KTCA, broadcasting on VHF channel 2, signed on the air on September 16, 1957. The station was founded by Twin City Area Educational Television, Inc. (renamed Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. in 1999), the region being the derivation of its call letters.
1965-1976[]
KTCA color test pattern (1967)
Program ID from 1974
1976–1981[]
Station ID
Program sampler version
Movie intro
Program ID (1976?-1979)
Production/sign-off logo (prototype, 1978–1979?)
Production/sign-off logo (regular variant, 1979?–1983)
1981–1990[]
1981–1985[]
Production logo
Presentation variant
Program promotion/station ID slide
Sign-off/technical difficulties slide
1983–1990[]
Standalone callsign variant
Earlier variant of production logo/station ID (1983-1984?)
Regular variant of production logo/station ID (1983–1990)
Production logo (1984–1988, used for nationally-distributed programs produced by KTCA)
Original production logo (1986–1988, used for local programs produced by KTCA)
Station ID (1986–1988, used for sign-off credit sequences, and program lineup and local sponsorship bumpers)
KTCA sign-off ID (1986–1989, the station used a morphing animated SMPTE color bar at the end of its sign-off sequence during this period)
Original production logo (part 1, containing cities of license; 1988–1989)
Original production logo (part 2; 1988–1989)
Original production logo (closing variant; 1988–1989)
Original production logo (part 1) with Saint Paul/Minneapolis
Original production logo (part 2, 1989–1991)
Original production logo (part 2, 1991–1998)
Original production logo (closing variant)
Production logo #1 (1989-2000; used for nationally-distributed programs produced by KTCA)
Production logo #2 (1989-2000)
Production logo #3 (1994, used for the documentary film Hoop Dreams)
2000-2015[]
In January 2000, KTCA and KTCI began co-branding as "Twin Cities Public Television" (or "tpt" for short"); KTCA was branded on-air as "tpt2".
Alternate version
Variant with PBS logo
tptKids logo (2000–2015)
Production logo #1 (2002-2010)
Production logo #2 (2002-2010)
Station ID (2002-2010)
Production logo (2000-2002)
National production logo (2001–2002)
Production logo #1 (2010-2015)
Production logo #2 (2010-2015)
National production logo (2010–2015)
KTCA station ID (2001–2004)
KTCA station ID (2004–2009)
KTCA station ID (2009–2015)
tptKids ID (2006–2015)
2015–present[]
In August 2015, KTCA/KTCI rebranded from "Twin Cities Public Television" to "Twin Cities PBS" (albeit retaining the "TPT" sub-brand introduced with the 1999 co-branding of the stations) to highlight their status as the PBS member stations for the Minneapolis–St. Paul market.
Alternate version #1
Alternate version #2
Standalone version
On-screen logo bug, containing website byline
Production logo #1
Production logo #2
National production logo
KTCI[]
1965–1976[]
Twin City Area Educational Television, Inc. signed on KTCI, a secondary educational station broadcasting on UHF channel 17, on May 4, 1965.
KTCI color test pattern (1967)
1976-1989[]
LOGO MISSING
KTCI sign-off ID (1976?–1983)
1989–2000[]
Stacked variant
Station ID
KTCI Radar Weather segment (1995)
2000–2015[]
As part of the January 2000, co-branding of KTCA and KTCI as "Twin Cities Public Television" (see KTCI section above), KTCI began branding on-air as "tpt17".
On February 18, 2009, KTCA/KTCI unified their digital channels as virtual subchannels of KTCA, resulting in KTCI moving its main feed from virtual channel 17 to 2.3; however, both stations continue to maintain separate transmitters on their shared facility on the KMSP broadcast tower in Shoreview and separate FCC licenses. (The Minneapolis–St. Paul market is the only U.S. media market to have its full-power television duopolies map their channels to that of their parent station, rather than their corresponding analog-era channels; Hubbard Broadcasting-owned KSTP/KSTC and Fox-owned KMSP/WFTC maintain similar arrangements.) Correspondingly, KTCI began branding on-air as "tptLife".
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