BRISTOL, Va. — The nation’s first television network affiliate located inside a casino opened Monday in Southwest Virginia, just north of the Tennessee state line.
It is a milestone in media innovation officials said will be a state-of-the-art operation and will pay off for the public television operation serving Southwest Virginia and surrounding areas.
It already is the only PBS station in the country that has no call letters and does no over-the-air broadcasting.
The PBS Appalachia Virginia television studio at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, 500 Gate City Highway, opened to the public on Monday, March 24, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m.
“Having something like this here is amazing,†Beth Rhinehart, executive director of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, said before the ribbon cutting. “Thank you for choosing Bristol.â€
The chamber hosted the event in the studio, located where the arcade and movie theater were when that part of the property was the lower level of the Bristol Mall. For a reference point, the former Piccadilly Cafeteria was nearby.
Also attending the Monday event were Bristol, Virginia, Mayor Becky Nave, City Manager and City Attorney Attorney Randall Eads, Virginia Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Abingdon, Cody Mumpower from the office of U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-9th; and Allie Evangelista, president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol.
“This is truly a milestone moment for Southwest Virginia — proving that bold, forward-thinking ideas can take root even in traditionally under-resourced areas. This studio brings new opportunities for regional storytelling, education and economic growth,†Julie Newman, chief operating officer and general manager of PBS Appalachia, said in a news release.
She formerly worked on air at News 5 WCYB in Bristol, Virginia, before she left that station in 2022. Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia, known as the Twin City, are two cities that straddle the state line. She has more than 25 years of television experience.
FACILITY DETAILS
The state-of-the-art facility occupies 4,000 square feet on the lower level of Hard Rock Bristol’s all-ages promenade.
The space features a 46-foot glass viewing window equipped with Smart Tint technology, allowing visitors to watch video production in real time and listen through overhead directional speakers. The main studio includes a 26-foot LED wall with virtual background capabilities.
Additional spaces include a secondary studio with an interview set, chromakey screen and still-photography backgrounds, as well as a six-person podcast studio.
The studio’s location is designed for regional access and high foot traffic.
“We could potentially be the most visited and visible PBS station in the country,†Will Anderson, president and CEO of Blue Ridge Public Television Inc., said before the ribbon cutting Monday afternoon. He said the option was a “make this happen†moment for the fledging PBS station.
“PBS Appalachian has no transmitter. It has no call letters,†Anderson said before the ribbon cutting.
“By opening in Hard Rock Bristol, we believe PBS Appalachia will be one of the most visible stations in the PBS system,†Anderson said in the news release. “This is a perfect partnership because both organizations are focused on helping the region move forward.â€
Operating as the Bristol Casino before formally becoming Hard Rock, the venue welcomed visitors from all 50 states in its most recent full year of operation.
REGION’S PUBLIC TELEVISION OPERATIONS
is the parent company of PBS Appalachia and has operated Blue Ridge PBS since 1967. The company is the sole public multimedia enterprise serving 4 million individuals in portions of four states.
In Virginia, Blue Ridge PBS, which also includes a sister PBS station with a transmitter out of Roanoke, covers 42% of the geographic commonwealth, including the Greater Roanoke Valley, the New River Valley, the Greater Lynchburg area, Southside Virginia and Southwest Virginia.
The service area also includes bordering counties in Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina.
In neighboring East Tennessee, serves over-the-air viewers with WETP in Sneedville and WKOP in Knoxville, serving the Tri-Cities and Knoxville areas.
WETP operates channels 2.1, 2.2., 2.3 and 2.4. WKOP operates channels 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 and 15.4. Both also are carried by other cable providers and online. The operation was formerly WSJK on the old analog channel 2, which went on the air in 1967.
Newman said the expense of building multiple $1.2 million transmitters and towers to serve the mountainous area simply made no economic sense in the information age of the 21st century.
“We are everything aside from an antenna,†Newman said.
Anderson said the difference between the digital PBS station in Bristol, besides having no transmitter, is that it receives no federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting but does get funding from Virginia and viewers/supporters in the region. However, the station shares its original content focused on Southwest Virignia with other traditional PBS stations.
PBS APPALACHIA MISSION
PBS Appalachia’s mission is to preserve the history and culture of Southwest Virginia. The new studio showcases works by local artisans, including Black Copper Woodworking, Benjamin Walls Fine Art Gallery and artists from the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center and Marketplace.
The buildout of the studio operations, in the casino located in and around what was once the Bristol Mall, was completed by Bristol-based BurWil Construction under the guidance of architect Lucia Schneider.
Digital Video Group sourced the equipment, and FX Design Group designed the studio.
The station launched its content June 10, 2023, with three award-winning series produced in Southwest Virginia by a team native to the area: “Hometowns,†“French Magnolia Cooks†and “The Life of a Musician.â€
Since then, the station has expanded its lineup to include “Life in Virginia’s Appalachia,†“The Prairie Preacher: Preserving Appalachia’s Grasslands†and “Pip’s Tips.â€
In less than two years, the team has earned more than two dozen regional and national awards for production work, including 12 Emmy Awards.
New content from the PBS Appalachia television studio at Hard Rock Bristol will include a 2025 Virginia gubernatorial debate in partnership with the not-for-profit Cardinal News, “Take Care,†“Pip’s Tips and the “Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver†podcast.
“Pip†is short for Pippy Pinewood, who gives advice to pre-school age childen and appeared at the event. “All my friends call me Pip,†she told a reporter after the ribbon cutting.
STATION ACCESS, SUPPORT
PBS Appalachia does not provide over-the-air television signals, but its content is available via live stream and on demand.
Distribution agreements have been reached with local cable providers, as well as Roku TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and coming soon Samsung and LG Smart TVs. Viewers can also watch at , through the station’s mobile app or on PBS’s streaming platform, .
Funding for PBS Appalachia is made possible, in part, through support from the Virginia General Assembly under the leadership of state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Va., and state Del. Will Morefield, R-Va.; the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission; the Anne and Gene Worrell Foundation; the Wellspring Foundation of Southwest Virginia; and the McGlothlin Foundation. The station also extends its gratitude to local business partners and viewer contributions.
MORE ABOUT PBS APPALACHIA
PBS Appalachia Virginia is the nation’s first all-digital public television station and is dedicated to serving Southwest Virginia. The station is committed to preserving the region’s history and culture through high-quality content distributed via the PBS system, according to Newman and Anderson.
Previously, Blue Ridge Public Television Inc. operated two transmitters in Southwest Virginia. In 2013, following the defunding of public media in Virginia, those transmitters were shut down but the one in Roanoke remains. Residents in far Southwest Virginia had no access to local public television until a decade later, when PBS Appalachia launched in June 2023.
