Maryland Public Television

Maryland Public Television

statewide Maryland
Branding	MPT
Channels	Digital: see table below
Affiliations	PBS
Owner	Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission
First air date	October 5, 1969
Call letters' meaning	see table below
Former affiliations	NET (1969–1970)
Transmitter power	see table below
Height	see table below
Facility ID	see table below
Transmitter coordinates	see table below
Website	www.mpt.org

Maryland Public Television (MPT) is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member state network for the U.S. state of Maryland. Its six transmitters cover nearly all of the state, plus Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. It operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, an agency of the Maryland state government. It benefits from the support of an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization, the MPT Foundation, Inc. (formerly known as the Maryland Public Broadcasting Foundation, Inc.) Studios are located in the unincorporated community of Owings Mills.

The network first signed on in 1969 as the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting. It became known as Maryland Instructional Television (Maryland ITV) in 1976, and adopted its current name in 1984.

MPT's local and regional television credits include several state-focused programs on civic and public affairs, as well as a variety of original performance, documentary, and entertainment offerings for the citizens of Maryland. Beyond broadcasting, MPT creates instructional videos, develops training, and builds Internet sites that serve tens of thousands of students, teachers, and child-care providers annually. The centerpiece of MPT's service to Maryland educators, students, and families is Thinkport, a Web site that offers online teaching resources, professional development opportunities and digital technology tools to assist educators.

Maryland Public Television has earned awards ranging from television Emmys for its quality productions to government citations for its volunteerism and educational accomplishments. MPT has been led by Larry Unger, president and chief executive officer, since 2011.

Productions

Inside MPT's Studio A during the taping of "Chesapeake Collectibles" in June 2010

Current Regional Productions

• Chesapeake Collectibles:^[1] weekly series featuring people and their collectibles from the Eastern Shore.
• Chesapeake Bay Week:^[2] week long series of programs dedicated to the Chesapeake Bay
• Direct Connection:^[3] public affairs call-in show focusing on discussion and analysis of politics and the news
• Outdoors Maryland:^[4] outdoors show highlighting the Mid-Atlantic region's diversity and beauty
• State Circle:^[5] news and analysis program detailing Maryland's General Assembly proceedings
• You Can Afford College:^[6] annual special on finding money for higher education
• Your Money & Business:^[7] consumer-oriented business magazine
• ArtWorks:^[8] regional arts updates and specials highlighting Maryland's culture and history

Nationally Distributed Productions

• Planet Forward: A special on energy, climate, and sustainability
• For Love of Liberty: series telling the story of America's black servicemen
• MotorWeek: (1981–present PBS) automotive magazine featuring new automotive technology and model reviews
• Music of Ireland: Welcome Home
• National Geographic Bee
• Primal Grill (2008—2011) outdoor cooking series with Steven Raichlen.
• Veteran's Day: A Musical Tribute

Past productions

• A.M. Weather (1978-1995): a 15-minute daily program featuring detailed forecasts presented by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologists
• Baking with Julia (1996-1999) a cooking series with Julia Child PBS
• Barbecue University (2003–2006) outdoor cooking series with Steven Raichlen.
• Bob the Vid Tech (1993–2010), children's specials and interstitials.
• Coastal Cooking with John Shields (2005), 13 programs hosted by John Shields, distributed by American Public Television
• Consumer Survival Kit (1970s), national PBS series.
• Cooking in America with Pierre Franey (1991), series of 13 shows.
• Cooking With Master Chefs (1990s), 13 shows hosted by Julia Child.
• Cuisine Rapide (1990), series of 13 cooking shows hosted by chef Pierre Franey.
• Dessert Circus (1997), a cooking series featuring Jacques Torres.
• Hodgepodge Lodge (1970s), a nature show for children hosted by Jean Worthley.
• Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan (1998-2002) PBS
• Julia Child: Lessons With Master Chefs (2000-2011) PBS
• Kratts' Creatures, (1995-1998) children's series with the Kratt Brothers PBS.
• Lynn Fischer's Healthy Indulgences (late 1990s), 26 shows hosted by Lynn Fischer.^[9]
• Maryland State of Mind (1994–2001), 28 episode series hosted by NPR's Scott Simon, showcasing the 13 schools of the University System of Maryland.
• Newsnight Maryland, a locally-produced news program that reviews the stories happening in the state of Maryland; hosted by journalists Bob Althage and Camilla Carr.
• On Nature's Trail (1978), a television show featured Elmer and Jean Worthley observing and discussing plants growing at different locations in Baltimore County, Maryland.
• On Stage at Wolf Trap (1980s), concert series.
• Of Earth and Man (1970s), educational series.
• The Transformation Age: Surviving a Technology Revolution with Robert X. Cringely (2007), 1 hour documentary on technology and business. A co-production with the Robert H Smith School of Business.^[10]
• To the Contrary (1992-2011) Persephone Productions PBS
• Volvo Ocean Race: sailing race around the world with host Gary Jobson
• Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser (1972–2002), MPT's signature long running financial information program
  • Wall $treet Week (with Fortune) (2002–2005), which succeeded the original program after the departure of Louis Rukeyser
• Weeknight Alive! (1980s), arts series
• Wimzie's House, children's series
• Zoboomafoo (1999-2001) children's series with the Kratt Brothers and PBS in the United States; Canadian production handled by Cinar.

Stations

The MPT television stations are:

Notes:

• WMPT used the callsign WAPB (the "A" standing for Annapolis) from its 1975 sign-on until July 4, 1984.

Cable and satellite coverage

MPT is available on all Maryland cable systems. Additionally, WMPB is available on the Baltimore DirecTV and Dish Network feeds. WMPT is available on nearly all cable systems in the Washington area, as well as the Washington DirecTV and Dish Network feeds. WCPB is available on the Salisbury DirecTV and Dish Network feeds.

Digital television

The station's digital signals are multiplexed:

Sub-channel	Programming
xx.1	Main MPT programming/PBS
xx.2	MPT 2, tailored to lifestyle, cultural, and informational programming for older audiences
xx.3	V-me

Analog-to-digital conversion

MPT broadcast an analog signal from its start in 1969 until the analog television shutdown on June 12, 2009, and now broadcasts only in digital. The first MPT digital broadcast started in February 2000 from WMPT's transmitter in the Annapolis/Crownsville area. After the analog television shutdown:^[11]

• WCPB and WGPT returned to RF channels 28 and 36, respectively;^[12][13]
• WMPB, WMPT, WWPB, and WFPT remained on their pre-transition digital RF channels (29, 42, 44, and 28, respectively).^{[14][15][16][17]}

Using PSIP to display virtual channels for each MPT station corresponding to their previous analog channels.

Awards

For 2008, MPT received 14 Emmy Award nominations from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). MPT received Emmys for Eatin’ Crabs Chesapeake Style, two awards for Bob the Vid Tech: The Mystery of the Missing Pizza and one for ArtWorks: Manuel Barrueco Special.

MPT received two 2008 CINE Golden Eagle Awards for The Transformation Age: Surviving a Technology Revolution with Robert X. Cringely, a coproduction of MPT/University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business, and Lethal Landscapes: Canvases of the Combat Artist.

For 2007, the station received 11 nominations and won 1 National Capitol Emmy including 3 nominations for their regional "The War" series and 5 nominations for Outdoors Maryland. Motorweek also received the Board of Governors Award.^[18]

References

1. ↑ "Welcome to Chesapeake Collectibles". Maryland Public Television. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2013-08-11. 
2. ↑ "Chesapeake Bay Week". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
3. ↑ "Direct Connection". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
4. ↑ "Outdoors Maryland". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
5. ↑ "State Circle". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
6. ↑ "You Can Afford College". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
7. ↑ "Your Money & Business". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
8. ↑ "Artworks". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
9. ↑ "About Lynn Fischer". 
10. ↑ "The Transformation Age". Robert H. Smith School of Business. 
11. ↑ "Attachment I: DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds". EDOCS. Federal Communications Commission. p. 14. 
12. ↑ "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission. 
13. ↑ "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission. 
14. ↑ "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission. 
15. ↑ "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission. 
16. ↑ "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission. 
17. ↑ "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission. 
18. ↑ "2007 Emmy Award Recipients". The National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

External links

• MPT homepage
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WMPB
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WMPB-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WMPT
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WMPT-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCPB
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WCPB-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WWPB
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WWPB-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WGPT
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WGPT-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WFPT
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WFPT-TV