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We’re broadcasting at full-strength from our transmitter on Capitol Hill in Seattle. KCTS 9 switched from UHF to VHF in 2009, whereas KING, KIRO, and KOMO broadcast on a UHF channel. Like KCTS 9, KSTW 11 (the CW) and KCPQ 13 transmit by way of VHF. Most viewers who can receive channel 11 can receive 9.1, 9.2 PBS Kids, 9.3 Create TV, World Channel 9.4. 

Being near large bodies of water, low elevation, tall trees, tall buildings, construction and weather all can have an effect on reception, or there could be highly-localized interference from electronic devices nearby; something that may have been newly or temporarily introduced to your environment. We recommend the website, www.antennaweb.org, as an excellent resource for choosing the best antenna for your area, to receive the most signals.

You may also want to consider our live stream, which is available free online, and with the KCTS 9 ROKU, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV apps, as well as with the PBS app. Anyone in our broadcast area of Greater Seattle can livestream KCTS 9, PBS KIDS, Create, and World channels on this website. KCTS 9 Passport members can also livestream from anywhere within the United States.  Unfortunately, due to rights restrictions beyond our control, the livestream is not available in Canada.

If you're continuing to experience problems receiving KCTS 9 over-the-air, please let us know via our Television Broadcast contact form and we will investigate.

Our Viewer Guide is accurate at press time. Occasionally changes to the schedule are made after the guide has been printed. Up to date schedule information for KCTS 9, PBS Kids, WORLD and Create channels can be found on our schedule page.

To receive weekly updates on all KCTS 9 programming schedule changes, subscribe to our 'KCTS 9 This Week' newsletter.

Comcast Xfinity will not allow for DVR of a program if that program is currently available in their On Demand platform. If you are having a different issue or are having trouble recording from an over-the-air antenna, or another cable or satellite provider, please let us know. 

Most likely the SAP (Secondary Audio Programming) feature is enabled on your TV. BBC programs and other non-PBS programs often air on KCTS 9 without audio on SAP channels 3 & 4. All viewers with SAP/DIV enabled will not experience sound.

The solution is to disable this feature. To stop it, turn the feature off and/or select normal audio or stereo in your audio settings. Generally, the DVI/DVS/SAP is turned on by using the remote. To turn it off, you can either use the LANG button (if available) or go to menu->Set-up->Audio->SAP->ON. If it isn't selected on your TV, it may be that it's selected on your recording device in which case you should be able to turn it off by referring to your user's manual.

Signal break-ups or digital pixilation can be the result of a low signal from your cable company or low signal from within your cable wiring. Often this issue effects just a few channels- however it's a cable system issue.

Our recommendation would be to contact your cable company so that they may accurately assess, diagnose, and resolve this issue for you.  

English and Spanish (ENG/SPA) audio tracks are sometimes available as a secondary audio feature for description and Spanish audio narration. If you are unintentionally hearing Spanish or English narration over the main narration track, it's most likely that you have enabled the secondary audio feature. In this case, follow the steps on using your television remote settings to turn the off the audio language narration, typically indicated as LANG. Most settings include an Audio Language Settings screen with a list of available languages. If only English is available, you won't see any other options. If Spanish or audio description are available the list will show an audio track labeled SPA. Turn the Audio Language setting OFF to disable this feature. Please contact us here for further assistance.