WQED (TV)
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kW | |
HAAT | 218.3 m (716 ft) |
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Transmitter coordinates | 40°26′46.2″N 79°57′50.2″W / 40.446167°N 79.963944°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WQED (channel 13) is a
Established on April 1, 1954, WQED was the first community-sponsored television station in the U.S. and the country's fifth
History
A
Its greatest obstacle was Pittsburgh-based
Westinghouse presented a compromise to the FCC, offering to share its proposed KDKA-TV with WQED on channel 13. Hazard found this unacceptable, and asked Westinghouse
Westinghouse soon had its Pittsburgh TV station. Knowing that DuMont needed WDTV's cash flow to get its programming cleared in larger markets and a short-term cash infusion after DuMont investor Paramount Pictures vetoed a merger between DuMont and ABC, Westinghouse offered DuMont $10 million for WDTV in January 1955. It changed the station's call sign to KDKA-TV, making it a sister station of KDKA radio. DuMont, unable to obtain clearance in larger markets, was out of business by the end of 1956. Although KDKA-TV is now owned by Westinghouse successor Paramount Global, the station retains a close relationship with WQED.[5]
WQED briefly shared channel 13 with WENS-TV in 1955, after a storm damaged the WENS-TV tower in
The station was briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network during the late 1950s, sharing the affiliation with KDKA-TV, WTAE-TV, and WIIC-TV (now WPXI). From sign-on until its replacement by PBS in 1970, WQED was a National Educational Television member station.
During its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, WQED supplied programming to PBS. For 15 years, WQED produced the National Geographic specials for the
Actor Michael Keaton, who worked behind the scenes on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, went on to international fame. During its heyday, WQED supported a post-production office and editing facility in Los Angeles. Known as QED/West, the satellite edited much of WQED's national programming.
During the early 1990s, WQED faltered, as did many other PBS stations across the country, as the rapidly-changing media landscape shifted. The downturn was exacerbated by a scandal in which top executives were discovered to have been augmenting their income without informing the board of directors. The period was chronicled in Jerold Starr's 2000 book, Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting.
Problems continued with a failed attempt to sell WQED's auxiliary station, WQEX, in 1999. In 2002, WQEX's non-commercial educational status was removed; the station moved to a shopping format, first with
The Fred Rogers Studio, where Fred Rogers recorded his iconic television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, is featured in the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks playing Rogers. The cast and crew shot at the WQED headquarters throughout October 2018.[9]
Original programming
Local
- Black Horizons (1968–present) – weekly as the longest running African-American issues program in the nation.[3]
- QED Cooks (1993–present) – Chris Fennimore and Nancy Polinsky Johnson celebrates and cooks the delicious food culture of Pittsburgh, and talks about heritage and the tradition of passing down recipes to the next generation.[10]
National
- Family Communications
- Drink, Drank, Drunk (1974) – an hour-long program on alcoholism, hosted by Carol Burnett[11]
- National Geographic Specials (1975–1991)
- Puzzle Children (1976) – an hour-long Julie Andrews and Bill Bixby-hosted special[12]
- Once Upon a Classic (1976–1980) - a show hosted by Bill Bixby that introduced literary works acted out for young viewers in a way easily understandable
- Including Me (1977) – an hour-long Patricia Neal-hosted program spotlighting six disabled children[3][13]
- Raised in Anger (1979) – an hour-long Ed Asner-hosted program on child abuse[14]
- The Chemical People (1982–1983) – a nine-part series on
- Planet Earth (1986) – in association with the National Academy of Sciences
- Zoobilee Zoo (1986–1987) - also aired nationally in syndication
- The Infinite Voyage (1987–1992) – in association with the National Academy of Sciences[17]
- Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991–1995) – in partnership with WGBH-TV in Boston
- The first America Speaks with Bill Clinton, aired nationally by NBC (June 1992)[18]
- Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996–1997) – in partnership with WGBH-TV in Boston
- Space Age (1994?) – in association with the National Academy of Sciences
- The Fox Cubhouse (1994–1996) – aired nationally by Fox
- Doo Wop 50 (1999), and subsequent similar programs produced by TJ Lubinsky
- The War that Made America (2006)
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
13.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WQEDHD | Main WQED programming / PBS |
13.2 | 480i | WQED-D1 | Create | |
13.3 | WQED-D2 | World[20] | ||
13.4 | WQED-D3 | Showcase | ||
13.5 | WQED-D4 | PBS Kids |
On January 5, 2009, WQED launched Create on 13.2, replacing the standard-definition simulcast of WQED's main channel.[21]
Analog-to-digital conversion
WQED shut down its analog signal on VHF channel 13 on June 12, 2009, when full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts by federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 38 to VHF channel 13.[22] WQED was the only full-powered station in the Pittsburgh market to move its digital signal back to its analog-era channel. Former sister station WINP-TV took over WQED's former digital channel 38, broadcasting on virtual channel 16.1.
See also
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WQED". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Santoni, Matthew (September 30, 2014). "Public station WQED cutting staff in face of financial woes". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Moving Forward to the Future". Archived from the original on May 28, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "WQED at 50 - Page 73". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Newspapers.com. March 28, 2004. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ "Creating 'QED ... at DuMont's expense?". pbrtv.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ "CDBS Print".
- ^ Staff, FCC Internet Services. "Call Sign History".
- ^ Sefton, Dru (February 10, 2017). "Spectrum auction nets nearly $35M for two Pennsylvania stations". Current. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ^ Sciullo, Maria (July 6, 2018). "Tom Hanks-as-Fred Rogers film, 'You Are My Friend,' begins shooting in Pittsburgh this fall". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "QED Cooks - PBS Food". www.pbs.org. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Clinton Campaign Town Meeting in Pennsylvania".
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info".
- ^ Hazimanolis, George (December 2, 2014). "NEW DIGITAL TELEVISION CHANNEL TO DEBUT ON WQED JANUARY 1" (Press release). WQED Multimedia.
- ^ Owen, Rob (January 2, 2009). "Tuned In: WQED puts daytime focus on children's programming". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.