WETA Launches New Local Public Television Channel WETA Metro for Washington, D.C. Region

January 4, 2021 (Arlington, VA) — WETA President and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller announced today a new WETA television channel lineup that includes WETA Metro, offering even more public media programming to viewers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The WETA television line-up now consists of WETA PBS, the station’s primary channel; WETA UK, spotlighting the best in British television; WETA PBS Kids, providing a haven for young viewers with educational programming; WETA World, offering documentary and news reporting from around the globe; and WETA Metro, featuring PBS favorites and programs that highlight our local community.

The leading public broadcaster in the nation’s capital, WETA undertook efforts within the last six months to expand the station’s television offerings to local Washington, D.C. area audiences, which included widening broadcast area antenna reception of our channels; upgrading WETA UK to a high-definition format; and introducing two new channels — WETA World and WETA Metro. WETA Metro is also the first WETA channel to be made available for livestreaming on weta.org, YouTube TV and the PBS Video App.

“WETA now presents even more content that appeals to the varied tastes and interests of viewers in the National Capital Region,” said Sharon Percy Rockefeller, President and CEO of WETA. “By adding two new engaging channels, and increasing our broadcast reach, we continue to elevate our service to the public."

Programming highlights on the WETA Metro channel include:

• Nearly 10 hours of timely and relevant news programming during weekdays, including PBS NewsHour broadcasts weekday evenings at 6pm, BBC News programs, and Democracy Now!.

• New local series, including the real estate program If You Lived Here premiering February 15 at 8pm; Politics and Prose Live book discussions with acclaimed authors; concert performances from the National Philharmonic; and The Great Tours: Washington, D.C. featuring Dr. Richard Kurin of the Smithsonian Institution.

• PBS primetime programs also found on primary channel WETA PBS, from Antiques Roadshow and Nature to Frontline and Masterpiece, every weekday evening.

• Themed programming nights: Mondays featuring local area and lifestyle programs; Thursdays exploring American history; and Saturdays focusing on documentary films.

WETA Metro is available over-the-air on channel 26.5 and via cable networks Verizon FIOS (channel 470) and RCN (channel 599); and is available to livestream via weta.org, YouTube TV and the PBS Video App.

For more information, please visit weta.org. Press materials and photography can be found at weta.org/press.

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About WETA

WETA is the leading public broadcasting company in the nation’s capital, serving Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia with content that educates and inspires on WETA television channels WETA PBS, WETA UK and WETA PBS Kids, WETA World and WETA Metro; and Classical WETA 90.9 FM. Local programming and digital content created by WETA includes WETA Arts and WETA Around Town; documentaries such as Washington in the 2000s, Bygone DC, and Neighborhood Eats; the Boundary Stones blog and Telly Visions podcast. For national PBS audiences, WETA is one of the largest-producing stations of new content for public television in the United States, with news and public affairs programs including PBS NewsHour and Washington Week; films by production partners Ken Burns and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; and performance specials from venues such as the U.S. Capitol and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The station also creates leading public service websites and develops community outreach programs to engage people of all ages in the joy of lifelong learning. Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO. More information on WETA programs and services is available at www.weta.org. Visit www.facebook.com/wetatvfm on Facebook or follow @WETAtvfm on Twitter.