Participating Organizations

PBS Utah (KUED-TV), licensed to The University of Utah, is the sole PBS member station serving Utah, providing the state with access to quality programs 24 hours a day, on four broadcast channels. PBS Utah provides service to one of the largest geographic areas of any public television station in the country, reaching portions of five states — including all of Utah and parts of Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona — through the use of three broadcast transmitters and a network of over 85 translator relay stations.

PBS Utah airs national PBS programming in addition to award-winning, locally produced documentaries and series. Recognized as one of the leading public television stations in the country, PBS Utah is committed to serving and engaging with the Utah community through its diverse productions, as well as its educational and outreach programs. PBS Utah is always evolving to provide Utahns with relevant programming and services while maintaining its core values of integrity, fairness, independence, education, and innovation.

PBS Utah first signed on the air under call letters KUED on January 20, 1958, with an episode of “The Friendly Giant.” Original broadcasts were set up from improvised studios in the basement of the old student union building on The University of Utah campus. The station had humble beginnings, with the use of primitive equipment, a donated transmitter (thanks to a donation from Time-Life Inc., then-owners of KTVT Channel 4, now KTVX) and a $100,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, KUED began broadcasting educational programming for the public in Utah.

Early programming was purely educational, in some cases consisting of nothing more than a teacher standing in front of a chalk board and lecturing. Nearly half of the programs aired were locally-produced, with the rest coming from National Educational Television (NET) and other distributors. When the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) succeeded NET in 1970, the focus of programming shifted to both education and entertainment.

In 1993 the station moved to its current location, the Dolores Doré Eccles Broadcast Center. Moving to this new facility allowed KUED to grow and produce additional programming that previously had not been possible.

KUED was the first station to ever win the Rocky Mountain Emmy Award of Excellence for the Best Overall TV Station, a major recognition of the station's commitment to serve the Utah community.

Today, PBS Utah provides four digital channels: PBS Utah HD, WORLD, PBS KIDS 24/7, and Create. PBS Utah HD (7.1 or Comcast 658) offers the full PBS schedule in addition to a weekday block of PBS KIDS programming. WORLD (7.2 or Comcast 390) offers PBS documentaries, public affairs, and more. PBS KIDS 24/7 (7.3 or Comcast 391) offers trusted PBS KIDS programming at all hours of the day. Create (7.4 or Comcast 393) offers how-to, travel, cooking programs, and more.