WisconsinEye is a non-profit, private public affairs cable network in the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. The network airs gavel-to-gavel coverage of the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republica ...

, including floor sessions of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

and

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

, plus committee meetings and other programs of state interest such as panels, town halls, and programs about state history. The coverage is available live both on the cable network as well as through the WisconsinEye website. The channel has partnered with Charter's

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

(made up of the legacy

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

and Charter systems within the state) in order to reach over 60 percent of the state's population, and is available on the lifeline tier for all viewers. The channel began operations in May 2007, and although the network's signal is

480i 480i is the video mode used for standard-definition digital television in the Caribbean, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Laos, Western Sahara, and most of the Americas (with the exception of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay). The ...

standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...

, all programming is acquired in

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

with

high-definition television High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

(HD) cameras and equipment and presented in

letterboxed Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes (black bars) above and below ...

format, suggesting a simple transition to an HD signal should the opportunity arise; the air feed on the network's website, along with the Spectrum TV app (access to which was added in July 2023) broadcasts in its native format. In the summer of 2019, the channel was converted to a forced

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

mode, filling a 16:9 screen, albeit still in standard definition on cable. Like most state public affairs networks and C-SPAN, WisconsinEye has a strict license regarding use of state legislature and other network footage in any way other than for reference purposes and disallows it from being used in political advertising, an issue which came to the forefront with a Green Bay-targeted ad by a Planned Parenthood political action committee using the network's footage in September 2013. The channel was removed from Time Warner at the end of the original carriage agreement in early 2009 due to the network wanting payment for carriage, but eventually returned to that provider's systems in late March 2012. Time Warner and Charter merged in May 2016, making Charter's merged "Spectrum" service the dominant carrier of the network through the state. The non-profit is financed by private donors from all sectors and political persuasions, including the Lynde & Harry

Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports conservative causes. The foundation provides between $35 million and $4 ...

, the

Argosy Foundation The Argosy Foundation, founded in 1997, is currently based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was formerly known as the Abele Family Charitable Trust. History The foundation was established in 1995 with a $9 million endowment from John Abele. In 2002, i ...

, ''

The Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a digital-first newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. The o ...

''/Evjue Foundation, Phil Hendrickson, Terry and Mary Kohler,

Madison Gas and Electric Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE) is the primary subsidiary of MGE Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGEE). As a regulated utility, it primarily serves the Madison, Wisconsin metropolitan area with electricity, gas and green energy options. History Th ...

Kwik Trip Kwik Trip is a chain of convenience stores founded in 1965 with locations throughout Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin under the name Kwik Trip, and in Illinois and Iowa under the name Kwik Star (to avoid confusion with QuikTri ...

Acuity Insurance Acuity Insurance is a mutual insurance company headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Overview Acuity Insurance is the 56th-largest insurer in the United States. They do not sell insurance directly, instead relying on independent agents. ...

, the

Helen Bader Foundation Bader Philanthropies Inc. is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin based foundation that consists of funds from the Helen Daniels Bader Fund and the Isabel and Alfred Bader Fund. It pledges to give away $14 million annually. The organization centers on the healt ...

, 5Nines Technology, Yahara Software, and Wisconsin billionaires Ken and Diane Hendricks, who have contributed more than

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1 million.

References

External links

WisconsinEyeWisconsin State AssemblyWisconsin State Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisconsineye Wisconsin Legislature Legislature broadcasters in the United States Television networks in the United States Commercial-free television networks Television channels and stations established in 2007 Television stations in Wisconsin Television stations in Madison, Wisconsin