PBS station changes to cable channel 4

Optimum cable customers in the Flathead Valley looking for their favorite public broadcasting programs can find them on channel 4.

KUFM, the home of MontanaPBS, moved from channel 16 on Oct. 3.

Optimum alerted customers about the channel switch via postcard-sized mailers, but some people remain unaware of the change — or are confused about what it means.

“A few folks have called in with the mistaken belief that they will now ‘have to pay more’ to continue to receive MontanaPBS. This is incorrect,” Anne Hoffner, director of fundraising and external relations for MontanaPBS, said in an email.

The channel remains unchanged for satellite customers and, for now, those who view MontanaPBS over the air. This fall a new over-the-air signal, KUKL, will launch, offering five free broadcast channels to Flathead Valley viewers.

Those channels include MontanaPBS HD, which offers a mix of children’s shows, how-to programs, and Montana documentaries and series; MontanaPBS Kids, a children’s educational channel; MontanaPBS Create, a lifelong learning channel; MontanaPBS World, a 24-hour news, public affairs and documentary channel; and Montana Capitol Coverage, which will offer daily coverage of the state Legislature when it convenes in January.

The new digital signals will be accessible via antenna on channels 46.1, 46.2, 46.3, 46.4 and 46.5. The channels also will be available through cable and satellite television providers.