KPBT-TV

KPBT-TV

Odessa–Midland, Texas United States
City	Odessa, Texas
Channels	Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 36
Branding	Basin PBS
Programming
Affiliations	36.1: PBS 36.2: PBS Kids
Ownership
Owner	Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, Inc.
History
First air date	March 24, 1986 (38 years ago) (1986-03-24)
Former call signs	KOCV-TV (1986–2006)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 36 (UHF, 1986–2009) Digital: 38 (UHF, 2003–2018)
Call sign meaning	Permian Basin Television
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	50044
ERP	515 kW
HAAT	224 m (735 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°5′11″N 102°17′12″W / 32.08639°N 102.28667°W / 32.08639; -102.28667
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.basinpbs.org

KPBT-TV (channel 36), branded Basin PBS, is a PBS member television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, serving the Permian Basin area. Owned by Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, Inc., the station maintains studios at the historic Ritz Theater in downtown Midland and a transmitter near Gardendale.

Public television came to the Permian Basin in 1986 when Odessa College started KOCV-TV from studios and a transmitter located on its campus. However, in 2003, budget cuts mandated by the state of Texas led the college to discontinue support for the station and seek another licensee. The station was transferred to the Ector County Independent School District, but the school system found itself unprepared to handle the station's financial needs; less than two years after agreeing to take on KOCV-TV, it began looking for a buyer.

The school district transferred the station to a community licensee, Permian Basin Public Telecommunications, in December 2005. The station changed its call sign to KPBT-TV. It continued to rely on temporary office space for its operations until renovating the Ritz Theater in downtown Midland in 2019. In addition to airing national public television programming, KPBT-TV produces local music and public affairs specials.