Wisconsin Public Television
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| Type | Terrestrial state public broadcasting network |
|---|---|
| First air date | May 3, 1954 |
| Slogan | A place to grow through learning |
| Broadcast area | Wisconsin, United States Portions of Minnesota, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Northern Illinois |
| Owner | Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, University of Wisconsin-Extension |
| Former names | Wisconsin Educational Television Network (1975-1986) |
| Digital channel | 6 full-power television stations |
| Analog channel | 6 full-power television stations, 6 translator stations |
| Affiliation | PBS |
| Website WPT.org |
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Wisconsin Public Television is a network of non-commercial and non-profit PBS stations that are mostly run by the Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin Extension.
The network is available via six major transmitters throughout most of Wisconsin. Those transmitters also carry separate digital television signals. WPT is also available on most satellite and cable outlets.
Wisconsin Public Television is also the main conduit of educational and instructional programming produced by the Educational Communications Board, which is also aired through some stations serving other portions of the state without a WPT station, and also nationwide through PBS, Annenberg Media, and other educational distributors. For more information about ECB instructional programming and state distribution of their programming, refer to the article about that organization.
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[edit] History
WPT's flagship station, WHA-TV, went on the air on May 3, 1954. It was named after WHA, the radio station (and current Wisconsin Public Radio flagship for their Ideas Network) owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was one of the stations considered to be the oldest radio station regularly broadcasting.
In 1971, the state legislature created the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, activating five stations during the 1970s--WPNE in Green Bay in 1972; WHWC in Menomonie and WHLA in La Crosse in 1973; WHRM in Wausau in 1975 and WLEF in Park Falls in 1977--as satellites of WHA-TV. The stations adopted the on-air name of Wisconsin Public Television in 1986. Network transmission and station identification is based out of ECB's Madison facility on the Beltline.
Until 2007, WPT also aired same-day tape-delayed coverage (usually after 10 pm) of some home games for Wisconsin Badgers football since 1960, along with men's/women's basketball and hockey, which was produced in association with UW's athletic department, with highlights usually distributed to local commercial stations for use in their sportscasts. However, due to exclusivity agreements with the new Big Ten Network launching in September 2007, WPT will no longer be able to air tape-delayed game broadcasts of football and men's basketball [1]. The network does still offer tape-delayed broadcasts of Badgers men's and women's hockey, women's basketball and volleyball throughout the year [2].
[edit] Stations
[edit] Full-Power Stations
There are six full-power stations in the network, spread throughout the major cities within the state, and all are on UHF;
| Call sign | Analog Channel | Digital Channel | Location | Founding date | Ownership | Call Letter meaning/add. notes | ERP (Analog/ Digital) |
HAAT (Analog/ Digital) |
Facility ID | Transmitter Coordinates |
| WHA-TV ¹ | 21 | 20 | Madison | May 3, 1954 | UW Board of Regents | Randomly assigned by FCC; network flagship | 870 kW 100 kW |
453 m 453 m |
6096 | |
| WHLA-TV | 31 | 30 | La Crosse | March 17, 1975 | WECB | WHA LA Crosse | 1170 kW 307.5 kW |
344.6 m 344.6 m |
18780 | |
| WHRM | 20 | 24 | Wausau | January 20, 1976 | WECB | WHA Rib Mountain | 1380 kW 172 kW |
371 m 387 m |
73036 | |
| WHWC ² | 28 | 27 | Menomonie/Eau Claire | June 10, 1975 | WECB | WHA West Central Wisconsin | 1170 kW 291 kW |
346 m 350 m |
18793 | |
| WLEF | 36 | 47 (36 post-transition) | Park Falls | December 15, 1976 | WECB | W Lee E. Franks, former WECB executive director | 1050 kW 200 kW 50kW |
445 m 244 m |
63046 | |
| WPNE | 38 | 42 | Green Bay | September 12, 1972 | WECB | W Public Broadcasting for NorthEastern Wisconsin | 1070 kW 200 kW |
375 m 375 m |
18798 |
¹ - WHA's signal is imported into the Milwaukee area via some basic and digital cable systems to provide a second PBS choice for viewers.
² - WHWC is within and also serves portions of the Minneapolis-St. Paul television market, and is carried by some cable systems in southeastern Minnesota, providing a second PBS choice to viewers besides Twin Cities Public Television's stations.
[edit] Digital Television
The network carries five digital subchannels on all six of their full-power stations, as follows;
| Subchannel (## = local channel) |
Programming Service | Programming Description | Hours of Operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ##.1 | WPT † | Standard definition simulcast of Wisconsin Public Television | 24 hours, 7 days a week |
| ##.2 | Wisconsin Channel (WIS) |
Features WPT's and MPTV's programming about state issues and state history, university lectures, new local programs and performances from Wisconsin arts groups Also streams online (WMP) |
Daily, 6am-6pm (7pm on weekends) |
| ##.3 | WPT Create (WPT-3) |
Airs public television digital network Create | Daily, 6am-6pm (7pm on weekends) |
| ##.4 | Wisconsin PBS Kids (WPT-4) |
Children's programming | Daily, 6am-6pm (7pm on weekends) |
| ##.5 | WPT HDTV | Carries a full HDTV signal, replacing digital subchannels .2-.4 | Evenings only, 6pm-6am (7pm on weekends) |
† - During the summer months and public school holidays and recesses, WPT's transmitters sign off the air from 1am-6am daily.
[edit] Network Translator Stations
A translator network also serves portions of the state where over-the-air reception for a regular station is poor. Currently, all of the listed translators have applied for construction permits for digital channels with the FCC, and may flash-cut to their current analog channel positions after the February 2009 digital television transition, though as low power stations not required to switch over, the WECB could keep them on the air as analog signals as late as 2012.
| Call sign | Translator channel (NTSC-M) |
Location | Ownership |
| W18CU | 18 | Sister Bay | WECB |
| W22CI | 22 | Bloomington | WECB |
| W24CL | 24 | Grantsburg | WECB |
| W45CD | 45 | Fence | WECB |
| W47CO | 47 | River Falls | WECB |
| W48DB | 48 | Coloma | WECB |
[edit] Network programming in Milwaukee and Superior-Duluth
WPT's public affairs programming is carried by MPTV flagship WMVS (Channel 10) in Milwaukee, including Here and Now and In Wisconsin, while WDSE (Channel 8) airs the shows in Superior-Duluth. The two stations also air the network's live teen issues program Teen Connection quarterly with WPT, along with any political debates produced by the network; in turn some Milwaukee Public Television programming (such as Outdoor Wisconsin) and MPTV-produced debates air on WPT. Some of the network's tape-delayed sports coverage airs in Milwaukee on WMVT (Channel 36).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Wisconsin Public Television Website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WHA-TV
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WHLA
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WHRM
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WHWC
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WLEF
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WPNE
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W18CU
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W22CI
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W24CL
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W45CD
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W47CO
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W48DB
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