UWTV Takes Shape as Cablearn
In the 1970s, a group of local institutions, including Seattle Public Schools and Public Libraries, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington came together to form a consortium cable channel. The goal was to provide alternative, high-quality educational programming to television viewers in the local area. UW agreed to administer the channel – CABLEARN – through the Continuing Education department.

In 1980, production studios for Cablearn were moved to Kane Hall under the department of Instructional Media Services, and included the latest in audio-visual technology for the time. In 1993, Computing & Communications assumed responsibility of the engineering and television infrastructure, renaming it Video & TV Technologies. In the summer of 1994, the channel's name was officially changed to UWTV, University of Washington Television. In 2008, the organization that runs the channel also took on the name of UWTV.

Expansion of Viewing Area
While available to viewers in the Seattle area for decades, until the mid-1990s, UWTV was virtually unknown throughout the rest of Washington state. That changed in 1996 when UWTV began broadcasting in the Wenatchee Valley on channel 18 through satellite downlink. The following year, Spokane followed, broadcasting UWTV locally on the weekends. Over the years, coverage expanded to Yakima, Richland, Tacoma and Ellensburg. Today the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia metro area – including King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Lewis counties – watches UWTV on Comcast, Click! and Millennium cable systems. UWTV is now available to nearly 2 million households in Washington state. Check our list or your local cable provider for specific channel information.

In October 2001, UWTV became available on Echostar's DishNetwork satellite system. In 2009, UWTV programs became available through ResearchChannel, DishNetwork channel 9400. ResearchChannel is a national television channel and consortium founded by the University of Washington. The consortium includes other nationally respected universities, as well as research institutions, agencies and organizations. ResearchChannel reaches more than 35 million households, or one-third of all U.S. households, via cable, satellite and video-on-demand television.

Global Access through the Internet
UWTV reached out to an international audience in 1999 by launching live, streaming webcasts of on-air programming at uwtv.org. In addition, viewers were able to begin watching programs on demand online by choosing from the library of UWTV programs. In 2007, UWTV introduced downloadable MP3 and MPEG-4 files for podcasting. In 2008, UWTV programs became available on iTunes U and YouTube.