The Ohio Channel
| File:Ohio Channel - Ohio Government Telecommunications logo.jpeg | |
| Channels | |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | PBS WVIZ WBGU-TV WCET WGTE-TV WNEO / WEAO WOSU-TV WPTD / WPTO WOUB-TV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Ohio Government Telecommunications |
| History | |
First air date | 1996 |
| Links | |
| Website | www.ohiochannel.org |
The Ohio Channel is a service of Ohio's public broadcasting stations that operates out of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio Channel, on behalf of its parent company Ohio Government Telecommunications, produces gavel-to-gavel, unedited video coverage of official sessions of the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court of Ohio. In addition to these official sessions, The Ohio Channel covers various Office of the Governor of Ohio events, news conferences and bill signings, other state agency proceedings and events, and public affairs and educational programming.
The mission of the Ohio Channel is to provide the citizens of Ohio with unbiased, unedited, and non-partisan access to public proceedings of the state government and to inform the public about current topics that affect their communities.
Services
The Ohio Channel streams video of official sessions live over the internet and broadcasts those sessions live on over-the-air PBS affiliates across the state of Ohio. Videos are immediately archived on the web for future viewing. Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives sessions from 1996 to the present are available for viewing online, and coverage and archives of the Supreme Court of Ohio oral arguments from 2004 to the present are also available.
Unofficial events are covered by The Ohio Channel on a by-request basis from state organizations and agencies holding the event. Hundreds of Governor's bill signings and news conferences of the Ohio General Assembly, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General, State Treasurer of Ohio, and many administrative agencies are available online.
In addition to providing video coverage of state government, The Ohio Channel also distributes public affairs and educational programming. By partnering with PBS stations around the state, The Ohio Channel broadcasts videos of regional radio talk programs including WOSU-FM's All Sides with Ann Fisher, WOSU-TV's Columbus On The Record, WCPN's The Sound of Ideas and WVIZ's Ideas. The Ohio Channel also broadcasts its own programming featuring Ohio history, culture and public affairs.
The Ohio Channel updates weekly its broadcast schedule, and the channel locator allows viewers to find the Ohio Channel based on region of the state and distributor.
Early history
The Ohio Channel was created in 1996 upon the completion of the restoration of the Ohio Statehouse. Beginning in 1993 after the restoration of the Senate Building and Atrium, restoration of the Ohio Statehouse included wiring the buildings for video and broadcast coverage.
Current history and growth
The Ohio Channel began tracking video views on its website in 2011 and reached over 6 million total web views in one year. The Ohio Channel recently began live video coverage of Finance Committee hearings of the Ohio House of Representatives. Plans for extending such coverage of legislative committees is being discussed for the future.