Connecticut Public Television

The studio of CPTV and WNPR in Hartford, Connecticut
Type	Non-commercial educationalbroadcast television network
Country	United States
First air date	October 1, 1962 (63 years ago) (1962-10-01)
Broadcast area	StatewideConnecticut (additional coverage inGreater New York,Rhode Island, andWestern Massachusetts)
ERP	see§ Stations
Owner	Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.
Launch date	1967 (58 years ago) (1967)
Digital channel	see§ Stations
Sister stations	Connecticut Public Radio
Callsign meaning	EducationalFourth letter:see§ Stations
Affiliation	PBS (1970–present)
Formeraffiliations	NET (1962–1970)
Official website	www.ctpublic.org

Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) is thePBSmember network for the U.S. state ofConnecticut. It is owned byConnecticut Public Broadcasting, a community-based non-profit organization that holds thelicenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state, and also owns the state'sNPR member, Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR). Together, the television and radio stations make up theConnecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). CPBN is the state's only locally owned media organization producing TV, radio, print and Internet content for distribution across the state. As of 2019, Mark Contreras was announced as the new President / CEO. The organizational structure of CPTV also includes aBoard of Trustees.^[1] The network co-produced the long-runningchildren's television series,Barney & Friends until the show (alongside otherHIT Entertainment programs) were transferred toWNET.

The network's first station, WEDH inHartford, signed on with ablack and white signal in 1962, operating from aTrinity College library basement.^[2][3] It was the fourth educational television station inNew England, followingWGBH-TV inBoston, WENH-TV inDurham, New Hampshire (now part ofNew Hampshire Public Television), and WCBB inAugusta, Maine (now part of theMaine Public Broadcasting Network). Originally a member ofNational Educational Television (NET), it joined PBS upon its launch on October 4, 1970.^{[citation needed]} Originally known as Connecticut Educational Television, it became Connecticut Public Television in 1967.^{[citation needed]}

CPTV remained based in rented space at Trinity College until selling its headquarters back to the school for $10 million in 2002.^[4] In 2004, CPTV moved to a facility in theAsylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford. The infrastructure of CPTV was eventually upgraded through a partnership withSony Systems Integration Center (SIC), which enabled the delivery ofHD quality telecommunications to subscribers.^[5]

In late 2019, CPTV requested to have WEDW'scity of license changed fromBridgeport toStamford.^[6]

Since 1985, CPTV has received the following awards:^[7]

• 69Regional Emmy Awards
• 6 Golden Eagle Awards

• 7 Mark Twain Awards from the Associated Press
• 2George Foster Peabody Awards
• 2Gracie Allen Awards
• 2 Ohio State Awards for Broadcast Excellence

CPTV was the broadcast and web streaming home ofUConnwomen's basketball from 1994 to 2012.^[8] The game broadcasts were the highest-rated locally produced programs in the PBS network.

CPTV is a major producer of children's programming for the PBS network. Its best-known offering wasBarney & Friends. The character was discovered in 1991 when CPTV executive Larry Rifkin bought aBarney and the Backyard Gang home video for his daughter and was mesmerized by it. CPTV continued to distribute the show until 2007; it is now distributed byWNET in New York City. Other children's shows originated and/or distributed by CPTV areThomas & Friends,Bob the Builder,Make Way for Noddy,Angelina Ballerina, andThe Saddle Club as well as the first season ofSeeMore's Playhouse (the second season was distributed byOregon Public Broadcasting).

From 1993 to 2005,M*A*S*H starAlan Alda hosted the science seriesScientific American Frontiers, based on the popular magazineScientific American.^[9] That show was also produced by CPTV and aired nationwide.

Since 2002, CPTV has been working withHIT Entertainment, which has helped distribute some of CPTV's children's programs. Beginning in 2008, most of CPTV's children's programming (which since 2002 have been produced with HIT Entertainment) has been presented byWNET.

Other programs produced by or for CPTV include:^[10]

CPTV's four stations cover almost all of Connecticut, as well as portions ofMassachusetts, New York andRhode Island.

The network previously operated a translator inWaterbury,W12BH (channel 12), which directly repeated WEDY. That station was taken off the air to allowWTXX (now WCCT-TV) to begin digital television operations. Prior to that it was on Channel 61 asW61AC from 1967 until 1979 due to launch ofWXTV translator.

CPTV is available on allcable systems in the state. Onsatellite, WEDH is available in nearly all of the state on the Hartford–New HavenDirecTV andDish Network feeds, while WEDW is carried on the New York City DirecTV and Dish Network feeds; Stamford is part of the New York market. WEDW is also available both over-the-air and on several cable systems in portions ofGreater New York, including the non-bordering states ofNew Jersey andPennsylvania. Additionally, WEDH is carried by most cable systems in thePioneer Valley of Massachusetts, providing a second choice for PBS programming alongsideWGBY-TV inSpringfield. Finally, WEDN has wide over-the-air and cable availability in Rhode Island, includingProvidence (sharing the market withWSBE-TV and Boston's WGBH-TV/WGBX-TV). This gives CPTV a potential audience of 21 million people in six states, including much of Southern New England.

The signals of CPTV's stations aremultiplexed:

WEDW is currently broadcasting 480i video on RF channel 21 with CPTV programming (49.1 virtual, 25% of packets). It shares its 6 MHz bandwidth withWZME (43.1 virtual, 720p video, 32% of packets) andMeTV+ programming (43.2 virtual, 480i video, 22% of packets). 21% of transport stream packets are null packets.^[16] Subchannels 49.2 and 49.3 are not currently broadcast by WEDW. As of 2023, WEDN currently broadcasts onATSC 3.0.^[17]

in 2009, leading up to theanalog-to-digital television transition on June 12, CPTV shut down the analog transmitters of its stations on a staggered basis. Listed below are the dates each analog transmitter ceased operations as well as their post-transition channel allocations:^[18]

• WEDH shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 24, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 45, usingvirtual channel 24.
• WEDW shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 49, on February 17, 2009, the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 52, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era UHF channel 49.
• WEDN shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 53, on June 12, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionVHF channel 9, using virtual channel 53.
• WEDY went off the air on July 31, 2005, as the result of equipment failure. Connecticut Public Broadcasting was granted permission by theFederal Communications Commission to temporarily keep the station off the air until repairs were completed. CPBI also petitioned the FCC to allow WEDY's analog signal to remain off the air permanently, citing the need to use available funds on the construction of its digital facilities. The station's digital signal resumed on its pre-transition VHF channel 6 on June 13, 2009,^[19] using virtual channel 65. However, most New Haven viewers kept access to PBS programming due to the high penetration of cable and satellite in the area.

On March 16, 2011, the FCC granted WEDY's petition to move from VHF channel 6 to UHF channel 41 because of viewer reception issues and interference from bothWPVI-TV in Philadelphia andWRGB inSchenectady, New York (both also operate on channel 6), after those two stations implemented recent power increases.^[20]

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The CPBN Learning Lab's goal is to train journalists and journalism instructors. Presently, theHartford Public Schools Journalism & Media Academy (JMA) receives full-time access to the facility to enhance media skills.

Since 2007, CPBN Media Lab instructors and mentors have provided real-world technical and journalism training for over 600 Connecticut students through seminars, workshops, and courses. The Media Lab has brought journalism and technical media skills training to middle school students through itsFuture Producers Academy,"Media is Magic" SAND Media Enrichment Program andWest Middle Media Project and for high school students through itsMedia 101 andYoung Entrepreneur courses in itsImpact Academy.

Internships are provided to undergraduate college students, often for college credit, and for recent graduates seeking to acquire technical and editorial skills.

Graduates of the CPTV college program have gone on to work in diverse media companies.

The CPBN Media Lab has been a partner with thePBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs from their inception in 2010, serving as the professional mentor for five Connecticut high schools: Hill Regional Career High School and theMetropolitan Business Academy^[21] in New Haven, Crosby High School in Waterbury, Terryville High School in Terryville and Bethel High School in Bethel. It is also the professional mentors to the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Lab it established at America's Choice at SAND school in Hartford, one of three in the nation to work with middle school students.

Projects produced by the Media lab include:

• Foul Play, a look into the use of metal bats inLittle League Baseball
• Youth Vote, which documents the experiences of youth voters in the 2008–2012 elections
• (I)NTERVIEW^[22] a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of notable Connecticut celebrities
• Outdoor Enthusiast, a look into Connecticut's state parks and scenic areas, launched alongside the original release ofKen Burns' series for PBS,The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

• The CPBN Media finished strongly in the 2010 Pepsi Refresh competition with a proposal to help Connecticut schools produce 21st-century journalists.^{[citation needed]}
• The CPBN Media Lab won the Connecticut Secretary of State's youth vote video competition in 2012.^[23]
• The CPBN Media Lab won two Student Emmy Awards from the Boston New England Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences in 2013.^{[citation needed]}
• The CPBN Media Lab received recognition as a finalist in the Student Emmy Award from the Boston New England Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences in 2013.^{[citation needed]}

• Public, educational, and government access (PEG)

• Connecticut Public Television's website

• Organizations based in Hartford, Connecticut
• PBS member networks
• Television channels and stations established in 1962
• Television stations in Connecticut

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