WIPR-TV, virtual channel 6, is a non-commercial educational, full-power public television station licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The station is owned and operated by Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública. Most of its television shows on the main channel are local programming. Because of its audience, much of WIPR's programming is in Spanish, as with most Puerto Rico television stations. The station is branded as WIPR Television. Previously, the station was branded as Teve 6 / Teve 3, TUTV - Tu Universo Televisión and ''Puerto Rico TV. WIPR-TV operates a semi-satellite on the island's west coast, WIPM-TV, channel 3 in Mayagüez. WIPM-TV largely repeats WIPR, but does produce some local programming. WIPM-TV transmits its digital signal on channel 32, virtual 3.
History
WIPR-TV was created as a result of lobbying for public broadcasting in Puerto Rico, beginning in the 1950s. The station went on the air for the first time on Three Kings Day, 1958 becoming the first educational television station in Latin America, and the facilities was dedicated to Ramón Rivero, the most important and influential actor/comedian in the history of Puerto Rico. It was also unique among other government-controlled broadcasters in the Caribbean as it did not show commercials. All other government-controlled broadcasters showed advertising. The station was one of the fewTV stations in Puerto Rico with English-language programming, via a membership with PBS that allowed them to carry PBS Kids in English. This ended on July 1, 2011 after WIPR and PBS failed to reach an agreement to renew the station's membership, with money previously allocated to PBS membership dues being invested in the station's local programming. PBS programming remains available on Puerto Rico via WMTJ. In 1996, WIPR-TV was the first Puerto Rican television station that used streaming media to broadcast programming to the internet.
The channel celebrated their 50th anniversary by producing a documentary focusing on their history. On July 1, 2008, TuTv renewed 150 contracts. In 2008, Puerto Rico's Public Broadcasting Station, WIPR-TV, celebrated its 50 years of broadcasting with a documentary that relived some of the best and worst moments in its history. The documentary "50 Años WIPR-Televisión", is about 70 minutes long and reviews some of the news, entertainment programming, music and sports events that the station has presented during half a century. WIPR-TV, today better known as the Puerto Rico's Public Broadcasting Corporation, or its branding, WIPR Television, was inaugurated on January 6, 1958 under the administration of the then-current governor, Luis Muñoz Marín. The documentary was dedicated to the actor, director and filmmaker Ángel F. Rivera Vázquez, who had worked in WIPR since its beginning. Spearheaded by Investigator Flavia García, who had been working for the previous 9 years on an investigation of the history of television, headed the production of this special along with . The Corporation's President, Víctor J. Montilla, received a congratulatory resolution on behalf of the Puerto Rican Senate for the "good music, art and television" that have distinguished the channel for the past five decades.
Digital and high definition
WIPR-TV, the island's first public television station, also became the first in the evolution to digital and high definition. .On July 7, 2008, President Víctor J. Montilla held a press conference at the station, where he inaugurated WIPR-TV's high definition facilities. TUTV became the first station in Puerto Rico to produce and broadcast in high definition format. The station upgraded its lighting and built new sets as part of the transition. Some artists underwent lifestyle changes, including changes in their diet, to look better in high definition. The first program to be transmitted in this format was "Contigo".
Digital television
The digital signals of WIPR and WIPM are multiplexed:
Programming
WIPR-TV for years has shown local programming, educational, children and human interest shows.
Notiseis 360
In the 1980s the station had a highly praised newscast called "Panorama Mundial", hosted by Doris Torres. In 1996, WIPR launched a newscast branded as Noti-Seis or "News Six". The newscast was first anchored by Pedro Luis García and Gloria Soltero and only had a 6:00 PM edition. Later that year, the station premiered a 9:00 PM edition anchored by the same 6:00 PM team. In 2002, a new news format was created with a local newscast and an international newscast ; the newscasts were anchored by Gloria Soltero and David Reyes. TUTV also produced a weekly in-depth newscast on Sundays, called TuTV Analiza. This year, TUTV's programming received various awards. Locally, En Todas was awarded by the American Heart Association. Five productions received Emmy Award nominations and one of TUTV's producers received an Emmy in the Entertainment Program category. In 2009, when TUTV was rebranded as "Puerto Rico TV", its news department was relaunched as Noticias 24/7; around this time, WIPR introduced a 24-hour news channel of the same name on channel 6.5 and 3.5. On September 26, 2018, Noticias 24/7 was rebranded as "Notiseis 360".
