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Channels | |
Branding | GBH 44 |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner | WGBH Educational Foundation |
History | |
First air date | September 25, 1967 |
Former channel number(s) |
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NET (1967–1970) | |
Call sign meaning | "Great Blue experimental" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 72098 |
ERP | 922 kW |
HAAT | 388.3 m (1,274.0 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°18′37″N 71°14′12″W / 42.31028°N 71.23667°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WGBX-TV (channel 44), branded GBH 44, is the secondary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation, alongside WGBH-TV (channel 2), WFXZ-CD (channel 24), and multiple public radio stations in Boston and on Cape Cod. WGBX-TV, WGBH-TV and the WGBH and WCRB radio stations share studios on Guest Street in northwest Boston's Brighton neighborhood; WGBX-TV's transmitter is located on Cedar Street (southwest of I-95/MA 128) in Needham, Massachusetts.
WGBX-TV began broadcasting in September 1967 as a source of experimental, alternative, and additional educational programming, in addition to repeats of shows aired by WGBH-TV. It also provided an outlet for specialty telecourses and instructional material. In the 1960s and 1970s, such programs as The Most Dangerous Game, Catch 44, and Club 44 attracted national attention or moved to the parent station. WGBX-TV provided the first gavel-to-gavel telecast of an American state legislature in 1984 when the Massachusetts House of Representatives agreed to have their sessions televised in full, and it was a test bed for experimentation with new digital audio standards in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, WGBX-TV programming was revamped to feature themed nights and increase awareness of its identity.
WGBX-TV itself broadcasts standard-definition versions of WGBX and WGBH (both in high definition from the WGBH-TV multiplex) and several multicast services. WBTS-CD, NBC Boston, shares the channel, allowing the station to broadcast at high power to the Boston area.