| The Florida Channel | |
| Country: | United States |
| Area: | Florida |
| Language: | English |
| Owner: | Florida State University Florida Legislature |
The Florida Channel is a government-access television network operated by Florida State University's WFSU-TV and the Florida State Legislature. The channel is currently carried by 46 cable TV systems throughout the State of Florida either on a part-time or full-time basis as well as through up to 18 live Internet streams and via satellite.[1] The station operates 24 hours a day though its normal broadcast schedule starts at 6:00 a.m. ET and ends at 6:00 p.m. ET with the day's programming repeated in a loop throughout the night. The Florida Channel also airs on the digital subchannels of most Florida PBS member stations and on some public independent and local cable-only stations.
When the state legislature is in session, live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives is carried until the end of legislative business and is then usually followed by Capitol Update at 5:30 p.m. ET, which provides comprehensive coverage of each day's most significant legislative events.
When the legislature is not in session, other live gavel-to-gavel programming is carried, including the Florida Supreme Court, the meeting of the governor and cabinet and the Florida Public Service Commission meetings. When there are no live gavel-to-gavel meetings, other local or statewide public affairs programming is carried out.
The Florida Channel's offices and studios are located on the 9th floor of the Capitol Building in Tallahassee.
The following is a list of current affiliates of the Florida Channel which includes "over-the-air" and local and systemwide cable networks in addition to the live stream available on their website and using the Roku streaming device.[2] [3]
| City of License | Station ID | Channel | Notes/Air Times (all times ET, except where noted) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartow | Polk County Government TV | Comcast 5 Frontier FiberOpic 20 Spectrum (Except Poinciana) 644 / Poinciana 497 | 5:30pm to 7:30pm Monday thru Friday | |
| Boca Raton | City of Boca Raton TV | Comcast 20 U-verse 99 | 6:00am to 12:00pm Monday thru Friday 12:00pm to 8:00pm Saturday & Sunday | |
| Bunnell | Flagler County TV | Spectrum 492 | 12:00am to 8:00am Monday thru Friday (Preempted by local commission meetings) | |
| Cocoa/Orlando | WEFS | 68.4 | Programming available 24 hours a day | |
| Crestview | Okaloosa County School District TV | ITV Wireless Cable 6 | Programming available 24 hours a day (Internal ITV Network) | |
| Daytona Beach | WDSC-TV | 15.2 | Programing available 24 hours a day | |
| Fort Myers | WGCU | 30.4 | Programming available 24 hours a day | |
| Fort Myers | Lee TV | Comcast 97 | 3:00am to 8:00am Monday thru Friday 6:00pm to 7:00pm Monday thru Saturday | |
| Fort Pierce | St. Lucie County Television | U-verse 99 | 6:00am to 6:00pm Monday thru Sunday (Preempted for local government programming) | |
| Fort Walton Beach | Fort Walton Beach TV | Cox 98 | Programming available 24 hours a day (Unless preempted by Commission meetings) | |
| Gainesville | WUFT | 5.3 | Programming available from 8am to 6pm Monday thru Friday | |
| Jacksonville | WJCT | 7.4 | Programming available from 6am to 6pm Monday thru Friday | |
| Leesburg | Lake Sumter TV | Comcast 13 Prism 83 Spectrum 498 | 6:00am to 8:00pm (Unless preempted by local programming) | |
| Miami | WPBT | 2.2 | Carriage when the Florida Legislature is in session only (First Monday in March until adjourned) | |
| Miami | Miami-Dade College TV | Comcast (Miami-Dade County) Comcast (Homestead) 21 Atlantic Broadband 78 KG Comm. 21 | 11:00pm to 8:00am Monday thru Friday (Daily during legislature session) | |
| Miami | Miami-Dade County TV | Comcast 76 Atlantic Broadband 76 U-Verse 99 | Check MDC-TV schedule for TFC programming schedule | |
| Orlando | Orange TV | Comcast 9 Spectrum 488 U-verse 99 | Programming available during legislative session only | |
| Pensacola | WSRE | 23.3 | Programming available from 5:00am to 5:00pm (Central Time) Saturday & Sunday | |
| Panama City | WFSG | 56.2 | Programming available starting at 10:30am (Outside of legislature session) Programming available starting at 5:30pm Monday thru Friday (During legislature session) Programming available starting at 11:00pm Monday thru Friday (During legislature session) | |
| Panama City | Escambia Government TV | Cox Cable 98 Spectrum 98 U-verse 99 | 12:00am to 7:00am (Central Time) Monday thru Sunday | |
| Port Charlotte | Charlotte County Government Access | Comcast 20 & 97 | 12:00am to 7am Monday thru Sunday | |
| Tallahassee | WFSU | 11.2 | Flagship station, Programming available 24 hours a day | |
| Tallahassee | 4FSU (Florida State University Educational) | Comcast 4 | 12:00am to 6:00am Monday thru Sunday | |
| Tallahassee | School District of Lee County TV | Comcast 23 | 1:00am to 5:00am Monday thru Sunday (Subject to preemption) | |
| Tampa | WEDU | 3.3 | Programming available 24 hours a day | |
| Tampa | Hillsborough County Television | Comcast 22 Frontier FiOS 22 Spectrum 637 | 12:00am to 7:00am Monday thru Friday 12:00am to 6:30am Saturday & Sunday | |
| Titusville | City of Titusville Government TV | Spectrum 498 | 6:00am to 7:30am Monday thru Sunday (Preempted by City Commission meetings) | |
| Viera | Space Coast Government | Comcast 13 & 51 Spectrum 499 | 6:00am to 8:00pm Monday thru Friday (Preempted for local programming) | |
| West Palm Beach | WXEL | 42.3 | Programming available 6:00am to 6:00pm Monday thru Friday | |
| West Palm Beach | Palm Beach County TV | Comcast 20 | 12:00am to 7:00am Monday thru Sunday |
In June 2011, it was revealed that the Florida Channel would receive $1.8 million for continued operation of the network, as part of the $2.8 million in funding that WFSU will receive. This is despite the $4.8 million of funding to other public radio and television stations vetoed by Governor Rick Scott in May 2011.[4]