Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority

THE ALABAMA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATION AUTHORITY (AETFA) WAS CREATED IN 1982 AS A PUBLIC CORPORATION BY CODE OF ALABAMA 16-7A-1. IT'S PRIMARY MISSION IS TO RAISE AND EXPEND FUNDS IN SUPPORT OF THE MISSION OF THE ALABAMA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION COMMISSION (AETC) WHO'S NINE PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS AND ONE FM PUBLIC RADIO STATION ARE LICENSED TO THE STATE OF ALABAMA BY THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. THE FUNDS RAISED BY THE AETFA SUPPLEMENT THE BUDGET OF THE AETC WHICH RECEIVES ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE ALABAMA STATE EDUCATION TRUST FUND. TOGETHER, THE AETFA AND THE AETC OPERATE AND DO BUSINESS AS ALABAMA PUBLIC TELEVISION UNDER THE BRAND NAME OF APT WHICH IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT THE STATE AS WELL AS NATIONALLY.

EDUCATION SERVICES:1. ALABAMA PUBLIC TELEVISION (APT) FACILITATES STUDENT LEARNING IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. IN FY 2023, MORE THAN 565 PARENTS, TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS SERVING MORE THAN 77,180 CHILDREN ATTENDED APT K-12 WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES, AND TRAININGS, MANY OF WHICH WERE OFFERED VIRTUALLY. 2. EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNINGAETFA, THROUGH ITS EMPLOYED TEAM OF TRAINERS AND THOSE OF PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS PREVIOUSLY TRAINED BY AETFA STAFF, CONDUCTED WORKSHOPS FOR EDUCATORS AND PARENTS OF CHILDREN AGES BIRTH TO EIGHT THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF ALABAMA. THE WORKSHOPS DEMONSTRATED WAYS TO INCORPORATE PBS CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING, BROADCAST BY APT OR AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ON THE APT WEBSITE, INTO COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT ALSO INCLUDED READING AND OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE CONTENT. APT AND OUR PARTNERS LED 368 "FACE-TO FACE" TRAININGS FOR 3,551 PARTICIPANTS, IMPACTING AN ESTIMATED 44,077 CHILDREN IN FY 2023. APT'S ON-DEMAND COURSES HAD 12,391 SUCCESSFUL COMPLETIONS THAT WILL IMPACT 332,929 CHILDREN.

PROGRAMMING AND BROADCAST DELIVERY:1. APT LEASES THE MAJORITY OF ITS CONTENT FOR TELEVISION FROM THE PUBLIC BROADCAST SYSTEM (PBS) AND IS A MEMBER AFFILIATE OF THIS DISTRIBUTOR. APT ALSO LEASES A SMALLER AMOUNT OF ITS CONTENT NEEDS FROM VARIOUS OTHER DISTRIBUTORS. THE AETFA ASSISTS DIRECTLY WITH PURCHASING A PORTION OF THESE COSTS WHICH EXCEEDED $3.5 MILLION IN FISCAL 2023.2. APT LEASES THE MAJORITY OF ITS CONTENT FOR ITS FM-PUBLIC RADIO STATION (WLRH) LOCATED IN HUNTSVILLE FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) AND SEVERAL OTHER DISTRIBUTORS. THE AETFA ASSISTS DIRECTLY WITH PURCHASING A PORTION OF THESE COSTS WHICH APPROACHED $310,000 IN FISCAL 2023.3. THE ENGINEERING, UTILITY, TECHNICAL AND EQUIPMENT COSTS OF BROADCASTING TELEVISION SIGNALS OVER THE ENTIRE STATE ON A 24 HOUR-7 DAY BASIS WELL EXCEEDED $2.5 MILLION IN FISCAL 2023 INCLUDING THAT OF WLRH-FM. THE AETFA ASSISTS WITH PAYING FOR THESE EXPENSES BY PURCHASING NEEDED EQUIPMENT AND PAYING VENDOR INVOICES DIRECTLY WHEN THE STATE APPROPRIATION HAS BEEN EXHAUSTED FOR THE YEAR.4. APT'S ASSOCIATION AND MEMBERSHIP IN NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CONTENT DISTRIBUTORS SUCH AS PBS AND NPR PROVIDE VIEWERS AND LISTENERS IN THE STATE WITH QUALITY, COMMERCIAL FREE TELEVISION AND RADIO THAT THEY DEPEND ON AS A TRUSTED SOURCE FOR EDUCATIONAL CONTENT VALUE AND ENTERTAINMENT INTEGRITY.

PRODUCTION:1. AETFA ASSISTS WITH THE FUNDING NEEDS OF APT TO PRODUCE TELEVISION PROGRAMS ON A LOCAL LEVEL. SUCH PROGRAMS INCLUDE CAPITOL JOURNAL, SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION, SUBCARRIER, MONOGRAPH AND DOCUMENTARY SPECIALS INCLUDING SHUTTLESWORTH.2. APT AND WLRH-FM CONTINUE TO RECEIVE AWARDS FOR LOCALLY PRODUCED TELEVISION AND RADIO PROGRAMMING ALONG WITH EDUCATIONAL CONTENT PRODUCED FOR THE WEB. THROUGH 2023, THE PROGRAMMING AND PRODUCTION EFFORTS HAVE RECEIVED A COMBINED 40 SOUTHEASTERN REGIONAL EMMY AWARDS, 112 TELLY AWARDS, 2 NATIONAL CINE AWARDS, 3 EDWARD R MURROW AWARDS, 29 ALABAMA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION AWARDS, 14 NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION AWARDS, AND 1 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS' SERVICE TO AMERICA'S CHILDREN AWARD.