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| Channels | |
| Branding | Austin PBS |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council |
| History | |
First air date | May 4, 1979 (satellite of KLRN until 1986) |
Former call signs | KLRU-TV (May 4, 1979–August 22, 1979)[1] |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 18 (UHF, 1979–2009) |
Call sign meaning | disambiguation of its former television partner KLRN |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 8564 |
| ERP | 700 kW |
| HAAT | 357.5 m (1,173 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°19′19″N 97°48′12″W / 30.32194°N 97.80333°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KLRU (channel 18), branded on-air as Austin PBS, is a PBS member television station in Austin, Texas, United States, owned by the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. In 2022, KLRU moved into its "Austin Media Center" studios located on the Austin Community College Highland Campus, which was redeveloped from the former Highland Mall. KLRU occupies 45,000 square feet (4,181 m2) in what was previously the mall's Dillard's department store. The station's transmitter is located in the West Austin Antenna Farm in unincorporated Travis County. In addition to airing program content from PBS, it produces original programming including the national music series Austin City Limits.
KLRU was founded in 1979 as a full-time satellite of San Antonio PBS member KLRN. That station had long doubled as the PBS member for Austin as well, but provided a marginal signal at best to much of Austin's inner ring. Soon after KLRU was brought on line, its owner, the Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council, laid the groundwork for repurposing it as a full-fledged PBS station for the Austin area. This culminated in 1986, when KLRU severed the electronic umbilical cord with KLRN and became a separately-programmed station. A year later, the Capital of Texas Public Broadcasting Council was formed as KLRU's owner.
- ^ "FCC History Cards for KLRU" (PDF).
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KLRU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.