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Maine Public Broadcasting Network
The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (abbreviated MPBN and branded as Maine Public) is a network of public television and radio stations located in the U.S. state of Maine. It is operated by the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, which holds the licenses for all the PBS and NPR stations licensed in the state. MPBN has studios and offices in Portland, Lewiston and Bangor.
MPBN's television network shows a block of standard PBS programming, as well as many documentaries including nature programs and other science programs. MPBN's radio network airs news and talk programming from NPR, locally produced news programming, jazz and classical music.
MPBN's television and radio signals reach virtually all of the populated portions of Maine, and nearby parts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts as well as the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. MPBN Television is also carried on cable television in parts of Quebec and most of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly via Bell Aliant Fibe TV.
What is now Maine Public dates from the 1992 merger of WCBB, the PBS member station for most of southern Maine, with the original MPBN radio and television stations operated by the University of Maine System.
On November 13, 1961, WCBB signed on the air, based in Lewiston, as the first educational television station in Maine and the third in New England, after WGBH-TV in Boston and WENH-TV in Durham, New Hampshire. Licensed to Augusta, it was a joint venture of Colby College, Bates College, and Bowdoin College. Two years later, WMEB-TV began broadcasting from the University of Maine campus in Orono, near Bangor. Over the next decade, UMaine signed on three other stations across the state, as well as several translators. These stations formed the original MPBN network. One of them was WMEG-TV in Biddeford, near Portland (now WMEA-TV). However, it was practically unviewable over the air in Portland itself and mainly served communities from South Portland to York. The coverage area was improved when the station moved its digital channel on March 11, 2020.
The University of Maine System brought public radio to the state in 1970, when WMEH signed on from Bangor. Five other stations signed on over the next decade.
The two groups merged on July 1, 1992, to form the community-licensed Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation. MPBN's Bangor stations, WMEB-TV and WMEH (FM), became the flagship stations. The television stations adopted the on-air name "Maine Public Television", but dropped this in favor of "Maine PBS" in 1998. The radio stations became known as "Maine Public Radio". In 2005, both radio and television reverted to the "MPBN" moniker. On September 20, 2016, MPBN rebranded as "Maine Public".
Following the merger, WMEA-TV became the flagship station for a secondary PBS service, Maine Public Television Plus; unlike the main network, this service expanded its over-the-air reach through the use of low-power repeaters—W39BQ in Lewiston, which signed on January 1, 1994, and W30BF in Bangor, which launched on April 16, 1994. Cuts in federal funding led to the closing of MPT Plus on June 30, 1996; WMEA and W30BF then reverted to carrying the primary Maine Public Television service (though the latter station was sold in 1999 and became Positiv affiliate WCKD-LP), while W39BQ eventually ceased operations.
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Maine Public Broadcasting Network
The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (abbreviated MPBN and branded as Maine Public) is a network of public television and radio stations located in the U.S. state of Maine. It is operated by the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, which holds the licenses for all the PBS and NPR stations licensed in the state. MPBN has studios and offices in Portland, Lewiston and Bangor.
MPBN's television network shows a block of standard PBS programming, as well as many documentaries including nature programs and other science programs. MPBN's radio network airs news and talk programming from NPR, locally produced news programming, jazz and classical music.
MPBN's television and radio signals reach virtually all of the populated portions of Maine, and nearby parts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts as well as the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. MPBN Television is also carried on cable television in parts of Quebec and most of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly via Bell Aliant Fibe TV.
What is now Maine Public dates from the 1992 merger of WCBB, the PBS member station for most of southern Maine, with the original MPBN radio and television stations operated by the University of Maine System.
On November 13, 1961, WCBB signed on the air, based in Lewiston, as the first educational television station in Maine and the third in New England, after WGBH-TV in Boston and WENH-TV in Durham, New Hampshire. Licensed to Augusta, it was a joint venture of Colby College, Bates College, and Bowdoin College. Two years later, WMEB-TV began broadcasting from the University of Maine campus in Orono, near Bangor. Over the next decade, UMaine signed on three other stations across the state, as well as several translators. These stations formed the original MPBN network. One of them was WMEG-TV in Biddeford, near Portland (now WMEA-TV). However, it was practically unviewable over the air in Portland itself and mainly served communities from South Portland to York. The coverage area was improved when the station moved its digital channel on March 11, 2020.
The University of Maine System brought public radio to the state in 1970, when WMEH signed on from Bangor. Five other stations signed on over the next decade.
The two groups merged on July 1, 1992, to form the community-licensed Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation. MPBN's Bangor stations, WMEB-TV and WMEH (FM), became the flagship stations. The television stations adopted the on-air name "Maine Public Television", but dropped this in favor of "Maine PBS" in 1998. The radio stations became known as "Maine Public Radio". In 2005, both radio and television reverted to the "MPBN" moniker. On September 20, 2016, MPBN rebranded as "Maine Public".
Following the merger, WMEA-TV became the flagship station for a secondary PBS service, Maine Public Television Plus; unlike the main network, this service expanded its over-the-air reach through the use of low-power repeaters—W39BQ in Lewiston, which signed on January 1, 1994, and W30BF in Bangor, which launched on April 16, 1994. Cuts in federal funding led to the closing of MPT Plus on June 30, 1996; WMEA and W30BF then reverted to carrying the primary Maine Public Television service (though the latter station was sold in 1999 and became Positiv affiliate WCKD-LP), while W39BQ eventually ceased operations.