Twin Cities PBS takes over operations of KSMQ
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TPT's headquarters in St. Paul, Minn.
Twin Cities PBS has taken over operations of public TV station KSMQ in Austin, Minn., according to documents filed Friday with the FCC.
The management and programming agreement between KSMQ and the larger station in St. Paul, Minn., was signed April 14. It continues through Oct. 31, then will renew automatically on a month-to-month basis. KSMQ has also asked the FCC to approve the transfer of its broadcast license to Twin Cities PBS.
No money will be exchanged, and Twin Cities PBS will “incur the costs and expenses” to manage and program KSMQ, according to the agreement.
The move comes as KSMQ faces financial problems following last year’s rescission of federal funding for public broadcasting. The station “anticipates it will be unable to financially sustain its operations in the near future,” according to an asset acquisition agreement signed April 14.
KSMQ received approximately $787,000 in annual revenue from CPB, according to its fiscal year 2024 financial report. The station’s total revenue that year was about $2 million, while expenses were $2.5 million.
In an April 15 statement on KSMQ’s website, Board Chair Kathleen Harrington said the station had tried to find other revenue sources but “could not overcome the loss of over 40% of our budget. Without additional funding, we turned to organizations across Minnesota to see what was possible. It is in this spirit that Twin Cities PBS and KSMQ are collaborating to ensure the financial sustainability and preservation of public television now and in the future.”
KSMQ’s immediate future
As part of the asset acquisition agreement, Twin Cities PBS has committed to “review current KSMQ employees in an effort to retain employees as feasible” and “make a good faith effort to develop local programming and content that addresses the issues, needs, and interests of Southeast and Southcentral Minnesota.”
KSMQ’s local productions are Farm Connections, Food Connections and Off 90, an arts, culture and history program funded in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
The station’s broadcast coverage overlaps with Twin Cities PBS and Iowa PBS. KSMQ’s main channel features PBS Kids content and programs including PBS News Hour. It also offers channels that carry German network DW-TV, the Create channel and the Minnesota Channel, which originates from Twin Cities PBS.
KSMQ signed on in 1972 as KAVT. It was operated by Austin Public Schools as part of the Austin Area Vocational-Technical Institute.
The station changed its call letters to KSMQ in 1984. In 2005, ownership transitioned from Austin Public Schools to KSMQ Public Service Media, a nonprofit organization. The station moved into new headquarters in 2022.
