HARLINGEN — In the end, “Sesame Street” was no match for “Baywatch.”
Harlingen-based KMBH-TV has replaced its PBS channel at 38 on the dial with a new channel called COZY-TV. The station will still broadcast PBS on Channel 38.1, and its RTV Musica channel at 38.2
The new channels are available on some cable and satellite providers. Whether the local PBS channel will be picked up by your provider is another story.
COZY-TV is affiliated with NBCUniversal, and its programming is going to be “80s and 90s programming, like ‘Baywatch,’” Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of station owner R Communications, said yesterday.
As for PBS?
“We will continue to transmit PBS because we continue to be committed to the community,” Rodriguez said, “even though we are not receiving any funding from the Public Broadcasting Corp.”
The changes at the station are the latest in its transition following its purchase by R Communications, a San Antonio-based radio station chain, from RGV Educational Broadcasting for $8.5 million. RGV Educational Broadcasting is owned by the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville. That sale occurred in 2014 and was finalized in January 2015.
Allowing a PBS station to broadcast a commercial station on its primary channel is believed to be a first in the United States.
“Since the license for KMBH was sold by RGV Educational Broadcasting to R Communications in 2014, PBS has been working with all interested parties to guarantee that viewers in the community of Harlingen receive PBS over-the-air, and are made aware of the lineup changes,” Jan McNamara, senior director and senior strategist with PBS corporate communications, said yesterday.
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