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34 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2017 Film, TV & Digital Media INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT › T he Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN) has come a long way from when it started 55 years ago on the Hartford campus of Trinity College. It's a staple of the state's broadcasting scene and has ridden the waves of peaks and valleys in the media industry throughout the years. Guiding CPBN for the past 32 years has been President and CEO Jerry Franklin, who says the current age of media requires organizations to not stand still. Multi-platform media It started as the Connecticut Education Television Station, one of the first public educational broadcasting networks in the country. In 1978, it added a radio presence. Aer calling Trinity College home for more than 40 years, the network moved into downtown Hartford's Asylum Hill neigh- borhood, occupying a former IBM office building. Today, the CPBN parent company has three television stations, including Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) and CPTV Sports. ere are five radio stations, anchored by the flagship WNPR/Connecti- cut Public Radio. Combined, they reach an estimated 550,000 viewers and 240,000 listeners each week. CPBN also partners to produce "Connecticut Magazine," which has 80,000 subscribers. e network has had a hand in produc- ing some of the most iconic public broad- casting programs in the country, including the children's programs, "omas the Tank Engine," "Wishbone" and "Bob the Builder." But perhaps it is best known for first broadcasting "Barney & Friends" in 1992. "Experts said, 'You must be crazy com- ing up with a property like a purple dino- saur,'" recalls Franklin. Within years, that purple dinosaur was beating Sesame Street in some ratings, Franklin says. Another boon came in the early 1990s, when CPTV signed a contract to broadcast the University of Connecticut Women's Bas- ketball team for its sports network. It was the beginning of a dynasty for the team, which has since won 11 NCAA Championships. "We had no idea how popular it would become," Franklin says. CPBN has won two National Daytime Emmy Awards and 98 Regional Emmy Awards, while having been nominated for 410 Regional Emmy Awards. But "Barney & Friends" came to an end in 2009, and a few years later so did CPBN's contract for Huskies basketball. It le the question: How would CBPN replace the lost revenue and viewership? Franklin said it required a rethinking of programming. If the nationally produced PBS shows like NOVA aired an environmen- tal program, CPTV would follow it up with additional environmental programming to keep audiences engaged. More needed to be done, though. CPBN is in the process of identifying what Franklin calls "communities of interest" that the net- work can work with to experiment on new media opportunities: hosting events, creating targeted content and helping them produce their own content. e network already does philanthropic work in Hartford — it has a program that trains veterans on new media skills, and a Learning Lab that provides instruction to middle and high schoolers, plus college-aged students and adults. But CPBN will reach out further into the community. It's opening a 15,000-square-foot Innovation Center in Norwalk to provide similar services there. As CPBN looks to the next era, it knows that the media landscape is continuing to evolve. To keep pace, CPBN has signed an agreement to work with a New York-based production company named Moondog, which will help CPBN produce content for digital media and mobile platforms. To help fund these initiatives, the network has launched a multi-year, $9-million campaign. Already about a year in, CPBN has raised a couple million dollars. Despite all the changes, Franklin re- mains optimistic. "We really do think this is our time," he says. ❑ The CPBN headquarters building in Hartford. PHOTO/CPBN CT's Public Broadcasting Charts New Territory Expansion and fresh partnerships are keeping CPBN relevant in 2017 By Brandon Butler