Alabama Public Television

Alabama Public Television
statewide Alabama
Branding APT
Slogan Learn something new every day.
Channels Digital: see table below
Affiliations PBS (since 1970)
Owner Alabama Educational Television Commission
First air date January 7, 1955
Call letters' meaning all stations:
W
second letter: see table below
Intelligence
Quotient
Sister station(s) WLRH-FM Huntsville
Former affiliations NET (1955-1970)
Transmitter power see table below
Height see table below
Facility ID see table below
Transmitter coordinates see table below
Website www.aptv.org

Alabama Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member non-commercial educational Public television stations serving the US state of Alabama. The television stations are licensed by the Alabama Educational Television Commission, which was created by the Alabama state legislature in 1953. The broadcast signals of the nine stations cover almost all of the state, as well as parts of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. The network produces its own TV news and public affairs programming and broadcasts content produced by the state's universities for online education and course credit as well.

The network's offices and network operations center are located in Birmingham. Until 2011, APT also operated a studio in Montgomery (the state capital) for pledge drives and programs covering the state government; state budget cuts forced the network to close the studio.[1] The AETC has operated a public radio station, WLRH 89.3 FM, in Huntsville, since 1977.

Contents

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History

Alabama was one of the earliest states to enter educational television broadcasting when the state created the Alabama Educational Television Commission in 1953. After two years of preparation, it signed on the nation's ninth Educational television station, WTIQ (now WCIQ) for Talladega, though the city of license was Munford. The transmitter was located atop Cheaha Mountain. When WBIQ in Birmingham came online in April, Alabama became the first state in the nation with an educational television network. Alabama Educational Television made its first broadcast as a network shortly after WBIQ signed on. Twenty-five other states have started public television networks, all based on Alabama's model. The network changed its name to Alabama Public Television in the late 1960s.

Today APT's mission continues to be focused mainly on education. It provides educational services to the people of Alabama online, on air from three digital and one analog channel, and through outreach services to educators and service provides statewide.

WAIQ in Andalusia (now WDIQ in Dozier) went on the air in August 1956, bringing APT to south Alabama for the first time before being reassigned to Montgomery in December 1962. WAIQ was the first APT station to broadcast a digital signal as Channel 14 in 2003, but it was later changed to physical (RF) TV channel 27 on account of Montgomery station WSFA. Station WALA-TV in Mobile donated its former transmitter in Spanish Fort to APT in 1964, allowing WEIQ to bring the network to Mobile and Baldwin counties in November. WEIQ's power was increased during the 1980s.

In 1976, the FCC delayed renewal of AETC's licenses due to APT's refusal to air programs pertaining to the Vietnam War or the African-American community. APT management feared that airing these types of programs would have put the network's future in jeopardy, due to potential losses of funding from outraged (politically conservative) public officials. Therefore, APT followed orders by state officials not to air certain programming during the 1960s and 1970s. However, it has taken a more independent stance over the last 30 years.

In August 2004, APT began datacasting on its digital broadcast signals to distribute digital multimedia content to ten elementary and secondary schools, in a pilot program.

For longer than a quarter century, Alabama Public Television aired a public affairs program, For the Record, which took a very aggressive approach to covering state government. The longest-running program of its kind on a PBS affiliate or regional or state network, it aired nightly for many years beginning in the late 1970s, but was reduced to its weekly slot in 2007 due to budget cuts. Capitol Journal, which covered the Alabama Legislature's activities, succeeded FTR, but was cancelled when the Montgomery studio closed in July 2011.

APT began broadcasting a high definition channel (APT HD) in 2005. In December 2006 it launched a how-to channel featuring established cooking, gardening, decorating, crafts and sewing programs on APT Create. A family learning channel, APT IQ, began airing in March 2007.

Stations

As of 2009, the Alabama Public Television stations are:

Station City of license Channels
(Digital)
VC1 First air date Second letter
meaning
ERP HAAT FCC
Facility ID
Transmitter coordinates
WAIQ Montgomery 27 (UHF) 26 December 18, 1962 Alabama 600 kW 178.7 m 706
WBIQ Birmingham 10 (VHF) 10 April 28, 1955 Birmingham 3 kW 426.2 m 717
WCIQ2 Mount Cheaha 7 (VHF) 7 January 7, 1955 Cheaha 34.8 kW 575.8 m 711
WDIQ3 Dozier 10 (VHF) 2 August 8, 1956 Dozier 30 kW 224.8 m 714
WEIQ Mobile 41 (UHF) 42 November 19644 Educational 199 kW 185 m 721
WFIQ Florence 22 (UHF) 36 August 19675 Florence 418.8 kW 207.6 m 715
WGIQ Louisville 44 (UHF) 43 September 9, 1968 Greater Alabama 925 kW 262 m 710
WHIQ Huntsville 24 (UHF) 25 November 19656 Huntsville 396 kW 338.2 m 713
WIIQ Demopolis 19 (UHF) 41 September 13, 19717 Informational 1000 kW 324 m 720

Notes:

Coverage areas

Station Signal Reach
WAIQ Montgomery and the southern portion of the geographical center of the state
WBIQ Birmingham and the northern portion of the geographical center of Alabama, and the west central counties of the state including the city of Tuscaloosa
WCIQ Talladega, Anniston, Gadsden and Auburn, and the east central portion of the state to the western outskirts of Metro Atlanta; also provides secondary signal for Birmingham
WDIQ The south central portion of the state to Interstate 10 in the Florida Panhandle
WEIQ Mobile and Baldwin counties along Alabama's Gulf Coast and several counties to the north as well as parts of southeastern Mississippi and the far western Florida Panhandle
WFIQ Florence and the northwestern portion of the state and some counties in southern central Tennessee and northeastern Mississippi; secondary signal for Decatur
WGIQ Dothan and most of the southeastern portion of the state and some parts of southwestern Georgia; closest APTV signal to Phenix City
WHIQ Huntsville, Decatur and most of the north central and northeastern portion of the state as well as some counties in southern central Tennessee; secondary signal for Gadsden
WIIQ Much of southwestern Alabama in the region known as the "Black Belt" as well as Meridian and some counties in eastern central Mississippi; secondary signal for Tuscaloosa and Selma

Digital television

Sub-channel Programming
x.1 Main APT programming / PBS
x.2 APT IQ
x.3 APT Create

After analog shutdown

Although the DTV Delay Act extended the mandatory deadline to June 12, 2009, APT ended all analog service as originally scheduled on February 17, 2009.[8]

Using PSIP to display virtual channels for each APT station corresponding to their former analog channels.

On July 29, 2010, WBIQ receive a construction permit to move its digital channel from channel 10 to channel 39.[18]

Previous logos

See also

References

External links