cet channels digital 34 uhf virtual 48 psip affiliations pbs owner public media connect the greater cincinnati television educational foundation 1 2 first air date july 26 1954 ; 62 years ago 1954 07 26 call letters meaning cincinnati educational television sister station s wptd wpto think tv former channel number s analog 48 uhf 1954 2009 former affiliations net 1954 1970 dt2 pbs world 2003 2009 dt3 pbs world 2009 2010 transmitter power 400 kw height 326 m facility id 65666 transmitter coordinates 39 7 27 n 84 31 18 w 39.12417 n 84.52167 w 39.12417 ; 84.52167 wcet licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.cetconnect.org wcet virtual channel 48 uhf digital channel 34 is a pbs member television station located in cincinnati ohio united states . the station is owned by the greater cincinnati television educational foundation 1 2 a subsidiary of public media connect . wcet was the first licensed public television station in the united states . 3 its studios are located in the crosley telecommunications center on central parkway in cincinnati and its transmitter is located along warner street in the mount auburn section of cincinnati . master control operations are based at the studios of sister pbs member station wptd in dayton . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 original programming 4 see also 5 references 6 further reading 7 external links history edit the federal communications commission assigned channel 48 to wcet in 1951 . a corporate charter and construction permit were granted in 1953 . wcet began broadcasting on july 26 1954 from a converted closet on the third floor of music hall . the first day of programming began with tel a story a half hour reading program by the cincinnati library . 4 5 6 7 on march 11 1955 the fcc granted wcet the first non commercial educational broadcast license in the country . 8 wcet remained at music hall until 1959 when it moved to the former wlwt studios on chickasaw street . 4 wcet was known as channel 48 from the 1980s to 1996 . wcet was known as wcet48 from 1996 to 2003 . originally wcet was funded through local school levies . however a failed levy in 1966 forced the station to seek other sources of funding . in 1968 wcet held its inaugural action auction raising 31 000 in two days . 4 in 1976 the station moved to its present studio location at the crosley telecommunications center which it now shares with the market s two main public radio stations wvxu fm and wguc fm . 9 in 1981 warner cable agreed to carry four additional channels of instructional programming provided by wcet . 4 in the late 1990s like pbs member stations in many larger television markets wcet partnered with the for profit company lakeshore learning materials to operate a retail store . wcet took a 25 % share in the channel 48 store of knowledge which went towards the station s endowment fund . the 5 300 square foot 490 m2 store sold merchandise related to pbs shows at the kenwood towne centre from november 23 1996 10 until the chain s bankruptcy and liquidation in 2001 . 11 the discovery channel store opened in its place the following september . 12 once simply branded channel 48 and later as wcet48 the station simplified its name to cet on september 16 2003 moving away from its call sign and channel number to indicate its increasing focus on online services . it began an ip based on demand video service via its website cetconnect . on may 8 2009 the greater cincinnati television educational foundation and greater dayton public television owners of that market s pbs station wptd formed the umbrella non profit organization public media connect . both wcet and wptd operate as subsidiaries with separate branding and fundraising efforts . 13 14 the merger resulted in the july 2010 transfer of wcet s master control operations to wptd s facilities in dayton . 15 digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 16 48.1 1080i 16 9 cethd main wcet programming pbs 48.2 480i 4 3 create cet create 48.3 16 9 cet art cet arts create and cet arts are also available on the digital cable tiers of local cable providers time warner cable and insight communications . 17 cetworld affiliated with pbs world now branded as simply world was carried on channel 48.2 from 2003 to january 5 2009 and on 48.3 from september 24 of that year to february 1 2010 . during this time it was also carried by time warner cable . world programming continues to be carried on thinktv world a subchannel of sister station wpto . on february 1 2010 cetworld was replaced with cet arts on digital subchannel 48.3 . cet launched cet arts the first local 24 hour cultural service of its kind on february 1 2010 . cet arts showcases drama visual arts dance and music programming ranging from symphonic to bluegrass . 18 on march 4 2012 at 6 49 p.m. cet aired its first live high definition pledge break from its studio around the concert program under the streetlamp . analog to digital conversion edit wcet signed on its digital signal on uhf channel 34 on december 4 2002 ; it began broadcasting in high definition 24 hours a day on october 1 2005 . 19 wcet discontinued regular programming on its analog signal over uhf channel 48 at 12 01 a.m. on may 1 2009 . 20 the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 34 21 using psip to display wcet s virtual channel as 48 on digital television receivers . original programming edit the following television series were previously or are currently produced by wcet action auction televised station fundraiser congressional outlook national public affairs program hosted by patrick tyler ; joint venture with congressional quarterly 22 focus 48 local public affairs program showcase with barbara kellar local arts and cultural series airing on cet arts it s academic 1960s 1980s local version in partnership with wlwt lilias yoga and you 23 1972 1999 see also edit cincinnati public radio inc. references edit a b about cet . cetconnect . greater cincinnati television education foundation . archived from the original on december 7 2010 . retrieved 2010 03 18 . cet s legal name is greater cincinnati television education foundation a b wcet tv station profiles & public inspection files federal communications commission watson rouslin 1978 p. 53 . a b c d forty years of tv worth watching pdf . greater cincinnati television educational foundation . 1994 . archived from the original pdf on december 15 2005 . ohio library association bulletin . ohio library association . 1953 https books.google.com books id i2hpaaaamaaj & q wcet . cincinnati s community owned educational television wcet went on the air july 26 with tel a story by the cincinnati public library as the opening program . missing or empty title help kiesewetter john july 28 2014 . wcet tv got its start 60 years ago . the cincinnati enquirer . gannett company . retrieved december 2 2014 . knippenberg jim september 26 2004 . abc news to air from devou park . the cincinnati enquirer . gannett company . retrieved december 2 2014 . non commercial education television broadcast station license official no. 1 pdf . federal communications commission . march 11 1955 . archived from the original pdf on december 19 2005 . cincinnati s leading lady of architecture stars in her very own show . cetconnect . greater cincinnati television educational foundation . retrieved 2007 06 23 . miller nick 1996 11 06 . wcet cashing in on knowledge fee required . the cincinnati post . e. w. scripps company . p. b9 . retrieved 2010 03 18 . los angeles based lakeshore learning materials operates 29 store of knowledge outlets in agreements with pbs stations in 18 cities most of them in markets much larger than cincinnati . ... channel 48 decided for the time being to have a 25 percent ownership stake in the store station officials said . ... the channel 48 store of knowledge will have its grand opening nov. 23 . the 5 300 square foot store features more than 5 000 products ... linked to pbs programming . kenwood s store of knowledge to close . cincinnati business courier . american city business journals . 2001 04 12 . retrieved 2010 03 18 . discovery channel store to open at kenwood . cincinnati business courier . american city business journals . 2001 07 16 . retrieved 2010 03 18 . thinktv and cet to merge press release . greater dayton public television . 2008 10 31 . thinktv cet form public media connect inc. . business courier of cincinnati . 2009 05 08 . retrieved 2009 05 08 . kiesewetter john 2010 07 19 . merger cuts cet jobs . the cincinnati enquirer . gannett company . retrieved 2010 07 20 . five full time positions including both master control operators have been eliminated by cet . ... starting last weekend cet s signal was being sent from dayton to the station here and then to the fairview heights tower and time warner cable employees say . rabbitears tv query for wcet cet television program channel information . cetconnect . greater cincinnati television educational foundation . retrieved 2010 03 18 . cet arts . cetconnect . greater cincinnati television educational foundation . retrieved 2010 03 18 . cet digital television . cetconnect . greater cincinnati television educational foundation . retrieved 2010 03 18 . list of digital full power stations cdbs print about wcet . greater cincinnati television educational foundation . archived from the original on february 4 1998 . watson rouslin 1978 pp. 53 54 . further reading edit watson rouslin virginia february 1978 . channel 48 a muttering voice in the t.v. wilderness . cincinnati . greater cincinnati chamber of commerce . 11 5 52 57 . retrieved november 17 2009 . external links edit cetconnect official website of wcet tv cet 50th anniversary at the wayback machine archived december 15 2005 query the fcc s tv station database for wcet biafn s media web database information on wcet tv v t e television stations in the sw ohio ne kentucky area including cincinnati reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television commercial stations wlwt 5.1 nbc 5.2 metv wcpo 9.1 abc 9.2 escape 9.3 laff wkrc 12.1 cbs 12.2 cw 12.3 asn wxix 19.1 fox 19.2 bounce 19.3 grit woth cd 20.1 movies 20.2 decades 20.3 buzzr 20.4 h & i 20.5 amgtv newsmax 20.6 tuff 2.7 classic 2.8 evine wbqc ld 25.1 cozi 25.2 this 25.3 retro 25.4 jtv 25.5 heartland 25.6 sonlife wstr 64.1 mntv 64.2 antenna tv 64.3 comet 64.4 gettv non profit stations public television wpto 14.1 pbs hd 14.2 prime 14.3 learn pbs kids 14.4 world ohio channel 14.5 pbs sd wcet 48.1 pbs 48.2 create 48.3 ind. wcvn 54 54.1 pbs ket 54.2 ket2 54.3 ky channel ket ed religious wdyc ld 36.1 ds wkoi 43.1 tbn 43.2 church 43.3 juce tv smile 43.4 enlace 43.5 tbn salsa local cable channels cn 2 fox sports ohio the ohio channel time warner cable sportschannel southwest ohio wcm outlying areas w23dm d 23.1 ket pbs 23.2 ket2 23.3 ky channel augusta ky w20ct d 20.1 ket pbs 20.2 ket2 20.3 ky channel falmouth ky wkon tv 52.1 pbs ket 52.2 ket2 52.3 ky channel owenton ky defunct channels w17ay 17 tbn onn sportschannel cincinnati ohio broadcast television charleston huntington west virginia cincinnati cleveland akron columbus dayton ft. wayne indiana lima marietta parkersburg west virginia steubenville wheeling