KOAC early studio and transmitter building near Oregon State University, c.1941
OPB traces its roots back to January 23, 1923, when KFDJ signed on from the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis. From 1923 to 1981, the Oregon State campus served as the radio and later TV base of operations for Oregon's public broadcasting. Charles B. Mitchel, a first-year speech professor at Oregon State, was instrumental in bringing Oregon's first public radio station to the state. OSU physics instructor Jacob Jordan is credited with building the station's first radio transmitter near campus in 1923.[1][2]
The radio station's call letters were changed to KOAC on December 11, 1925. In 1932, KOAC became a service of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education General Extension Division.[3]
During the mid-1950s, the university constructed KOAC's first TV studios inside Gill Coliseum. On October 7, 1957, the station began television broadcasting as KOAC-AM-TV. For nearly 60 years, faculty and students at Oregon State University broadcast news, information and entertainment programming across the state from the Corvallis studios.[4] First known as Oregon Educational Broadcasting, the public network became the Oregon Educational and Public Broadcasting Service (OEPBS) in 1971.[5]
KOAC-AM announcer broadcasting from the main studios in Covell Hall at Oregon State University (1929).KOAC-TV satilite studio at University of Oregon (Eugene), 1963
In the late 1950s, KOAC's broadcast signal was shared across the state by microwave transmitters and receivers. KOAC also added satellite studios for radio broadcasting in Eugene, Monmouth, Salem, and Portland. In the 1960s, satellite TV studios were added in Portland and Eugene. The Portland satellite, KOAP-FM-TV, was located in a leased building at what is now 2828 SW Naito Parkway. KOAP started broadcasting on February 6, 1961. The Eugene satellite was located on the University of Oregon campus, in Villard Hall. Up until 1965, all programs from the KOAC satellites were live, due to a lack of video recording equipment. Both studios operated two RCA TK31 cameras for live broadcasts.
On December 6, 1964, KTVR-TV began broadcasting in La Grande. The station started primarily as a commercial television station, affiliated with NBC and ABC. KTVR-TV operated as a semi-satellite of KTVB in Boise, Idaho. The La Grande studio was located at 1605 Adams Ave. and produced nightly newscasts and other local programming. However, by 1967, the La Grande studio and office were closed and KTVR became a full-fledged satellite of KTVB. KTVR was unique in the Pacific Time Zone, because as a repeater of a Mountain Time Zone station, its "prime time" schedule was broadcast from 6 to 9 p.m. OEPBS bought KTVR on August 31, 1976, and converted it to PBS on February 1, 1977. At first, KTVR rebroadcast programming from two Washington stations—KWSU-TV in Pullman and KSPS-TV in Spokane—until OEPBS completed a transmission link to La Grande. On September 1, 1977, OEPBS took KTVR off the air for transmitter repairs, due to increasing technical problems. KTVR returned to the air on January 1, 1978, carrying OEPBS programming for the first time.
KOAB-TV in Bend began broadcasting on February 24, 1970, as KVDO-TV, a commercial independent station licensed to Salem. Channel 3 struggled to compete with Portland's established independent, KPTV (channel 12), and in 1972, the station was purchased by Liberty Communications, then-owners of Eugene's ABC affiliate KEZI (channel 9). The intention was to make KVDO a full-power satellite of KEZI. During the sale, KATU (channel 2), Portland's ABC affiliate, objected over duplication of programming, and there were also objections to Liberty's common ownership of local cable systems and the television station. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed Liberty to buy KVDO-TV on the condition that it sell the station within three years.
The state government approved the purchase of KVDO-TV in 1975, with OEPBS taking control of the station on February 19, 1976. Nine days later, on February 28, a disgruntled viewer protesting KVDO's sale to OEPBS cut guy wires, toppling the channel 3 transmitter tower. On September 20, 1976, KVDO signed back on the air with a new tower; from then until March 31, 1981, the station broadcast an alternate program lineup to KOAP-TV and KOAC-TV, featuring time-shifted OEPBS programs, shows for the Spanish-speaking population in the Willamette Valley, and several local productions in Salem. OEPBS consistently eyed moving the station elsewhere to reduce duplication, which became more acute when budget cuts prompted KVDO-TV to drop its separate programs in 1981. The network pursued and won approval from the FCC to move the channel 3 allocation and license to Bend, which had no PBS coverage. KVDO-TV ceased broadcasting in Salem on July 31, 1983; on December 22, channel 3 signed back on the air as KOAB. The call letters were modified to KOAB-TV when KOAB-FM signed on the air on January 23, 1986.
KEPB-TV in Eugene began operation on February 27, 1990, as Eugene's first public television station, bringing most of Eugene a clear signal for PBS programming for the first time ever. Although KOAC-TV had long claimed Eugene as part of its primary coverage area (Corvallis is part of the Eugene market), it only provided rimshot coverage to most of Eugene itself and was marginal at best in the southern portion of the city. Most of Eugene could only get a clear picture from KOAC-TV on cable.[citation needed]
In 1981, OEPBS was spun off from the Oregon State System of Higher Education and became a separate state agency, Oregon Public Broadcasting. As part of the network overhaul, KOAP became the flagship of the OPB network and central operations were relocated from Corvallis to Portland.
In the early 2000s, OPB installed Oregon's first digital transmitter, taking a critical first step in the digital television transition.[8]
21st century
For 2001 and 2002, the Oregon state government provided about 14 percent of OPB's operational budget; for 2003 and 2004, it was cut to 9 percent.[9]
On December 4, 2007, OPB launched opbmusic, a 24-hour online radio channel spotlighting Pacific Northwest musicians.[10] As of December 11, 2020, OPB discontinued the opbmusic HD radio and online audio stream and integrated opbmusic multimedia content into its broader arts and culture reporting.[11]
↑ KOPB-TV used the callsign KOAP-TV from its 1961 sign-on until 1989.
↑ KEPB-TV used the call sign KZJD during its construction permit from 1989 to 1990, and KEPB (without the -TV suffix) for just one day on May 1, 1990.
↑ KOAB-TV used the callsign KVDO-TV from its 1970 sign-on until 1983. It was a commercial independent station until OEPBS bought the station in 1976. It was licensed to Salem until 1983.
↑ KTVR was a commercial station relaying KTVB from Boise, Idaho until 1977.
Cable and satellite availability
OPB Television is available on all cable providers in its service area. On Dish Network, KOPB-TV, KEPB-TV, and KOAB-TV are available on the Portland, Eugene and Bend local broadcast station lineups, respectively. KOPB-TV and KEPB-TV are available on the Portland and Eugene DirecTV broadcast station lineups.
Digital television
OPB's first digital channel was OPB CREATE (an affiliate of the Create network), announced in January 2006; its availability was limited to certain Comcast digital cable customers and on Clear Creek Television in Oregon City.[13]
In December 2008, in anticipation of the original February 18, 2009, deadline for switching to all-digital broadcasting, OPB announced the launch of three digital subchannels: OPB, which would air OPB programming with an "improved picture for viewers with traditional sets", OPB HD, airing programming in "high definition with the highest-quality picture and sound", and OPB Plus, which offered "more choices in viewing times and added programs in news, public affairs and lifestyle."[14]
Subchannels
OPB currently offers four digital multiplex channels:[15]
OPB was one of the partners of The Oregon Channel, a public affairs network that began with the 74th Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2007. Programming consisted of Oregon legislative sessions and other public affairs events. The Oregon Channel was discontinued in 2011.
On July 6, 2011, OPB combined OPB and OPB SD into one high-definition channel feed on the main channel of its digital stations. OPB Plus moved from the third digital subchannel to the second subchannel and OPB Radio moved from the fourth digital subchannel to the third subchannel.
On January 26, 2023, OPB ended broadcasting of OPB Plus and replaced it with OPB World.
Analog-to-digital conversion
During 2009, OPB shut down the analog transmitters of the stations on a staggered basis. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:[19][20]
KOAC-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 39 to VHF channel 7.
KOPB-TV shut down its analog, signal, over VHF channel 10; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 27 to VHF channel 10.
KEPB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 28; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 29, using virtual channel 28.
KOAB-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 3; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 11, using virtual channel 3.
KTVR shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 5 to channel 13.
Since the spring of 2009, OPB has operated jazz radio station KMHD; the station is owned by Mount Hood Community College, but operates out of OPB's studio facilities in Portland.
HD stations
Currently only KMHD and KOPB-FM carry HD radio content.
In addition to their work in radio and television, OPB has produced multiple podcasts. For instance, OPB started a podcast version of its daily radio show in 2008 called Think Out Loud.[24][25] OPB also began producing a weekly podcast about local politics called OPB Politics Now, which is hosted by Geoff Norcross.[26] OPB produced a 2018 podcast hosted by Leah Sottile entitled Bundyville that discussed Cliven Bundy and the sovereign citizen movement.[27] The following year they produced the second season of the podcast entitled Bundyville: The Remnant, which discussed right wing extremism and anti-government extremism in America more broadly.[28] In 2020, OPB produced a podcast called Timber Wars. The podcast was hosted by Aaron Scott and discussed the 1990s conflicts in the Pacific Northwest between loggers and environmentalists.[29]
Soccer Made in Germany– 1980s highlights of West German soccer games, distributed nationwide by OPB
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