The station began broadcasting on June 8, 1967, from the campus of Rhode Island College. In 1974, WSBE moved to the former WPRO-TV (now WPRI-TV) facilities at 24 Mason Street in Providence. In January 1991, WSBE moved to new studios on 50 Park Lane in Providence, near the Cranston city line. Its analog transmitter was located on Neutaconkanut Hill in Johnston, until the FCC-mandated digital conversion in 2009. From 1973 to 2000, WSBE-TV's programming was relayed in Westerly on translator W62AB. This translator was turned off in 2000, largely because of the high penetration of cable in the state. On May 1, 2003, WSBE rebranded itself as Rhode Island PBS.
WSBE-TV's license was originally held by the Rhode Island State Board of Education (from which the call letters are derived). In 1981, what had become the Board of Regents for Education transferred the station to the Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority, a quasi-state agency.[3] The Channel 36 Foundation was founded in 1987[4] as an independent fundraising arm of WSBE; it subsequently became the Rhode Island PBS Foundation following the station's 2003 rebranding.[5] In June 2012, the Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority voted to begin the process of transitioning WSBE-TV from a state licensee to a community licensee, with the Rhode Island PBS Foundation assuming full control of the station. According to a release announcing the decision, the state budget extended funding to the station until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2013.[6] The license transfer was completed on October 10, 2012.[7]
On November 9, 2023, Rhode Island PBS and The Public's Radio (the public radio network in Rhode Island) announced their intention to merge.[8]
WSBE airs well-known PBS series (Nature, Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow) on a schedule typically delayed by eight or more days from full-carriage public television stations such as Boston's WGBH-TV. WSBE has differentiated its on-air schedule by including independent local and national productions, and content from program distributors American Public Television (APT), National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA), and Executive Program Services. WSBE-DT2 (WSBE Learn) airs similar programming to the main channel, but on a different time schedule.
WSBE co-produced the nationally distributed Italian cooking show, Ciao Italia, since 2002, with production on-site through 2015.
Local content currently produced by WSBE includes:
A Lively Experiment, WSBE's flagship political affairs show, discusses Rhode Island (and occasionally national) politics among a revolving panel of news makers, journalists, and opinion leaders. From its premiere episode until September 15, 2005, the show's moderator was radio broadcaster Steve Kass, until Kass resigned to join Governor Donald Carcieri's administration. James Hagan, former president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, moderated the show from 2006 until Dyana Koelsch took over in 2011. A public relations consultant, Koelsch was a former television journalist. On September 23, 2016, Jim Hummel became the program's fourth permanent moderator. Hummel is executive director and senior investigator of The Hummel Report. Known for his WLNE-TV/ABC6 You Paid for It segments, Jim Hummel spent 13 years as chief reporter for ABC6, and 13 years at The Providence Journal. In his career, Hummel earned the Radio and Television News Directors Association’s Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting.
Animal Talk features animal adoption, health, training, and other considerations when owning a pet.
Art Inc. is a series of short stories about various forms of local and regional art and the artists who create it.
Generation Rising focuses on the issues affecting people of color, including women, Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Our Town, a Rhode Island PBS community project. The purpose is to share the charm and character of Rhode Island towns and their villages. The stories are selected, written, filmed, and narrated by residents and volunteers; Rhode Island PBS edits the independent stories together into a documentary for broadcast.
Rhode Island PBS Weekly is a news magazine featuring long-form stories about local and regional issues.
Story in the Public Square is a weekly interview series examining issues expressed in print, film, journalism, music, social media, and technology.
Recent series no longer in production:
Rhode Island Classroom explores the technology, lessons, and people of note in Rhode Island's K-12 classrooms. The half-hour quarterly series featured stand-out teachers, break-through courses, and innovative programs that motivate students to succeed.
The Thirteenth State, a public affairs show that covered topics of local interest from airport expansion to zoo exhibits. The show title honors Rhode Island's position as the first of the 13 colonies to call for independence from England, and the last of the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution.
BestSellers, a book review and author interview program.
Justice Matters, a monthly show on Rhode Island law with the Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
New England Portrait, a series about people and places of local interest.
Costantino's Round Table featured chefs, restaurateurs, vintners, and other professionals and experts from the Rhode Island food and tourism industry.
On January 16, 2009, the analog transmitter for WSBE suffered a "catastrophic failure". The old RCA transmitter developed a leak in the water cooling system. Due to the scarcity of parts, time required to repair (two weeks minimum), cost, and the proximity to the original February 17 date for the analog shutdown, the station discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 36, at that time. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21 on February 18, 2009,[10][11] using virtual channel 36.
^Piccirilli, Anthony (July 1, 1989). "Tuning in to Channel 36". The Providence Journal. p. A-19. Retrieved January 25, 2014. Before the formation of the foundation in 1987… (preview of subscription content)
^Lapin, Andrew (September 20, 2013). "Susan Farmer, Rhode Island politician and pubTV exec, dies at 71". Current. Retrieved January 25, 2014. At WSBE [Susan] Farmer established an independent fundraising nonprofit for the state-owned network. The Channel 36 Foundation, now the Rhode Island PBS Foundation, helped the station reduce its reliance on state subsidies…
