Staff says APT's statewide and digital reach is growing as State House studio work moves forward

APT staff presented a series of operational reports showing audience growth on multiple platforms and substantial capital work underway.

Engineering and operations (speaker S21) described nine full-power transmitters, 18 microwave hops, a new transmitter site planned for Fayette/Lamar counties with a target completion by Sept. 30, and a contract in place for the State House studio build-out. "We have 9 full power transmitter sites across the state ... we're looking at completing [WJIQ] by September 30," the engineer said.

Todd Stacy (speaker S16), who leads news and public affairs, said the station reached about 572,000 statewide households over a 12-month average, reached 882,000 people (people 2+ metric), and had its highest month (December) around 625,000 household reach. Stacy also previewed a 2:00 p.m. tour of the upcoming State House studio and highlighted a recently hired Washington correspondent.

Digital and content teams (speaker S14) said they had produced dozens of vignettes for America's 250th, reported a 450% year-over-year increase in YouTube quarter views, and cited 12.2 million on-demand streams for PBS Kids content in Alabama. They also pointed to large YouTube totals on select programs and monetization revenue beginning to accrue.

Commissioners asked detailed technical and coverage questions and were told staff would provide footprint data for the new tower and follow up on bandwidth and leasing opportunities.