KMOS-TV

KMOS-TV is a PBS member television station licensed to Sedalia, Missouri, and operated from the University of Central Missouri campus in Warrensburg. The station serves the Columbia–Jefferson City television market and reaches viewers across Mid-Missouri through over-the-air broadcasting, cable carriage, and digital television distribution. Its transmitter is located near Syracuse, Missouri, while its principal studios are housed in the Patton Broadcast Center at the university. The station began broadcasting on July 8, 1954, as KDRO-TV, an independent commercial station associated with KDRO radio. Its original call letters were derived from the names of the radio station's original owners, the Drolich brothers. During the station's first years, ownership changed several times. Deare Publications, publisher of the Sedalia Democrat, acquired a half interest in 1955, while later transactions involved station employees and other local interests. In 1958, KDRO-TV became an ABC affiliate, but technical and market limitations prevented it from receiving a conventional direct network feed. Engineers instead switched to the signal of Kansas City's KMBC-TV when ABC network programming aired. Cook Paint and Varnish Company, then the owner of KMBC-TV, purchased KDRO-TV in January 1959 and changed its call letters to KMOS-TV. The new identity supported a promotional emphasis on the word “most,” and the station subsequently operated as a full-time satellite of KMBC-TV. In 1960, KMBC-TV was sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting, later known as Metromedia. Because the new owner did not want to retain KMOS-TV, the channel was sold to the Jefferson City News Tribune, owner of CBS affiliate KRCG. KMOS then became a semi-satellite of KRCG, carrying much of that station's programming while retaining limited local news and studio operations in Sedalia. Kansas City Southern Industries acquired KMOS-TV and KRCG in 1966. At the time, the Columbia–Jefferson City area had limited room for additional full-power commercial network affiliates. KRCG therefore operated KMOS at relatively low power and resisted proposals that might have turned it into a competing full-power ABC station. The market did not receive a full-time ABC affiliate until KCBJ-TV, now KMIZ, began broadcasting in 1971. A major transformation occurred in 1978, when Kansas City Southern Industries donated KMOS-TV to Central Missouri State University, now the University of Central Missouri. The donation enabled the region to establish its own PBS member station rather than relying primarily on distant signals from St. Louis and Kansas City. The university assumed control on August 15, 1978, and took the station off the air for approximately 16 months for a technical and facilities overhaul. KMOS returned on December 22, 1979, broadcasting from new Warrensburg studios as a stand-alone PBS station. KMOS-TV later developed a substantial digital transmission operation. A new digital broadcasting and transmitter facility near Syracuse opened in 2003, supported by a roughly 2,000-foot guyed tower. The facility became a prominent Missouri broadcasting structure and expanded the station's technical reach. KMOS shut down its analog VHF channel 6 signal on April 2, 2009, while retaining digital broadcasting on UHF channel 15 with virtual channel 6. Today, KMOS-TV operates as a university-owned public television service. It is the PBS station of record for the Columbia–Jefferson City market, although its license city is Sedalia and its studios are in Warrensburg. The station's distribution has reflected the region's unusual market boundaries: it is carried on Charter Spectrum systems in Sedalia and Warrensburg, but Kansas City satellite feeds have historically limited its availability on DirecTV and Dish Network in its city of license. KMOS also became the sole PBS station available on Mediacom systems in Columbia and Jefferson City after KETC was removed from those systems in February 2009.

KMOS-TV began as KDRO-TV on July 8, 1954, in Sedalia, Missouri. Founded by Milt Hinlein alongside KDRO radio, the station initially operated as an independent commercial broadcaster. Its early ownership structure was unsettled: Deare Publications purchased a 50 percent interest in 1955, and further transactions in the late 1950s transferred interests among Hinlein, station employees, and other local parties. In July 1958, KDRO-TV affiliated with ABC. Because ABC sought to protect the position of Kansas City's KMBC-TV, KDRO-TV did not receive a conventional direct network feed. Instead, station engineers switched between local programming and KMBC's signal during ABC network broadcasts. Cook Paint and Varnish Company, which owned KMBC-TV, purchased the station on January 28, 1959. The buyer renamed it KMOS-TV and operated it as a full-time KMBC satellite, using a call-sign identity associated with the slogan “For the very MOST in entertainment!” When Cook Paint sold KMBC-TV to Metropolitan Broadcasting in December 1960, Metropolitan did not retain KMOS. The station was sold to the Jefferson City News Tribune, publisher of the newspaper and owner of CBS affiliate KRCG. KMOS consequently became a semi-satellite of KRCG, simulcasting KRCG for most of the day while maintaining some Sedalia facilities and producing or carrying separate local newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. Kansas City Southern Industries, the parent company of the Kansas City Southern Railroad, acquired KMOS and KRCG in July 1966. During the 1960s, the Columbia–Jefferson City market was only marginally large enough to support three full network affiliates. KRCG and Columbia's KOMU-TV, both VHF stations, sought to preserve their established market positions. KMOS was operated at relatively low power, and KRCG declined offers that could have placed the station under a new commercial owner capable of making it a full-power ABC competitor. The area obtained a full-time ABC service only after KCBJ-TV, now KMIZ, signed on in 1971. The defining change in KMOS's history came in 1978, when Kansas City Southern Industries donated the station to Central Missouri State University, now the University of Central Missouri. The donation converted KMOS from a constrained commercial satellite into the region's own stand-alone PBS outlet. Before this change, viewers commonly relied on St. Louis PBS station KETC, with some western parts of the market also receiving Kansas City's KCPT. The university assumed control on August 15, 1978, and suspended broadcasting for approximately 16 months while rebuilding the station's technical infrastructure. KMOS returned to the air on December 22, 1979, from new Warrensburg studios. The station's later development focused on expanding its transmission capability. Its analog channel 6 operation used an effective radiated power of 100 kilowatts, while its digital operation used substantially higher power on UHF channel 15. Construction of a new digital broadcasting and transmitter site near Syracuse began in 2001 and 2002, with opening ceremonies held on April 24, 2003. The site included a guyed mast approximately 2,000 feet tall, one of Missouri's most prominent broadcast structures. KMOS ended its analog transmission on April 2, 2009, as part of the transition to digital television. Its digital signal remained on pre-transition UHF channel 15 while continuing to identify virtually as channel 6. Distribution has also reflected the station's unusual geography. Although licensed to Sedalia and based in Warrensburg, KMOS is the PBS member station associated with the Columbia–Jefferson City market, while Sedalia and Warrensburg fall within the broader Kansas City television market. This has affected satellite carriage: KCPT has historically been the PBS service uplinked for the Kansas City satellite feed, leaving KMOS unavailable on DirecTV and Dish Network in its city of license. KMOS is nevertheless carried by Charter Spectrum in Sedalia and Warrensburg and has served as the principal PBS outlet on Mid-Missouri cable systems. Since KETC was removed from Mediacom systems in Columbia and Jefferson City on February 17, 2009, KMOS has been the sole PBS station carried in those communities.

• 2009

  Analog broadcasting ends

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KMOS shuts down its analog channel 6 signal and continues digital broadcasting on UHF channel 15 with virtual channel 6.

• 2003

  Digital transmitter facility inaugurated

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KMOS opens a new digital transmission facility near Syracuse, Missouri, with a tower approximately 2,000 feet tall.

• 1979

  KMOS returns as a stand-alone PBS station

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  After a major technical rebuild and a roughly 16-month shutdown, KMOS resumes broadcasting from Warrensburg.

• 1978

  University ownership and PBS conversion

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Kansas City Southern Industries donates KMOS-TV to Central Missouri State University, which begins converting it into a stand-alone PBS station.

• 1966

  Kansas City Southern Industries acquires KMOS and KRCG

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The parent company of the Kansas City Southern Railroad purchases both stations.

• 1960

  KMOS becomes associated with KRCG

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Following the sale of KMBC-TV to Metropolitan Broadcasting, KMOS is sold to the owner of KRCG and becomes a semi-satellite of that CBS affiliate.

• 1959

  Station renamed KMOS-TV

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Cook Paint and Varnish Company purchases KDRO-TV and changes its call letters to KMOS-TV.

• 1958

  KDRO-TV becomes an ABC affiliate

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station joins ABC but relies on an engineered relay of KMBC-TV's signal for network programming because of market-protection arrangements.

• 1954

  KDRO-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on from Sedalia, Missouri, as KDRO-TV, an independent station owned by Milt Hinlein in association with KDRO radio.

A university-owned public television station providing PBS programming, educational content, cultural programming, and regional service to Mid-Missouri.

• Broadcast television station · 1954

  KMOS-TV channel 6

  The station's primary public television service, licensed to Sedalia and operated from Warrensburg. It broadcasts PBS programming and locally relevant educational, cultural, and public-affairs content to Mid-Missouri viewers through digital over-the-air transmission and multichannel distribution.

• Digital broadcast television · 2003

  KMOS digital television service

  KMOS's post-transition digital service uses UHF channel 15 while retaining virtual channel 6. The service is transmitted from the Syracuse facility and forms the technical basis of the station's current over-the-air operation.

• 2009

  Complete the transition from analog to digital broadcastingGeneration change

  Background

  Federal digital television transition requirements required full-power television stations to discontinue analog transmission.

  Action taken

  KMOS ended its analog VHF channel 6 transmission on April 2, 2009, and continued on digital UHF channel 15 with virtual channel 6.

  Aftermath

  KMOS continued serving viewers through digital terrestrial broadcasting and cable distribution.

  Source

• 1978

  Convert KMOS-TV into a university-owned PBS stationStrategy

  Background

  The station had operated as a commercially constrained satellite in a competitive Mid-Missouri market, while the region lacked a dedicated local PBS member station.

  Action taken

  Kansas City Southern Industries donated KMOS-TV to Central Missouri State University, which rebuilt the facility and relaunched it as a stand-alone PBS outlet.

  Aftermath

  The change established the station's continuing public-service and university-owned operating model.

  Source

• 2009

  KMOS-TV completes analog shutdown[1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The station discontinued its analog VHF channel 6 transmission and continued digital service on UHF channel 15 using virtual channel 6.

• 2009

  KETC removed from Mediacom systems in Columbia and Jefferson City[1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After KETC was dropped from Mediacom cable systems in the Columbia and Jefferson City areas, KMOS became the sole PBS station carried on those systems.

• 2003

  New KMOS digital transmitter facility opens near Syracuse[1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  KMOS inaugurated a new digital broadcast and transmitter facility near Syracuse, Missouri, including a tower approximately 2,000 feet tall.

• 1979

  KMOS-TV returns to the air after technical reconstruction[1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following a university-led technical overhaul and an extended period off the air, KMOS resumed broadcasting from new studios in Warrensburg as a stand-alone PBS station.

• 1978

  KMOS-TV becomes a PBS member station under university ownership[1]KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Kansas City Southern Industries donated KMOS-TV to Central Missouri State University, creating the basis for a stand-alone public television service in the Columbia–Jefferson City region.

1. 1KMOS-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KMOS-TV official websitekmos.org