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WSBE-TV (channel 36), branded on-air as Rhode Island PBS, is a
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
member
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the eart ...
licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
, United States, serving the entire state as well as Bristol County, Massachusetts. The station is owned by the Rhode Island PBS Foundation, a
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
. WSBE-TV's studios are located on Park Lane in Providence, and its transmitter is located on Pine Street in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.


History

The station began broadcasting on June 8, 1967 from the campus of Rhode Island College. In 1974, WSBE moved to the former WPRO-TV (now
WPRI-TV WPRI-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual Fox/ CW affiliate WNAC-TV (channel 64) ...
) facilities at 24 Mason Street in Providence. In January 1991, WSBE moved to new studios on 50 Park Lane in Providence, near the Cranston city line. Its analog transmitter was located on Neutaconkanut Hill in Johnston, until the FCC-mandated digital conversion in 2009. From 1973 to 2000, WSBE-TV's programming was relayed in Westerly on translator W62AB. This translator was turned off in 2000, largely because of the high penetration of
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
in the state. On May 1, 2003, WSBE rebranded itself as Rhode Island PBS. WSBE-TV's license was originally held by the Rhode Island State Board of Education (from which the call letters are derived). In 1981, what had become the Board of Regents for Education transferred the station to the Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority, a quasi-state agency. The Channel 36 Foundation was founded in 1987 (preview of subscription content) as an independent fundraising arm of WSBE; it subsequently became the Rhode Island PBS Foundation following the station's 2003 rebranding. In June 2012, the Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority voted to begin the process of transitioning WSBE-TV from a state licensee to a community licensee, with the Rhode Island PBS Foundation assuming full control of the station. According to a release announcing the decision, the state budget extended funding to the station until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2013. The license transfer was completed on October 10, 2012.


Programming

WSBE airs well-known PBS series (''
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'', '' Masterpiece'', ''
Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...
''), on typically no less than an eight-day delay from common carriage public television stations such as
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
's
WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's se ...
. WSBE has differentiated its on-air schedule by including independent local and national productions, and content from program distributors
American Public Television 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 indepe ...
(APT), National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and Executive Program Services. "Destination viewing" (content that draws a loyal audience week after week) includes ''
The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1 ...
'', ''
Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella after the character of Dr Martin Bamford in the 2000 comedy film '' Saving Grace''. The ...
,'' opera specials, and a Tuesday night rotation of " Britcoms" from the
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...
, including ''
Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...
'', ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...
,'' '' As Time Goes By'', '' Vicar of Dibley'', ''
Keeping Up Appearances ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class s ...
'', and several others. WSBE-DT2 airs a schedule similar to WGBH-TV in Boston. WSBE co-produces the nationally distributed Italian cooking show, '' Ciao Italia''. Local content produced by WSBE includes: *''A Lively Experiment'', WSBE's flagship political affairs show, discusses Rhode Island (and occasionally national) politics among a revolving panel of news makers and opinion leaders. From its premiere episode until September 15, 2005, the show's moderator was professional radio broadcaster Steve Kass, until Kass resigned in to join Governor Donald Carcieri's administration. James Hagan, former president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, moderated the show from 2006 until Dyana Koelsch took over in 2011. A public relations consultant, Koelsch was a former television journalist. On September 23, 2016, Jim Hummel became the program's fourth permanent moderator. Hummel is executive director and senior investigator of ''The Hummel Report''. Known for his
WLNE-TV WLNE-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Providence, Rhode Island area. The station is owned by Standard Media, and maintains studios in the Orms ...
/ABC6 ''You Paid for It'' segments, Jim Hummel spent 13 years as chief reporter for ABC6, and 13 years at ''
The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...
''. In his career, Hummel earned the Radio and Television News Directors Association’s prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting. *''Our Town'', a Rhode Island PBS community project. The purpose is to share the charm and character of Rhode Island towns and villages - in particular, untold or uncelebrated stories that capture the essence of life in the town. The stories are selected, written, filmed, and narrated by resident and volunteer storytellers and videographers. Rhode Island PBS weaves together the independent segments into a feature-length documentary. *''Rhode Island Classroom'' explores the technology, lessons, and people who are making the grade in Rhode Island's K-12 classrooms. The half-hour quarterly series introduces stand-out teachers who are inspiring students, break-through courses offered in area schools, and new, exciting programs that are motivating students to succeed. Recent series not currently in production: *Now available online only, '' GED Connection'' is an education series for people preparing for their general equivalency diploma, or GED. The instructional and practice testing series is available in cooperation with the Adult Education division of the
Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is a state agency in Rhode Island that oversees the elementary and secondary education system from pre-Kindergarten through high school. It is headquartered in Providence. RIDE works closely with the ...
. *''The Thirteenth State'', a public affairs show that covered topics of interest from the airport expansion to zoo exhibits. The show title honors Rhode Island's independent position as the first of the 13 colonies to renounce allegiance to King George, and the last of the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution. *''BestSellers'', a book review and author interview program. *''Justice Matters'', a monthly show on Rhode Island law with the Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. *''New England Portrait'', a series about people and places of local interest. *''Costantino's Round Table'' features chefs, restaurateurs, vintners, and other professionals and experts from the Rhode Island food and tourism industry. *''Today's Rhode Island National Guard'', a look at the role of the state's National Guardsmen


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's digital signal is
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:


Analog-to-digital conversion

On January 16, 2009, the analog transmitter for WSBE suffered a "catastrophic failure". The old
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
transmitter developed a leak in the water cooling system. Due to the scarcity of parts, time required to repair (two weeks minimum), cost, and the proximity to the original February 17 date for the analog shutdown, the station discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 36, at that time. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21 on February 18, 2009, using
PSIP The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
to display the station's
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its former UHF analog channel 36.


References


External links


Official websiteHistory of WSBE-TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wsbe-Tv SBE-TV PBS member stations Television channels and stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Rhode Island Mass media in Providence, Rhode Island