KIXE-TV

KIXE-TV is a nonprofit public television station based in Redding, California, serving the northern Sacramento Valley and a broad rural area of northern California. It is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and is owned by the Northern California Educational Television Association, the regional nonprofit organization created to develop educational television in the far north of the state. The station broadcasts from channel 9 and supplements its main signal with translators serving communities including Chico, Paradise, Yreka, Alturas, Etna, Hayfork, Lakehead, Lewiston, Newell, Fall River Mills, and Weaverville. The station's origins date to a long campaign by local educators to establish educational broadcasting in a region that had limited access to television services. The Northern California Educational Television Association was formed in 1953 and became active in the early 1960s after the Federal Communications Commission considered assigning channel 9 in Redding for commercial use. A competing commercial application created a lengthy licensing contest, but the commercial proposal was eventually withdrawn. The educational association received a construction permit in 1963 and adopted the call sign KIXE-TV, combining the Roman numeral IX with the initial letter of education. KIXE began broadcasting on October 5, 1964. Its initial service was modest: the station operated mainly during school hours, carried programs from Sacramento public station KVIE, and had no substantial local production capability. Its first broadcast included the in-school children's program Let's Figure, reaching nearly 20,000 students in 22 school districts across four counties. Evening programming was added gradually through special broadcasts, fundraising auctions, and locally produced events. The station initially relied on borrowed or repurposed equipment and maintained a close relationship with Chico State College, where its temporary facilities were located. The station moved its operations to Redding in 1967 and developed a permanent local identity there. A proposed relocation to Chico in the 1970s generated a major governance dispute. Although the board initially approved the move, Redding-based directors and community supporters later reversed the decision, preserving Redding as the station's home. KIXE subsequently expanded its facilities in the city, opening its present North Market Street studios in 1986. The facility was financed through viewer contributions, federal equipment grants, and creative fundraising efforts. During the 1980s, KIXE achieved unusually strong community support for a station serving a relatively small population. Membership increased substantially, and the station produced local specials such as coverage of the Red Bluff Roundup and the Shasta Dixieland Jazz Festival. The early 1990s brought serious financial and management difficulties, including weak cash flow, staff reductions, reduced local production, and several consecutive deficit years. The station later stabilized its operations, but like many rural public broadcasters it remained dependent on viewer contributions, grants, and other forms of community support. KIXE modernized its transmission infrastructure through the 1990s and 2000s. A new transmitter and tower project enabled stereo broadcasting, while federal support helped fund the conversion to digital television. The station completed an early digital transition in August 2008 and later installed a translator on Cohasset Ridge to address interference affecting parts of its service area after neighboring public broadcaster KVIE completed its own digital transition. These improvements allowed KIXE to continue serving dispersed rural communities through a combination of its primary signal and translator network. In the 2010s and 2020s, KIXE confronted declining federal support, the effects of the Great Recession, reduced payroll, leadership turnover, and difficulty meeting the minimum nonfederal support threshold associated with Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants. It explored cooperation with KEET in Eureka in 2013, when both stations faced financial pressure. KIXE remained active as a community-supported public media institution, carrying PBS programming and local or regional content while seeking donations and grant support. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, its owner reported more than $1.98 million in revenue, including approximately $833,000 in Corporation for Public Broadcasting Community Service Grants. KIXE continues to operate as a regional educational and public-service broadcaster from Redding.

The Northern California Educational Television Association was established in March 1953 to pursue an educational television station for northern California. The organization became more active in 1961 after the FCC considered channel 9 in Redding for commercial assignment. A commercial applicant challenged the educational proposal, creating a comparative licensing dispute. The FCC rejected a proposed alternative channel and held hearings in 1963. The commercial application was later withdrawn after its backers pursued another transaction, clearing the way for the educational association's construction permit. The association faced financial and administrative pressure during the construction period. Because it could not initially support a full local production operation, it adopted a scaled-back launch plan and arranged to rebroadcast programs from KVIE in Sacramento. The station received the call sign KIXE-TV, referring to channel 9 and education, and began broadcasting on October 5, 1964. Its first service emphasized instructional programming, including Let's Figure, and reached schools in four counties. KIXE initially broadcast only during the day and suspended service during the summer. Special evening broadcasts, including a state senatorial debate and a fundraising auction, preceded the development of regular evening programming. KIXE's early technical resources were limited. Production was initially live because the station lacked videotape equipment, and it relied on borrowed transmission equipment. A temporary relationship with Chico State College provided studio space and limited production capability. In 1967, the station moved its studios to Redding, later occupying a converted meat locker on Industrial Street. The station obtained a new transmitter in 1971 and began color broadcasting. Its relationship with local educational institutions remained important, but proposals to move to Shasta College or Chico State eventually became politically contentious. In 1976, the board approved relocating most station operations to Chico State, which offered access to a modern color studio and possible operating efficiencies. Redding civic leaders, volunteers, and some directors opposed the plan, arguing that the city would lose a significant cultural and educational institution. Following board vacancies and elections that shifted the balance of power, the relocation decision was reversed in September 1977. The dispute ended the immediate relocation effort and established Redding as KIXE's continuing base. The station expanded during the 1980s. Under general manager Victor Hogstrom, KIXE purchased a building on North Market Street in 1985 and converted it into larger studios, completed in December 1986. Viewer donations and federal equipment grants supported the project, with the organization using room naming opportunities and other creative fundraising methods. KIXE's membership grew rapidly, and by 1991 the station had become one of the best-supported public television operations relative to its small audience. It produced a limited but distinctive slate of local programs and event specials. The growth period was followed by a financial crisis. After Hogstrom left in 1991, an independent audit raised concerns about cash flow, expenses, and the possibility of liquidation. The station reduced staff and local production under interim management. Subsequent deficits occurred during the early 1990s as income declined. A later administration under Myron Tisdel completed a transmitter and tower project in 1995, allowing stereo service, but KIXE continued to face declining federal grants and rising operating costs. Broadcasting hours were reduced in 1997 as the station responded to funding pressure and a significant increase in utility costs. KIXE prepared for digital television during the 2000s. It operated a low-power digital signal by 2004 and obtained federal assistance for a higher-power digital transmitter and translator conversions. The station switched off its analog signal on August 22, 2008, months before the originally anticipated national deadline, partly to avoid difficult winter access and weather conditions at the Shasta Bally transmitter site. Following KVIE's digital transition in 2009, co-channel interference affected communities in the southern part of KIXE's coverage area. KIXE responded by activating a translator on Cohasset Ridge. The late 2000s and 2010s brought further institutional pressure. Tisdel retired in 2009, after which the station experienced several management changes. Philip Smith's brief tenure included the controversial removal of Democracy Now! from the schedule; he was succeeded by Mike Lampella, a longtime KIXE employee. The Great Recession led to a major payroll reduction compared with the station's staffing levels in the early 2000s. In 2013, KIXE considered cooperation with KEET because both organizations faced challenges in raising the nonfederal support required for Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants. KIXE narrowly met its target that year, with in-kind contributions playing an important role. Dave Cox, previously a board member and later a fill-in leader, became general manager in 2019. He served through 2024, when Robert Keenan succeeded him. KIXE remains a nonprofit PBS member station owned by the Northern California Educational Television Association. Its current role combines national PBS content, educational service, regional coverage, digital transmission, translator operations, and community fundraising. For the year ending June 30, 2023, the owning association reported revenue above $1.98 million, with approximately $833,000 from Corporation for Public Broadcasting Community Service Grants.

• 2024

  Robert Keenan becomes general manager

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Keenan succeeded Dave Cox as general manager.

• 2009

  Cohasset Ridge translator activated

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station added a translator to mitigate digital interference in southern portions of its coverage area.

• 2008

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KIXE completed an early transition to exclusively digital broadcasting.

• 1995

  Transmitter and tower project completed

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station completed infrastructure improvements that enabled stereo broadcasting.

• 1986

  North Market Street studios completed

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KIXE completed its present Redding studio facility after a viewer- and grant-supported redevelopment project.

• 1977

  Proposed Chico relocation reversed

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  A board decision to move the station to Chico State was overturned after a change in board composition and sustained local opposition.

• 1971

  Color broadcasting introduced

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  A new transmitter enabled KIXE to broadcast in color.

• 1967

  Studios move to Redding

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station relocated its studio operations from Chico State to Redding.

• 1964

  KIXE-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KIXE launched on October 5 with educational programming and an initial service focused on area schools.

• 1963

  Construction permit awarded

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  An FCC hearing examiner granted the association a construction permit for channel 9 in Redding.

• 1953

  Educational television association formed

  [1]KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The Northern California Educational Television Association was formed to seek an educational television allocation for northern California.

A community-supported, nonprofit PBS station focused on educational, cultural, children's, and public-service television for rural and semi-rural communities in northern California.

• Public television broadcasting · 1964

  PBS television service

  KIXE's primary service is a PBS member-station schedule delivered over the air to communities in northern California. The service combines nationally distributed public television programming with educational, cultural, children's, and public-affairs content selected for the station's regional audience.

• Educational broadcasting · 1964

  Educational television

  Educational broadcasting was central to KIXE's founding mission. Its first service reached school districts with instructional programming, and the station continues to provide public television content intended for children, families, educators, and lifelong learners.

• Broadcast transmission · 2008

  Digital and translator network

  KIXE distributes its programming through a digital primary signal and a network of translators designed to reach geographically dispersed communities. Translator service extends coverage into areas including Chico, Paradise, Yreka, Alturas, Etna, Hayfork, Lakehead, Lewiston, Newell, Fall River Mills, and Weaverville.

• Community media · 1965

  Local and regional programming

  KIXE has produced or carried locally relevant programs and event specials, including coverage associated with the Red Bluff Roundup and the Shasta Dixieland Jazz Festival. Local output has varied according to staffing, funding, and production capacity.

• 1991

  Financial disclosure and management controversy

  After general manager Victor Hogstrom departed, an independent audit raised concerns about cash flow and expenses. Reporting also described allegations that financial information had been concealed from the board and that employees feared retaliation when raising concerns.

  Source

• Sex discrimination lawsuit

  During Lyle Mettler's tenure, the station faced a lawsuit after a woman was forced out following efforts to bring alleged sex discrimination to the board's attention.

  Source

• Democracy Now! schedule dispute

  The withdrawal of Democracy Now! from KIXE's schedule became a controversial issue associated with Philip Smith's brief period as general manager.

  Source

Read more

• 2013Community support and grant campaign

  Northern California

  KIXE sought sufficient nonfederal support to retain eligibility for Corporation for Public Broadcasting assistance during a period of limited fundraising capacity.

  Outcome. The station narrowly reached the required threshold, with in-kind donations contributing materially to the result.

  Source
• 1985North Market Street studio fundraising

  Redding · Northern California

  KIXE used viewer donations, federal equipment grants, and room naming opportunities to finance and equip a larger Redding studio facility.

  Outcome. The new studios were completed in December 1986 and remain associated with the station's Redding identity.

  Source
• 1964Founding educational television campaign

  Redding · Chico · Northern California

  Local educators and the Northern California Educational Television Association pursued channel 9 as a nonprofit educational station despite competition from commercial applicants.

  Outcome. The campaign secured an FCC construction permit and led to KIXE's launch in October 1964.

  Source

• 2013

  Explore cooperation with KEETStrategy

  Background

  KIXE and KEET both faced difficulty generating the nonfederal support associated with Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants.

  Action taken

  The stations explored possible collaboration while maintaining separate operations.

  Aftermath

  KIXE raised the minimum support needed for the period, but the sources do not establish a completed merger or formal consolidation.

  Source

• 2008

  End analog broadcastingGeneration change

  Background

  KIXE had developed digital transmission capability and sought to avoid difficult winter conditions at its mountain transmitter site.

  Action taken

  The station shut down its analog signal on August 22 and operated exclusively through digital transmission.

  Aftermath

  Digital interference later required the addition of a translator serving affected southern communities.

  Source

• 1976

  Approve proposed relocation to ChicoStrategy

  Background

  Chico State offered access to a modern color studio, academic partnerships, and potential operating savings.

  Action taken

  The board voted to move most KIXE operations from Redding to Chico.

  Aftermath

  Opponents won several board seats and reversed the decision in 1977, keeping the station in Redding.

  Source

1. 1KIXE-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KIXE official websitekixe.org