 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Burbank, California (with production offices inWashington, D.C. andSan Francisco, California) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Public Media Group of Southern California |
| Sister channels | KCET KOCE-TV |
| History | |
| Launched | December 15, 1999; 25 years ago (1999-12-15) |
| Closed | November 1, 2023 (2023-11-01) (end of satellite broadcasts) |
| Former names | WorldLink (1999–early 2000s) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| KRCB(Cotati, California) | Channel 22.1 (1-5 AM) |
| Streaming media | |
| Link TV | Watch Live |
Link TV, originallyWorldLink TV, was a non-commercial Americansatellite television network providing what it described as "diverse perspectives on world and national issues." It was carried nationally onDirecTV (ch. 375) until January 2023 and onDish Network (ch. 9410) until November 1, 2023. Link TV was launched as a daily, 24-hour non-commercial network on December 15, 1999. It received no money from the satellite providers, but relies instead on contributions from viewers and foundations.
Link TV broadcast a mix of documentaries, global and national news, music of diverse cultures, and programs promoting citizen action. The network also airedEnglish language news fromAl Jazeera English,Deutsche Welle,NHK andFrance 24, as well as variousdocumentaries and worldmusic videos.[1] Select Link TV programs were streamed on the Internet, via the channel'swebsite.[2]
The network also producedMosaic: World News from the Middle East, a program of translated news reports from theMiddle East.
Direct satellite broadcasters were mandated to set aside 4% of its channel space for noncommercial educational and informational programming. ITVS, Internews Network and Internews Interactive joined in forming Link Media Inc. to program a channel, WorldLink TV, for this mandate. WorldLink TV was one of the nine channels select to meet the mandate forDirecTV.[3]
The channel was founded by filmmaker Kim Spencer, who had similar experiences since the 1980s, when he made satellite broadcasts between the United States and the Soviet Union.[4] By early 2002, Link TV was being carried out to 17 million households with a potential adult viewing audience of 30 million. At the time, Nielsen did not track ratings for satellite channels, but a study commissioned by the network showed that an estimated 1.2 million viewers watched the channel for a period of one to four hours per week.[5] When the war in Iraq started in 2003,Mosaic gave the channel record high ratings (about 4 million viewers per week), whereas its slate of original programming grew slightly, including a 90-minute talk-show,The Active Opposition. As of June 2003, Link TV employed a staff of 27.[6]Bill Cosby was one of the most notable celebrity viewers.[7]
In October 2012, Link TV announced that it was merging withKCET, anindependentpublic television station inLos Angeles, to form a new nonprofit entity, to be called KCETLink. The entity was headquartered at KCET's Burbank facilities.[8] In 2018, KCETLink merged with theKOCE-TV Foundation to form the Public Media Group of Southern California.
The channel was removed from the DirecTV lineup on January 15, 2023, as Link TV has chosen not to renew its yearly public interest contract with the satellite provider.[9] On November 1, 2023, due to financial issues, Link TV ceased broadcasting on satellite television, with the website recommending viewers to watch licensed programs on the websites and channels of their original broadcasters while the Public Media Group seeks alternative methods to continue operations.[10]
In 2010, Link TV announced the launch of ViewChange.org, an online video platform funded by theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to raise awareness of global development issues. It appliesSemantic Web technology to video, in order to automatically create links to related content from other online sources.[11]
In conjunction with the New York CityHuman Rights Watch International Film Festival, LinkTV broadcast a "Youth Producing Change" program which showcases the works of youth from all over the world.[12] They also support efforts to fund groups such asimMEDIAte Justice Productions which help youth create their own film works.
Production facilities for Link TV are inSan Francisco,Washington, D.C., andBurbank, California.