About Your Central Missouri PBS Station
KMOS is a PBS member television station licensed to the University of Central Missouri. Since 1979 we have broadcast high-quality engaging, educational and entertaining programs to central Missouri. The station is supported in the community through individual memberships, corporate support, UCM, and underlying support from viewers like you. KMOS PBS has four channels broadcasting 24/7: KMOS 6.1, Create 6.2, Emerge 6.3, and PBS KIDS 6.4.
KMOS Vision
To be an innovative public media organization that strengthens central Missouri by engaging, educating, and entertaining citizens.
KMOS Mission
KMOS serves the citizens of central Missouri with high-quality educational content and experiences online, over-the-air, and in our communities. We cultivate UCM students’ professional development and encourage creative exploration through a multi-disciplinary learning lab that supports the classroom environment.
History of KMOS
The station got its start as an independent station with the call letters KDRO-TV in 1954. The call letters were changed to the current KMOS-TV in 1959 after changes in ownership. In 1978, Mid-America Television sold Channel 6 to the University of Central Missouri with the understanding that the station would be operated on a non-commercial basis, serving the central Missouri area with public television programming. After a technical overhaul to color TV, KMOS signed on for the first time as a PBS station in December 1979. The FCC approved the license just days before Christmas, and the station went live at 3:00 the next afternoon: Saturday, December 22.
1979 KMOS signs on as a PBS station
1980 KMOS relays Instructional Television broadcast to KCPT
1981 John Bradley and station managers successfully push for Missouri state funding
2001 Construction on 2,000 foot tower begins in Syracuse
2003 KMOS begins broadcasting in digital
2014 Radio sister station KTBG is sold to KCPT
2025 PBS loses all federal funding
2026 KMOS PBS is still serving central Missouri