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KCTS Television 

Description

A public media provider, KCTS 9 improves our region’s quality of life through exceptional, relevant programming on-air, online and in the community. With 2.4 million weekly viewers in Washington state and British Columbia, our vision is a public whose lives are continuously enriched and improved by free access to an independent public media service.  KCTS 9 excels at objectively examining public issues in a thoughtful and engaging way; exploring and celebrating the rich diversity of arts and culture; facilitating lifelong learning for children, families and adults; and providing high quality world programming.  

Mission Statement
KCTS 9's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve by providing meaningful programming on air, online, and in the community that informs, involves and inspires.
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KCTS Television
401 Mercer St 
Seattle 
WA
98109-4640 
(206) 728-6463 

Moss Bresnahan 
President & CEO 

Programs

KCTS Television Programs

On-air Broadcast
KCTS 9 brings award-winning Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) programming to our region through three free digital channels (KCTS 9, Create and V-Me). In the last year KCTS 9 has significantly advanced our goal to increase the production and delivery of local content with particular relevance and importance for regional audiences in Washington state and British Columbia. Both new and existing partnerships have contributed to KCTS specials such as Something in the Water, a documentary exploring the Seattle music scene and Undamming the Elwha, which chronicles the historic removal of the dams from the Elwha River.

Online Content
KCTS 9 consistently strives to provide enhanced access to our quality local and national content via web streaming of on-air programs and series. Examples include interviews with luminaries in the arts, public affairs, science, education, and literature and numerous community events including our popular Science Cafés. KCTS 9 also uses social media to create interactive opportunities with and among our viewers and provide an invaluable feedback loop.

Community-based Engagement and Outreach
In order to extend the reach and impact of both our local and national on-air public broadcasting, KCTS 9 annually offers literally hundreds of media services (e.g., screening events), educational opportunities and curriculum (early childhood development and learning workshops for parents and caregivers) and collaborative activities (community summits, Town Hall events) to engage individuals and foster community to address a wide range of issues.

KCTS annually hosts the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive in partnership with PCC Natural Markets and generous community members, benefitting Wellspring Family Services and Northwest Center.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

KCTS 9's media services - on-air, online and community events - propelled the story and local programming for the recent documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, to overall numbers of the public barely approached elsewhere. With 34 partners, 47 community events drew more than 5,000 participants; special programming brought inner-city youth to parks for digital story-telling, and three local productions personalized the story to our region with the vital message of advancing conservation and stewardship in order to achieve a sustainable future.

Our most important financial need is support assuring KCTS 9 is able to tell more of the most compelling stories about our region, and those of national appeal - in arts & culture, civic engagement & public affairs, history & heritage, and science & the environment (STEM literacy - science, technology, engineering and math) - the distinctive stories of what we've faced, the unique accomplishments we've achieved and the innovative solutions we seek - the stories that both define us and bind us together.

Evaluation


KCTS Television (KCTS), the Pacific Northwest’s award-winning Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) station, uses its programming to increase the public knowledge and add to understanding and appreciation of the diversity and widely different cultures, traditions and practices within the local and global community. They have grown from being a public broadcast station delivering television content into the region’s hub for public media with local content developed through partnerships, delivered across multiple platforms, and integrating new media technologies.

Accessibility and Cultural Competency
KCTS’ Arts & Culture local content initiative works to reduce disparities and access barriers to arts and culture experiences through bringing these experiences to a television audience that may be prevented from seeing them in person by financial, regional or other barriers.
KCTS is also the exclusive broadcaster of Vme, a ground-breaking Spanish-language digital public television network that features original productions and Spanish-language versions of PBS programming.

Sustainability
KCTS has a wide support network with 2.4+ million weekly viewers and growing numbers of individual donors, including around 20,000 donors who have supported KCTS for more than 20 years. Between FY09 and FY10, a time of economic hardship and decreased giving nationwide, KCTS’ number of donors grew by 2% and the donor percentage of viewing households grew by 2.4%. They consistently have among the highest ratings in the country for public programming.

Collaboration
KCTS has agreements in place with almost every cultural organization in the community to help bring their programming to television in some way. For example, the documentary, “Picasso in Seattle: Private Life, Private Collection,” was produced in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum and highly successful for both organizations. This partnership continues to examine opportunities for the two organizations for both the near- and long- term.

The station’s new local weekly independent film series, “Reel NW,” engages a multitude of partners as it showcases films made/shot in the Northwest by a Northwest filmmaker and/or covering a relevant Northwest topic.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
9/10/2011 $15,000.00support general operating expenses.
3/10/2009 $35,000.00support general operating expenses.
12/14/2006 $40,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/17/2004 $35,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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