Arkansas Educational Television Network
Encyclopedia
Arkansas Educational Television Network (or AETN) is a state network
of simulcast
non-commercial educational
public television station covering the state of Arkansas
. Affiliate
d with Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS), the sate newnetwork is operated by the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, an agency of the Arkansas state government that holds the broadcast licenses for all the AETN Transmitters in the state. Located adjacent the University of Central Arkansas
in Conway
, AETN broadcasts from the R. Lee Reaves Center for Educational Telecommunications via AETN's thirteen-site microwave interconnection relay system around the state, which cover most of Arkansas, as well as parts of all surrounding states.
Approximately two-thirds of AETN's funding comes from state tax dollars to support the broadcast infrastructure and all services that are provided for educators and schools. More than ten-percent comes from the Federal government as a partial match of what is raised locally. Almost twenty-percent comes from voluntary contributions from individual viewers and businesses.
, the flagship station, signed on in 1966 as the nation's 124th educational television station. In the early years, KETS was associated with National Educational Television, the forerunner of the current PBS. The early days saw black-and-white broadcasting only, with color capabilities beginning in 1972. Limited hours of operation in the early years focused primarily on instructional programming for use in Arkansas classrooms. Over the next fifteen years, four additional analog transmitters were added to expand coverage to virtually the entire state. Hours of operation gradually became 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week as general audience programming was added during the evenings and on weekends. These five analog transmitters were eventually replaced with six digital transmitters by mid-2009 as part of the national digital transition.
During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, AETN became an educational resource for public school and college educators through the use of instructional videos with teacher guides and supplements for grade school classrooms, college telecourses, and GED education for adults. During the mid-1990s, AETN began providing distance learning via broadcast, satellite, the Internet and compressed video to provide educational professional development as well as access for students to a wide variety of educational courses for classroom use.
AETN began creating local programming in the late 1960s and still annually produces more than 100 hours of full-length, educational and cultural programming specifically about Arkansas.
Notes:
that would ultimately come on June 12, AETN closed down its analog transmitters on a staggered basis. The dates below show the final shutdown dates for AETN's analog channels.
KETZ signed on in 2006 as a digital-only station, though that station also had to endure a temporary shutdown in early 2009 in final preparation for the transition.
State network
A State Network in the United States broadcasting industry is a term which refers to a miniature television network serving an entire state or multiple states...
of simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
non-commercial educational
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
public television station covering the state of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
d with Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS), the sate newnetwork is operated by the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, an agency of the Arkansas state government that holds the broadcast licenses for all the AETN Transmitters in the state. Located adjacent the University of Central Arkansas
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas is a state-run institution located in the city of Conway, the seat of Faulkner County, north of Little Rock and is the fourth largest university by enrollment in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and the third largest college system in the state. The school is most...
in Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
, AETN broadcasts from the R. Lee Reaves Center for Educational Telecommunications via AETN's thirteen-site microwave interconnection relay system around the state, which cover most of Arkansas, as well as parts of all surrounding states.
Approximately two-thirds of AETN's funding comes from state tax dollars to support the broadcast infrastructure and all services that are provided for educators and schools. More than ten-percent comes from the Federal government as a partial match of what is raised locally. Almost twenty-percent comes from voluntary contributions from individual viewers and businesses.
History
AETN was created as the Arkansas Educational Television Commission in 1961, following a two-year legislative study to assess the state’s need for educational television. KETS channel 2 in Little RockLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, the flagship station, signed on in 1966 as the nation's 124th educational television station. In the early years, KETS was associated with National Educational Television, the forerunner of the current PBS. The early days saw black-and-white broadcasting only, with color capabilities beginning in 1972. Limited hours of operation in the early years focused primarily on instructional programming for use in Arkansas classrooms. Over the next fifteen years, four additional analog transmitters were added to expand coverage to virtually the entire state. Hours of operation gradually became 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week as general audience programming was added during the evenings and on weekends. These five analog transmitters were eventually replaced with six digital transmitters by mid-2009 as part of the national digital transition.
During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, AETN became an educational resource for public school and college educators through the use of instructional videos with teacher guides and supplements for grade school classrooms, college telecourses, and GED education for adults. During the mid-1990s, AETN began providing distance learning via broadcast, satellite, the Internet and compressed video to provide educational professional development as well as access for students to a wide variety of educational courses for classroom use.
AETN began creating local programming in the late 1960s and still annually produces more than 100 hours of full-length, educational and cultural programming specifically about Arkansas.
Stations
| Station | City of license City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... |
Channels Channel (broadcasting) In broadcasting, a channel is a range of frequencies assigned by a government for the operation of a particular radio station, television station or television channel. In common usage, the term also may be used to refer to the station operating on a particular frequency.-See also:*Broadcast... (Digital Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals... ) |
VC1 | First air date | ERP Effective radiated power In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains... |
Future ERP | HAAT Height above average terrain Height above average terrain is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is actually much more important than effective radiated power in determining the range of broadcasts... |
Facility ID Facility ID The facility ID number or FIN is a unique positive integer assigned by the United States Federal Communications Commission to each domestic and international broadcast station in its Common Database System . Licensees are required to provide the relevant station's FIN when filing reports and... |
Transmitter Coordinates |
| KAFT | Fayetteville Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks... |
9 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
13 | September 18, 1976 | 37.9 kW | n/a | 501.1 m | 2767 | 35°48′53"N 94°1′41.5"W |
| KEMV | Mountain View Mountain View, Arkansas Mountain View is the largest city in and the county seat of Stone County in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 2,998. The town's name comes from its location in a valley surrounded by the eastern Ozark... |
13 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
6 | November 13, 19802 | 12.1 kW | n/a | 407.2 m | 2777 | 35°48′47.1"N 92°17′24.2"W |
| KETG | Arkadelphia Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,548. The city is the county seat of Clark County. The city is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson State... |
13 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
9 | October 2, 1976 | 13.85 kW | n/a | 319.5 m | 2768 | 33°54′26.6"N 93°6′46.5"W |
| KETS | Little Rock Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census... |
7 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
2 | December 4, 1966 | 26.73 kW | n/a | 547m | 2770 | 34°26′31.1"N 92°13′3.8"W |
| KTEJ | Jonesboro Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city in and one of the two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city was 67,263. A college town, Jonesboro is the largest city in northeastern Arkansas and the fifth most populous city in the state... |
20 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) |
19 | May 1, 1976 | 50 kW | 322.9 kW | 310.2 m | 2769 | 35°54′11.8"N 90°46′14"W |
| KETZ | El Dorado El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado , a multi-cultural arts center: South Arkansas Arts Center , an award-winning renovated downtown, and numerous sporting, shopping, and dining opportunities. El Dorado is the population, cultural, and business center of the 7,300 mi² regional area... |
10 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
12 | May 20, 2006 | 16.2 kW | n/a | 538 m | 92872 | 33°4′41.7"N 92°13′31"W |
Notes:
- 1. Virtual channel (PSIP).
- 2. The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says KEMV signed on November 11, while the Television and Cable Factbook says it signed on November 16.
Digital transition
During 2009, leading up to the analog shutdownDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
that would ultimately come on June 12, AETN closed down its analog transmitters on a staggered basis. The dates below show the final shutdown dates for AETN's analog channels.
- January 25, 2009: KETS
- February 17, 2009: KTEJ
- June 12, 2009: KEMV, KAFT and KETG
KETZ signed on in 2006 as a digital-only station, though that station also had to endure a temporary shutdown in early 2009 in final preparation for the transition.
KATV Tower (former KETS analog tower)
Digital Channels
AETN offers the following sub-channels:| Sub-channel | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| xx.1 | AETN-HD | Main AETN programming / PBS |
| xx.2 | AETN-2 | PBS Kids PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States founded in 1993. As with all PBS programming, PBS Kids programming is non-commercial. It is aimed at children ages 2 to 10... (5p-11p) Create Create (TV channel) Create is a digital television public television network in the United States. The network was created after the closure of PBS YOU in 2006. Create is a public television network, and runs mainly how-to, DIY, and other non-commercial educational television shows from the libraries of Public... (11p-5p) |
| xx.3 | AETN-Plus | AETN Scholar and PBS World PBS World PBS World is a 24-hour United States over-the-air digital subchannel showing public TV non-fiction, science, nature, news, public affairs and documentaries... |
| xx.4 | AETN-AIRS | Audio-only radio reading service Radio reading service A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-impaired. It is most often carried on a subcarrier, with... |