KCSM-TV
Encyclopedia
KCSM-TV, virtual channel
60, is an independent, non-commercial
television station located in San Mateo, California
, USA
. Until 2009, KCSM-TV was a PBS member station. Then, it dropped PBS in a cost-cutting move and became an independent public television station (in a similar manner to southern California public TV giant KCET).
Owned by the San Mateo County Community College District
with sister radio station KCSM (FM), the station serves the San Francisco Bay Area
from studios at the College of San Mateo
. KCSM-TV operates 24-hours a day with a focus toward adult education. During weekdays it offers college-level Distance learning telecourses and in prime-time/weekends provides locally-produced and a wide array of syndicated programming. KCSM-TV has retained an affiliation with MHz WorldView
for programming feeds on its subchannels
.
training facilities for radio and television broadcasters. Many well-known media personalities were educated at CSM, including tabloid TV reporter Steve Wilson, San Francisco Giants
announcer Jon Miller
and K101 air personality Jeff Serr
.
Between 1964 and 1980, CSM offered a full range of courses in broadcasting and broadcast electronics, unusual for a community college; they were much more extensive than better known 4-year university programs. The TV station and its companion FM were staffed and operated by students. This was discontinued in the 1980s, and today KCSM is operated by professional broadcasters.
San Francisco's full-power color facilities and moved to channel 60 atop San Bruno Mountain
's Radio Peak .
Within days of the decision, law firms from across the country offered their services pro bono
to fight the ruling. Because of the upswell of support, KCSM has requested an extension of time to file its appeal.
. KCSM discontinued analog broadcasts nine days later, on May 24. It multi-casts three sub-channels
on digital television
channel 43:
On May 3, 2005 KCSM received Special Temporary Authorization from the FCC to restore its analog signal at low power, operating on the campus of the College of San Mateo
http://groups.google.com/group/ba.general/msg/5a84508230df2e55. It briefly simulcast the Jazz TV (60.3) feed for two hours every evening, with the rest of the broadcast day being a simulcast of KCSM FM, but now offers only the simulcast (with relevant video "bulletin board" screens). On June 12, 2009, KCSM ceased broadcasting its analog signal on UHF channel 60.
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
60, is an independent, non-commercial
Non-commercial
Non-commercial refers to an activity or entity that does not in some sense involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis...
television station located in San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Until 2009, KCSM-TV was a PBS member station. Then, it dropped PBS in a cost-cutting move and became an independent public television station (in a similar manner to southern California public TV giant KCET).
Owned by the San Mateo County Community College District
San Mateo County Community College District
The San Mateo County Community College District consists of three colleges in California; College of San Mateo in San Mateo, Cañada College in Redwood City, and Skyline College in San Bruno...
with sister radio station KCSM (FM), the station serves the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
from studios at the College of San Mateo
College of San Mateo
College of San Mateo is a community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District....
. KCSM-TV operates 24-hours a day with a focus toward adult education. During weekdays it offers college-level Distance learning telecourses and in prime-time/weekends provides locally-produced and a wide array of syndicated programming. KCSM-TV has retained an affiliation with MHz WorldView
MHz Worldview
MHz WorldView is an independent, non-commercial Public television network that broadcasts newscasts and other programs from around the world. It is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation who also run MHz Networks....
for programming feeds on its subchannels
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...
.
History
The KCSM stations were originally established by the College of San Mateo as college radio and student television stationStudent television station
A student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming....
training facilities for radio and television broadcasters. Many well-known media personalities were educated at CSM, including tabloid TV reporter Steve Wilson, San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
announcer Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and K101 air personality Jeff Serr
Jeff Serr
Jeff Serr is an American radio personality, best known for radio programs heard in Los Angeles, California and San Francisco, on popular stations including KYA, KIOI, and KIIS-FM. In recent years, Serr has lent his voice to TV and radio ad campaigns for CompUSA, Diet Pepsi, and Nissan, among others...
.
Between 1964 and 1980, CSM offered a full range of courses in broadcasting and broadcast electronics, unusual for a community college; they were much more extensive than better known 4-year university programs. The TV station and its companion FM were staffed and operated by students. This was discontinued in the 1980s, and today KCSM is operated by professional broadcasters.
Television
KCSM-TV was founded by Dr. Jacob H. Wiens, chair of the electronics department at the College of San Mateo, on October 12, 1964. During its early years, broadcasting on channel 14, it operated on campus from black and white studios with 13,800 watts of power from a transmitter at the college, comparable to today's low-power stations. In 1979 KCSM accepted the generous trade of KDTVKDTV
KDTV-DT, channel 14, is a Univision-owned and operated station in San Francisco.-History:KDTV began operation in 1975 on channel 60 as the Bay Area's first exclusively Spanish-language TV station. The station was owned by a local group headed by Reynold Anselmo and affiliated with the Spanish...
San Francisco's full-power color facilities and moved to channel 60 atop San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain in northern San Mateo County, California is the northernmost part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the mountain lies within the San Bruno Mountain State Park, a unique open-space island in the midst of the San Francisco Peninsula's urbanization. Next to the state park is the...
's Radio Peak .
Indecency and The Blues
In March 2006, the FCC fined KCSM $15,000 for content in the documentary, The Blues: Godfathers and Sons, which had been broadcast in March 2004. The series documented the birth and world-wide influence of the blues as a musical genre. One installment contained interviews with artists and others who expressed their feelings of oppression by the music industry, including variations of the words "fuck" and "shit". The FCC determined the content to be "indecent." According to the FCC, "The gratuitous and repeated use of this language in a program that San Mateo aired at a time when children were expected to be in the audience is shocking.” http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2006/FCC-06-17A1.htmlWithin days of the decision, law firms from across the country offered their services pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
to fight the ruling. Because of the upswell of support, KCSM has requested an extension of time to file its appeal.
Digital television
KCSM ceased broadcasting scheduled programming on analog channel 60 on May 15, 2004 due to a costly rent increase for full-power transmitter space. They ran a billboard for the next several days advising viewers that they would only operate their digital service from then on, though it continues to be available through cableCable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. KCSM discontinued analog broadcasts nine days later, on May 24. It multi-casts three sub-channels
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
on digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
channel 43:
| Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main KCSM programming |
| 60.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | MHz Worldview MHz Worldview MHz WorldView is an independent, non-commercial Public television network that broadcasts newscasts and other programs from around the world. It is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation who also run MHz Networks.... |
| 60.3 | Jazz TV |
On May 3, 2005 KCSM received Special Temporary Authorization from the FCC to restore its analog signal at low power, operating on the campus of the College of San Mateo
College of San Mateo
College of San Mateo is a community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District....
http://groups.google.com/group/ba.general/msg/5a84508230df2e55. It briefly simulcast the Jazz TV (60.3) feed for two hours every evening, with the rest of the broadcast day being a simulcast of KCSM FM, but now offers only the simulcast (with relevant video "bulletin board" screens). On June 12, 2009, KCSM ceased broadcasting its analog signal on UHF channel 60.