Early years
Channel 44 had originally been allotted to Boston as a commercial television channel. Two companies, Integrated Communications Systems and United Artists Broadcasting, had each applied for the channel in 1963. They were soon joined by the WGBH Educational Foundation, which proposed a non-commercial educational station. All three applications were designated for comparative hearing in February 1964,[2] but that July, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reserved channel 44 for educational use in Boston and transferred channel 25 from Barnstable to serve as a new commercial channel.[3] The two commercial applicants then switched their proposals to channel 25, leaving WGBH alone in its channel 44 application and allowing the FCC to award the construction permit in October.[4]
The Department of Health, Education and Welfare awarded a $725,000 grant for the construction of WGBX-TV in January 1966; the station was projected to provide specialized educational programming.[5] WGBX-TV began broadcasting on September 25, 1967,[6] two weeks after the station aired its first test pattern.[7]
In addition to replays and additional PBS programs as well as college telecourses, WGBX has offered a wide range of experimental programs and services in its history. The very first program broadcast by the station was a teacher in-service program designed to help first-grade instructors teach drama.[8] On The Most Dangerous Game, an audience participation program telecast in 1967, viewers could call a telephone number to control the movement of a fictional country, Transania, in a hypothetical foreign policy crisis.[9] A monthly series on the intersection of law enforcement and critical justice was distributed to other educational stations.[10] In 1968, WGBX-TV and WBZ-TV broadcast Read Your Way Up: A TV Read-In, an adult literacy program.[11] In November 1970, the station debuted a public-access show, Catch 44.[12] The program attracted widespread national and international interest; other public stations copied the format, as did the BBC
WGBX began airing live, gavel-to-gavel (beginning to end) coverage of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1984, making it the first state legislative chamber to have full, unedited proceedings televised.[15] The Massachusetts State Senate joined the House on WGBX in 1994.[16] Legislative coverage on channel 44 continued through 2006; the contracts with each chamber were not renewed for 2007.[17]
Beginning in 1986 and continuing through at least 1988, with special FCC permission, it was the only station in the United States authorized to broadcast pulse-code modulation (PCM) digital audio on its video signal; the audio programs, primarily simulcasts of WGBH-FM aired overnight but also including specially recorded concerts, could then be decoded from the video tape by residents with the appropriate decoder equipment.[18][19][20]
In 1987, weekend programming on WGBX was expanded to add 18 additional hours, primarily replays of programs aired by WGBH, as part of celebrations for the 20th anniversary of channel 44.[21] However, brand recognition of WGBX remained low, and people perceived it as primarily airing repeats of WGBH programming. In January 1995, WGBH relaunched WGBX under the brand GBH44 to bring it closer to the main station.[22] It increased emphasis on independent and offbeat programming, including the use of themed nights, though it continued to air shows that had to be moved off the channel 2 schedule and to air the main WGBH lineup during the station's annual auction.[23][24] By 1997, WGBX-TV was the 26th-most-watched public television station in prime time, demonstrating that the changes had given channel 44 an identity and increased recognition.
Digital television transition
In 1999, the tower used by WGBX-TV in Needham, owned by WBZ-TV, was overhauled to support digital broadcasting for its tenants, including WBZ, WGBH and WGBX, and WCVB-TV. The work included removing the top 300 ft and replacing it with a new 400 ft section and the installation of new equipment.[25][26] However, WGBX-TV did not begin digital broadcasts on its own channel until January 1, 2003.[27]
WGBX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 44, on April 23, 2009.[28] The WGBH Educational Foundation had previously warned that defective equipment might force the station to close prior to the June transition date.[29] The station's digital signal continued to be broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 43, using
