View source for KUHT

{{Short description|Television station in Houston}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{for|the television station in Hiroshima, Japan, which was previously branded as UHT|Hiroshima Home Television}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = KUHT
| city                   =
| logo                   = Houston Public Media (2020).svg
| logo_size              = 200px
| branding               = Houston Public Media PBS
| digital                = 8 ([[VHF]])
| virtual                = 8
| subchannels            =
| translators            =
| affiliations           = {{unbulleted list|'''8.1:''' [[PBS]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[University of Houston]]
| licensee               = [[University of Houston System]]
| location               = [[Houston]], Texas
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1953|5|25|p=y}}
| last_airdate           =
| callsign_meaning       = University of Houston Television
| sister_stations        = '''Radio:''' [[KUHF]]
| former_callsigns       =
| former_channel_numbers = {{unbulleted list|'''Analog:''' 8 (VHF, 1953–2009)|'''Digital:''' 9 (VHF, 2001–2009)}}
| former_affiliations    = [[National Educational Television|NET]] (1953–1970)
| erp                    = 64.6 [[Watt|kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|566|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 69269
| coordinates            = {{Coord|29|34|29|N|95|29|38|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/}}
}}

'''KUHT''' (channel 8) is a [[PBS]] member [[television station]] in [[Houston]], Texas, United States. Owned by the [[University of Houston System]], it is [[sister station|sister]] to [[NPR]] member station [[KUHF]] (88.7 FM). The two stations share studios and offices in the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting on the campus of the [[University of Houston]]; KUHT's transmitter is located near [[Missouri City]], in [[unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated]] northeastern [[Fort Bend County]]. In addition, the station leased some of its studio operations to [[Tegna, Inc.|Tegna]]-owned [[CBS]] affiliate [[KHOU]] (channel 11) from August 2017 to February 2019 when the latter's original studios were inundated by [[Hurricane Harvey]].

KUHT also serves as the default PBS member station to the neighboring [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]]–[[Port Arthur, Texas|Port Arthur]] and [[Victoria, Texas|Victoria]] [[media market|market]]s (the latter along with [[KLRN]] in [[San Antonio]]) as they do not have their own PBS station. It is available on [[cable television|cable]] and [[satellite television|satellite]] providers in both markets, although [[Lake Charles, Louisiana|Lake Charles]] member station and [[Louisiana Public Broadcasting]] outlet KLTL-TV is carried by some cable providers in the extreme eastern areas of the Beaumont–Port Arthur market.

KUHT is notable as the first public television station in the United States.

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Early KUHT Station ID.jpg|thumb|150px|An early station identification.]]
The station was established by Dr. John C. Schwarzwalder, a professor in the Radio-Television Department at the [[University of Houston]] (UH),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digital.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.DisplayEADDoc.do?source=MdU.ead.npba.0061.xml&style=ead|title=John C. Schwarzwalder Papers, "Historical Note."|access-date=October 24, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202423/http://digital.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.DisplayEADDoc.do?source=MdU.ead.npba.0061.xml&style=ead|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Dr. John W. Meaney, an English professor at UH, and was first signed on the air on May 25, 1953, as the first station to broadcast under an educational non-profit license in the United States, and one of the earliest member stations of [[National Educational Television]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/KUHT.pdf|title="KUHT-TV: The University of Houston's Second Great Vision."}}</ref> which was succeeded by PBS.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://support.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_history&printer_friendly=1 |title=Houston PBS History |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204409/http://support.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_history&printer_friendly=1 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> KUHT, co-located with FM station [[KUHF]], originally operated from the [[Ezekiel W. Cullen Building]] on the UH campus. Its dedication ceremonies were broadcast on June 8 of that year. The station's initial cost was an investment of $350,000, and had an annual operating budget of about $110,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857503,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116214008/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857503,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 16, 2010 |title=Cautious Progress |publisher=Time |date=July 19, 1954 |access-date=February 22, 2009}}</ref> Originally licensed to both UH and the Houston Independent School District, UH became its sole licensee in 1959.

The station also offered the university's first [[Distance education#Radio and television|televised college credit classes]]. Running 13 to 15 hours weekly, these telecasts accounted for 38 percent of the program schedule. Most courses aired at night so that students who worked during the day could watch them. By the mid-1960s, with about one-third of the station's programming devoted to educational programming, more than 100,000 semester hours had been taught on KUHT.<ref>[http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_history HoustonPBS History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511081424/http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_history |date=May 11, 2011 }}. HoustonPBS. Retrieved November 16, 2007.</ref>

In 1964, KUHT and KUHF moved into new studio facilities in the defunct Texas Television Center located on Cullen Boulevard, which were previously occupied by [[DuMont Television Network]] affiliate [[KNUZ-TV]]. When KNUZ-TV went dark, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate (now [[owned-and-operated station]]) [[KTRK-TV]] (channel 13) used the facility from KTRK's inception in 1954, until it moved to its current studios on Bissonnet Street in 1961. This studio would host both stations for the next 35 years, until the move across campus to the current Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting in 2000. KUHT purchased a new transmitter that not only enabled the station to broadcast beyond [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]] into its surrounding areas, but also to begin broadcasting in [[color television|color]]. Five years later, in 1969, the Association for Community Television was formed to fund KUHT.

===PBS era===
[[Image:Leroy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting 08-2019 01.jpg|thumb|225px|The LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting where KUHT is housed.]]
In 1970, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the successor network to National Educational Television, began service, combining televised educational lectures with popular programs such as ''[[Sesame Street]]'', ''[[Nova (American TV program)|NOVA]]'' and ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]'' that remain PBS staples to this day. The station is also noted in Houston for many technical firsts at the local level. In 1981, KUHT became Houston's first television station to provide [[closed captioning]], and 10 years later, in 1991, it became the first station in Houston to offer [[Descriptive Video Service]] audio, and other services for the visually impaired as well as bilingual viewers via a [[secondary audio program]] feed.

In 1982, with assistance from KTRK and then-[[independent station]] [[KRIV (TV)|KRIV]] (channel 26, now a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] owned-and-operated station), KUHT began operating a new transmitter located near Missouri City – making it one of several television and radio stations that now broadcast from that location. KUHT was known on-air as "Houston Public Television" for many years before adopting the "HoustonPBS" moniker in the early 21st century. From 1993 into the early 2000s, KUHT's logo also did not include the number 8, but used a logo similar to the ones used by [[Detroit]]'s [[WTVS]] and [[Seattle]]'s [[KCTS-TV]]. These stations are members of Lark International, a public television production company, which owns the sunburst-on-square logo; however, they are not related to each other. KUHT's logo during this era was based on the sunburst portion of that logo.

On August 21, 2000, KUHT moved to its current studios in the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting on the UH campus, where KUHT shares broadcast facilities with public radio station [[KUHF]]—both owned by and licensed to the UH System—where the complex is located. The previous facility is now in use by the university's Texas Learning and Computation Center.

On March 3, 2014, KUHT, along with KUHF and 91.7 KUHA (owned by the university at the time, now [[Hope Media Group]]-owned [[KHVU]]), were all rebranded into Houston Public Media. The station dropped the "HoustonPBS" name to assume the new name.

In late-August 2017, [[Tegna Inc.|Tegna]]-owned [[CBS]] affiliate [[KHOU]] (channel 11) temporarily moved its news and broadcasting operations to Melcher Center. KHOU's [[Neartown]] facility had suffered catastrophic [[flood]]ing during [[Hurricane Harvey]]. On November 16, 2017, KHOU announced it would not return to its former studios; the building would be subsequently demolished in May 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.khou.com/news/local/its-official-khou-not-returning-to-allen-parkway/492470952|title=It's official: KHOU not returning to Allen Parkway|date=November 16, 2017|work=[[KHOU]]|access-date=November 17, 2017|archive-date=January 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121235426/http://www.khou.com/news/local/its-official-khou-not-returning-to-allen-parkway/492470952|url-status=dead}}</ref> The station remained at the Melcher Center until their new facility at 5718 [[Westheimer Road]] near [[Uptown Houston]] was completed in February 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.khou.com/article/news/local/khou-announces-location-of-new-station/285-533170471|title=KHOU announces location of new station|work=KHOU.com|date=March 29, 2018 |access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

==Film library==
KUHT has an archive of almost 600 film reels—some more than 50 years old, along with 5,000 videocassettes—some dating back more than 30 years. However, the archive material is in various states of deterioration, with some films and cassettes already suffering from [[vinegar syndrome]]. In September 2010, the [[Texas State Library and Archives Commission]] granted the University of Houston $25,000 for film preservation; however, the funding is only enough to transfer 25 films to digital format, with films related to Texas taking top priority.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Archivist-scrambles-to-rescue-KUHT-film-reels-1528793.php|title=Archivist scrambles to rescue KUHT film reels|first=Allan|last=Turner|date=January 3, 2011|website=Chron}}</ref>

==Original productions==
KUHT has produced the following original national productions for PBS:
* ''Cucina Sicilia'' (2003–2004) – West 175 Productions
* ''InnerVIEWS with [[Ernie Manouse]]''
* ''[[Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop]]''
* ''Space Station'' (1999)
* ''The Story of [[Jesse H. Jones]]'' (2000)
* ''Weeknight Edition''

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:

{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KUHT<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KUHT|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KUHT|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=December 25, 2024}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=4|[[16:9]] || KUHT-HD || [[PBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.2
| rowspan=3|[[480i]] || KUHT8.2 || [[Create (TV network)|Create]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.3
| KUHT8.3 || [[PBS Kids]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.4
| KUHT8.4 || [[NHK World]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.5
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | ''Audio only'' || KUHT8.5 || Sight into Sound
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.6
| 480i || 16:9 || KUHT8.6 || [[World Channel]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[KIAH|39.3]]
| 480i || 16:9 || TheNest || [[The Nest (TV network)|The Nest]] ([[KIAH]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KUHT's digital signal originally began broadcasting on VHF channel 9 on May 12, 2001. The station ended regular programming on its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 8, on June 12, 2009, as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]].<ref name="Analog to Digital">[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf List of Digital Full-Power Stations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 9 to channel 8 for post-transition operations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ellison|first=David|title=Consumer Watch: Stations have more DTV work to do|url=http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Consumer-Watch-Stations-have-more-DTV-work-to-do-1727213.php|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=February 6, 2009}}</ref><ref name="FCCForm387">{{Cite web|url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101238126&formid=387&fac_num=22204|title=CDBS Print<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

In 2009, KUHT filed with the FCC for construction permits to build low-powered digital transmitters in Beaumont (K24KQ, channel 24)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=181285|title=FCC data: new channel 24 in Beaumont}}</ref> and Victoria (K29JI-D, channel 29),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=181284|title=FCC data: K29JI-D new channel 29 in Victoria}}</ref> in order to provide over-the-air PBS service to both cities. Those two construction permits have expired and KUHT has no plans to attempt the build-outs at this time (2015).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Texas|Television|United States}}
* [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/ Houston Public Media]
* ''University of Houston Buildings'' collection at the [http://digital.lib.uh.edu/cdm4/about_collection.php?CISOROOT=/p15195coll3 University of Houston Digital Library]
* [https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/2/resources/1582 John C. Schwarzwalder papers] at the [[University of Maryland Libraries|University of Maryland libraries]]. Schwarzwalder and Meaney established KUHT in 1953.
* [https://findingaids.lib.uh.edu/repositories/2/resources/53 KUHT Film and Video collection] at the [[University of Houston]] Libraries
* [https://av.lib.uh.edu/?f%5Bcollection_ssim%5D%5B%5D=KUHT+Film+and+Video KUHT video] at the Audio/Video Repository, [[University of Houston]] Libraries

{{Houston TV}}
{{Beaumont TV}}
{{PBS Texas}}
{{PBSTV}}
{{University of Houston}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:KUHT}}
[[Category:1953 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:PBS member stations]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953]]
[[Category:Television stations in Houston|UHT]]
[[Category:University of Houston System]]
[[Category:University of Houston]]