WTCI PBS is the community-licensed PBS member station for Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley, serving 35 counties in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina with local and national programming, education services and WTCI Passport.
WTCI PBS is the PBS member station for Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Tennessee Valley, broadcasting on channel 45. It is a community-licensed public television station owned by the Greater Chattanooga Public Television Corporation, a not-for-profit community organization, and works from studios on Bonnyshire Drive in Chattanooga.
WTCI began broadcasting on March 4, 1970, as one of the public television stations built by the Tennessee Department of Education. On July 1, 1984, ownership passed to the Greater Chattanooga Public Television Corporation, and in 2007 the station moved into its present studios. Its mission is to enrich lives through quality programs and services that educate, engage, and inspire a lifetime of learning and exploration.
The station serves 35 counties across Southeast Tennessee, Northeast Alabama, North Georgia and the western tip of North Carolina, reaching more than 440,000 households over the air across a 60-mile radius and through more than 35 cable systems. Its channels carry PBS, Create, PBS Kids and WTCI Educate, and members stream national and local programs through WTCI Passport. As a community licensee, WTCI raises more than half of its budget from the community it serves, through members, businesses, foundations and underwriters.
Local productions include the documentary series Greater Chattanooga, the interview program The A List with Alison Lebovitz, and Chattanooga: Stronger Together, which profiles area nonprofits. WTCI Creative produces event videos, television commercials and drone footage for outside clients. The education team runs Ready To Learn workshops for educators, caregivers and parents, produces PBS LearningMedia content, and brings families to the station for events such as Be My Neighbor Day.
WTCI has a small staff (13 full-time employees in March 2026) and hires for content and production, broadcast operations, development and membership, marketing and community engagement, and education roles; recent hires include a producer and a coordinator of educational services. Openings are posted on the station's Careers and Internships page. The station also offers unpaid, for-credit internships to college students in production, development, membership, marketing, public relations and community engagement.
