CatholicTV

CatholicTV Network
Launched January 1, 1955
Owned by iCatholic Media
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Slogan America's Catholic Television Network
Country United States
Headquarters 34 Chestnut Street, Watertown, MA
Formerly called Catholic Television Center / WIHS (1955–1964), BCTV (1964–2006)
Website CatholicTV.com
Availability
Cable
Comcast (New England Markets) Channel 268
Verizon FiOS (New England Markets) Channel 296
Time Warner (San Antonio Market) Channel 15
Also available on selected cable systems nationwide Check local listings for channels
IPTV
Southern Fibernet Channel 1551 (HD)
Streaming media
Digital media receiver Roku
Digital media receiver Apple TV
Digital media receiver Google TV
LIVE HD Stream CatholicTVLIVE.com

CatholicTV is a national Catholic television network based in Watertown, Massachusetts. It is distributed on cable systems and broadcast stations in sixteen U.S. states and the US Virgin Islands, via the Internet, IPTV and numerous Over-the-Top applications, including Roku and Apple TV.

The CatholicTV Network broadcasts programming relevant to Catholic viewers, including live religious services, talk shows, devotional programs, educational series, entertainment as well as children's programs. The network also features television segments highlighting general Christian themes along with public service announcements from the Ad Council and other providers related to Catholic social justice teaching and issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well being and strengthening families. The network regularly presents coverage of liturgies and special events at the Vatican and during papal journeys.

The current president of The CatholicTV Network is Father Robert P. Reed.

History

The first program of the Catholic Television Center of the Archdiocese of Boston was produced on the morning of January 1, 1955 when Archbishop Richard J. Cushing celebrated a Pontifical Low Mass in studios at 25 Granby Street near Kenmore Square in Boston. From that studio, equipped with three RCA TK31 cameras, the Center produced live and tape-recorded programs, and it purchased time from local commercial television stations to air the Sunday Mass each week. Live programs were transmitted to the broadcasting stations through a leased-line telephone connection. In 1961 the Catholic Television Center's studios became the temporary home of educational broadcaster WGBH-TV when that station's studios were destroyed in a fire.[1][2]

In 1957 the Catholic Television Center acquired a license to operate its own broadcasting station in Boston on channel 38 in the new UHF range of television channels. It adopted the call sign WIHS, and put WIHS-TV into service on October 12, 1964, with transmitting facilities on the Prudential Tower in Boston. It was the first full-time Catholic television station in the world employing a general entertainment format along with the daily and Sunday Mass. On July 27, 1966, Storer Broadcasting acquired WIHS for $2,276,513.16 and renamed it as WSBK-TV.[3]

With funds from the station sale, the Catholic Television Center built an Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) system for distributing programs to Catholic schools, and it continued to produce live broadcasts of the Sunday Mass under the name Boston Catholic Television (BCTV). In 1970 BCTV moved into leased studios at 55 Chapel Street in Newton, Massachusetts.[4]

In April 1983 BCTV began offering programs to home viewers several hours a day through its own channel carried by cable television providers, at first in Massachusetts, then elsewhere in New England, and also as far away as Montreal, Quebec. In addition to the Sunday Mass broadcast on conventional (over-the-air) television, weekday Masses were also presented Monday to Friday, originating from a chapel in the Archbishop's residence in Brighton.

In 2006 the channel adopted the brand name CatholicTV and the slogan America's Catholic Television Network. By 2007 it had entered into a programming exchange agreement with the Canadian channel Salt + Light Television.[5] The channel converted its video format to HDTV on October 13, 2010.[6]

The CatholicTV Network relocated its studios and offices to Watertown, Massachusetts in 2007.[4][7]

Distribution

The programming service of The CatholicTV Network is seen on cable systems in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, California, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is also available on KUPU-TV, Channel 15 in Hawaii, by digital C band satellite, via AMC 11 and for on-line viewing through Internet streaming video, the Roku digital media device Google TV and Apple TV. Select programs are available for download at iTunes. Video-on-demand service is available on Roku and Apple TV (nationally) and Verizon FiOS in most markets. Applications for iOS devices and for Android phones and tablets are available.

Programming

The network features a wide variety of Catholic educational and inspirational programming produced in the United States, Canada, Ireland and the Vatican. These include live talk shows such as "This is the Day," and devotional programming such as the Holy Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Benediction, catechetical programs, musical shows, entertainment/variety shows, youth and children's programming such as WOW: The CatholicTV Challenge. Each Saturday evening, The CatholicTV Network presents the Vigil Mass from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., Sunday Mass live from the University of Notre Dame and the weekday and Saturday Mass as well as Mass in Spanish from its own chapel. CatholicTV also broadcasts programming and special coverage from Vatican Television including the journeys of Pope Francis and live coverage of the ordinations and installations of Diocesan and Archdiocesan bishops.

A partial listing of CatholicTV programs:

Religious services and devotional programs

Spanish-language programs

Programs for youth

Music

Vatican Television Center programs

History and biography

Scripture

Other programs

Patron saint

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is the patroness of CatholicTV.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Photo of the Month: WGBH-TV fire". GGn Information Systems.
  2. ↑ "WGBH Timeline 1946-1978". WGBH Alumni Association.
  3. ↑ "WSBK-TV". BostonRadio.org.
  4. 1 2 Claire Cummings (June 27, 2007). "Boston Catholic Television is moving". Boston Globe.
  5. ↑ "Marking 5 Years Since Youth Day '02: Interview With Father Thomas Rosica". Innovative Media, Inc., (ZENIT News Agency). July 28, 2007.
  6. ↑ CatholicTV Converting To HD - Network Will Present Programming In HD On-air, Online, Starting Oct. 13 Multichannel News October 12, 2010
  7. ↑ Stephanie Karakozian (August 2, 2007). "Boston Catholic TV moves to Watertown". The Watertown TAB.

External links

Coordinates: 42°22′01″N 71°11′23″W / 42.366812°N 71.189604°W / 42.366812; -71.189604

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