KBTC-TV
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| Channels for KBTC-TV | |
| Channels for KCKA | |
| Branding | KBTC PBS |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bates Technical College |
| History | |
First air date |
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Former call signs |
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Former channel numbers |
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| NET (1961–1970) | |
Call sign meaning | |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
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| ERP | |
| HAAT |
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Transmitter coordinates | |
| Translator(s) | see § Translators |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Website | www |
KBTC-TV (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, United States, serving the Seattle area as a member of PBS. Owned by Bates Technical College. KBTC-TV maintains studios and transmitter facilities separately in Tacoma, with studios on South 19th Street and the transmitter on North 35th Street. KBTC-TV is also broadcast on KCKA (channel 19) in Centralia, serving areas to the south and west of the Tacoma transmitter, and three other translators, one of them in central Seattle.
KBTC-TV is the secondary PBS member for the Seattle–Tacoma market. Through PBS' Program Differentiation Plan, KBTC-TV carries only 25% of the programming broadcast by the network. The market's primary PBS member, KCTS-TV (channel 9) in Seattle, carries the remaining 75%. In addition to reaching a local over-the-air audience, KBTC-TV is available on Comcast Cable in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, and in many areas of southwestern Washington.
KBTC-TV was established by Tacoma Public Schools as KTPS on UHF channel 62 in 1961. A major facility upgrade in the early 1980s moved the station down the UHF dial to channel 28 and increased its broadcast range by adding a translator station. KTPS became KBTC after Bates Technical College was split from the school system in 1991.