January 2009

December 2008

Program Descriptions

January 2009

HISD Television

It All Started...

The Houston Independent School District's Instructional Media Television has been involved in television for more than 55 years. HISD teamed up with the University of Houston back in 1951 when the two jointly received a license to begin Channel 8, the nation's first public television station. In 1959, UH became the sole license holder, but HISD continued to produce informational and educational programs for the station.

In the early 1980's, Channel 8 broadcast a show called Education Forum, featuring information from HISD's Superintendent Billy Reagan. This live hour-and-a-half show focused on teachers, students, administrators and the public and featured live call-in questions. In addition to Education forum, Channel 8 also featured a show called Community Forum, a program moderated by school board members.

HISD later joined the city of Houston when it created the Access Houston Cable Corporation to administer the educational and public cable television channels in the city. By 1986, HISD Television had developed a microwave transmission network with which remote production trucks could beam signals from almost every school back to its control room for broadcast over its cable channel.

In September, 1994, the Houston City Council voted to award HISD sole reponsibility to administer the E1 Cable Channel, and HISD received a contract to continue to provide educational television programs to the Houston area. HISD Television has recently been liked via fiber optic cable to the city's Municipal Access Cable Channel, from which local cable companies get their signals.

Today, HISD Television cablecasts a wide range of educational and informational television programs. We serve a diverse population of students, teachers, and administrators as well as the entire community seven days a week.

Comcast Cable channel 18; Phonoscope channel 76;

TV Max channel 96; Suddenlink Cable channel 18
(check your local listings)