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About WFSU
 

television history

In 1955 the Florida Legislature established the Florida ETV Commission to coordinate and activate ETV stations throughout the state. One of the stations in the state plan was WFSU-TV, Channel 11. On September 20, 1960, WFSU-TV began operations in a small studio on the campus of the Florida State University. WFSU-TV began as a low-power black and white signal that only partially covered Tallahassee. Most of the schedule was instructional television prrograms. By today's standards this may seem primitive, but it was a healty beginning.

During the late 1960s, WFSU-TV began to expand its operations. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting created in 1967 by Congress, and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), formed in 1969, was instrumental to its growth. The concept of public television broadened the scope of programs offered by WFSU-TV resulting in larger audiences.

Today WFSU-TV presents a wide variety of programs. It is able to offer programming directed to cultural, educational and special interests.

WFSU-TV is unmatched in public affairs, and for the originiation of special events. Locally produced programs include Issues in Education and Capitol Update (among others), focusing on universitty and statewide government respectively. Outloud is local music program which features a wide variety of local talent. You can learn about other locally produced programming on our Television Production page. This is all in addition to the classic adult and children's programming offered by PBS nationally.

Channel 11 began broadcasting with maximum power in 1972, and shortly after converted to full color. Calel and Channel 22 (now 56) in Panama city permited coverage to homes all over the big Bend area, as well as parts of SE Alabama and Southern Georgia.

In the early 1980s, the new satellite facility was one of the most exciting innovations at WFSU-TV which included up-link and down-link capbility. This allowed WFSU to receive programs from other public television stations or send programs for reception by stations throughout the nation. WFSU still uses satellite technology today can carry several channels of alternative programs to provide WFSU-TV and other public television stations with an increasing variety of programming options.

Throughout its history WFSU-TV has been equiped with state of the art facilities and received a new fully equiped building in 1982, located near the Seminole Golf Course.

On July 11 1988, WFSU-TV began broadcasting to most of Northwest Florida via its new 500-foot state-of-the-art transmitter tower on UHF Channel 56. Prior to the new transmitter installation, some of the Panama City/Bay area had received WFSU-TV's signal through a low power translator (Channel 22). The new transmitter served residents within a radius of 40 miles from the tower site located in West Bay community of Seminole Hills. Late in 1987 the project was assigned UHF Channel 56 and call letters WFSG by Federal Communications Commission.

In 1995, WFSU was granted a local cable access station that would feature programming for and about the Florida State University. This channel began as FSU 47, migrated to Channel 6 and is now known as 4FSU. 4FSU features up-to-date information about student and faculty affairs at FSU.

The Florida Channel, a service of WFSU-TV and the Florida Legislature, began its statewide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Florida Legislature on Tuesday, March 5, 1996. Located on the Ninth Floor of the State Capitol Building, The Florida Channel provides the only source of live, unedited Legislative coverage in the state. Also, The Florida Channel relies on its record number of robotics-controlled cameras throughout the Capitol Complex to produce the coverage.

In September 1997, The Florida Channel's coverage expanded to include live oral arguments of the Florida Supreme Court. And in March 1998, The Florida Channel began its coverage of the Public Service Commission Conferences.

In addition, The Florida Channel produces several news, documentary, and human interest programs (see below) seen throughout the state on Public Television and cable channels.

Recently, beginning in 2001, WFSU began the process to upgrade to a digital broadcast signal. WFSU-TV can now be viewed in both analog and High Definition digital broadcast signals.
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