PBS Wisconsin
PBS Wisconsin is a state network of non-commercial educational television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It comprises all of the Public Broadcasting Service 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. PBS Wisconsin is also available on most satellite and cable television outlets.
Until the gradual move of instructional broadcasting to IPTV services, the network, as 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, allowing the over-the-air network to carry PBS programming full-time.
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 with a three-letter callsign.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, 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 outside of Milwaukee and Madison that had a clear signal from an NET/PBS member station were the northwest and the southwest. During the late 60s and into the early 70s, commercial station KFIZ-TV in Fond du Lac was contracted by the UW-Madison Board of Regents to simulcast portions of WHA-TV's broadcast day, bringing WHA's programming into the Green Bay and Milwaukee markets.
In 1971, the state legislature created the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, activating five stations as semi-satellites of WHA-TV during the 1970s. The first was WPNE-TV in Green Bay in 1972, ending KFIZ-TV's part-time affiliation with WHA. This was followed by 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, programming origination was split between WHA-TV and WPNE-TV. The stations adopted the on-air name of Wisconsin Public Television in 1986, and by then WHA-TV had become the sole originating station. Transmission and station identification is based out of ECB's Madison facility; all stations still maintain studios at their respective universities, but have generally been deprecated with the evolution of public broadcasting and technology.
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. This ended in 2007 with the Big Ten Conference's new media rights deals. 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.
In 2018, Wisconsin Public Television collaborated with the American Archive of Public Broadcasting to preserve digitized items in the WPT collection.
On November 4, 2019, the network was renamed PBS Wisconsin, aligning itself with the new national PBS brand identity unveiled the same day.
Stations
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.| Station | City of license | Channels VC / RF | First air date | Call letters' meaning | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates | Public license information |
| WHA-TV | Madison | 21 20 | Taken from sister station WHA radio | 200 kW | 6096 | ||||
| WHLA-TV | La Crosse | 31 15 | WHA LA Crosse | 400 kW | 18780 | ||||
| WHRM-TV | Wausau | 20 24 | WHA Rib Mountain | 172 kW | 73036 | ||||
| WHWC-TV | Menomonie | 28 27 | WHA West Central Wisconsin | 291 kW | 18793 | ||||
| WLEF-TV | Park Falls/Superior | 36 36 | W Lee E. Franks former WECB executive director | 277 kW | 63046 | ||||
| WPNE-TV | Green Bay | 38 25 | W Public Broadcasting for NorthEastern Wisconsin | 212 kW | 18798 |
Digital television
The state network carries four digital subchannels:Digital channels
- Except for Create, PBS Wisconsin's channels through its website.
| Subchannel | Programming service | Video | Aspect | Programming description |
| ##.1 | WPT-HD ' | 720p | The network's traditional schedule; as of November 2019, transmitted in forced 16:9 widescreen for non-HD cable and satellite viewers. A SAP channel with Descriptive Video Service or alternate language audio is also provided. | |
| ##.2 | Wisconsin Channel ' | 720p | Features WPT's and MPTV's programming about state issues and state history, university lectures, new local programs and performances from Wisconsin arts groups, along with alternate scheduling of lifestyle and drama programming. | |
| ##.3 | WPT Create ' | 480i | Airs the full schedule of Create. | |
| ##.4 | PBS Kids ' | 480i | Carries the national 24-hour PBS Kids Channel; subchannel launched on January 16, 2017. |
- The programming schedule of all three channels over-the-air depends on the main network 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, the network 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, the network began 24-hour service using the late night national PBS feed or network programming to fill the overnight hours, and discontinued most instructional programming 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 both services.
- Since converting all their operations to digital in April 2009, PBS Wisconsin has broadcast their programming in the 720p high definition format, reduced from PBS' master 1080i resolution.
Network translator stations
| Call sign | Location | Translator channel | PSIP station/channel |
| W15DJ-D | Sister Bay | 15 | WPNE 38 |
| W16DU-D | Bloomington | 16 | WHLA 31 |
| W24CL-D | Grantsburg | 24 | WHWC 28 |
| W29ET-D | Coloma | 29 | WHRM 20 |
| W30DZ-D | Fence | 30 | WLEF 36 |
| W19EN-D | River Falls | 19 | WHWC 28 |
Network programming in Milwaukee and Superior–Duluth
PBS Wisconsin's public affairs programming is carried by WMVS in Milwaukee, including Here and Now, while WDSE in the Superior–Duluth market and WRPT 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 PBS Wisconsin, 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 and MPTV-produced debates air on PBS Wisconsin, 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
- Around the Farm Table – food and farming show
- Sewing with Nancy – sewing show
- Storylords – educational fantasy series
- The War at Home – documentary