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WGBH-TV

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WGBH is an established public television and public radio broadcast service located in Boston, Massachusetts. It operates over ten broadcasts: primarily WGBH 2 and WGBX 44 (television) and WGBH 89.7 FM (radio). WGBH is a member of PBS in regard to its television broadcasts, and both a member of NPR and an affiliate of PRI for its radio broadcasts. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation.

WGBH produces many shows for the above organizations, including nearly a third of PBS's national prime-time TV. Programs produced for PBS include Nova, Frontline, American Experience, The Victory Garden, and This Old House.

Recognized for its contributions to non-commercial educational television programming, WGBH is also a leader in services for people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, or visually impaired. WGBH invented television closed captioning and the Descriptive Video Service (DVS); they provide these access services to commercial and public TV producers, and to home video, Web sites, and movie theaters nationwide.

History

WGBH received its first broadcasting license in 1951 under the auspices of the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council, a consortium of local universities and cultural institutions, whose collaboration stems from an 1836 bequest by textile manufacturer John Lowell, Jr. calling for free public lectures for the citizens of Boston.

WGBH-TV Channel 2 went on the air on May 2, 1955, at 5:20 PM with studios located at 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge until a fire destroyed the studios in the early morning hours of October 14, 1961. After going to so many studios, and on August 29, 1964, WGBH-TV Channel 2 and WGBH 89.7 FM signed-on from new studios at 125 Western Avenue in Allston.

File:WGBH logo large.jpg
The WGBH television signature as it currently appears at the end of each of its television programs

For more than thirty years, WGBH's on-air TV signature has been the synth-and-animation logo that now appears at the close of each PBS program it produces. The original seven-second piece began appearing at the beginning of WGBH's national shows in the 1970s, accompanied by different visuals—including the "outline" design that is the WGBH emblem. The audio "sounder" now appears as a three- or four-second stinger.

The ID is among the most famous and longest lasting station signatures in public television, along with the former "radar" signature of WNET and the animated shapes of the Public Broadcasting Service closing ID. Many thought the WGBH jingle and logo were "eerie" because of its characteristics:

  1. When it starts up, it flashes and eerie spacelike beeps pop in.
  2. A synthesizer (presumably a MOOG) makes a slow violin like sound.
  3. The tone builds up, and the neon sign (while looking very real) "catches fire"
  4. The neon blurs out and fades into the word "Boston" as the tone reaches its crescendo.

While not intending to be scary, it was frightening to some viewers because it was random and unpredictable for the first time. It was surreal, abstract, and subtly psychedelic to some. On certain shows, this sting was overridden by the show's music itself, such as in the case of the Arthur TV series.

Transmission Facilities

"GBH" stands for Great Blue Hill, the location of WGBH's FM transmitter, as well as the original location of WGBH-TV's transmitter. Great Blue Hill in Milton, Massachusetts, has an elevation of 635 feet (193 m) and is the highest point in the Boston area. Today, WGBH-TV's and WGBX-TV's transmitters are located at the Viacom digital television facility in Needham, Massachusetts, where channel 44 originally signed on September 25, 1967; channel 2 moved there on June 18, 1966. WGBX-TV's digital service on channel 43 shares the master antenna at the very top of the tower with the commercial stations. Analog channel 44 has a separate antenna lower down that is shared with WGBH-DT on channel 19.

WGBH operates a CANCOM satellite uplink facility which provides Boston broadcast television stations to Canadian cable and satellite TV distributors. As a Canadian company, CANCOM is not legally entitled to operate an uplink facility in the United States. Hence, it pays WGBH to perform this service on its behalf. This facility is also located at the Viacom tower in Needham.

WGBH also owns three transmitters on Cape Cod, licensed to Woods Hole (WCAI), Nantucket (WNAN), and Brewster (WZAI). All simulcast National Public Radio programming.

Studios

WGBH's original studios were located in building W20 (presently Stratton Student Center) on the campus of MIT until the building burned down in a 1963 fire. The building was rebuilt, but by the time of completion, the station had moved to its present location on Harvard University property in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. The ZIP code of the station and its post-office box—02134—was made famous in a recurring jingle on its 1970s and late 1990s children's program, Zoom. In 2006, WGBH will move to new studios in Boston's Brighton neighborhood.

Channels and digital services

  • WGBH-TV 2 Boston (DT 19)
  • WGBX-TV 44 Boston (DT 43)
  • WGBH World (WGBX-DT and digital cable)
  • WGBH Create (WGBX-DT and digital cable)
  • 'GBH Kids (WGBX-DT and digital cable)
  • WGBH On Demand (digital cable)
  • WGBH High Definition (WGBH-DT and digital cable)
  • Boston Kids & Family TV (Boston cable)
  • WGBY-TV 57 Springfield (DT 58)
  • WGBH 89.7 Boston
  • Cape and Islands NPR www.cainan.org

WGBH is one of six local Boston TV stations seen in Canada on the Bell ExpressVu satellite provider.

Major WGBH productions

Television

Radio

Online

  • The WGBH Forum Network
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