Blue Ridge PBS is creating a first-of-its-kind, all-digital television station dedicated to serving Southwest Virginia.
PBS Appalachia|Va will serve 13 counties in one of the only areas of the country not currently served by a PBS station. We will tell the stories of our communities, celebrate our heritage, highlight our people, and look forward to our region’s growth; all through the lens of industry-leading equipment and the eye of award-winning producers.
Over the next year, PBS Appalachia|Va will create a state-of-the-art studio, headquartered in the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Center in Abingdon, VA. This partnership will allow the two non-profit organizations to not only showcase the region through video but draw more visitors to the area to tour the station and see television production as it happens.
“Blue Ridge PBS covers a staggering 42% of the geographic Commonwealth, including rural Appalachia, an often-overlooked region. Due to limited resources, those areas have been underserved,” says William Anderson, President and CEO, Blue Ridge PBS. “We know we must be where other media outlets are not and provide the content that they won’t or can’t.”
PBS Appalachia|Va has key personnel in place. Julie Newman is Vice President and General Manager of the new station. She has earned four Regional Emmy Awards and has 23 years of broadcast and public television experience; most recently as News Anchor for News 5 WCYB in Bristol, VA. Jacob Dellinger is Executive Producer of PBS Appalachia|Va. He is a three-time Regional Emmy winning cinematographer, director and producer covering Southwest Virginia.
“PBS Appalachia is the answer to a critical need! Producers at this new digital station will create educational and community content that is relevant and vital to our region, giving a positive voice to this underserved region like never before,” says M. E. Marty Hall, Jr., Chairman of the Governing Board of Directors, Blue Ridge PBS.
PBS Appalachia|Va is expected to launch June 10, 2023. The digital station will deliver the full PBS schedule and local stories that matter on any smart TV connected to WiFi or Broadband and will also be offered to local cable stations. It will also be on streaming services such as YouTube TV, Roku, DirectTVstream, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV, as well as on a new mobile app available in conjunction with PBS.
For information on the PBS Appalachia|Va, contact Julie Newman, Vice President and General Manager jnewman@blueridgepbs.org.
Founded in 1967, Blue Ridge PBS is based in Roanoke, VA, and the sole public multimedia enterprise serving four million individuals in portions of four states. The station’s coverage area includes Southern and Southwest Virginia, and bordering counties in Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Blue Ridge PBS is comprised of five broadcast channels: WBRA-TV 15.1, Southwest Virginia Public Television 15.2, PBS Kids 15.3, Create 15.4, Blue Ridge PBS ECHO 15.5 and three channels online via YouTube: ECHO, Blue Ridge Streaming, and Project Southwest.
