KSYS (channel 8) is a PBS member station in Medford, Oregon, United States, channel owned by Southern Oregon Public Television. The station's studios are located on South Fir Street in downtown Medford and its transmitter is located in King Mountain.
KFTS (channel 22) in Klamath Falls operates as a full-time satellite of KSYS; this station's transmitter transmitter is located atop Stukel Mountain. KFTS is a straight simulcast of KSYS for the Klamath Falls side of the market and KFTS' on-air references are limited to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-mandated hourly station identifications during programming.
Both stations are collectively known as Southern Oregon PBS (SO PBS, formerly Southern Oregon Public Television or SOPTV).
In 1965, Oregon Educational Broadcasting, forerunner of Oregon Public Broadcasting, persuaded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reassign channel 8 from Brookings to Medford. OEB intended to make channel 8 the third station in its television network, which at that time included flagship KOAC-TV in Corvallis and KOAP-TV (now KOPB-TV) in Portland. Southern Oregon was the only region of the state without public television.
However, channel 8 at Medford was not reserved for noncommercial applicants, and two commercial applicants also demonstrated interest in the channel. The Medford Printing Company owned the Mail Tribune newspaper and radio station KYCJ.[2] A joint venture of Liberty Television, owners of KEZI in Eugene and several cable systems, and Medford-based Siskiyou Broadcasting, also filed.[3] Both commercial groups sought to operate channel 8 as an ABC affiliate.
The FCC slated the applications from the Oregon Board of Higher Education, Medford Printing, and the Liberty/Siskiyou joint venture for hearing in December 1967, alongside an objection by the Southern Oregon Broadcasting Company, owner of KTVM channel 5, which believed a third commercial outlet in Medford would cause economic harm to its business.[4] The state dropped out in May 1968, and after Medford Printing failed to respond, the commission awarded the construction permit to Liberty and Siskiyou in 1969.[5]