KWSU-TV

KWSU-TV was a PBS member television station licensed to Pullman, Washington, and owned by Washington State University (WSU). It formed part of Northwest Public Broadcasting (NWPB), the university-affiliated public media organization that also operated KTNW in the Tri-Cities and a related public radio network. The station served southeastern Washington and adjacent areas, while also reaching viewers in parts of Idaho, Oregon, and Montana through its terrestrial signal, cable carriage, satellite distribution, and translator facilities. The station began broadcasting on September 24, 1962, under the call sign KWSC-TV. The call letters reflected Washington State College, the former name of Washington State University, even though the university had adopted its current name several years earlier. In March 1969, the station adopted the KWSU-TV call sign, shortly before the creation of the Public Broadcasting Service. It subsequently developed as a university-based educational and public television outlet, carrying PBS programming and other public-interest content. KWSU-TV's studios were located in the Murrow Communications Center in Room 382 of Jackson Hall on WSU's Pullman campus. Its primary transmitter was located on Kamiak Butte near Palouse, Washington. The station's main signal operated on VHF channel 10 and covered the Pullman area and nearby portions of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. It also operated translators serving Spokane on channel 33 and Lewiston, Idaho, on channel 34. These facilities helped extend its service beyond the immediate Pullman community. Within the Spokane television market, KWSU-TV functioned as a complementary or “beta” public television station under the Program Differentiation Plan. Its programming relationship with KSPS-TV and Idaho Public Television enabled the stations to provide a broader range of PBS and educational content rather than simply duplicating the same schedule. KWSU-TV was carried on the Spokane-area DirecTV and Dish Network feeds and on Xfinity systems, giving it potential access to an audience of more than 600,000 people across portions of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. KWSU-TV also served as the operational base for KTNW, the NWPB station licensed to Richland and serving the Tri-Cities area. KTNW began broadcasting on October 18, 1987. Although KTNW maintained studios at WSU Tri-Cities in Richland, master control and many internal functions were based at KWSU-TV's Pullman facilities. This made KWSU-TV an important technical and administrative center within the NWPB television operation. The station ended its analog television service on February 17, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition to digital broadcasting. Its digital transmission moved from pre-transition UHF channel 17 to VHF channel 10, corresponding to its former analog channel. KWSU-TV offered ResearchChannel on digital subchannel 10.2 until that service ended in August 2010. The television operation used the “nwptv” identity from 2017 to 2018. From 2018 onward, it adopted the broader Northwest Public Broadcasting brand, following the earlier Northwest Public Television identity used from 2006 to 2017. In October 2025, Washington State University and NWPB announced that KWSU-TV would cease operations on December 31, 2025. The planned closure followed the loss of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and a reported $1.8 million reduction in NWPB's budget. NWPB's radio network and KTNW were expected to continue, while viewers in the Pullman and Spokane areas could continue receiving PBS programming through KTNW, KSPS-TV, and Idaho Public Television. As a result, KWSU-TV is treated as a defunct station rather than an active broadcast brand.

KWSU-TV began broadcasting from Pullman on September 24, 1962, as KWSC-TV. The call sign referred to Washington State College, the institution's former name, although Washington State University had already adopted its present name. The station was established as a university-based educational television outlet and later became a PBS member station. In March 1969, it changed its call sign to KWSU-TV, one year before PBS began operations. The station was owned by Washington State University and became part of Northwest Public Broadcasting. Its facilities were located on WSU's Pullman campus in the Murrow Communications Center, Room 382 of Jackson Hall. Transmission facilities were located on Kamiak Butte near Palouse. The combination of a campus studio center and an elevated transmitter allowed KWSU-TV to serve Pullman and surrounding communities in southeastern Washington and northern Idaho. KWSU-TV expanded its role within the regional public television system in 1987, when its sister station KTNW signed on in Richland on October 18. KTNW served the Tri-Cities area and maintained its own studios at WSU Tri-Cities, but KWSU-TV's Pullman facilities provided master control and other shared operational services. The arrangement made KWSU-TV a central technical and administrative hub for NWPB television. In the Spokane market, KWSU-TV operated as a complementary “beta” station under the Program Differentiation Plan. It worked alongside KSPS-TV and Idaho Public Television to broaden public television availability and reduce schedule duplication. The station's reach was further extended through a Spokane translator, cable systems, satellite carriage, and a Lewiston translator. DirecTV and Dish Network distribution in Spokane, together with Xfinity carriage, gave the station access to a potential audience extending across several Inland Northwest states. The station's analog VHF service on channel 10 ended on February 17, 2009, during the originally scheduled nationwide digital television transition. Its digital operation moved from pre-transition UHF channel 17 to VHF channel 10. KWSU-TV also carried ResearchChannel on digital subchannel 10.2 until that service was discontinued in August 2010. Branding changed several times as NWPB consolidated the presentation of its media services. KWSU-TV and KTNW used the nwptv identity from 2017 to 2018. Beginning in 2018, both stations were presented under the Northwest Public Broadcasting name, which was a modified successor to the Northwest Public Television brand used from 2006 to 2017. In October 2025, WSU and NWPB announced that KWSU-TV would cease operations at the end of that year. The announcement attributed the decision to the loss of federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding and a $1.8 million reduction in NWPB's budget. The radio network based at KWSU radio and the KTNW television station were expected to continue. PBS Passport access for donors was to remain available through KTNW, while other PBS programming would remain accessible in the Pullman and Spokane areas through KSPS-TV and Idaho Public Television.

• 2025

  Closure announced

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WSU and NWPB announced that KWSU-TV would cease operations on December 31 following federal public broadcasting funding reductions.

• 2018

  Northwest Public Broadcasting branding introduced

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KWSU-TV and KTNW adopted the Northwest Public Broadcasting identity after a period using the nwptv brand.

• 2010

  ResearchChannel subchannel ends

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  ResearchChannel programming on digital subchannel 10.2 ended in August.

• 2009

  Digital television transition

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KWSU-TV discontinued regular analog transmission on February 17 and moved its digital service to VHF channel 10.

• 1987

  KTNW signs on in the Tri-Cities

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The sister station KTNW began broadcasting on channel 31 in Richland on October 18.

• 1969

  Call sign changes to KWSU-TV

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  In March, the station adopted the KWSU-TV call sign before the launch of PBS.

• 1962

  KWSC-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station signed on from Pullman, Washington, on September 24 under the call sign KWSC-TV.

A university-owned public television station focused on PBS, educational, and public-interest programming for Pullman and the wider Inland Northwest. It complemented other public television stations in the Spokane market through differentiated programming and extended distribution.

• Public television station · 1962

  KWSU-TV channel 10

  The station's primary television service broadcast from Pullman on VHF channel 10. It carried PBS and other public-interest programming for southeastern Washington and neighboring areas and served as the principal television outlet of Northwest Public Broadcasting in Pullman.

• Digital subchannel

  ResearchChannel

  KWSU-TV carried ResearchChannel on digital subchannel 10.2. The service provided research-oriented programming but was removed after ResearchChannel discontinued operations in August 2010.

• Television translator

  Spokane translator

  A translator operating on UHF channel 33 extended KWSU-TV's public television signal into Spokane and supported its role as a complementary station in the Spokane market.

• Television translator

  Lewiston translator

  Translator K34QC-D on channel 34 served Lewiston, Idaho, extending KWSU-TV's reach beyond its main Pullman-area signal.

• 2025

  End KWSU-TV operationsStrategy

  Background

  Washington State University and Northwest Public Broadcasting cited the loss of Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding and a reported $1.8 million reduction in NWPB's budget.

  Action taken

  The organizations announced that KWSU-TV would cease operations on December 31, 2025, while KTNW and NWPB's radio network would continue.

  Aftermath

  Donors were expected to retain PBS Passport access through KTNW, and viewers in the region could continue receiving PBS programming through KTNW, KSPS-TV, and Idaho Public Television.

  NWPB budget reduction. (2025)

  Source

• 2018

  Unify television branding under Northwest Public BroadcastingStrategy

  Background

  KWSU-TV and KTNW had used the shared nwptv identity from 2017 to 2018, following the organization's earlier Northwest Public Television branding.

  Action taken

  Both stations adopted the Northwest Public Broadcasting brand in 2018.

  Aftermath

  The stations were presented under a common NWPB identity through the remainder of the television operation.

  Source

• 2009

  Convert from analog to digital broadcastingStrategy

  Background

  The United States required full-power television stations to transition from analog transmission to digital broadcasting.

  Action taken

  KWSU-TV ended its regular analog VHF channel 10 service on February 17 and used its digital facility on VHF channel 10 after moving from pre-transition UHF channel 17.

  Aftermath

  The station continued as a digital public television service with its regional translators and distribution arrangements.

  Source

1. 1KWSU-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Northwest Public Broadcastingnwpb.org