WQPT-TV
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Moline-Rock Island, Illinois/Davenport, Iowa United States |
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| Branding | WQPT |
| Slogan | Quad Cities PBS |
| Channels |
Digital: 23 (UHF) Virtual: 24 () |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Translators | W48CK-D Sterling Digital |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Owner | Western Illinois University-Quad Cities |
| First air date | November 2, 1983 |
| Call letters' meaning |
We're Quad Cities Public Television |
| Former callsigns |
Digital: WQPT-DT (2002–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 24 (UHF, 1983–2009) |
| Transmitter power | 80 kW |
| Height | 269 m |
| Class | Non-commercial educational |
| Facility ID | 5468 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°18′44.5″N 90°22′46.2″W / 41.312361°N 90.379500°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.wqpt.org |
WQPT-TV is the PBS member station for the Quad Cities region of northwestern Illinois and eastern Iowa, broadcasting on digital channel 23 (remapping to former analog channel 24 via PSIP). It is owned by Western Illinois University-Quad Cities, which is located in Moline, Illinois; where the station is licensed. The station operates a translator W48CK-D in Sterling, Illinois on channel 48. Studios are located at WIU-QC's Riverfront Hall, while master control is based at WTVP in Peoria, which also has an agreement with PBS station WILL-TV in Champaign.
In the 1970s, the Quad Cities was one of the few areas in the United States without a PBS station. The default PBS member for the area was Iowa Educational Television's (now Iowa Public Television) outlet for eastern Iowa, KIIN in Iowa City. However, KIIN's transmitter was located in West Branch, roughly halfway between Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities, in order to serve both markets. Cable providers on the Illinois side of the market also piped in WTTW in Chicago or WTVP in Peoria, depending on the location.
A number of meetings were held with western Illinois civic organizations, businesses, elected public representatives, private and public educational institutions from 1970 to 1976. The outcome of these discussions was the establishment of The West Central Illinois Educational Telecommunications Corporation, incorporated in the State of Illinois on February 9, 1976. The corporation was composed of these Illinois educational institutions serving the region: Blackhawk Community College in Moline, Bradley University in Peoria, Western Illinois University in Macomb, and Sangamon State University in Springfield. Its mission was "to establish an educational television network, provide educational content, create local and public affairs programming to serve the residents and businesses of west-central Illinois".
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