KOZK
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KOZK, virtual and UHF digital channel 21, is a PBS member television station located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by Missouri State University. KOZK maintains studio facilities and offices located on the Missouri State University campus on National Avenue in southern Springfield, and its transmitter is located on Switchgrass Road, north of Fordland.
The station's programming is simulcast on satellite station KOZJ, virtual and UHF digital channel 26), in Joplin; its transmitter is located on West 13th Street/Junge Boulevard in northwestern Joplin. The two stations utilize the unified brand Ozarks Public Television, and both their signals cover the Ozarks region of southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, northwestern Arkansas and far northeastern Oklahoma.
Digital channels
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP short name | Programming [1] [2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 26.1 |
1080i | 16:9 | KOZK-HD KOZJ-HD |
Main KOZK/KOZJ programming / PBS |
| 21.2 26.2 |
480i | KOZK-ED KOZJ-ED |
MSU telecourses / select PBS programming | |
| 21.3 26.3 |
Create | Create |
History
KOZK's history can be traced to the founding of Springfield Community Television, a nonprofit group that was formed in 1974 to bring public television to the area. At the time, it was standard practice for PBS to offer its programming to commercial television outlets in markets without a PBS station of their own. For instance, NBC affiliate KYTV (channel 3) aired Sesame Street at 9:00 a.m. during the week. After securing a license from the Federal Communications Commission and funding from various groups, Springfield Community Television was able to launch its first station. KOZK first signed on the air in January 1975, broadcasting from a former Naval Reserve center located on the campus of Drury University. From there, the station originally broadcast five days a week with seven employees on its staff (augmented by a lot of student volunteerism), eventually expanding to a 24-hour operation with 25 employees. The station borrowed transmitter space from Springfield CBS affiliate KOLR (channel 10).
On June 1, 1986, KOZJ signed on from Joplin as KOZK's sister station. Its business offices are located in downtown Joplin, with its broadcasting equipment located at Missouri Southern State University. Prior to that station's sign-on, the Joplin/Pittsburg market had been one of the few markets in the United States that did not have a PBS member station of their own.
In 1990, the station moved its operations to the new Shewmaker Communications Center on the campus of Drury College. In 2001, the board agreed to sell the station to Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University); later that year, the station's operations moved to Strong Hall on the MSU campus.
Both stations' broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009. [3]