KET History
- 1962
- The General Assembly establishes the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television; O. Leonard Press becomes KET’s first executive director.
1968
- KET signs on the air September 23, broadcasting weekdays during school hours on the second largest land-based network in the world via a statewide, 15-transmitter network.
- Kentucky Is My Land is KET’s first instructional production.
1969
- Weekday broadcasts expand to evenings.
- Sesame Street premieres.
1970
- Julia Child’s The French Chef premieres on PBS, pioneering how-to programming for television.
1971
- Friends of KET, a statewide network of volunteers, is incorporated.
- Masterpiece Theatre premieres.
1973
- PBS provides unprecedented coverage of the Watergate hearings.
1974
- Comment on Kentucky premieres with host Al Smith.
1975
- The GED® on TV series begins national broadcast.
- Television broadcast expands to seven days a week.
1976
- Universe & I is KET’s first nationally distributed instructional TV series.
- The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, now PBS NewsHour, premieres.
1978
- College on TV telecourses launch.
- Coverage of the Kentucky General Assembly begins.
1980
- This Old House and The Victory Garden premiere.
1981
- KET Fund for Excellence is established.
1982
- Enterprise division is created to market educational programs nationally.
1983
- The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross premieres.
1984
- Nightly open-captioned news service begins.
1985
- Second-generation GED® series and study-at-home initiative launched.
- Kentucky Afield, the nation’s longest-running outdoors program, debuts on KET.
- KET Kids Club established.
1988
- Summer Celebration event is established at Donamire Farm.
1989
- Interactive Distance Learning service begins.
- Live broadcasts of professional development seminars for Kentucky educators begin.
1990
- Ken Burns’ The Civil War sets PBS audience records.
- John Sherman Cooper: Gentleman from Kentucky premieres at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
1991
- Virginia Gaines Fox named Executive Director and CEO.
- Star Channels Distance Learning system receives national Innovations Award from the Ford Foundation.
1992
- O. Leonard Press Telecommunications Center is dedicated.
1993
- GED®—Get It! airs nationwide as the centerpiece of a national outreach project.
1994
- Kentucky Tonight premieres.
1995
- Kentucky Life premieres.
- KET.org launches.
- The Commonwealth Fund for KET is established with John R. Hall as chairman.
- W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Endowment for the Arts is established.
1996
- Mountain Born: The Jean Ritchie Story and Signature “George C. Wolfe” premiere nationally on PBS.
- LiteracyLink, a video and online project featuring GED® and workforce basic skills content, is developed.
1997
- WKPC, Channel 15 in Louisville, merges with the statewide network and KET2 launches.
1998
- Street Skills, a teen-oriented safe-driving series, is nominated for a national Emmy Award.
- Antiques Roadshow welcomes 7,000 treasure hunters at Louisville’s Convention Center.
- Signature “Barbara Kingsolver” airs nationally on PBS.
- O. Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs programming is established.
1999
- Kentucky’s first digital television transmitter is activated, KET’s WKPC-DT in Louisville.
- KET produces public television’s first drama in high definition: American Shorts: “The Ryan Interview,” starring Ashley Judd.
- Workplace Essential Skills is unveiled at the National Press Club.
- KET.org video-streaming initiative is piloted.
2001
- More than 10,000 Kentuckians read Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees as part of a statewide literacy campaign.
2002
- The statewide digital transmission system is activated.
- Television broadcast service expands to 24 hours a day.
- GED® Connection, KET’s third-generation test preparation series, premieres nationally on PBS.
- Jubilee premieres nationally.
- Executive Director and CEO Virginia Gaines Fox retires and receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
2003
- Malcolm Wall named Executive Director and CEO.
2004
- Legislative coverage expands to live broadcast and online video-streaming.
- Kentucky’s Last Great Places: A Kentucky Life Special becomes the most successful local pledge program on KET.
- Louisville Outreach office opens.
2005
- KET EncycloMedia, the predecessor to PBS LearningMedia, launches and provides online multimedia resources to Kentucky’s public schools.
- KET’s “Be Well Kentucky” health initiative launches.
- Connections with Renee Shaw premieres.
2006
- One to One with Bill Goodman premieres.
- Louisville Life premieres.
2007
- Antiques Roadshow returns to Louisville.
- Endowment for Kentucky Productions is established.
- The Everlasting Stream airs nationally on PBS.
2008
- Kentucky Channel launches.
- Kentucky Muse premieres.
2009
- O. Leonard Press Telecommunications Center transitions to a high-definition production and broadcast facility.
- Ceasing analog transmissions, KET broadcasts three digital channels, 24/7 on 16 transmitters statewide.
2010
- Education Matters debuts.
- Friends of KET receive the National Friends of Public Broadcasting’s Grassroots Advocacy Award.
- Kentucky Green Banks initiative helps implement energy efficiency measures in the network center.
- Shae Hopkins named Executive Director and CEO.
- Everyday Science for Preschoolers launches.
2011
- Downton Abbey premieres.
- Kentucky on iTunes U launches, with KET as a lead partner.
- A studio adjacent to the Louisville Outreach office opens.
- KET’s Education Division receives the Enterprise and Innovation Award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association.
- Thoroughbred airs nationally on PBS.
- KET receives the Association of Public Television Stations National Advocacy Award.
2012
- Kentucky Collectibles premieres.
2013
- A live uplink between the International Space Station and middle school students is broadcast.
- PBS LearningMedia debuts, with KET, WGBH, and WNET as primary content producers.
- The Everyday Learning Collaborative for early childhood education is established.
- Morehead State University begins offering KET Distance Learning courses for dual credit.
2014
- FastForward launches nationally as the most advanced multiplatform learning system for GED test preparation.
- PBS/KET online video app launches.
- Dropping Back In premieres nationally.
- K-12 professional development resources set an annual record with more than 84,000 certificates awarded.
2015
- Kentucky Society Daughters of the American Revolution recognizes KET with its State Media Award.
- Kentucky Health debuts from KET’s Louisville studio.
2016
- Legislative Production Center in Frankfort adds a studio and is upgraded to high definition.
- The Hilltoppers premieres at Western Kentucky University.
- Kentucky Veterans of the Vietnam War: In Their Own Words premieres at events in Lexington, Owensboro and Louisville.
- John R. Hall Endowment for Education is established.
- Forgotten Fame: The Marion Miley Story premieres.
2017
- Journey to Recovery premieres as part of the Inside Opioid Addiction initiative.
- KET PBS KIDS channel launches on-air, on mobile, and online.
- KET receives the Dr. Samuel Robinson Award from the Kentucky Board of Education for leadership, commitment, and service to equity and opportunity in education for all Kentucky children.
2018
- The Kentucky Historical Society recognizes KET with the dedication of a historical marker at the Network Center.
- KET celebrates the 50th anniversary of its first broadcast on September 23, 1968.
- Antiques Roadshow visits Louisville for a third time.
2019
- KET’s Big Family: The Story of Bluegrass Music premieres nationally on PBS.
- KET founder O. Leonard Press passes and was remembered at a memorial service at KET.
- KET and the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet unveil In Demand.
2020
- More than 100 employees transitioned to telecommuting, including capabilities for remote editing and remote master control, to ensure uninterrupted 24/7 operations and services.
- COVID-19 information is provided including online resources, daily and weekly programming and forums.
- With schools closed, KET Education responds with a variety of learn-at-home resources.
- Workplace Essential Skills multimedia series is redesigned as online courses featuring seven high-demand career fields.
- Kentucky Seasons showcases the beauty of the Commonwealth.
2021
- Let’s Learn Kentucky debuts to address the kindergarten-readiness gap.
- Walter Tevis: A Writer’s Gambit premieres.
- Ken Burns’ Muhammad Ali premieres with Louisville garnering the highest major market ratings in the nation.
- Angels on Horseback: Midwives in the Mountain premieres on PBS.
2022
- KET launches its first nightly public affairs program, Kentucky Edition.
- The Farmer and the Foodie is produced by KET and distributed nationally.
- The Pack Horse Librarians of Appalachia premieres.
- NEXTGEN TV broadcast launches in Louisville as KET is among the first 15 public television stations to make the technology upgrade.