KOCE remains the main PBS member station for L.A., O.C., and the Southland.
Little?Which brands itself PBS SoCal. Perhaps a little confusing.
It's really fairly straightforward - many public TV stations are now branding as "PBS Wherever," and the joint KOCE/KCET operation has been "PBS SoCal" for a few years now as its umbrella brand. This just simplifies their branding so it's no longer split between "PBS SoCal" and "KCET" - the main PBS channel is PBS SoCal and the one with other local programming (still legally KCET) is PBS SoCal Plus.Little?
How else would you brand that sort of a bonus/extra service? "PBS SoCal 2" risks confusion with KCBS, which is already confusing enough with its own branding these days.I find terms like "Plus" to be comparable to the 70's and 80's use of "music and more..." by contemporary stations.
"More" what? More ads? More stiffs?
Those are such vague and unpromising terms that they do little to enhance the identity of a station. Maybe in this case, the idea is to distinguish between the two PBS affiliates, but I find it confusing and it does nothing for the image of either.
I think KCET and KOCE (PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal+) should switch stations.
KCET has more coverage area than KOCE.
It's also well in the past now. The market has had plenty of time to get used to KOCE being the main PBS outlet, and it would cause too much confusion to switch back now.At one time, KCET was primary. Then they f'd up big time and quit PBS. It's all their own fault.
Doing a search for zip code 93401 (San Luis Obispo) on the PBS website yields this result (PBS SoCal):
View attachment 6692
Bakersfield cable ditched KCET in favor of KVPT out of Fresno years ago.I think KCET and KOCE (PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal+) should switch stations. KCET has more coverage area than KOCE. Also, KCET extends their reach to Bakersfield, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo on their cable systems and OTA instead of KOCE. In Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo they don't have a primary PBS station OTA and their cable systems pipes KQED from San Francisco.