Wisconsin Public Television

Wisconsin Public Television

Type	Terrestrial state public broadcasting network
Country
First air date	WHA-TV: May 3, 1954 WPT network: 1972
Slogan	A place to grow through learning
Broadcast area	Wisconsin, United States additional coverage in portions of Eastern Minnesota and Iowa, Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Illinois
Owner	Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, University of Wisconsin–Extension (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System)
Digital channel	6 full-power television stations, 6 translator stations
Sister public radio services	Wisconsin Public Radio
Affiliation	PBS (1970-Present)
Former affiliations	NET (1954-1970)
Official website	WPT.org

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 major satellite stations throughout most of Wisconsin. As of April 5, 2009, all stations have converted to digital operations only. WPT is also available on most satellite and cable television outlets.

Wisconsin Public Television is the main conduit of educational television, GED preparation, and instructional television programming produced by the ECB, which is aired through PBS, Annenberg Media, those stations serving portions of Wisconsin without a WPT station, and other educational television distributors.

History

WHA-TV first hit the airwaves on May 3, 1954 as the first educational station in Wisconsin and the seventh in the nation. WHA-TV is the only public broadcasting television station in the United States that maintains a three-letter callsign, and one of only three analog era UHF stations altogether (along with WHP-TV and WWJ-TV) with a three-letter call. 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 and WMVT in Milwaukee. The only other areas of the state with 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 satellites of WHA-TV 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. 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 home games for Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball, which was produced in association with UW-Madison's athletic department. However, because of exclusivity agreements with the Big Ten Network that launched in September 2007, WPT was no longer able to air Badger football and men's basketball. [1] The state network offers tape-delayed broadcasts of Badgers men's and women's hockey, women's basketball and volleyball throughout the year.

Stations

Full-power stations

There are six full-power stations in the state network, in major cities throughout the state, and all are broadcast on UHF. On April 5, 2009, the state network ended analog service for all stations, and they map via PSIP to their former analog channel location.

Station	City of license	Channels TV / RF	First air date	Call letters meaning	ERP	HAAT	Facility ID	Transmitter Coordinates
WHA-TV 1	Madison	21 (PSIP) 20 (UHF)	May 3, 1954	Taken from sister station WHA radio	100 kW	453 m	6096	43°3′20.5″N 89°32′6.3″W
WHLA-TV	La Crosse	31 (PSIP) 30 (UHF)	March 17, 1975	WHA LA Crosse	307.5 kW	344.6 m	18780	43°48′18.3″N 91°22′5.2″W
WHRM-TV	Wausau	20 (PSIP) 24 (UHF)	January 20, 1976	WHA Rib Mountain (transmitter site)	172 kW	387 m	73036	44°55′14.2″N 89°41′28.7″W
WHWC-TV 2	Menomonie (Eau Claire)	28 (PSIP) 27 (UHF)	June 10, 1975	WHA West Central Wisconsin	291 kW	350 m	18793	45°2′49.2″N 91°51′47.3″W
WLEF-TV 3	Park Falls	36 (PSIP) 36 (UHF)	December 15, 1976	W Lee E. Franks former WECB executive director	50 kW	244 m	63046	45°56′42.1″N 90°16′23.6″W
WPNE-TV	Green Bay	38 (PSIP) 42 (UHF)	September 12, 1972	W Public Broadcasting for NorthEastern Wisconsin	200 kW	375 m	18798	44°24′34.6″N 88°0′6.7″W

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 Public Television'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 Public Television'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.

Digital television

The state network carries three digital subchannels:

Subchannel (## = local channel)	Programming Service	Resolution	Programming Description
##.1	WPT-HD	720p HD	Network's traditional schedule; downcoverted to a 4:3 analog signal for cable and satellite viewers.
##.2	Wisconsin Channel (WIS)	480i SD	Features WPT's and MPTV's programming about state issues and state history, university lectures, new local programs and performances from Wisconsin arts groups. PBS Kids programming airs on this subchannel weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. while the main WPT channel carries ECB instructional programming. Also streams online (Windows Media).
##.3	WPT Create (WPT-3)	480i SD	Airs the full schedule of Create.

• 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, 7 days a week on those systems.
• The programming schedule of all three channels over-the-air depends on the main WPT schedule; on late nights without overnight instructional programming, WPT goes off the air at 1 a.m. and signs back on at 6 a.m. However, after a January 2010 transmitter problem took down WPNE and commercial station WBAY-TV in Green Bay 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.
• A PBS Kids subchannel previously aired on WPT's .2 subchannels until 2007, when PBS discontinued the service; subsequently the Wisconsin Channel launched in its place, along with a modified children's programming schedule across all of WPT's services.

Network translator stations

A translator network also serves portions of the state where over-the-air reception for a regular 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.

Call sign	Location	Translator channel (ATSC)	PSIP station/channel
W15DJ-D	Sister Bay	15	WPNE 38
W22CI-D	Bloomington	22	WHLA 31
W24CL-D	Grantsburg	24	WHWC 28
W45CD-D	Fence	45	WPNE 38
W47CO-D	River Falls	47	WHWC 28
W48DB-D	Coloma	48	WHRM 20

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, while WDSE (Channel 8) Superior-Duluth and WRPT (Channel 31) 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 Public Television 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 (Channel 36).

Production for PBS

• Sewing with Nancy, sewing show
• Storylords, educational fantasy series

See also

• Wisconsin Public Radio
• Public Broadcasting Service
• Wisconsin Educational Communications Board

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