Participating Organizations

Nebraska Public Media (previously known as NET [Nebraska Educational Telecommunications] from 2005-2021 and Nebraska ETV [Nebraska Educational Television]) is Nebraska’s statewide network of public radio (NPR) and television (PBS) stations. Its public television station, the ninth in the country, began broadcasting on November 1, 1954, under the KUON-TV call sign, its flagship station in Lincoln. Three decades later, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln purchased the KUCV radio call sign from Union College and officially launched the public radio network (then called the Nebraska Public Radio Network) from its new studios on October 19, 1989.

At its inception, the television station broadcast from a studio shared with KOLN-TV. In 1957, KUON-TV’s operations moved to the Temple Building on the City Campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where it remained until the opening of its current headquarters, the Terry M. Carpenter and Jack G. McBride Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Center, in 1972. Coverage and programming expanded over time, with the network reaching a statewide audience in 1963 and programming airing seven days a week by 1969.

Today, Nebraska Public Media broadcasts five television channels (Nebraska Public Media, WORLD, Create, PBS KIDS 24/7, and FNX|First Nations Experience) over a network of nine full-power television stations and fifteen translators across the state. Nebraska Public Media’s two radio channels can be heard over ten full-power stations statewide.

Throughout 70 years of service, Nebraskans have invested in the mission of using communication technology to serve the public interest, creating and supporting one of the most innovative, resourceful, and unique public broadcasting networks in the country. Nebraska Public Media is committed to early childhood education, supporting parents, teachers, and caregivers through PBS KIDS, Ready to Learn, and PBS LearningMedia.

For decades, Nebraska Public Media has provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state’s Unicameral, as well as extensive coverage of local high school and collegiate sports, local news, local documentaries and arts programming. Nebraska Public Media partnered with WNED to create and co-produce Reading Rainbow, an iconic PBS KIDS series that won a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards in its 21-season run. Its poetry series Anyone for Tennyson?, produced for PBS, featured notable guests including Vincent Price, Jack Lemmon, Henry Fonda, and William Shatner. Its beloved lawn and garden show, Backyard Farmer, is the longest-running locally produced public television show in the country. Nebraska Public Media has traveled to every continent, including Antarctica, to produce original programming and has contributed to notable national PBS series, including NOVA and American Experience.