Over five decades ago, a group of motivated and eager individuals came together around a common goal. They sought to enrich people’s lives through high-quality, non-commercial, educational programming. Institutions like Trinity College and the State of Connecticut supported this goal of reaching out to the community through public broadcasting.

In 1962, the Connecticut Educational Television Station began broadcasting in black and white from the basement of the Trinity College Library in Hartford, Connecticut. With a single videotape machine, 11 staff members launched what soon would become Connecticut Public Television. On October 1, 1962, at 9:40 a.m., CPTV (Connecticut Public Television) aired a discussion of the humanities with critic Clifton Fadiman. It was the station’s first program, first broadcast, and first day as the nation’s 68^th station in the National Education Television Network, the predecessor to PBS. In 1978, Connecticut Public Radio joined the network, forming what is today known as Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc., parent organization of CPTV and WNPR (Connecticut Public Radio).

In 2004, CPBI made the move to a new broadcast home in Hartford's historic Asylum Hill neighborhood, a facility with contemporary technology that has enabled CPTV and WNPR to provide programming through a variety of multi-media platforms, in addition to traditional television and radio broadcasting. A satellite office in New Haven also houses Connecticut Public Radio broadcast studios.

Thanks to the generous support of the communities we serve, Connecticut Public has evolved from a single television station broadcasting in black and white to a vibrant statewide broadcasting network. More about our media properties and other enterprises here »