Maryland Public Television

Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAR : Maryland Public Television

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Maryland Public Television or MPT is a state-wide network of PBS member stations serving Maryland, with studios located in Owings Mills and six high-power UHF transmitters across the state. MPT produces two weekly programs for distribution to other PBS members, such as Wall Street Week with Fortune, Coastal Cooking with John Sheilds, Baking with Julia, Barbeque University with Stephen Raichlen and more as well as purely local programs such as its weekly public affairs progeram, Direct Connection, and others such as Artworks, This Week, State Circle, and Outdoors Maryland.

The service began in 1969 as the Maryland Center For Public Broadcasting, which would be renamed Maryland Public Television in the early-1980s. Maryland Public Television and MPT are their on-air identities; they are owned by the state by the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission.

MPT has broadcast ranges from Southern Pennsylvannia to Washington D.C. The station showcases the best of programs from PBS as well as British comedies, music and arts programs. MPT is also a well known staple in the community offering community outreach and educational services. It was also one of the first PBS Stations to go to digital format.The station recently celebrated its 35th Anniversary in 2004. Attempts were made for MPT to have at least daily news broadcasts, an example was Newsnight Maryland, which started in the late 1990's, which starred Camilla Carr and Bob Althage. The program failed to gain an audience and by the early 2000's the show was dropped to show a new "public square" format, showing the BBC World News in Newsnight's old time slot.

Productions

• Hodgepodge Lodge - a nature show for children hosted by Jean Worthley produced in the 1970s
• MotorWeek: automotive magazine
• Wall Street Week (with Fortune): financial information and advice
• Outdoors Maryland: wildlife show focusing on the Mid-Atlantic region
• National Geographic Spelling Bee
• A.M. Weather, a 15-minute morning weather program, mainly geared to aviation (since it was known as "Aviation Weather" from 1978-1985), it left the air in February 1995

Stations

Station	Analog Channel	Digital Channel	City	Callsign Meaning
WMPT	22	42	Annapolis	Maryland Public Television (was WAPB (Annapolis Public Broadcasting) until July 4, 1984)
WMPB	67	29	Baltimore	Maryland Public Broadcasting
WCPB	28	56	Salisbury	Coastal Public Broadcasting
WFPT	62	28	Frederick	Frederick Public Television
WWPB	31	44	Hagerstown	Western Maryland Public Broadcasting
WGPT	36	54	Oakland	Garrett County Public Television

External links

• [MPT homepage]
• [Query the FCC's TV station database for WMPT]
• [Query the FCC's TV station database for WMPB]
• [Query the FCC's TV station database for WCPB]
• [Query the FCC's TV station database for WFPT]
• [Query the FCC's TV station database for WWPB]
• [Query the FCC's TV station database for WGPT]

Broadcast Television in the Washington, D.C. market  [(Nielsen DMA #8)]
WRC 4 (NBC) - WTTG 5 (Fox) - WJLA 7 (ABC) - WUSA 9 (CBS) - WAZT-CA 10 / WAZC-LP 16 / WAZF-CA 28 / WAZW-CA 48 (TBN) - WFDC 14 (UNV) - W15AD 15/W17AL 17/W41AO 41/W48AA 48/W69AC 69 (PBS/WVPB) - WDCA 20 (UPN/MNTV) - WDDN 23 (DAY) - WHAG 25 (NBC) - WETA 26 (PBS) - WWPB 31/WFPT 62 (PBS/MPB) - WHUT 32 (PBS) - WVPY 42 (PBS) - WMDO 47 (TFR) - WWTD 49 (Ind) - WDCW 50 (The WB/The CW) - WNVC 56 (Ind) - WIAV 58 (AV/Ind) - WWPX 60/WPXW 66 (i) - WZDC 64 (TMD) - WJAL 68 (Ind)
Digital only WNVT 30 (Ind)
Local cable television channels News Channel 8 - TV-3 Winchester (ABC)