Bryan-College Station TV Stations: Channels, Towers and How to Watch

Every Bryan-College Station TV station

Five stations carry the networks in the Brazos Valley, and KBTX adds the CW and Telemundo on its subchannels.

On your TV	Network	Station	Broadcast channel
3.1	CBS	KBTX-TV, Bryan	UHF 16
3.2	The CW	KBTX-TV, "CW 8 Aggieland"	UHF 16
3.3	Telemundo	KBTX-TV	UHF 16
12.1	PBS	KAMU-TV, College Station	VHF 12
23.1	NBC	KAGS-LD, Bryan	UHF 23
28.1	MyNetworkTV	KYLE-TV, "My28"	UHF 29
28.2	FOX	KYLE-TV, "Fox 28"	UHF 29
40.1	ABC	KRHD-CD, "15ABC"	UHF 15

From the RabbitEars Bryan station list and station records, checked October 19, 2026. The rest of the subchannels: KBTX has 365BLK and a weather channel on 3.4 and 3.5. KAGS runs Quest, True Crime Network and Comet. KYLE adds Antenna TV and Laff, and KRHD carries ION, ION Mystery, Game Show Central and HSN.

Each network station shares its programs with a Waco parent. KBTX pairs with CBS 10 KWTX and KAGS with NBC 6 KCEN. KRHD pairs with ABC 25 KXXV, and FOX 28.2 with FOX 44 KWKT. The local news, weather and ads are Bryan's own. Our Waco, Temple and Bryan TV stations guide covers the western half.

Why "15ABC" is channel 40.1

KRHD calls itself 15ABC, but your TV lists it as 40.1. The 15 is its broadcast frequency, UHF 15. The 40 is its virtual channel, kept from the years it actually broadcast on channel 40, before a 2020 move to 15.

That's why a fresh channel scan in Bryan turns up no channel 15 at all. Scroll to 40.1 instead. KRHD started in 1992 as a low-power station called K22DP. KXXV's owner bought it, and in 1998 it became KRHD, an ABC outlet with its own Brazos Valley ads. Scripps relaunched its Bryan newsroom in 2020.

Two tower sites, two directions

CBS 3 broadcasts from near Carlos, about 22 miles east-southeast of downtown Bryan. NBC 23 and FOX 28.2 share a tower just west of Bryan. ABC 40.1 stands about 5 miles further northwest, off US 190, and PBS 12 broadcasts from Hensel Park, next to the Texas A&M campus.

Distances we computed from the stations' listed coordinates. For most of Bryan and College Station, the trick is to aim a directional antenna east-southeast, toward Carlos. The other towers are close enough that they usually still come in from the side or back. Out in Navasota and Anderson, the picture flips: KBTX is a few miles away and the Bryan towers are 29 to 30 miles off.

KBTX's tower is the big one. The station opened it in October 1983, at about 1,700 feet, and it nearly doubled the number of homes the station could reach.

Low-power stations and the outer towns

NBC 23 and ABC 40.1 are low-power stations, so their signals fade much sooner than CBS 3's. Station records list KAGS-LD at 2.1 kW and KRHD-CD at 12 kW. KBTX runs at 685 kW from a much taller tower.

In practice, Bryan and College Station get all of them. Caldwell, Hearne, Somerville and Franklin sit 16 to 24 miles from the NBC tower. There, NBC and ABC can be hit or miss, and an outdoor antenna helps. Madisonville, 35 miles out, should expect CBS 3 and little else from Bryan. Check your address on the FCC's DTV reception map before you buy an antenna.

Houston's stations aren't a backup either. Their towers south of Houston are about 89 miles from College Station and 67 from Navasota, too far for steady reception.

One more channel turns up in some scans: KNXG-LD on 27. It repeats CBS 3, the CW and Telemundo in ATSC 3.0, the newer "NextGen TV" format, which older TVs can't decode. If 27 shows no picture, your TV isn't broken.

KAMU, the PBS station on campus

KAMU-TV is Texas A&M's public station, on channel 12 since it signed on February 15, 1970. It's the only PBS station in the Waco-Temple-Bryan market, since Waco lost its PBS member in 2018.

KAMU sends PBS on 12.1, Create on 12.2 and PBS Kids 24/7 on 12.3. It broadcasts on VHF 12, which makes it the one Brazos Valley station where an antenna rated only for UHF can come up short. The station moved its studios in 2023 to the Innovative Learning Classroom Building, to make room for new facilities near Kyle Field.

Call letters with Aggie roots

Texas A&M is written into the call letters here.

• KYLE is named after Kyle Field, the Aggies' stadium.
• KAGS stands for the Aggies, and the station says it as "K-Ags."
• KRHD honors Ransom H. Drewry, founder of the company that launched it.
• KBTX, the oldest, stands for Bryan, Texas. It signed on May 22, 1957, the first TV station in the Brazos Valley.

KBTX's best-known coverage came on November 18, 1999, when the Aggie Bonfire stack collapsed, killing 12 and injuring 27. The station stayed on the story nonstop that morning and was a main source of news well beyond Texas.

For game days, Aggie football airs across ABC, ESPN, SEC Network and SEC Network+, with some local sports shows on CW 8 Aggieland. The NFL lands on CBS 3 and FOX 28.2. Our guide to the cheapest way to watch the NFL compares what a season costs.

Watching without cable

Brazos Valley viewers have three ways to watch local TV without cable: an antenna, a live-TV streaming service or IPTV.

• An antenna, $25 to $60 once. In town, a small directional model aimed toward Carlos usually does it. Add VHF if you want PBS 12.
• A streaming service. YouTube TV is $82.99 a month. Enter a Bryan or College Station ZIP when you sign up to get the Bryan stations.
• IPTVZ. Three months cost $29.99; a full year on one screen is $74.99.

IPTVZ carries every Brazos Valley network station: CBS 3 KBTX, NBC 23 KAGS, ABC 40.1 KRHD and FOX 28.2 KYLE, plus PBS 12 KAMU. So you get Bryan's own newscasts, not Waco's, on every network. SEC Network is in the lineup too. Our guides to IPTV in Waco, Killeen and Bryan and leaving Spectrum in Central Texas go deeper.

Bryan-College Station is part of the Waco-Temple-Bryan market, one of 19 covered in our Texas local channels guide. The market next door to the southeast is covered in our Houston TV stations guide.

Bryan-College Station TV FAQ

What channel is ABC in Bryan-College Station?

ABC is KRHD-CD, channel 40.1. The station brands itself "15ABC" after its broadcast frequency, UHF 15, so don't look for channel 15 after a scan.

What channel is FOX in College Station?

FOX is on 28.2, a subchannel of KYLE-TV. Channel 28.1 carries My28, with MyNetworkTV.

What channel is NBC in Bryan?

NBC is KAGS-LD, channel 23.1, a low-power station that shares its tower with KYLE west of Bryan.

Is KBTX channel 3 on VHF?

No. KBTX shows up as 3.1 but broadcasts on UHF 16. Its old analog channel 3 went off the air in January 2009.

Which way should I point my antenna in College Station?

East-southeast, toward Carlos, for CBS 3. The NBC, FOX and ABC towers are 7 to 12 miles northwest, close enough that most antennas pick them up anyway.

Why does channel 27 have no picture?

That's KNXG-LD, which repeats KBTX in ATSC 3.0. Older TVs can't decode that format; use 3.1 instead.

The short version

• CBS 3, NBC 23, ABC 40.1, FOX 28.2 and PBS 12 serve the Brazos Valley.
• "15ABC" is listed as 40.1 on your TV.
• Aim toward Carlos for CBS 3; the other towers sit west and northwest of Bryan.
• NBC and ABC are low power, so towns 20 or more miles out may lose them.
• IPTVZ lists KBTX and KAGS, plus Waco's ABC and FOX, for $74.99 a year.

Between the 40.1 puzzle and towers in two directions, a Brazos Valley channel scan can be confusing at first. Once you know where everything sits, it's easy. If an antenna can't reach you, the free trial costs nothing. Our guide to antenna reception in Texas explains how to handle towers in two directions, the Brazos Valley's exact problem.