KSPS-TV (channel 7) is a PBS member television station in Spokane, Washington, United States, owned by KSPS Public Television. The station's studios are located on the campus of Joel E. Ferris High School on South Regal Street in the Southgate neighborhood of Spokane, and its transmitter is located on Krell Hill southeast of Spokane.[3]
History
On April 24, 1967, KSPS-TV first signed on the air,[4] from the basement of Adams Elementary of Spokane Public Schools. It was affiliated with National Educational Television (NET), and moved to its successor network, PBS, on October 5, 1970. A series of school levy failures in the early 1970s forced the station to secure alternate funding and, in 1972, Friends of Seven, now known as Friends of KSPS, was founded to provide financial support to KSPS.
On July 26, 2012, the board of Spokane Public Schools voted unanimously to spin off KSPS to the Friends of KSPS. A day later, the Friends of KSPS board also voted unanimously to move forward with taking full control of the station. The transition from an educational license to a community license was completed in fall 2013. School board employees working for KSPS would become employees of the non-profit organization. Gary Stokes, the executive director of the Friends of KSPS, says that he hopes to "keep things as business-as-usual as possible. That includes keeping the employees a part of our station."