View source for KWCM-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Appleton, Minnesota}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox television station dual
| name1 = KWCM-TV
| city1 = [[Appleton, Minnesota]]
| logo = Pioneer PBS Logo 2019.svg
| logo_upright = 1
| branding = Pioneer PBS
| digital1 = 10 ([[VHF]])
| virtual1 = 10
| translators = ''see {{section link||Translators}}''
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''10.1/20.1:''' [[PBS]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| airdate1 = {{start date and age|1966|1|21|p=y}}
| country = United States
| callsign_meaning1 = West Central Minnesota
| former_channel_numbers1 = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 10 (VHF, 1966–2009)|'''Digital:''' 31 (UHF, 2009)}}
| owner = West Central Minnesota Educational TV Corp.
| former_affiliations1 = [[National Educational Television|NET]] (via [[KTCA]], 1966–1970)
| erp1 = 50 [[kW]]
| haat1 = {{convert|381|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id1 = 71549
| coordinates1 = {{coord|45|10|3|N|96|0|2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KWCM-TV}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.pioneer.org/}}
| name2 = KSMN
| city2 = [[Worthington, Minnesota]]
| digital2 = 15 (UHF)
| virtual2 = 20
| callsign_meaning2 = Southern Minnesota
| former_callsigns2 = KMSW (CP, November 20, 1995–December 8, 1995)
| airdate2 = {{start date and age|1997|2|3|p=y}}
| former_channel_numbers2 = '''Analog:''' 20 (UHF, 1997–2009)
| erp2 = 200 kW
| haat2 = {{convert|290.1|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id2 = 71558
| coordinates2 = {{coord|43|53|52|N|95|56|51|W|type:_region:_source:enwiki}}
}}
'''KWCM-TV''' (channel 10) and '''KSMN''' (channel 20) are [[PBS]] member [[television station]]s licensed respectively to [[Appleton, Minnesota|Appleton]] and [[Worthington, Minnesota]], United States, owned by the West Central Minnesota Educational TV Corp. The stations maintain studios on Pioneer Drive in [[Granite Falls, Minnesota|Granite Falls]]. KWCM-TV's transmitter is located near Appleton, while KSMN's tower is near [[Chandler, Minnesota]].

KSMN operates as a full-time [[broadcast relay station#satellite stations|satellite]] of KWCM-TV; its existence is only acknowledged in [[station identification]]s. Aside from the transmitter, KSMN does not maintain any physical presence locally in Worthington.

The two stations are collectively branded as '''Pioneer PBS'''. Their combined signal can also be received in parts of [[Iowa]], [[South Dakota]] and [[North Dakota]]. Several other [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translators]] carry the signal into other communities.

==History==
[[File:PioneerPublicTV.jpg|thumb|Logo used from 2012 until November 3, 2019]]
KWCM went on the air for the first time on February 7, 1966. In the early years, it repeated the signal of [[KTCA-TV]] in the [[Twin Cities]]. It adopted the Pioneer Public Television name in 1982, and added KSMN in 1997.

The station is available on the [[DirecTV]] and [[Dish Network]] feeds for the Twin Cities and [[Sioux Falls]] [[media market|markets]]. Appleton is part of the Twin Cities market, while Worthington is in the Sioux Falls market. This gives Pioneer a potential audience of 4.8&nbsp;million people in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota and [[Wisconsin]]. As of November 3, 2019, the station became Pioneer PBS due to PBS' overhaul.

==Pioneer-produced shows==
Some locally produced shows include ''Postcards'', ''Prairie Sportsman'', ''Funtime Polka'', ''Your Legislators'', ''Country Spires'' and programs produced with the [[University of Minnesota Morris]], ''Prairie Yard and Garden'', ''Academic Challenge'', ''Echoes of Cry of the Marsh'' and ''Minnesota Rivers and Fields''.  Some of these shows have also been shown on the [[Minnesota Channel]], a statewide network originated at KTCI-TV in the Twin Cities which carries local programs on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The stations' signals are [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KWCM-TV<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KWCM|title=Digital TV Market Listing for KWCM-TV|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=October 4, 2024}}</ref> and KSMN<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KSMN|title=Digital TV Market Listing for KSMN|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=October 4, 2024}}</ref>
! scope = "col" colspan="3"|[[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Video resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" colspan="2"|Short name
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|Programming
|-
! scope = "col" |{{small|KWCM-TV}}||{{small|KSMN}}||{{small|K08QE-D}}|| scope = "col" |{{small|KWCM-TV}}||{{small|KSMN}}
|-
! scope = "row" | 10.1||20.1||8.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan=6 | [[16:9]] || KWCM-HD||KSMN-HD || [[PBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 10.2||20.2||8.2
| rowspan=5| [[480i]] || KWCM-CR||KSMN-CR || [[Create (TV network)|Create]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 10.3||20.3||8.3
| KWCM-MN||KSMN-MN || [[Minnesota Channel]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 10.4||20.4||8.4
| KWCM-WD||KSMN-WD || [[World Channel|World]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 10.5||20.5||8.5
| KWCM-KD||KSMN-KD || [[PBS Kids]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 10.6||20.6||8.6
| KWCMFNX||KSMNFNX || [[First Nations Experience]]
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KWCM-TV and KSMN shut down their analog transmitters on June 12, 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Salas |first=Randy A. |date=February 18, 2009 |title=More Minnesota stations pull the plug on analog TV |url=https://www.startribune.com/more-minnesota-stations-pull-the-plug-on-analog-tv/39755387 |access-date= |newspaper=Star Tribune |language=en}}</ref> KWCM-TV's digital signal relocated to [[VHF]] channel 10 from [[UHF]] channel 31, while KSMN's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 15.

===Translators===
A network of digital translators in western Minnesota translates KWCM.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! City of license
! Callsign
! Channel
! [[effective radiated power|ERP]]
! [[HAAT]]
! [[Facility ID]]
! Transmitter coordinates
! Owner
|-
|| [[Alexandria, Minnesota|Alexandria]] ||'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|59645|3=K27KN-D}}'''||27 || 1.1&nbsp;kW || {{convert|123|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || 59645 || {{coord|45|55|59.0|N|95|26|51.0|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=K27KN-D}} || [http://selectivetv.org/ Selective TV]
|-
|| [[Fergus Falls]] ||'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|71562|3=K08QE-D}}'''||8 || 3&nbsp;kW || {{convert|202|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || 71562 || {{coord|46|28|48.0|N|96|01|46.0|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=K08QE-D}} ||  West Central Minnesota Educational TV Corporation
|-
|| [[Olivia, Minnesota|Olivia]] ||'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|55749|3=K20JY-D}}'''||20 || 0.79&nbsp;kW || {{convert|87|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || 55749 || {{coord|44|45|32.9|N|94|52|24.0|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=K20JY-D}} || Renville County TV Corporation
|-
|| [[Willmar, Minnesota|Willmar]] ||'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|68708|3=K22ND-D}}'''||22 || 0.7&nbsp;kW || {{convert|155|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || 68708 || {{coord|45|09|58.0|N|95|02|38.0|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=K22ND-D}} || [http://uhftv.org UHF TV, Inc.]
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{officialwebsite|https://www.pioneer.org/}}

{{MSP TV}}
{{Sioux Falls TV}}
{{Fargo TV}}
{{PBS Minnesota}}
{{Public broadcasting in the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwcm-Tv}}
[[Category:1966 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:PBS member stations]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1966]]
[[Category:Television stations in Minnesota]]