wpbt2 south florida pbs slogan explore your possibilities channels digital 18 uhf virtual 2 psip affiliations .1 pbs .2 create .3 v me owner south florida pbs founded november 1953 first air date august 12 1955 ; 61 years ago 1955 08 12 call letters meaning worldwide public broadcasting television or west palm beach television sister station s wxel tv former callsigns wths tv 1955 1979 timeshare partner former channel number s analog 2 vhf 1955 2009 former affiliations net 1955 1970 transmitter power 1000 kw height 309 m facility id 13456 transmitter coordinates 25 57 30.9 n 80 12 43.3 w 25.958583 n 80.212028 w 25.958583 ; 80.212028 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.wpbt2.org wpbt tv uhf digital channel 18 is a pbs member television station located in miami florida united states . the station is owned by the community television foundation of south florida a subsidiary of south florida pbs . wpbt maintains studio facilities located on northeast 20th avenue in north miami and its transmitter is located on northwest 199th street in andover . in addition to serving the miami fort lauderdale market the station has significant viewership in much of the west palm beach market and is the only miami area television station to serve the entire south florida metropolis . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 programming 3.1 original programming 4 uvu 5 references 6 external links history edit the community television foundation of south florida was formed in november 1953 . it immediately jumped into the bidding for florida s first non commercial educational television station . the only major competition came from the dade county school board . ultimately the federal communications commission awarded licenses to both groups in a time share arrangement . they signed on channel 2 as a shared operation on august 12 1955 operating as a member station of national educational television . under the arrangement the school board and the foundation alternated airtime on channel 2 airing their programming from separate studios . the school board would air five hours of educational programming during the day under the wths tv call letters while the foundation aired two hours of programming in the evenings under the wpbt calls . 1 2 gradually community television foundation expanded wpbt s broadcasting hours especially after the school board signed on wsec tv channel 17 as a secondary station . wpbt s broadcast day increased further after the formation of the public broadcasting service pbs in 1970 . finally in 1979 the dade county school board relinquished its share of channel 2 and turned over the wths license to the federal communications commission . the board moved wths programming inventory to channel 17 which changed its calls to wlrn tv . until wxel tv signed on as the pbs member for west palm beach in 1982 wpbt served as the default pbs member for the palm beaches and treasure coast . for some time after wxel signed on wpbt continued to claim the palm beaches as part of its primary coverage area going as far as to identify as miami fort lauderdale palm beaches . the analog channel 2 signal traveled a very long distance under normal conditions . in 2010 wpbt rebranded as 2 hd along with its children s program block kidvision . on july 15 2015 the community television foundation announced an agreement with the wxel public broadcasting corporation owner of wxel tv in west palm beach to merge the two stations operations into a new entity to be known as south florida pbs . the merger which was formally filed with the fcc on july 16 would enable the two stations to pool resources and fundraising efforts to offer more program content . 3 4 however the two stations have separate governing boards and conduct separate fundraising efforts . digital television edit digital channels edit channel video aspect psip short name programming 5 2.1 1080i 16 9 wpbt2 1 main wpbt programming pbs 2.2 480i 4 3 wpbt2 2 create 2.3 wpbt2 3 v me analog to digital conversion edit wpbt terminated its analog signal on vhf channel 2 on june 12 2009 as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television . 6 the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 18 . through the use of psip digital television receivers display wpbt s virtual channel as 2 . programming edit original programming edit some of wpbt s notable national programs include the science program star gazers the bilingual sitcom qu pasa usa and its most well known program the business news and analysis program nightly business report which is widely distributed by public television stations mainly those that are members of pbs and had its production responsibilities assumed by cnbc in 2012 . locally produced programs that are seen exclusively on the station include check please south florida a restaurant review show based on the series check please that originated on fellow pbs station wttw in chicago . the station also produces four public affairs programs issues a weekly half hour public affairs and news program hosted by helen ferre that addresses issues in the local community viewpoint a monthly program hosted by steve gushee which addresses topics pertaining to religion and ethics pulse a public affairs program hosted by jessy schuster which addresses issues affecting miami residents of caribbean and caribbean american descent and haiti journal which debuted in 2011 and covers current affairs in haiti . wpbt has also produced two nature series wild florida hosted by hunter reno which explored florida s ecosystems and wildlife and changing seas which was narrated by peter thomas and explores the world s oceans along with leading experts who study our planet s last frontier . 7 it also produces several documentaries about the south florida area ; projects in development include stranahan house florida s state parks into the wild and lost in florida . uvu edit launched in 2007 uvu pronounced you view is a south florida community video website hosted by wpbt . it incorporates user generated video along with content created and submitted to the site by community groups and cultural educational institutions as well as repurposed content of programs previously aired on wpbt that are also available for viewing and sharing in clip format . in april 2009 uvu was relaunched with a redesigned website and new url www.uvuvideo.org . along with video hosting the site now includes personal blogs profiles and message boards . a relaunch party was held at the wpbt studios on april 2 of that year and invited organizations from around south florida and individuals that work closely with the website . uvu tv episode 106 in october 2007 wpbt launched a weekly companion television program called uvu tv airing on digital subchannel 2.2 which highlights local organizations places and activities around south florida . references edit 1972 broadcasting yearbook tv markets defined the broadcasting guide to spot planning broadcasting ruling of u.s. court of appeals tele media corporation v. federal communications commission 1983 appeal of fcc ruling of 1977 mike janssen july 15 2015 . south florida tv stations announce merger . current.org . current llc . retrieved july 16 2015 . donna gehrke white ; johnny diaz july 16 2015 . two pbs television stations to merge . sun sentinel . tribune publishing . rabbitears tv query for wpbt list of digital full power stations permanent dead link changing seas media kit external links edit wpbt official website uvu website wpbt facebook page query the fcc s tv station database for wpbt biafn s media web database information on wpbt tv v t e television in south florida and the keys including miami and key west reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television english language stations wpbt 2.1 pbs 2.2 the fl ch . create 2.4 wpbt kids wfor 4.1 cbs 4.2 decades wtvj 6.1 nbc 6.2 cozi tv wsvn 7.1 fox wplg 10.1 abc 10.2 metv 10.3 movies wtxi ld 11.3 hype tv 11.4 utv 11.5 videomix w16cc d 16.2 sonlife 16.3 hsn 16.4 peace tv 16.5 qvc over air 16.6 punch tv 16.7 blank wlrn 17.1 pbs 17.2 wlrn kids 17.3 create 17.4 explrn wdfl ld 18.2 whbn 18.5 launch tv wltv dt 23.3 escape 23.4 laff wbfs 33.1 mntv 33.2 heroes & icons wpxm 35.1 ion 35.2 qubo 35.3 ion life wpmf cd 38 the family channel wsfl 39.1 the cw 39.2 justice 39.3 ant . 39.4 this whft 45.1 tbn 45.2 church 45.3 juce tv 45.5 smile wbec 63.1 ind. educ . wami 69.2 bounce tv spanish language stations wpbt 2.3 v me weys lp 6 alma . wsvn 7.2 estrella tv wgen tv 8.1 mundomax wtxi ld 11.1 tlr 11.2 infomercials w16cc d 16.1 cubana wdfl ld 18.1 mira tv 18.3 telecandela 18.4 rbc televisi n wsbs tv 22.1 mega wltv 23.1 uni . wdgt ld 24.1 azteca 24.2 alientovision 24.4 ctni wimp cd 25.1 elementos 25.2 .4 unknown wvfw ld 34.1 estrella tv wjan cd 41.1 ind. 41.2 wfun ld w43cb d 43.1 relg . whft 45.4 enlace wfun ld 48.1 ind. 48.2 wjan cd wscv 51.1 telemundo wlmf ld 53.1 latv wgen ld 55.1 mega tv wami 69.1 unim s key west stations wsbs tv 3.1 mega wgen 8.1 mundomax weyw lp 19 tuff tv wcay cd 36.1 tourist w39ac 39 mega wmdf ld 41 silent wkwt lp 42 silent atsc m h mobile dtv stations encrypted channels italicized wfor 4.1 cbs wtvj 6.2 cozi tv wplg 10.1 abc wltv 23.1 uni wpxm 35.1 ion 35.2 qubo wscv 51.1 tmd adjacent locals west palm beach wptv tv 5.1 nbc 5.2 metv 5.3 laff whdt 9.1 the auto channel ind wpec 12.1 cbs 12.2 weathernation tv 12.3 comet wpbf tv 25.1 abc 25.2 estrella tv wflx 29.1 fox wxel 42.1 pbs 42.2 create 42.3 v me 42.4 fl channel local cable channels fox sports florida fox sports sun telemiami florida broadcast television areas by city fort myers gainesville jacksonville miami orlando pensacola panama city tallahassee tampa st. petersburg west palm beach see also bahamas tv bermuda tv television in cuba v t e pbs member stations in the state of florida wpbt 2 miami wedu 3 tampa wuft 5 gainesville wjct 7 jacksonville wfsu 11 wfsg 56 tallahassee panama city wusf 16 tampa wlrn 17 miami wsre 23 pensacola wucf 24 orlando wgcu 30 fort myers wxel 42 west palm beach see also abc cbs cw fox ion mynetworktv nbc pbs other stations in florida v t e spanish language television stations in the state of florida miami fort lauderdale wpbt 2.3 v me miami weys lp 6 alma miami wsvn 7.2 estrella tv miami wgen 8 mundomax key west wsbs 22 mega tv key west wltv 23 univisi n miami wpmf cd 38 azteca miami wjan cd 41 spanish independent miami wfun ld 48 spanish independent miami wscv 51 telemundo fort lauderdale wami 69 unim s hollywood tampa st. petersburg wedu 3.2 v me tampa wxax cd 26 azteca clearwater wmor 32.3 estrella tv lakeland wspf cd 35.1 mundomax st. petersburg wrmd cd 49 telemundo tampa wftt 50 unim s tampa wvea 62.1 univisi n 62.2 latv venice orlando daytona beach melbourne wkmg 6.2 latv orlando wkcf 18.3 estrella tv clermont w21au 21.1 mundomax orlando w21au 21.2 tele rom ntica orlando wucf 24.3 v me orlando wven 26 univisi n daytona beach wtmo cd 31 telemundo orlando wzxz cd 36 caribevision orlando wotf 43 unim s melbourne west palm beach fort pierce wwhb ca 48 azteca stuart wbwp ld 57.1 mundomax 57.2 tele rom ntica west palm beach fort myers naples wuvf lp 2 wlze lp 51 univisi n naples ft. myers wana ld 16 azteca naples wftx 36.2 latv cape coral wwdt cd 43 telemundo naples wxcw 46.2 mundomax naples jacksonville