KCSM’s television and radio stations, licensed to the San Mateo County Community College District, made their broadcast debuts in 1964. Both were originally established as student broadcast training facilities. Today, the stations have professional staffs operating full service public television and radio stations and continue to serve as learning laboratories for students enrolled in the College of San Mateo Broadcasting Arts Department.
KCSM is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of the fifth largest television and radio market in the United States with the potential of reaching an audience of more than 6 million people. KCSM TV broadcasts 24 hours a day, and our 500 kilowatt broadcast signal has a coverage area that includes San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Solano, Sonoma and Napa counties. Additionally, KCSM is carried on 60 cable systems in the Bay Area and nearly half a million viewers tune in each week.
KCSM Jazz 91 also broadcasts 24 hours a day and has a growing audience that currently numbers more than 200,000. According to Arbitron, the station is among the top 35 "most listened to" non-commercial stations in the United States. An affiliate of Public Radio International and National Public Radio, KCSM is the only station in the Bay Area with a 24-hour jazz format. Hosts of the various programs KCSM produces include veteran jazz musicians, educators, seasoned jazz broadcasters and often a combination of the three.
KCSM is licensed to San Mateo County Community College District. The District is governed by the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees.
