KCSM-TV

KCSM-TV

San Mateo, California
Branding	KCSM
Channels	Digital: 43 (UHF) Virtual: 60 (PSIP)
Subchannels	60.1 KCSM-TV 60.2 MHz Worldview 60.3 JazzTV simulcast of KCSM-FM
Affiliations	Non-commercial Independent; secondarily affiliated with MHz WorldView
Owner	San Mateo Community College District
First air date	October 12, 1964
Call letters' meaning	College of San Mateo
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 14 (UHF, 1964-1979) 60 (UHF, 1979-2004)
Former affiliations	NET (1964-1970) PBS (1970-2009)
Transmitter power	536 kW
Height	428 m
Facility ID	58912
Transmitter coordinates	37°45′18.8″N 122°27′10.4″W
Website	www.kcsm.org

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.

History

The KCSM stations were originally established by the College of San Mateo as college radio and student television station 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.

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 KDTV San Francisco's full-power color facilities and moved to channel 60 atop San Bruno Mountain'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.” [1]

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.

Sale

The San Mateo County Community College District announced on December 7, 2011 that it plans to sell KCSM-TV, due to budgetary constraints as well as an operating deficit of $1 million. KCSM radio will continue operations as usual.

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 cable. KCSM discontinued analog broadcasts nine days later, on May 24. It multi-casts three sub-channels on digital television channel 43:

Channel	Video	Aspect	Programming
60.1	1080i	16:9	Main KCSM programming
60.2	480i	4:3	MHz Worldview
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[2]. 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.

External links

• KCSM Home Page
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KCSM
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCSM-TV