Maryland Public Television

Maryland Public Television (MPT) is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member state network for the U.S. state of Maryland. It operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, an agency of the Maryland state government that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state.

"WMPB" redirects here. Not to be confused with Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
"WCPB" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Maryland Public Television
Channels
BrandingMPT
Programming
Affiliations.1: PBS
.2: MPT2/Create
.3: PBS Kids
.4: NHK World
Ownership
OwnerMaryland Public Broadcasting Commission
History
First air date
October 5, 1969 (1969-10-05)
WMPB:
NET (1969–1970)
Call sign meaning
See below
Technical information
Facility IDSee below
ERPSee below
HAATSee below
Transmitter coordinatesSee below
Links
WebsiteOfficial website

Studios are located in the unincorporated community of Owings Mills in northwestern Baltimore County. MPT operates six full-power transmitters that cover nearly all of the state, plus Washington, D.C., and parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

History

WMPB (licensed to Baltimore) first signed on in 1969 as the first station of the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting; it gained satellite stations in Salisbury, Hagerstown, and Annapolis between 1971 and 1975, resulting in a formation of a statewide public television network. The network adopted its current name in 1984. Maryland Instructional Television (Maryland ITV), a division of the State Department of Education, was also housed at the network until 1991. On July 4, 1987, WFPT (licensed to Frederick) signed on to fill coverage gaps in the outer Washington market, while WGPT in Oakland began operations to cover the extreme west of the state, much of which previously had no local television service at all.

About 1999, the network launched an afternoon Britcom programming block, Afternoon Tea, replacing children's programming. By 2009, MPT was airing kids' programming during the day on its MPT Select channel.[1]

In September 2015, as part of budget cuts, MPT outsourced its master control operations to Public Media Management—a joint venture of Boston PBS member WGBH and Sony Corporation.[2]

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

Current regional productions
  • MPT Salutes Vietnam Veterans:[3] Maryland Public Television salutes the men and women who served in the Vietnam era
  • Chesapeake Collectibles:[4] weekly series featuring people and their collectibles
  • Maryland Farm & Harvest:[5] weekly series helping Marylanders learn more about agriculture
  • Chesapeake Bay Week:[6] week long series of programs in April dedicated to the Chesapeake Bay
  • Direct Connection:[7] public affairs call-in show focusing on discussion and analysis of politics and the news
  • Outdoors Maryland:[8] outdoors show highlighting the Mid-Atlantic region's diversity and beauty
  • State Circle:[9] news and analysis program detailing Maryland's General Assembly proceedings
  • Ways to Pay for College:[10] annual special on finding money for higher education
  • Your Money & Business:[11] consumer-oriented business magazine
  • Artworks:[12] regional arts updates and specials highlighting Maryland's culture and history
  • Our Town:[13] a collection of documentaries showcasing different towns across Maryland
On location in Tucson, Arizona shooting Steven Raichlen's Project Smoke at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort in February 2015

Nationally distributed productions
  • The McLaughlin Group: (2019–2020) a weekly political affairs round table
  • Steven Raichlen's Project Smoke & Project Fire: (2015–2019) outdoor cooking series with Steven Raichlen.
  • MotorWeek: (1981–present) automotive magazine featuring new automotive technology and model reviews
  • Great Performances: Star-Spangled Spectacular: Music special commemorating 200th Anniversary of FSK's National Anthem
  • F.S. Key and the Song That Built America
  • Planet Forward: A special on energy, climate, and sustainability
  • For Love of Liberty: series telling the story of America's black servicemen
  • Music of Ireland: Welcome Home
  • National Geographic Bee
  • Veterans Day: A Musical Tribute
  • Space Racers: an animated children's television series about space and science
  • My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas: a cooking show focused on Greek cuisine hosted by Diane Kochilas
  • To Dine For with Kate Sullivan: features stories of creators and dreamers at their favorite restaurant Kate Sullivan

Regional documentaries and specials
  • Eatin' Oysters: Chesapeake Style! (2017) who's eating & shucking oysters, why they love them, and where to find the best.
  • Search for the USS Scorpion: (2017) Search for the Commodore Barney's Flotilla
  • Conowingo Dam: Power on the Susquehanna (2016) the dam's unique story and place in Maryland history
  • Eatin' Crabcakes: The Best I Ever Had: (2011) the ultimate crab cake treasure hunt
  • Potomac by Air: (2015) explores incredible natural and man-made history along our nation's river
  • Eatin' Crabs Chesapeake Style: (2008) a rollicking foray into the world of the blue crab, from dockside to table.
  • Distinctive Homes of the Chesapeake: (2013) opening the door to Maryland's magnificent homes surrounding the Chesapeake Bay
  • The Chesapeake Bay Bridge: Spanning the Bay (2014) an exciting look back at the monumental creation of the Bay Bridge

Past productions

Stations

The MPT stations are:

Station City of license1 Channels VC/RF First air date Callsign meaning ERP HAAT Transmitter coordinates Facility ID Public license information
WMPB2 Baltimore 67
22 (UHF)		 October 5, 1969 (1969-10-05) Maryland Public Broadcasting
(or Baltimore)		 90 kW 307 m (1,007 ft) 39°26′49.9″N 76°46′47.2″W 65944 Public file
LMS
WCPB Salisbury 28
16 (UHF)		 March 18, 1971 (1971-03-18) Coastal Public Broadcasting 320 kW 154 m (505 ft) 38°23′9″N 75°35′31″W 40618 Public file
LMS
WWPB3 Hagerstown 31
29 (UHF)		 October 5, 1974 (1974-10-05) Western Maryland Public Broadcasting 700 kW 375 m (1,230 ft) 39°39′4″N 77°58′14″W 65943 Public file
LMS
WMPT4 Annapolis 22
21 (UHF)		 September 22, 1975 (1975-09-22) Maryland Public Television 1000 kW 284 m (932 ft) 39°0′36.7″N 76°36′31.8″W 65942 Public file
LMS
WFPT5 Frederick 62
28 (UHF)		 July 4, 1987 (1987-07-04) Frederick Public Television 71.3 kW 156 m (512 ft) 39°15′38″N 77°18′43.6″W 40626 Public file
LMS
WGPT5 Oakland 36
26 (UHF)		 July 4, 1987 (1987-07-04) Garrett County Public Television 200 kW 283 m (928 ft) 39°24′14.3″N 79°17′36.1″W 40619 Public file
LMS

WGPT is assigned to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market and elects must-carry status on satellite providers there. For the purposes of pay-television carriage, WMPT and WMPB are assigned to the Baltimore market, while WFPT and WWPB are assigned to Washington–Hagerstown and WCPB to Salisbury.[16]

Notes:

  • 1. Aside from their transmitters, the MPT stations (except WMPB) do not maintain any physical presence in their cities of license.
  • 2. WMPB used the callsign WETM during its construction permit from 1967 to 1968.[17]
  • 3. WWPB used the -TV suffix in its callsign from its 1974 sign-on to October 15, 1976.[18]
  • 4. WMPT used the callsign WAPB (Annapolis) from its 1975 sign-on to July 4, 1984.
  • 5. WGPT and WFPT were both first licensed in 1979 as translators W36AB and W62AY, respectively. They were later replaced by full-powered licenses from the same transmitter sites.[19][20]

Technical information

The stations' digital signals are multiplexed:

Subchannels of WMPT[21] and WMPB[22]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
WMPTWMPB
22.167.1 1080i16:9MPT-HDMain MPT programming / PBS
22.267.2 480iMPT-2MPT2 (7:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.) / Create
22.367.3 MPTKIDSPBS Kids
22.467.4 NHK-WLDNHK World
54.154.11 720p16.9CWWNUVThe CW (WNUV)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station
Subchannels of the other MPT stations[23]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
xx.1 1080i16:9MPT-HDMain MPT programming / PBS
xx.2 720pMPT-2MPT2 (7:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.) / Create
xx.3 480iMPTKIDSPBS Kids
xx.4 NHK-WLDNHK World

Analog-to-digital conversion

MPT's stations shut down their analog signals on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:[24]

  • WMPB shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 67; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 29,[25] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 67, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.
  • WMPT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 22; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42,[26] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 22.
  • WCPB shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 28; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 56, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era UHF channel 28.[27]
  • WWPB shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 31; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 44,[28] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 31.
  • WGPT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 36; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 54, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era UHF channel 36.[29]
  • WFPT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 62; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 28,[30] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 62, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

Spectrum reallocation

As a part of the repacking process following the 2016–2017 FCC incentive auction, channels 38 through 51 were removed from television broadcasting. None of MPT's stations sold their allocations, but five of them moved channels within the UHF band: WMPT moved to channel 21, WMPB to channel 22, WWPB to channel 29, WGPT to channel 26, and WCPT to channel 16.[31]

ATSC 3.0

MPT joined the Baltimore market's ATSC 3.0 lighthouse station, hosted at WNUV, on June 24, 2021.[32] In return, WMPT and WMPB hosts WNUV's main channel (54.1) to preserve coverage for existing ATSC 1.0 TV sets.[33]

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.[34]

References
  1. Katy June-Friesen (January 12, 2009). "Many stations packaging their own kids' channels". Current. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  2. "More downsizing at MPT as master control function shifts to Boston". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  3. "Vietnam Veterans". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  4. "Welcome to Chesapeake Collectibles". Maryland Public Television. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  5. "Maryland Farm and Harvest". Maryland Public Television. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  6. "Chesapeake Bay Week". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  7. "About Direct Connection". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  8. "Outdoors Maryland". Maryland Public Television. Archived from the original on 2013-08-25. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  9. "State Circle". Maryland Public Television. Archived from the original on 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  10. "Ways to Pay for College". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  11. "Your Money & Business". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  12. "Artworks". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  13. "Our Town". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  14. "About Lynn Fischer".
  15. "The Transformation Age". Robert H. Smith School of Business.
  16. "Must-Carry or Retransmission Consent Election" (PDF). FCC OPIF.
  17. "FCC History Cards for WMPB".
  18. "FCC History Cards for WWPB" (PDF).
  19. "DW62AY Facility Data". FCCData.
  20. "DW36AB Facility Data". FCCData.
  21. "RabbitEars TV Query for WMPT". rabbitears.info.
  22. "RabbitEars TV Query for WMPB". rabbitears.info.
  23. "RabbitEars TV Query for WCPB". rabbitears.info.
  24. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  25. "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission.
  26. "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission.
  27. "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission.
  28. "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission.
  29. "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission.
  30. "CDBS Print". Federal Communications Commission.
  31. "Repack Channel Assignments". RabbitEars.
  32. "Modification of a License for DTV Application (NextGen) (LMS File No. 136496)". FCC LMS.
  33. "DTV Legal STA Application (File No. 136473)". FCC LMS.
  34. "2007 Emmy Award Recipients". The National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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