South Carolina Educational Television (branded South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of

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 earth's s ...

s serving the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. It is operated by the South Carolina Educational Television Commission, an agency of the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

which holds the

licenses A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) 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 part ...

for all of the PBS member stations licensed in the state. The broadcast signals of the eleven television stations cover almost all of the state, as well as parts of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The network's primary operations are located on George Rogers Boulevard in Columbia, across from Williams-Brice Stadium on the campus of the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

; SCETV operates satellite studios in

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumt ...

and Rock Hill.

History

The

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and ...

in 1958 authorized a study to see if instructional television could assist the state's public schools.

Dreher High School Dreher High School is a co-educational four-year public high school in Richland County School District One located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1938, Dreher is one of the oldest public high schools in South Carolina ...

in Columbia, South Carolina lent its library to be the study's studio. The first courses (a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

course taught by Madame Lucille Turney-High and a

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

course taught by Cornelia Turnbull) were transmitted on September 8, 1958, via

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

. Following the study's success South Carolina Educational Television Commission (ETV) was created as a state agency, on July 1, 1960. By 1962 ETV extended closed-circuit, classroom television service to most South Carolina counties. In 1963, the Commission launched the first open-circuit (broadcast) educational station in South Carolina, WNTV in Greenville. One year later, WITV in Charleston signed on. Two years later, WRLK-TV in Columbia, made its debut. The network grew to eleven television transmitters covering all of the state. After years of receiving

NET NET may refer to: Broadcast media United States * National Educational Television, the predecessor of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States * National Empowerment Television, a politically conservative cable TV network ...

and PBS programs on tape delay, it entered PBS' satellite network in 1978. In 2000, SCETV broadcast the first digital television program in the state. Since 2003, the state network identifies on-air as simply "ETV." South Carolina Educational Radio (

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

) began in 1972, when WEPR in Clemson signed on the air with maximum power of 100,000 watts (WEPR later moved its

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

to Greenville). The network eventually expanded to eight radio transmitters (five 100 kW and three 30 kW transmitters). The South Carolina Educational Radio Network was renamed ETV Radio in 2003. "ETV" was viewed as a general brand name for both radio and television. In 2015, the radio network was called

South Carolina Public Radio South Carolina Public Radio (SCPR) is the National Public Radio member network serving the state of South Carolina. It is licensed to the South Carolina Educational Television Commission, an agency of South Carolina state government. It is a ...

. R. Lynn Kalmbach was selected as the network's project director in 1958 and led it until his death in 1965. Henry J. Cauthen became ETV's president and general manager and served in numerous leadership roles developing American public broadcasting, including chair of the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as cpb) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to ...

(CPB). Cauthen retired in 1997. Paul Amos served as ETV's third president from 1998 until his death in 2000. Maurice "Moss" Bresnahan was ETV's president and CEO from 2001 to 2008. David Crouch served as interim president in 2009. Linda O'Bryon was president from 2010 to 2017. Anthony Padgett is the current president and CEO.

Digital TV era

Despite the

DTV Delay Act The digital television transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of terrestrial television programming. It was originally set for December 31, 2006, but was delayed several times due ...

national transition extension to June 12, 2009, SCETV discontinued the analog signals of its 11 full-power stations February 18, 2009. Each station's post-transition digital allocations and the FCC Repack Plan (2017) are as follows: On April 13, 2017, the FCC identified SCETV will be compensated $43.2 million to have WRET-TV go off-the-air as part of the

Spectrum auction A spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources. Depending on the specific auction for ...

. WRET will relinquish RF 43 and go into a channel sharing arrangement with WNTV, starting on January 23, 2018. On August 30, 2017,

PBS Kids PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...

was added on new subchannel .4 and online. On October 31, 2017, SCETV submitted an application to change the digital terrestrial signal of WITV from channel 7 (VHF) to channel 24 (UHF); the changeover was scheduled to take place between May and July 2020.

Commission

There are nine members of the ETV Commission. Eight are appointed by the Governor for six-year terms—one from each Congressional District and one from the State at-large who serves as Chairman. The ninth member is the State Superintendent of Education who is ex-officio.

Network

SCETV's television network of 11

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

transmitters covers South Carolina, as well as eastern portions of Georgia (including Augusta and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

) and southern portions of North Carolina (including Charlotte and

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

). SCETV's headquarters and main production facility is located in Columbia, with production facilities (regional stations) in Rock Hill, Spartanburg and Sumter.

Regional television stations

SCETV initially planned to make all eleven of its television stations capable of airing local programming. Four full-fledged stations were built and staffed in Beaufort, Rock Hill, Spartanburg and Sumter before the idea was abandoned in the early 1980s. In 2012, WJWJ-TV in Beaufort was converted into a repeater of the network. The original plan was for each station to carry callsigns of the form WxTV, but after WNTV and WITV signed on it was determined that there were not enough such callsigns available. Beginning with the third station, WRLK-TV in Columbia, most of the remaining callsigns represent prominent officials who either supported SCETV or represented the station's coverage area. Many of the stations have

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

s named after former elected officials in the state. WRLK-TV was named after R. Lynn Kalmbach, the first general manager of ETV Commission, while WRET-TV was named for Richard E. Tukey, the director of

Spartanburg County Spartanburg County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 327,997, making it the fifth-most populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Spartanbu ...

's Chamber of Commerce from 1951 to 1979. WJPM-TV, WJWJ-TV and WRJA-TV were all named after state legislators: WEBA-TV for Edgar Brown, WJPM-TV for James Pierce Mozingo III, WJWJ-TV for James M. Waddell, Jr. and WRJA-TV for R. J. Aycock. WHMC used the callsign WIIB before sign-on. WJWJ-TV (branded as "ETV Lowcountry") previously maintained a regional production facility which was closed down in 2012. WNSC-TV (branded as "ETV Carolinas"), WRET-TV (branded as "ETV Upstate"), and WRJA-TV (branded as "ETV Sumter") are regional production facilities. The other six transmitters are full-time relays of WRLK (branded as "ETV Headquarters"). WRET-TV used the callsign WRTS-TV before sign-on.

Digital television

SCETV offers four

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...

services available over-the-air, and through the

tiers of some

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

providers. ETV HD is the primary feed with

high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *Blu-ray Disc, the universal optical High Definition disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tap ...

content from PBS and SCETV broadcast in the

1080i In high-definition television (HDTV) and video display technology, 1080i is a video display format with 1080 lines of vertical resolution and Interlaced video, interlaced scanning method. This format was once a standard in HDTV. It was particular ...

resolution format. The South Carolina Channel (SCC) carries the national Create service daily, with regionally produced documentary programs focusing on the Carolinas airing during the evening hours. ETV World (ETVW) provides live newscasts from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, notably from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television networks, along with live coverage from the South Carolina State House. SCETV PBS Kids is the fourth channel, a 24/7 service also available online. SCC, ETVW and ETVK are transmitted in

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

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), 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 ...

standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV; also standard definition or SD) is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. ''Standard'' refers to offering a similar resolution to the ...

Cable and satellite availability

SCETV's television network is carried on nearly every cable television provider in South Carolina. Additionally, Rock Hill's WNSC-TV is carried on

Charter Spectrum Spectrum is the trade name of Charter Communications. The name is widely used by both market consumers and commercial businesses. Services that Spectrum offers include cable television, internet access, internet security, managed services, mo ...

's systems on the North Carolina side of the Charlotte market. On

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

and

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

, WRLK-TV, WNTV, WITV, WNSC-TV, WJWJ-TV, WEBA-TV and WJPM-TV are respectively carried on the Columbia, Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, Charleston, Charlotte, Savannah, Augusta and Florence/Myrtle Beach local feeds. The South Carolina Channel, ETV World and SCETV PBS Kids have yet to be offered by satellite services.

Former logos

File:South_Carolina_ETV,_first_broadcast_logo._1963.jpg, South Carolina Educational Television logo, 1958 Image:South_Carolina_ETV_logo,_1967.jpg, South Carolina ETV Network, first color logo, 1970

SCETV original programming

*''By the River'' *''Carolina Business Review'' (in conjunction with PBS NC and

WTVI WTVI (channel 42) is a PBS member television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, owned by Central Piedmont Community College. The station's studios are located in the Chantilly-Commonwealth section of east Charlotte, and its tra ...

in Charlotte) *''Carolina Classrooms'' *''

A Chef's Life ''A Chef's Life'' is an American documentary-style cooking show created by Cynthia Hill (director), Cynthia Hill and Vivian Howard. The series was produced by Markay Media and was broadcast by PBS. The series premiered September 7, 2013, and its ...

'' (with Markay Media, Peabody 2013), Emmy for Outstanding Directing Lifestyle/Culinary/Travel, 2014 *''ETV Classics'' *''Expeditions with Patrick McMillan'' *''For Your Home'' *''Live at the Charleston Music Hall'' *''Live coverage of the South Carolina State House'' *''Making it Grow'' *''Palmetto Scene'' *''Reel South'' (in conjunction with

UNC-TV The University of North Carolina Center for Public Media, branded on-air as PBS North Carolina or commonly PBS NC, is a public television network serving the state of North Carolina. It is operated by the University of North Carolina system, whic ...

and The Southern Documentary Fund) *''This Week in South Carolina''

Past programming

*''Action Packed Cliffhangers'' (1980s series on the serials from the golden age of cinemas) *''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...

: Roanoak'' (mini-series, 1986) PBS *''At Home Southern Style'' *''Carolina Journal'' *''Crucible of Empire: The Spanish American War'' (1999) Great Projects Film Company Inc. for PBS *''

The Day the Universe Changed ''The Day the Universe Changed: A Personal View by James Burke'' is a British documentary television series written and presented by science historian James Burke, originally broadcast on BBC1 from 19 March until 21 May 1985 by the BBC. The seri ...

'' (BBC series, presented by SCETV in the U.S., 1986) PBS *'' The Dooley and Pals Show'' (SCETV distributed the secular version of this children's series to PBS stations) *''Enemies of War'' (2001)

ITVS ITVS (Independent Television Service) is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly ...

& PBS *'' Firing Line'' (produced by SCETV for PBS from 1971 to 1999) *''Germans in America'' (four-part history series 2008) public TV (syndicated) *''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

: The Consul'' (opera, 1977) PBS *''Great Performances: Vanessa'' (opera, 1978) PBS *''Great Projects: The Building of America'' (2002) Great Projects Film Company Inc. for PBS *''Jobman Caravan'' *''

The Magic School Bus ''The Magic School Bus'' is an American edutainment media franchise which includes a book series, TV adaptations, a streaming series, and various video games. Each of the stories within the franchise focuses on the antics of the fictional ...

'' (Animated

Nelvana Limited Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

& Scholastic co-production based on the children's book series; presented by SCETV and aired on PBS from 1994–1998), later moved to the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

network. *''Mary Long's Yesteryear'' (Mary Long died in 1998, but reruns continue on ''The South Carolina Channel'') *''NatureScene'' (nature walk series with hosts

Rudy Mancke Rudolph Ernest Mancke III (October 21, 1945November 7, 2023) was an American naturalist, educator and television and radio host. Early life Mancke was born in Atlanta, Georgia but grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He graduated from Wofford ...

and Jim Welch, videography by Allen Sharpe, 1978–2003) syndicated, public television *''Palmetto Places'' *''Piedmont Quiz Bowl'' – 1980s and 1990s (WRET-TV in Spartanburg) *''Primary Colors: The Story of Corita'' (documentary on

Corita Kent Corita Kent (November 20, 1918 – September 18, 1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christian ...

, 1990) PBS *''Priscilla's Yoga Stretches'' *''Profile'' *''Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey'' (2001)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) be ...

William Greaves William Garfield Greaves (October 8, 1926 – August 25, 2014) was an American documentary filmmaker and a pioneer of film-making. After trying his hand at acting, he became a filmmaker who produced more than two hundred documentary films, and w ...

& PBS *''Stateline'' *''Sandlapper's Corner'' (Late 1970s children's educational show focused on South Carolina culture and history) *''Six Gun Heroes'' (1980s series on the western stars from the golden age of cinema) *'' Studio See'' (SCETV's magazine-style children's show, seen nationwide on PBS in the late 1970s and early 1980s) *''Under the Blue Umbrella'' (In-school program from the 1970s that dealt with a single-subject; nationally syndicated to PBS stations) *''Under the Yellow Balloon'' (Similar to ''Blue Umbrella''; from the early 1980s) *''Voices and Visions'' (13-part poetry series, 2004) PBS Unknown
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , list1= {{Columbia TV {{Charleston TV {{Myrtle Beach/Florence TV {{Savannah TV {{Augusta TV {{Charlotte TV {{GSA TV {{PBS South Carolina {{Public broadcasting in the United States 1963 establishments in South Carolina Educational and instructional television channels PBS member networks Television stations in South Carolina