converted to digital broadcasting as part of the FCC mandated digital television transition which was originally scheduled for July 13, 2021 for low-power TV stations as well as translator stations in Alaska. The network flash cut its transmitters once the transition is completed, shutting down its analog transmissions and switching on their digital transmitters at the same time. This has also allowed ARCS to add new subchannels, including 360 North, First Nations Experience, and UAF TV via Alaska Public Media's KAKM-TV. In June 2021, the FCC granted a waiver for the service to continue analog television service on 15 of its transmitters until January 10, 2022, so that they could continue to complete the upgrade of its low-powered stations to digital. The FCC cited Alaska's climate and short construction season, the remoteness of the transmitter sites in question, and the fact that all the transmitters represented the sole over-the-air television service in each of the communities involved. Another application to extend the construction permits on several other ARCS transmitters was submitted on January 10, 2022; , the application is under review. In a subsequent filing to the FCC in July 2022, the State of Alaska and Alaska Public Media indicated that they planned to let construction permits for 37 of the repeaters lapse.

List of stations

As of June 2021, the ARCS had 169 station licenses, of which 106 were operational. The ARCS is seen on the following low-powered television stations: * '
K08KD-D
'' Alakanuk * '
K08HU-D
'' Aleknagik * '
K09QL-D
''

Allakaket Allakaket ( ) (''Aalaa Kkaakk’et'' in Koyukon) is a second class city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 105 at the 2010 census. History and culture Several Native gr ...

* '
K11QI-D
'' Ambler * '
K07SS-D
''

Angoon Angoon (sometimes formerly spelled Angun, tli, Aangóon) is a city on Admiralty Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 572; by the 2010 census the population had declined to 459. The ...

* '
K11QN-D
'' Aniak * Arctic Village * Bettles * Birch Creek *

Chalkyitsik Chalkyitsik (''Jałgiitsik'' in Gwich'in), meaning "to fish with a hook, at the mouth of the creek", is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is located on the left (south) bank of the Black Riv ...

* Chevak * '
K07RY-D
'' Chignik *

Chignik Lagoon Chignik Lagoon ( Alutiiq: ''Nanwarnaq'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 72. Geography Chignik Lagoon is at (56.307535, -158.535023), on the southe ...

Chignik Lake Chignik Lake ( Alutiiq: ''Igyaraq'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. It is southwest of Anchorage. At the 2020 census, the population was 61. Geography Chignik Lake is located at . It ...

* '
K06LG-D
''

Chuathbaluk Chuathbaluk ( esu, Curarpalek) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 118, down from 119 in 2000. Geography Chuathbaluk is located at (61.575693, -159.247311), on the Kuskokwim River, appr ...

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

* Cold Bay * '
K08KO-D
''

Cooper Landing Cooper Landing is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States, about south of Anchorage, at the outlet of Kenai Lake into the Kenai River. The town was first settled in the 19th century by gold and mineral pro ...

* '
K07RZ-D
'' Crooked Creek *

Delta Junction Delta Junction ( uk, Делта-Джанкшен, Delta Dzhankshen) is a city in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 958, up from 840 in 2000. The 2018 estimate was down to 931. ...

* Dillingham *

Dot Lake Dot Lake (''Kelt’aaddh Menn’'' in Tanacross) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is located on the Alaska Highway between Delta Junction and Tok. The population was 13 at the 2 ...

* Eagle Village * Elfin Cove * '
K03GA-D
''

Elim Elim may refer to: Places * Elim Aboriginal Mission, Queensland, Australia Africa * Elim, Western Cape, a village on the Agulhas Plain in the Western Cape of South Africa * Elim (Bible), one of the places where the Israelites camped following t ...

False Pass False Pass ( ale, Isanax̂) is a city on Unimak Island, in the Aleutians East Borough of southwestern Alaska, United States. Although the population was marked 397 including seasonal fish processing plant workers at the 2020 census, approximat ...

* '
K07RC-D
''

Fort Yukon Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in language, Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska N ...

* '
K04LZ-D
''

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cry ...

* Gambell * '
K07QX-D
'' Golovin *

Goodnews Bay Goodnews Bay ( esu, Mamterat) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 243, up from 230 in 2000. Geography Goodnews Bay is located on the north shore of Goodnews Bay at the mout ...

* Grayling * '
K04MR-D
'' Gustavus * '
K03FM-D
''

Haines Haines may refer to: *Haines (surname), ''includes partial list of people with the surname'' * Haines (character), a character in James Joyce's ''Ulysses'' Places Antarctica * Haines Glacier, Antarctica * Haines Mountains, mountain range in Anta ...

* '
K07RJ-D
''

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

* '
K07QV-D
''

Hoonah Hoonah ( tli, Xunaa or ''Gaaw Yat’aḵ Aan'') is a largely Tlingit community on Chichagof Island, located in Alaska's panhandle in the southeast region of the state. It is west of Juneau, across the Alaskan Inside Passage. Hoonah is the only f ...

* '
K07QD-D
''

Hooper Bay Hooper Bay ( esu, Naparyaarmiut) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 1,375, up from 1,093 in 2010. On August 3, 2006, a major fire destroyed approximately fifteen acres of the city in ...

* Huslia * '
K04MM-D
''

Hyder Hyder can refer to: Places *Hyder, Alaska, U.S. **Hyder Seaplane Base *Hyder, Arizona, U.S. ** Hyder Valley * Hyder Creek, is a river in New York, U.S. Other uses * Hyder (defunct company), a former Welsh utility company ** Hyder Consulting, a su ...

* Igiugig *

Kake KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and ...

* Kakhonak * Kalskag *

Kaltag Kaltag (Koyukon: ; ik, Qałtaq) is a city and village in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 190, down from 230 in 2000. History Kaltag was a Koyokon Athabascan area used as a cemetery ...

* Karluk * King Cove * King Mountain, etc. * '
K07OL-D
'' Kipnuk * '
K02KZ-D
'' Kobuk * Kodiak *

Kongiganak Kongiganak ( esu, Kangirnaq) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States, and primarily sits on the eastern shore of the Kongiganak River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 439, up from 359 in 2000. Geo ...

* '
K09SL-D
'' Kotlik *

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing ...

* Koyuk *

Kwethluk Kwethluk ( ; esu, Kuiggluk) is a city in Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2010 census the population was 721, up from 713 in 2000. Geography Kwethluk is located at (60.802332, -161.418556). It lies at the confluence of t ...

Kwigillingok Kwigillingok ( esu, Kuigilnguq) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bethel Census Area, Alaska Bethel Census Area is a census area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population is 18,666, up from 17,013 in 2010. It is ...

Larsen Bay Larsen Bay (Alutiiq: ) is a city in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 87, down from 115 in 2000. Geography Larsen Bay is located at (57.536651, -153.991440). According to the United States Cens ...

* '
K07TH-D
'' Lime Village * Manley Hot Springs * '
K07TK-D
''

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an ...

* McGrath * '
K09NI-D
'' Mekoryuk *

Moose Pass Moose Pass is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 219 at the 2010 census, up from 206 in 2000. Geography Moose Pass is located in the north-central part of the Kenai Peninsula at ...

* Mountain Village * Napakiak *

Nelson Lagoon Nelson Lagoon (Unangax̂: ''Niilsanam Alĝuudaa'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 41, down from 52 in 2010 and 83 in 2000. Nelson Lagoon was established ...

* '
K04MT-D
'' Newtok * Nightmute * '
K09OW-D
'' Nome * '
K02LJ-D
''

Nondalton Nondalton ( Dena'ina: ''Nuvendaltun'' or ''Nundaltin'') is a city on the west shore of Six Mile Lake in the Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 133, down from 164 in 2010. Geography Nondal ...

* Northway * '
K04JF-D
'' Nulato *

Old Harbor Old Harbor ( Alutiiq: ''Nuniaq''; russian: italic=yes, Старая Гавань) is a city in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 218, down from 237 in 2000. Geography According to the United Sta ...

Pedro Bay Pedro Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 43 as of the 2020 census, slightly up from 42 in 2010. Geography Pedro Bay is located at . It is at the head of Pedro Bay, on ...

* '
K04LB-D
''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

* '
K09NK-D
'' Perryville *

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

* Pilot Point * '
K15AU-D
''

Pilot Station Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000. Geography Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of ...

Port Heiden Port Heiden (Alutiiq: ) is a city in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 100, slightly down from 102 in 2010. Geography and climate Port Heiden is located at (56.948949, -158.6 ...

Port Lions Port Lions ( in Alutiiq) is a city located on Kodiak Island in the Kodiak Island Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 194, down from 256 in 2000. Port Lions was built to house the inhabitant ...

* Sand Point * '
K07RD-D
''

Savoonga Savoonga is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska. It is located on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. As of the 2020 census, Savoonga's population was 835, up from 671 in 2010. Savoonga was incorporated in 1969. In 1971, it became joint owner ...

* Shageluk * '
K07QU-D
'' Shaktoolik * Sheep Mountain * '
K03GP-D
'' Sheldon Point * '
K09NH-D
'' Shungnak * Slana *

Sleetmute Sleetmute ( esu, Cellitemiut; Deg Xinag: ''Tovisq'oł'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 86, down from 100 in 2000. Geography and Climate Sleetmute is locate ...

*'
K09RE-D
'' St. George * '
K07RK-D
'' St. Mary's *'
K09QX-D
'' St. Michael * '
K09RB-D
''

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

* Stony River * '
K07RB-D
'' Tanana *

* Togiak * Tok * '
K11QG-D
'' Toksook Bay *

Trapper Creek Trapper Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Area and is known as the southern gateway to Denali State Park. According to the 2020 census the popu ...

* '
K08ID-D
'' Tuluksak * Unalakleet *

Unalaska Unalaska ( ale, Iluulux̂; russian: Уналашка) is the chief center of population in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalask ...

* Valdez *

Venetie Venetie ( ;Corey Goldberg," ''New York Times'', 9 May 1997. ''Vįįhtąįį'' in Gwich’in), is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. At the 2010 census, the population was 166, down from 202 in 2000. It include ...

*'
K04MN-D
''

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

*'
K13TD-D
'' White Mountain * Whittier * Womens Bay

References

External links

* {{Alaska Bush TV Television networks in the United States ABC network affiliates CBS network affiliates Fox network affiliates NBC network affiliates PBS member stations Public television in the United States Television stations in Alaska