Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Headquarters | Sherburne, New York |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) 16:9 widescreen or 4:3 letterbox |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
Sister channels | Create |
History | |
Launched | 2005 (select cities) 2007 (nationwide) |
Links | |
Website | Official website |
Availability | |
Terrestrial | |
Digital terrestrial television | Channel slots vary in each city |
World Channel, also branded as World (stylized as WORLD), is an American digital multicast public television network owned and operated by the WGBH Educational Foundation. It is distributed by American Public Television and the National Educational Telecommunications Association and features programming covering topics such as science, nature, news, and public affairs. Programming is supplied by the entities, as well as other partners such as WNET and WGBH. It is primarily carried on the digital subchannels of PBS member stations.
In 2004, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation granted PBS funds to develop a public affairs network, Public Square, given the change in broadcasting to digital thus allowing stations to broadcast multiple channels. (Public Square was also a name previous given to a proposed civic series in early 2000s.) The Knight Foundation announced a challenge grant to PBS to launch this network on December 14, 2004 at the Digital Futures Initiative Summit. PBS would have to raise double the grant amount to get the foundation's grant. Additional, the foundation made a grant to PBS for the first program's pilot slated for the network. The program, Global Watch, was to be co-produced by KCET and KQED. The pilot aired on PBS' National Program Service, while the series would only continue on Public Square. PBS was also discussing with WGBH and WNET to fold Public Square and World together. [1]
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WGBH and WNET were developing World in 2004. By December 2005, Boston's WGBH and WNET started broadcasting World on a subchannel and added by April 2006's WETA. San Francisco's KQED started broadcasting its own nonfiction encore channel before April 2005 as well. Following WGBH and WNET teamed up with PBS to roll out a national version of the local channels as World. The stations applied to air programming and PBS was used to distribute the network. The network was launched nationally on August 15, 2007. For the first year, the Ford Foundation funded the company's investments' cost, and PBS contributed some funding from its own revenue-generating activities. By March 2009, the network lacked enough coverage to secure an underwriter.[ citation needed ]
On July 1, 2009, PBS withdrew from the channel. By September 2009, with the sole exception of ITVS Global Voices, all the other channels left network.[ citation needed ]
An overhaul of the network was in the works as of September 8, 2009. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funded R&D for the relaunch[ clarification needed ] and covered costs so stations would not have to pay the license until June 2011. The network was relaunched in July 2010, with the revamped website slated for more of a roll-out on July 1. The relaunch would also draw in stations as digital tier channels and face more cable subscribers.[ citation needed ]
Nielsen ratings improved using more of the channel bandwidth so as to forestall any FCC attempts to reduce the existing allocated bandwidth.[ clarification needed ][ citation needed ]
The relaunched service planned to target more diverse audiences with a median age of 36. The revamped World had a monthly theme for coherence and personality to create online action and buzz. The channel expanded its scope of program offerings, such as reviewing archives, film festivals, indie producer hubs, public radio, Independent Television Service, Link TV, MiND TV, Minority Consortia, New American Media, the Sundance Institute, and Youth Media International.[ citation needed ]
The channel used a new low-cost collaborative model where the channel would offer distribution services, but in return for which producers would be individually responsible for securing funding.[ citation needed ]
In September 2011, a new general manager, Elizabeth Cheng, for the network was hired.[ citation needed ]
United States budget sequestration in 2013 led to a temporary reduction in CPB's budget. To help mitigate the cuts, CPB redirected some funds towards the World network, specifically in the amount of US$750,000 (equivalent to $981,000in 2023), that had been earmarked for the National Minority Consortia.[ citation needed ]
The network is available to stations that are member of APT and NETA (formerly available to PBS's National Program Service subscribers and PBS Plus members). Affiliation fees of 4 levels from $5,500 to $32,000 a year which only cover 50% of the channel's cost. Stations are required to broadcast half of the network's broadcast day in order to retain their affiliation, thus many member stations with limited channel capacity usually carry the network in a 50/50 split with Create (as both networks maintain looping schedules). Cost are kept down as the channel uses rights and content previously available. Programming has come from PBS, NETA, APT and ITVS International. [2]
World shows a core three-hour documentary block four times a day with other programs circulate in the other 12 hours. This gives viewers increased chances to see a program, which might be shown from 4 to 8 times a week. [3]
Stations may also choose to place their own programming, such as local government hearings and events, on their subchannel at local discretion.
As of 1 January 2021 [update] , the current programming is:
World is carried by the following stations: [5]
National Educational Television (NET) was an American educational broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It operated from May 16, 1954, to October 4, 1970, and was succeeded by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which has memberships with many television stations that were formerly part of NET.
WNET, branded on-air as "Thirteen", is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group, it is a sister station to the area's secondary PBS member, Garden City, New York–licensed WLIW, and two class A stations: WMBQ-CD, and WNDT-CD. The WNET Group also operates New Jersey's PBS state network NJ PBS, and the website NJ Spotlight through an outsourcing agreement.
KCET is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV. The two stations share studios at The Pointe in Burbank; KCET's transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains.
WGBH-TV, branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and independent educational stations, as well as the Create and World television networks.
KQED is a PBS member television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by KQED Inc., alongside fellow PBS station KQEH and NPR member KQED-FM (88.5). The three stations share studios on Mariposa Street in San Francisco's Mission District and transmitter facilities at Sutro Tower.
WGBX-TV, branded GBH 44, is the secondary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation, alongside WGBH-TV, WFXZ-CD, and multiple public radio stations in Boston and on Cape Cod. WGBX-TV, WGBH-TV and the WGBH and WCRB radio stations share studios on Guest Street in northwest Boston's Brighton neighborhood; WGBX-TV's transmitter is located on Cedar Street in Needham, Massachusetts.
PBS Distribution (PBSd), formerly known as PBS Ventures, PBS Home Video, and Public Media Distribution, is the home distribution unit of American television network PBS. The company manages streaming channels, video on demand releases, and sells home videos of PBS series and movies and PBS Kids series in various formats, as well as programming from other public television distributors such as American Public Television and the National Educational Telecommunications Association.
KQEH, branded on-air as KQED Plus, is a PBS member television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by KQED Inc., alongside fellow PBS station KQED and NPR member KQED-FM (88.5) in San Francisco. The three stations share studios on Mariposa Street in San Francisco's Mission District and transmitter facilities atop Sutro Tower; until January 17, 2018, KQEH's transmitter was located atop Monument Peak.
Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) is the PBS member network for the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, a community-based non-profit organization that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state, and also owns the state's NPR member, Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR). Together, the television and radio stations make up the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). CPBN is the state's only locally owned media organization producing TV, radio, print and Internet content for distribution across the state. As of 2019, Mark Contreras was announced as the new President / CEO. The organizational structure of CPTV also includes a Board of Trustees. The network co-produced the long-running children's television series, Barney & Friends until the show were transferred to WNET.
The WGBH Educational Foundation is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, and operates its flagship station WGBH-TV, sister station WGBX-TV, and a group of NPR member stations in the state. It also owns WGBY-TV in Springfield, which is operated by New England Public Media under a program service agreement.
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual program stream, and multiplexing to combine them into a single signal. The practice is sometimes called "multicasting".
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The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Crystal City, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programs to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as Frontline, Nova, PBS News Hour, Masterpiece, Sesame Street, and This Old House.
PBS YOU was founded in the late 1990s as a 24/7 channel/network featuring formal and informal educational programs and college-related fare, largely to take advantage of available rights and satellite transponder space and eager customers for carriage among the satellite-dish and some cable television companies.
KET ED, known as the Education Channel, was a digital television programming service operated by PBS member network Kentucky Educational Television. The service provided programming from the Annenberg/CPB project, along with encore presentations of some PBS programming, and much of KET's locally produced in-house instructional television (ITV) productions.
In the United States, other than a few direct services, public broadcasting is almost entirely decentralized and is not operated by the government, but does receive some government support.
The Kentucky Channel, also known by its Program and System Information Protocol short name and on-screen logo bug as KET KY, is a full-time 24/7 statewide digital television programming service originating from PBS member state-network Kentucky Educational Television. The channel features programming related to the U.S. state of Kentucky, as well as coverage of Kentucky General Assembly when it is in session.
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