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PBS Programming Returning To Local Airwaves November 1, Transmitting From North Escambia
October 3, 2026
PBS programming is returning to Northwest Florida airwaves on November 1, broadcasting directly from a transmission tower located in North Escambia.
The service will broadcast over the air via WPAN television, which operates its broadcast tower on Barrineau Park School Road in Barrineau Park, just west of Molino. WPAN is licensed to Fort Walton Beach.
Viewers across Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties in Florida, as well as Baldwin County, Alabama, will be able to access main network programming over the air on channel 53.1, along with dedicated PBS KIDS content on digital subchannel 53.2.
The return restores free, commercial-free access to viewer favorites for all ages. Audiences will once again be able to watch primetime mainstays like “Masterpiece,” “Antiques Roadshow,” and “Finding Your Roots,” along with popular children’s staples such as “Sesame Street,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Wild Kratts,” and “Arthur.”
Longtime public broadcasting veteran Jill Hubbs serves as the executive director overseeing station operations, educational outreach, fundraising, and programming development. According to Hubbs, the initiative was formed to restore access for households relying strictly on free over-the-air television antennas without cable or high-speed internet connections.
“I’m very excited,” Hubbs said Friday afternoon. She spent 30 years in outreach at WSRE, the former local PBS station. “I know the value of that we lost, and it was too important to lose.”
The launch follows the departure of PBS from local airwaves on July 1, 2026, when Pensacola State College terminated WSRE Channel 23’s longtime network affiliation. Facing budget constraints after losing approximately $1.5 million in state and federal funding—including the elimination of federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants—the PSC District Board of Trustees voted to decertify the WSRE-TV Foundation, end the network partnership, shut down its digital subchannels, and shift WSRE to independent educational programming.
To restore regional broadcast access, local citizens established Emerald Coast PBS as an independent, community-supported nonprofit organization that will rely on contributions from viewers, businesses, and foundation partners.
“It’s not just about television, but service to the community,” Hubbs said.
“This is about much more than restoring television programming,” said Marci Levin Goodman, chair of the Emerald Coast PBS Board of Directors and a retired First Judicial Circuit judge. “PBS has served generations of families as a trusted source of education, inspiration and connection. Emerald Coast PBS was established because our community deserves continued access to that service and because we believe strongly that public television should remain available to everyone.”
Hubbs noted that the station plans to raise $1 million over the coming year to support operations. The lineup will include signature national programs such as Antiques Roadshow, Finding Your Roots, Ken Burns historical documentaries, and curriculum-aligned children’s educational series, alongside planned initiatives covering regional history, local veterans’ stories, and classroom support resources.
Emerald Coast PBS is headquartered at 316 South Baylen Street in downtown Pensacola, utilizing office space and television production studios donated by the Levin Papantonio law firm to produce future local content.
Donations in any amount are being accepted to support the station. Viewers who make a qualifying contribution of $60 or more per year will receive access to PBS Passport, an extended on-demand streaming service for PBS programming.
“We need to raise a million dollars, but $5 means just as much as the Passport ($60),” she said.
Comments
5 Responses to “PBS Programming Returning To Local Airwaves November 1, Transmitting From North Escambia”
Much credit goes to JILL HUBBS & the PBS BOARD for doing an end run around the national and state political leaders that wanted to stiffle public education on television! Knowing Jill Hubbs, whenever she confronts an obstacle, she FIGHTS for her cause as seen here…we have missed our Masterpiece Theater, Antique Roadshow, and our beloved Ken Burns’ excellent documentaries…we definitely will be a donor to keep our PBS channel operational.
Thank you! I cannot say how much I appreciate what you are doing. PBS is the only decent programming on the television and is good for all ages. You just made my year!!!
OMG….THANK YOU! This seemed awfully sad to lose PBS which has been a great channel and holds a lot of memories for myself and a LOT of people in the area! Thanks for going the extra mile for this community! I will intentionally give a contribution to you guys! I’m in Santa Rosa and am excited to turn on the TV and search for it! ……..I don’t even “watch” TV! I will now, tho!
I have always enjoyed programs such as *Antiques Roadshow* and *The Joy of Painting*, even though both are now readily available online at no cost. I hope this effort succeeds, but it is worth recognizing how dramatically the media landscape has changed.
Increasingly, donations to traditional public broadcasting can feel less like support for essential access and more like a subscription model competing with an enormous range of free digital alternatives. The internet fundamentally changed how people consume media, and traditional television has struggled to remain central to that experience. Personally, I have not watched conventional or broadcast television in more than 15 years.
When WSRE tried to obtain donations the red tape stopped me from donating many times. A monthly donation choice is the preference of many of us. Just make it easy to do.