PBS Returns to Pensacola Airwaves Today as Emerald Coast PBS Launches on Channel 53
Public television is back over the air in Northwest Florida. Emerald Coast PBS begins broadcasting Sunday, November 1, on WPAN channel 53.1 — with PBS KIDS on 53.2 — four months after PBS left local airwaves when WSRE's affiliation ended.
Pensacola has a PBS station again. Emerald Coast PBS begins over-the-air broadcasting on Sunday, November 1, carrying main PBS programming on channel 53.1 and a dedicated PBS KIDS channel on digital subchannel 53.2, according to the service's launch reporting. The signal comes from WPAN television's transmission tower on Barrineau Park School Road in Barrineau Park, just west of Molino, in North Escambia County; WPAN is licensed to Fort Walton Beach, and Emerald Coast PBS leases its signal.
The free, commercial-free service reaches antenna viewers across Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties in Florida and Baldwin County, Alabama, restoring programs including 'Masterpiece,' 'Antiques Roadshow' and 'Finding Your Roots,' and children's staples such as 'Sesame Street,' 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood,' 'Wild Kratts' and 'Arthur.' The service has streamed its PBS and PBS Kids channels online since July 1; Sunday's launch restores the broadcast signal for households that rely on an antenna.
Emerald Coast PBS exists because local citizens built it. PBS left Northwest Florida airwaves on July 1, 2026, when Pensacola State College terminated WSRE Channel 23's longtime network affiliation. Residents responded by establishing Emerald Coast PBS as an independent, community-supported nonprofit, led by executive director Jill Hubbs, the former general manager of WSRE, who oversees station operations, educational outreach, fundraising and programming development. The organization is headquartered at 316 South Baylen Street in downtown Pensacola, in office and studio space donated by the Levin Papantonio law firm, where future local content will be produced. Viewers who contribute $60 or more a year receive access to PBS Passport, the extended on-demand streaming library, through emeraldcoastpbs.org.
