| statewide Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| Branding | MPB |
| Slogan | Educating, Entertaining, Enlightening |
| Channels | Analog: see table below Digital: see table below |
| Affiliations | PBS (television) NPR (radio) |
| Owner | Mississippi Authority for Educational Television |
| First air date | February 1, 1970 (television) 1984 (radio) |
| Call letters' meaning | see table below |
| Former affiliations | NET (1970) |
| Transmitter power | see table below |
| Height | see table below |
| Facility ID | see table below |
| Transmitter coordinates | see table below |
| Website | www.mpbonline.org |
Mississippi Public Broadcasting is the public broadcasting state network in Mississippi, United States. It is owned by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, an agency of the Mississippi state government that holds the licenses for all of the PBS and NPR member stations in the state.
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In January 1970, WMAA-TV, channel 29 (now WMPN-TV) signed on from Jackson as the first PBS station in the state. Mississippi was a relative latecomer to public broadcasting; channel 29's sign-on made Mississippi the last state east of the Mississippi River with a PBS station within its borders. Previously, the only areas of the state to get a clear signal from a National Educational Television (NET) or PBS station had been the northwest (from Memphis' WKNO) and the Gulf Coast (from New Orleans' WYES-TV and Mobile's Alabama Educational Television outlet, WEIQ). The initial broadcast was written by Jeanne Lucket and produced and directed by Mims Wright, then Director of Public Affairs at Jackson NBC affiliate WLBT.
Only four months after going on the air, MAET received unwanted national attention when it refused to carry Sesame Street because of its racially integrated cast. That decision was reversed 22 days later after a nationwide outcry.[1][2] Six other stations began operation over the next few years, and the state network became known as Mississippi Educational Television, or simply ETV.
Public radio came even later, arriving in the state in 1983. Eventually, Public Radio in Mississippi or PRM expanded to eight stations throughout the state.
In 2005, MAET adopted "Mississippi Public Broadcasting" as an umbrella on-air name for all television and radio operations.
Since its inception, MPB has produced many Educational television or instructional television programs from its Jackson studios. A partial list includes Tomes & Talismans, The Write Channel, Clyde Frog Show, About Safety, Ticktock Minutes, Zebra Wings, Posie Paints, Project Survival, and Between the Lions.
As of 2009, the MPB television stations are: [3]
| Station | City of license | Channels TV / RF |
First air date | Call letters' meaning |
ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter Coordinates |
| WMPN-TV1 | Jackson | 29 (PSIP) 20 (UHF) |
February 1, 1970 | Mississippi Public Network |
400 kW | 482 m | 43168 | |
| WMAH-TV | Biloxi | 19 (PSIP) 16 (UHF) |
January 14, 1972 | 150 kW | 477 m | 43197 | ||
| WMAE-TV | Booneville | 12 (PSIP) 12 (VHF) |
August 11, 1974 | 31 kW | 223 m | 43170 | ||
| WMAU-TV | Bude | 17 (PSIP) 18 (UHF) |
January 14, 1972 | 682 kW | 340 m | 43184 | ||
| WMAO-TV | Greenwood | 23 (PSIP) 25 (UHF) |
September 15, 1972 | 815 kW | 317.3 m | 43176 | ||
| WMAW-TV | Meridian | 14 (PSIP) 44 (UHF) |
January 14, 1972 | 880 kW | 369 m | 43169 | ||
| WMAB-TV | Mississippi State | 2 (PSIP) 10 (VHF) |
July 4, 1971 | 4.3 kW | 349 m | 43192 | ||
| WMAV-TV | Oxford-University | 18 (PSIP) 36 (UHF) |
May 19, 1972 | 272.5 kW | 426.3 m | 43193 |
Notes:
Mississippi Public Broadcasting also operates two translator stations: W45AA in Columbia and W47BP in Hattiesburg.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting has also operated a microwave-relay station KMZ-77 for many years. This special microwave relay station has been used as a studio-to-transmitter link (STL) for WMPN-TV in Jackson. During the weekly signoff message (formerly nightly signoff message), KMZ 77 would be mentioned following the technical specifications of WMPN-TV; as of 1992, it operates with a frequency of 7012.5 MHz to serve the studio in Jackson. KMZ-77 was also mentioned in the same manner during the time prior to 1990 when WMPN-TV carried the call sign of WMAA-TV. Each station in the state network and KMZ-77 would be identified in the state network's signoff message as being owned and operated by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, with studios at 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson.[4]
Although the FCC apparently granted MPB a permit to build WMAA channel 43, a digital-only station near Columbus, MPB has stated there are currently no plans or funding to build the station.
MPB Television covers nearly all of the state, as well as parts of Alabama and Tennessee. Additionally, WMAV is carried on DirecTV and Dish Network's Memphis feeds, bringing its programming to an additional 1.4 million people in Tennessee and Arkansas. Oxford is part of the Memphis market.
MPB Radio consists of nine stations covering most of the state. It airs mostly news and talk programming from NPR, along with several locally produced shows.
Recently, MPB has added a 24-hour classical music service on its second HD channel. It brands this programming as "Music Radio," while the original MPB Radio service is known as "Think Radio."
MPB Radio streams both of its services live in Windows Media and Mac formats.
| Location | Frequency | Call sign |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 89.9 FM | WMAB-FM |
| Booneville | 89.5 FM | WMAE-FM |
| Biloxi | 90.3 FM | WMAH-FM |
| Greenwood | 90.9 FM | WMAO-FM |
| Bude | 88.9 FM | WMAU-FM |
| Oxford | 90.3 FM | WMAV-FM |
| Meridian | 88.1 FM | WMAW-FM |
| Jackson | 91.3 FM | WMPN-FM |
4. http://www.tv-signoffs.com/clips/MSETV-signon-1992.htm
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