Wyoming PBS

Wyoming PBS is the statewide public broadcaster for the U.S. state of Wyoming. A member of PBS, it is owned and operated by Central Wyoming College and originates from its campus in Riverton. Three high-power transmitters—KCWC-DT (channel 4) in Lander, KWYP-DT (channel 8) in Laramie, and KPTW (channel 6) in Casper—and 40 low-power translator stations broadcast the signal across the state.

Wyoming was the second-to-last state to receive a public television station. While efforts to bring educational television to Wyoming dated back as far as the 1950s, state legislators on multiple occasions refused to fund proposed statewide educational networks. Central Wyoming College, which already had a radio and television instruction program, moved forward with building its own station. It received a construction permit for KCWC-TV in December 1981 and began broadcasting on May 27, 1983.

Over the succeeding decades, KCWC-TV's signal slowly expanded by way of translators in the rest of Wyoming, in conjunction with the state's cable providers; at times, more ambitious expansion plans were curtailed by budget cuts. In the 2000s, it added higher-power transmitters to serve Casper and Laramie. Wyoming PBS's reliance on low-power translators as well as the way media markets are drawn in Wyoming, with most counties assigned to out-of-state markets such as Denver and Salt Lake City, have limited its availability on direct broadcast satellite.

Wyoming PBS is funded by viewer contributions as well as federal, state, and college support. It produces local programming pertaining to Wyoming public affairs, culture, and nature.