Wisconsin Public Television

Updated on Nov 19, 2023

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Subchannels see table below Call letters' meaning see table below Transmitter power see table below Licensing authority FCC Awards Peabody Award		Affiliations PBS (1970–present) Former affiliations NET (1954–1970) Channels Digital: see table below Sister station Wisconsin Public Radio

Slogan A Place to Grow Through Learning Motto A Place to Grow Through Learning First air date WHA-TV: May 3, 1954; WPT network: 1972 Owners Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, University of Wisconsin–Extension Profiles Facebook YouTube Twitter

Wisconsin public television pbs kids channel available now

Wisconsin Public Television is a state network of public television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Extension. It comprises all of the PBS member stations in the state outside of Milwaukee.

The state network is available via flagship station WHA-TV in Madison and five full-power satellite stations throughout most of Wisconsin. As of April 5, 2009, all stations have converted to digital-only transmissions. WPT is also available on most satellite and cable television outlets.

Until the gradual move of instructional broadcasting to IPTV services, Wisconsin Public Television was the main conduit of educational television, GED preparation and instructional television programming produced by the WECB, which aired through PBS, Annenberg Media, those stations serving portions of Wisconsin without a WPT station, and other educational television distributors. As of October 2014, the WECB now distributes this programming exclusively online to allow Wisconsin Public Television to carry a full-time traditional PBS member network format.

Wha tv wisconsin public television logo 1980

History

WHA-TV signed on the air on May 3, 1954 as the first educational station in Wisconsin and the seventh in the United States. WHA-TV is the only public television station in the country that maintains a three-letter callsign, and one of only three analog-era UHF stations altogether (along with WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and WWJ-TV in Detroit, Michigan) with a three-letter callsign. For most of the time from the 1950s through the 1970s, it was one of only three stations in the state that was a member of National Educational Television and its successor, PBS. The others were WMVS (channel 10) and WMVT (channel 36) in Milwaukee.

Wisconsin was a relative latecomer to educational television, despite its earlier leading role in educational radio. Channel 21's radio sister, WHA-AM, is one of the oldest educational radio stations in the world. By the time channel 21 signed on, UW had already launched a radio network that evolved into today's Wisconsin Public Radio. However, until the late 1960s, the only other areas of the state outside of Milwaukee and Madison that had a clear signal from an NET/PBS member station were the northwest (from Duluth, Minnesota's WDSE-TV) and the southwest (from the Twin Cities's KTCA-TV).

In 1971, the state legislature created the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, activating five stations as semi-satellites of WHA-TV during the 1970s – WPNE-TV in Green Bay in 1972; WHWC-TV in Menomonie and WHLA-TV in La Crosse in 1973; WHRM-TV in Wausau in 1975 and WLEF in Park Falls in 1977, most taking call signs that originated from their co-owned radio counterparts. Originally, network programming origination was split between WHA-TV and WPNE-TV, ending by 1986 with origination coming from WHA-TV exclusively. The stations adopted the on-air name of Wisconsin Public Television in 1986. Transmission and station identification is based out of ECB's Madison facility.

From 1960 to 2007, WHA-TV/WPT aired same-day tape-delayed coverage of some Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball home games, which was produced in association with UW-Madison's athletic department. However, because of exclusivity agreements with the Big Ten Network that began in September 2007, WPT was no longer able to air those particular Badgers sporting events.[1] The state network offers tape-delayed broadcasts of Badgers men's and women's hockey, women's basketball and volleyball throughout the year over the secondary Wisconsin Channel.

Full-power stations

There are six full-power stations in the state network, each located in major cities throughout the state, and all are broadcast on the UHF band. On April 5, 2009, the state network ended analog service for all stations, which map via PSIP to their former analog channel location. All digital facilities and channels in the network except for WLEF were designed for pre- and post-transition use.

Notes

¹ WHA-TV's signal is imported into the Milwaukee area via basic and digital cable systems to provide a second PBS choice for viewers alongside Milwaukee PBS's stations; the station was carried on Time Warner Cable systems until January 2009. It also serves as one of two de facto PBS member stations via cable for the Rockford, Illinois market south of Madison, sharing that market with Chicago's WTTW.

² WHWC serves the Wisconsin side of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul television market, and is carried by some cable systems in southeastern Minnesota, providing a second PBS choice to viewers in addition to Twin Cities PBS's stations.

³ WLEF's analog signal was terminated on February 3, 2009, with WLEF's digital signal moving from Channel 47 to Channel 36. WLEF is carried on many cable systems in northwestern Wisconsin that are in the Duluth-Superior television market, providing a second choice to viewers in addition to WDSE.

Digital television

The state network carries three digital subchannels:

Digital channels

In some areas where local cable and satellite receive the state network directly via a fiber optic connection from WPT, all three services air 24 hours a day, seven days a week on those systems.

The programming schedule of all three channels over-the-air depends on the main WPT schedule; before October 2014, on late nights without overnight instructional programming, WPT went off the air at 1 a.m. and signed back on at 6 a.m. However, after a January 2010 transmitter problem took down WPNE and commercial station WBAY-TV in Green Bay during an off the air period for two weeks, WPT switched from turning off their transmitters to mainly airing a network station identification card with an outline map of the network's service in the state during off-the-air hours.

Beginning in October 2014, WPT began 24-hour service using the late night national PBS feed or WPT programming to fill the overnight hours, and discontinued most instructional programming (which has moved to the web) outside of one overnight hour of UW-Madison/Wisconsin Public Radio programming under the title University Place.

A previous locally-programmed PBS Kids 24/7 service aired on WPT's .2 subchannel until 2007, when PBS discontinued the service due to their interest in Sprout until 2013; subsequently the Wisconsin Channel launched in its place, along with a modified children's programming schedule across all of WPT's services.

Since converting all their operations to digital in April 2009, WPT has broadcast their programming in the 720p high definition format, reduced from PBS's master 1080i resolution.

Network translator stations

A translator network also serves portions of the state where over-the-air reception for a full-power station is hindered by area topography, and to fill in holes between full-power stations. All of the listed translators are owned by the WECB, and flash-cut from analog to digital in the first two weeks of November 2008, including adding the subchannel services. Each translator has its virtual channel mapped via PSIP to the channel number of the closest full-power station to the translator.

Network programming in Milwaukee and Superior-Duluth

WPT's public affairs programming is carried by MPTV flagship WMVS in Milwaukee, including Here and Now, while WDSE (channel 8) in the Superior-Duluth market and WRPT (channel 31) in Hibbing air the shows in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. The two stations also air the state network's live teen issues program Teen Connection quarterly with WPT, along with political debates and other important events originating from the Capitol such as the State of the State address and biennial budget address produced by the state network; in turn some Milwaukee PBS programming (such as Outdoor Wisconsin) and MPTV-produced debates air on WPT, with programs such as Wisconsin Foodie in turn airing on WMVS. Some of the state network's tape-delayed sports coverage airs in Milwaukee on WMVT.

National presentations

Sewing with Nancy – sewing show

Storylords – educational fantasy series

References

Wisconsin Public Television Wikipedia

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