PBS North Carolina

PBS North Carolina is a public television network that serves the state of North Carolina. It is run by the University of North Carolina system, which manages most of the thirteen PBS member television stations in the state. One station, WTVI in Charlotte, is owned by Central Piedmont Community College.

The television stations' signals reach almost all of North Carolina and also parts of Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The network's main office is located at the Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Communications Center in Research Triangle Park, between Raleigh and Durham.

PBS North Carolina brings educational and entertaining programs to families and schools across the region, helping people of all ages learn and grow.

History

WUNC-TV in Chapel Hill, the main station of the network, began broadcasting on January 8, 1955. It was the second educational TV station south of Washington, D.C.. Over the next twelve years, four more stations started, beginning with WUND-TV in Edenton on September 10, 1965. More stations followed in Linville, Asheville, Concord, and Wilmington.

Later, five more stations began broadcasting: WUNK-TV in Greenville in 1972, WUNL-TV in Winston-Salem in 1973, WUNM-TV in Jacksonville in 1982, WUNP-TV in Roanoke Rapids in 1986, and WUNU-TV in Lumberton in 1996. The newest station, WUNW in Canton, started in 2010. The network was known as North Carolina Public Television until the mid-1990s, then University of North Carolina Television, and later UNC-TV. On January 12, 2021, it became "PBS North Carolina," while still showing its connection to the university system.

Programming

PBS North Carolina creates many shows that are important to people living in North Carolina. Some of these shows include North Carolina Now, Our State, and Carolina Outdoor Journal. They also make special shows about the state's history and culture, like North Carolina Bookwatch.

Besides these local shows, PBS North Carolina also shows programs from PBS and American Public Television. They have shows from the United Kingdom too, like funny shows called "Britcoms" on Saturday nights and a popular story show called EastEnders on Sunday nights. In the 1990s, they had a fun character named "Read-A-Roo," a kangaroo, to help introduce their shows for children. PBS North Carolina also has special talks and discussions on Sunday mornings.

Stations

PBS North Carolina operates twelve stations that share its programs all across North Carolina and also reach parts of Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Each station's name starts with "UN" for the University of North Carolina, followed by a letter in the order the station was turned on, except for the very first one.