Alabama Public Television

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = Alabama Public Television
city =
station_
station_slogan = Learn something new every day.
station_branding = APT
analog = see table below
digital = see table below
other_chs =
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate = January 7, 1955
location = statewide Alabama
callsign_meaning = all stations:
W
second letter: see table below
Intelligence
Quotient
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Alabama Educational Television Commission
licensee =
sister_stations = WLRH-FM Huntsville
former_affiliations = NET (1955-1970)
effective_radiated_power = see table below
HAAT = see table below
class =
facility_id = see table below
coordinates = see table below
homepage = [http://www.aptv.org/ www.aptv.org]

Alabama Public Television is a network of PBS member stations serving the US state of Alabama. The 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 combine to provide complete geographic coverage of the state. The network produces its own news and public affairs programming and broadcasts content produced by the state's universities for online education and course credit as well.

History

The network's first station, with the transmitter atop Cheaha Mountain, began broadcasting in January 1955 as WTIQ (now WCIQ) for Talladega, though the city of license was Munford. When flagship WBIQ in Birmingham came online in April, Alabama Educational Television became the first operational educational television network in the United States. It 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 early 1980s.

Today APT's mission continues to be focused mainly on education. It provides educational services to the people of Alabama [http://www.atpv.org 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 Channel 27 on account of Montgomery station WSFA. Mobile television station WALA-TV 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, on grounds of 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 has aired a public affairs program, "For the Record," which takes a very aggressive approach to covering state government. In January 2007, APT reduced the frequency of "For The Record" to a weekly one-hour slot on Friday nights after two decades of being a nightly show, the longest-running program of its kind on a PBS affiliate or regional or state network. "For The Record: Focus" and "For the Record: Face to Face" (interview show) are two other versions that appear on APT. "Capitol Journal", which covers the Alabama Legislature's activities, is aired during times when the Legislature is in session.

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.

tations

As of 2008, the Alabama Public Television stations are:

Post-analog shutdown

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf]
* WAIQ, WEIQ, WFIQ, WGIQ, WHIQ, and WIIQ will remain on their respective, pre-transition channel numbers (27, 41, 22, 44, 24, and 19); [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230868&formid=387&fac_num=706 CDBS Print ] ] [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230873&formid=387&fac_num=721 CDBS Print ] ] [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230874&formid=387&fac_num=715 CDBS Print ] ] [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230876&formid=387&fac_num=710 CDBS Print ] ] [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230877&formid=387&fac_num=713 CDBS Print ] ] [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230878&formid=387&fac_num=720 CDBS Print ] ]
* WBIQ and WCIQ will move their digital broadcasts back to their respective analog channel numbers (10 and 7); [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230869&formid=387&fac_num=717 CDBS Print ] ] [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230871&formid=387&fac_num=711 CDBS Print ] ]
* WDIQ will move its digital broadcasts to channel 10. [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230872&formid=387&fac_num=714 CDBS Print ] ]

Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display virtual channels for each APT station corresponding to their present analog channel numbers.

References

ee also

*List of television stations in Alabama

External links

* [http://www.aptv.org/ Alabama Public Television]
*TVQ|WAIQ
*TVQ|WBIQ
*TVQ|WCIQ
*TVQ|WDIQ
*TVQ|WEIQ
*TVQ|WFIQ
*TVQ|WGIQ
*TVQ|WHIQ
*TVQ|WIIQ
*BIA|WAIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WBIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WCIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WDIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WEIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WFIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WGIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WHIQ|TV|TV
*BIA|WIIQ|TV|TV