1. History

2. Digital television
    Analog-to-Digital television transition  Spectrum incentive auction results 

3. Programming
    Station IDs 

4. Availability
    Over-the-air coverage  Cable carriage 

5. See also

6. References

7. External links

The station's master control hub and internal operations are located at KET's main studios at the O. Leonard Press Telecommunications Center in Lexington, Kentucky. The station transmits its signal on UHF channel 36 (virtual channel 21 via PSIP) from its transmitter located along Merit Road just north of Kentucky Route 80 near Farmington, in eastern Graves County.^[2]

History

The station signed on the air on October 9, 1968, as part of the Kentucky Educational Television network. The station became the twelfth overall educational television station in Kentucky, and the eleventh KET satellite to sign on 16 days after the sign on of the network flagship WKLE/Lexington and the network's nine other charter satellites (i.e. WKMA-TV, WKGB, WKZT-TV, WKMR, WKSO-TV, WKHA, WKPI-TV, WKON, and WKAS) on September 23 of that year.^[3] WKMU was one out of three satellites that signed on later than the other ten charter satellites; the other two were WCVN-TV/Covington (in the Cincinnati, Ohio market]]) and WKMJ-TV/Louisville (the network's original Louisville station), which signed on in September 1969 and September 1970, respectively.

All of the network's satellites were strategically located to serve as much of the state as possible. Before WKMU signed on, WSIU-TV of Carbondale, Illinois was the only NET/PBS member station to serve the Paducah area, yet that station's signal barely even reached the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. WKMU was the default KET-aligned television station to serve the Paducah area and the Jackson Purchase region until commercial independent station WDXR-TV (now WKPD) was acquired by KET, and converted into an additional KET satellite station in 1978. WKMU could still be receivable over the air in Paducah as WKMU's transmitter is located just east of Mayfield.

Digital television

The station's digital television companion signal, WKMU-DT, along with the digital companions of thirteen other KET stations (except WKPC and WKMJ) signed on the air in May 2002.^[3]

Analog-to-Digital television transition

On April 16, 2009, WKMU shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 21 as part of the mandatory analog-to-digital television transition of 2009. The deadline was moved from February 17 to June 12 of that year as part of the DTV Delay Act, but all KET stations completed the transition on April 16.^[5] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 36. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 21.

Spectrum incentive auction results

WKMU currently holds a construction permit to reallocate its digital signal onto UHF channel 17. This is part of the network's participation in the 2016-17 FCC Spectrum incentive auction. WKMU's relocation of the digital subchannel to UHF channel 17 will take place in September 2019 or the early half of October 2019.^[6][7]

Programming

Station IDs

Although Murray is the city of license for WKMU, its legal station ID between programs identifies itself on screen (and previously by a KET staff voice-over narrator) as “Channel 21, WKMU, Murray/Mayfield, Kentucky.” Mayfield is included in the legal ID due to the transmitter site of WKMU being located in Graves County, with Mayfield being the closest city to the transmitter. A similar situation exists for two other KET stations in the system (WKLE and WKOH) that includes the city of license and the closest Kentucky city to the transmitter site. Many television affiliates of Georgia’s statewide PBS member network Georgia Public Broadcasting follow this practice as well.

Availability

Over-the-air coverage

WKMU serves much of western Kentucky's Jackson Purchase region, which comprises the eight westernmost counties of the state. Additionally, the signal also covers western Trigg County, much of Lyon County, as well as central and southern portions of Livingston County. The signal also serves southern Massac County in southern Illinois, and Henry, Weakley, and parts of Obion Counties in northwestern Tennessee, including Paris, Martin, and the Union City/South Fulton areas, respectively. The signal also serves parts of western Stewart County in Middle Tennessee as well.^[8] This benefits residents of the aforementioned Tennessee counties that could not receive Lexington, Tennessee-licensed WLJT-DT (from the Jackson, Tennessee market) over-the-air because the signal of that station falls well short of the Martin area, even though that station's studios are based in rented space on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin.

As it is with most other KET stations, over-the-air signal covers some of the same areas as those of some of KET's other stations. WKMA-TV/Madisonville covers the eastern fringes of WKMU's signal coverage area. WKPD/Paducah majorly overlaps WKMU's signal in much of the latter station's coverage area, with the exception of Fulton County, which is exclusively served by the WKMU signal.

Cable carriage

KET is offered on all cable systems in the state of Kentucky. The statewide cable coverage includes Mediacom systems, Zito Media, and the WK&T Cable systems in the region, as well as Murray Electrical Systems.^[9] Mediacom lists WKMU as the KET station serving Cadiz, in Trigg County on its cable systems in that area even though that area is completely within range of WKMA instead. Only WKPD, along with Carbondale, Illinois-based WSIU-TV, are available on satellite television within the Paducah/Cape Girardeau market.

See also

• Kentucky Educational Television
  • List of programs broadcast by Kentucky Educational Television

References

External links

• Station website
• {{TVQ|WKMU}}
• {{BIA|WKMU|TV|TV}}

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