Education for every stage of life
Help make learning accessible, from PBS KIDS and family engagement to local students on Scholars’ Bowl.
CORPORATE SUPPORT & SPONSORSHIP
A stronger community.
With your business
behind it.
Support the community your business calls home. Partner with East Tennessee PBS to make learning, discovery, and connection possible—and let your neighbors see your commitment.
Local purpose. Trusted content. Connections that matter.
IT STARTS HERE.
A curious mind.
A stronger community.
THE REASON TO PARTNER IS LOCAL
When our community thrives,
we all move forward.
East Tennessee PBS works with educators, experts, and strategic partners to address community issues through our platforms, trusted audiences, and strengths.
Your support helps bring that work to life. From a child’s first discovery to a student’s next career possibility, a healthier tomorrow, or a story that helps us understand our neighbors—corporate support has a purpose people can see.
Pathways to opportunity
Support workforce development that introduces people to careers, employers, and training through initiatives such as Jobs Explained.
A healthier community
Help neighbors find useful health information, accessible movement, and encouragement through local wellness programming.
The stories that connect us
Support Tennessee life, history, and heritage—and the arts and local voices that help us understand the place we call home.
COMMUNITY VALUE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE
A local purpose.
A nationally trusted foundation.
Your partnership helps East Tennessee PBS put the strengths of public media to work here at home. National research shows why that foundation matters.
Recognize the community value
In the national survey, 76% agreed that PBS stations deliver excellent value for their communities.
A consistent record of trust
PBS and its member stations ranked first in public trust for 23 consecutive years among the institutions included in the survey.
Parents see a learning benefit
More than nine in ten parents said PBS KIDS helps children get ready to succeed in school.
Source: PBS Foundation, PBS Fast Facts, updated August 2026, citing YouGov 2026. These are national survey findings, not a survey of East Tennessee PBS viewers or a measurement of sponsorship results. The trust comparison includes commercial broadcast and cable television, streaming services, the federal government, and other institutions in the survey.
Help make that value possible in our community →MAKE YOUR SUPPORT YOUR OWN
There’s more than one
way to make a difference.
Start with what matters to your business and your community. We’ll shape a partnership around your goals, audience, and budget.
Put your support beside something people value.
Connect your business with the interests that bring viewers to East Tennessee PBS. Explore recognition around local productions or national programming carried by the station.
- Local voices: Tennessee Life, Scholars’ Bowl, and local wellness programs
- National favorites: drama, science, history, news, and the arts
- A specific show, a programming category, or a broader schedule
Find the connection between your purpose and our work.
Your business has priorities, values, and a community it cares about. Support an area of East Tennessee PBS’s work that reflects those interests. We can build a partnership around a shared purpose, connecting your commitment with relevant content, resources, and community experiences.
- Health & wellness: help neighbors access useful health information and opportunities for well-being
- Tennessee history & heritage: support the stories, places, and traditions that connect our region
- Education: help make learning accessible to children, families, students, and lifelong learners
- Workforce development: connect people with careers, employers, and training pathways
- And more: tell us what matters to your business, and we’ll explore where it connects with our work
Invest in the learners who shape our future.
Help make educational content and experiences accessible to children, families, students, and lifelong learners across our region.
- PBS KIDS content and family engagement opportunities
- Local student achievement through Scholars’ Bowl
- Educational outreach and learning experiences developed with partners
Be there for the moments that bring us together.
Help create welcoming experiences that connect people with public media and one another. Explore opportunities to support families, learning, arts, and local conversation.
- Family engagement and community activities
- Screenings and conversations around meaningful content
- A coordinated mix of event, broadcast, and digital recognition
WHY EAST TENNESSEE PBS
Visibility with a purpose.
A connection built on trust.
Show what you stand for.
Make your commitment to this region visible by supporting content and services that benefit your customers, employees, and neighbors.
Connect through shared interests.
Reach people through the subjects they care about: education, wellness, history, science, drama, the arts, and local life.
Be part of something valued.
Place your business alongside thoughtful public-media content and be recognized as one of the supporters who makes it possible.
63%
of PBS viewers say they tend to remember companies that sponsor on PBS.
Source: PBS Profile, “Quality audience,” p. 8, citing Dynata | SGPTV, US Video Audience Insights 2025. National self-reported recall, not a local campaign result or a guarantee of sales.
83%
of those surveyed say PBS local and regional content is important.
Source: PBS Profile, “Locally owned and controlled,” p. 5, citing YouGov 2026. National survey finding.
Your support helps make valued local content and community service possible. Sponsor recognition lets viewers see the businesses helping sustain that work.
ON SCREEN. ONLINE. IN PERSON.
One local relationship.
Many ways to connect.
Build a coordinated presence across the platforms that fit your partnership. Specific placements and deliverables are developed with you.
Broadcast television 01
Sponsor acknowledgments around selected programs or across a schedule, with opportunities to connect your business to audiences watching East Tennessee PBS.
Streaming & digital video 02
Explore available recognition alongside digital programming and livestreams, including PBS KIDS streaming opportunities where available.
Website, email & print 03
Discuss website recognition, email sponsorship, and print opportunities as part of a plan that supports your goals.
Community events & engagement 04
Connect your support to family activities, screenings, educational experiences, and other local opportunities, subject to event plans and availability.
LOCAL ROOTS. REGIONAL REACH. DIGITAL CONNECTIONS.
Meet our community.
Across screens and across the region.
Two transmitters connect communities across four states. Streaming and social platforms extend the conversation, helping people discover programs, local stories, learning resources, and career possibilities wherever they watch.
People in our service area
Our station’s existing population-coverage estimate for the regional service area.
Counties listed in our coverage materials
Communities in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina, served through WETP and WKOP.
Streams per month on average
Station-reported average monthly streaming activity, shared in October 2026.
Population: approximate existing station service-area estimate, also used in 2025 grant materials; not measured viewership or a current census total. Counties: the station’s published media-kit county list; availability varies by location and provider. Streaming: Barbara Shipley, October 27, 2026; streams are plays, not unique viewers. Averaging period and included platforms have not yet been specified. These measures are reported separately and should not be added together.
Explore the counties we serve
Tennessee
Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Sevier, Sullivan, Union, Washington
Kentucky
Bell, Harlan, Leslie, Letcher
Virginia
Lee, Scott, Washington, Wise
North Carolina
Swain
County names are transcribed from the station’s existing media kit. “Swain” corrects the spelling shown as “Swaine” in that source. The list describes published service coverage, not universal signal reception within each county.
GET TO KNOW THE PBS AUDIENCE
Curious. Engaged.
Worth connecting with.
National research helps show why PBS can be a compelling fit for different businesses. Explore a few starting points for your industry.
PBS audiences across industries
National Spring 2026 MRI-Simmons research points to financially engaged viewers, cultural travelers, homeowners, arts audiences, and more. PBS users are 33% more likely to hold $1 million or more in investments, 65% more likely to take a river cruise, and 19% more likely to hire an outside contractor for home improvements. Half say they are very interested in fine arts.
Source: supplied PBS industry sponsorship one-sheets, Spring 2026, citing MRI-Simmons USA. PBS audience = U.S. adults who used any PBS in the past 30 days. Comparisons are to the average U.S. adult. These are national research findings, not a demographic measurement of East Tennessee PBS viewers. “More likely” is a relative comparison, not percentage points.
Explore more national PBS audience research
The following graphics describe the Ipsos Global Influentials H1 2026 U.S. study population. These findings concern PBS influential viewers or PBS digital influential viewers, as identified on each graphic. They do not describe all PBS viewers or the local East Tennessee audience. Rankings retain the scope and definitions provided in the source graphics.
THE EAST TENNESSEE PBS MEDIA KIT
Find your fit.
See what you can make possible.
Explore the opportunities below, then use the audience and platform sections above to shape a conversation with us.
Download the media kit PDF ↓Nine pages · October 2026 · Includes sources
Explore programs and partnership opportunities
8 opportunities to explore
LOCAL STORYTELLING
Tennessee Life
Stories of the people and places that make Tennessee distinctive. A starting point for businesses invested in local life, heritage, and discovery.
Explore this opportunity →LOCAL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Scholars’ Bowl
Help celebrate local students, schools, teamwork, and learning through the region’s academic competition.
Explore this opportunity →HEALTH & WELLNESS
Health Matters
Explore support for local health storytelling that combines patient experiences and expert medical insight.
Explore this opportunity →ACCESSIBLE MOVEMENT
Fit & Fun with Missy Kane
Connect your support with movement, wellness, and encouragement through a familiar local production.
Explore this opportunity →NATIONAL PBS PROGRAMMING
Drama, science, history & the arts
Discuss programs such as MASTERPIECE, NOVA, NATURE, and Great Performances, as carried locally and subject to inventory.
Explore this opportunity →CHILDREN & FAMILIES
PBS KIDS & family learning
Help make educational content and family engagement possible. Explore broadcast, streaming, and outreach opportunities appropriate to your goals.
Explore this opportunity →WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Jobs Explained
Align your support with career exploration that introduces people to real jobs, employers, and training pathways in our region.
Explore this opportunity →IN THE COMMUNITY
Events & shared experiences
Explore family activities, screenings, and educational experiences that connect neighbors with learning and local public media.
Explore this opportunity →These are examples for discussion. Program schedules, sponsor inventory, initiative scope, and recognition are subject to availability and station approval. Your proposal will identify current pricing and specific deliverables.
EDUCATION SUPPORT WITH EVIDENCE BEHIND IT
Learning that goes
beyond the screen.
Research on specific PBS KIDS resources has measured gains in children’s learning. Supporting educational public media helps keep resources like these accessible to families.
Molly of Denali
Two nine-week randomized studies involving 263 first-graders found that access to the series’ videos and digital games improved children’s ability to use informational text to answer real-world questions.
Read the EDC / SRI research summary ↗EDC / SRI research, 2021; summarized in the supplied PBS KIDS research cheat sheet.
PEG + CAT
Children in a home-based intervention using PEG + CAT resources made greater gains in ordinal numbers, spatial relationships, and three-dimensional shapes than children in the comparison group.
Read the EDC / SRI study ↗EDC / SRI, 2015. Study findings concern the tested resources and intervention.
These studies demonstrate outcomes in their research settings. They do not measure East Tennessee PBS viewers or promise a particular outcome from an individual sponsorship. Research dates are retained; recent audience and trust figures elsewhere in this kit use the newer 2026 sources.
Help make learning possible locally ↗Let’s build your partnership.
Start with your goals and community priorities. We’ll discuss program and platform options, timing, budget, recognition, and the reporting available for your plan.
Talk with Barbara ↗A FEW HELPFUL ANSWERS
Let’s make this simple.
Can we sponsor a specific show?
Yes, we can discuss recognition around a specific show or programming category, subject to availability and station standards. Tell us what your audience enjoys and we’ll explore a fit.
Can we support a cause or initiative?
Yes. Education, workforce development, health and wellness, and Tennessee life, history, and heritage are starting points for a conversation about community support.
How much does a sponsorship cost?
Plans vary by program, platform, timing, frequency, and scope. Share your goals and budget with Barbara and we’ll discuss current options and develop a proposal.
How does sponsor recognition work?
On-air recognition takes the form of a noncommercial acknowledgment. We work with you on appropriate identifying language and creative. Digital, print, and event recognition varies by opportunity and is agreed upon in your plan.
How will we know what our support included?
Your proposal and agreement will identify the deliverables. We’ll discuss what fulfillment records and platform reporting are available for the specific elements in your plan.
LET’S START WITH YOUR GOALS
What would you like
to make possible?
Tell us a little about your business, the people you want to reach, and the community work you care about. We’ll take it from there.
Barbara Shipley
Chief Development Officer
bshipley@easttennesseepbs.org
865.595.0244