Key Points
- Cascade PBS has launched Local Public as a standalone public benefit subsidiary; the company provides branded streaming app technology for PBS member stations across connected TVs, mobile devices and the web.
- The company was created from technology originally developed by Cascade PBS for its own digital platforms.
- Executives say the platform is designed to help local stations maintain their role as community-focused public media providers in the streaming era.
Cascade PBS, the non-profit television station serving western Washington state, has spun out its technology division into a separate company that will help similar public broadcasters carve out their own streaming and digital identities.
The new company, Local Public, will help develop streaming applications for connected TVs, mobile devices and the web, allowing public television stations to offer locally branded streaming experiences featuring their own programming alongside national PBS content.
Cascade PBS, which is based out of KCTS (Channel 9) in Seattle, said Local Public originated as an internal effort to improve its own digital strategy before evolving into a business serving stations nationwide.
Unlike national streaming platforms that offer standardized experiences, Local Public allows stations to curate programming tailored to their communities, highlight locally produced content and create direct pathways for viewers to support their local public media organization.
More than a dozen PBS member stations are participating in Local Public, Cascade PBS said, including the following outlets:
- KAET (Channel 8) in Phoenix
- KCTS (Channel 9) in Seattle
- KLVX (Channel 10) in Las Vegas
- KOPB (Channel 10) in Portland, Oregon
- KPBS (Channel 15) in San Diego
- KRMA (Channel 6) in Denver
- KUHT (Channel 8) in Houston
- KVIE (Channel 6) in Sacramento
- WCTE (Channel 22) in Cookeville, Tennessee
- WETA (Channel 26) in Washington, D.C.
- WHRO (Channel 15) in Norfolk, Virginia
- WHYY (Channel 12) in the Philadelphia market
- WLVT (Channel 39) in Allentown, Pennsylvania
- WNED (Channel 17) in Buffalo
- WNPT (Channel 8) in Nashville
- WQED (Channel 13) in Pittsburgh
- WRLK (Channel 35) in Columbia, South Carolina
“Public media has always been strongest when it is deeply rooted in the communities it serves,” Cascade PBS President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Dunlop said in a statement. “Streaming shouldn’t diminish that connection — it should strengthen it. Local Public gives stations the tools to create digital experiences that reflect their communities, deepen audience engagement and build a more sustainable future for public media.”
Amanda Mountain, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Public Media at KRMA, said the initiative demonstrates how public media organizations can collaborate on technology that serves local audiences.
“Local Public represents the possibilities when local public media organizations work together to build better products, faster, that meet the needs of our audiences and reflect what’s most important to our communities,” Mountain said.
