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Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission

General Information
  • Formal Name:
    Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission
  • Contact Person:
    Mark Leonard, CEO and General Manager; 1800 N 33rd St.; Lincoln NE 68503; 402-472-9333 x. 321
  • Purpose:
    The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission was created to provide statewide non-commercial television and radio programming. The Commission currently holds the license for the nine transmitters and five translators that comprise the NET Radio network. It also holds the license for eight of the nine television transmitters and for the 15 translators that comprise the NET Television network.
  • How Many Affectable:
    up to 700,000 households in Nebraska for radio and television; any device connected to the Internet
  • How Many Served:
    3.More than 906,000 watch NET Television and more than 97,000 listen to NET Radio weekly. NET's website is visited more than two million times per year. More than 110,000 requests were made to stream live Statehouse coverage, totaling nearly 7 million min
  • Year Created:
    1963
  • Year Active:
    1963
  • Sunset Date:
    none
Authorization
  • Authorization Citation:
    none
  • Parent Agency:
    none
Memberships and Meetings
  • Number Of Members:
    11
  • Who Appoints:
    Governor (9), plus President of Univ. of Neb. designee and Commissioner of Education designee
  • Legislative Approval:
    yes
  • Qualifications Of Members:
    Appointed members subject to legislative approval include: a Nebraska state college representative, a Nebraska community college representative, a Nebraska private educational institution representative, and two members of the public from each of the state's three congressional districts, none of whom may be associated with any of the institutions listed above.
  • Per Diem:
    no
  • Expense Reimbursement:
    yes
  • Term Length:
    4 years
  • Terms Rotate or Expire At Once:
    Terms Rotate
Meetings Required In:
  • Required FY 13-14:
    as designated by the Commission
  • Held FY 13-14:
    5
  • Required FY 14-15:
    as designated by the Commission
  • Held FY 14-15:
    5
  • Required FY 15-16:
    as designated by the Commission
  • Held FY 15-16:
    4
Operations
  • Support Staff:
    yes
  • Shared or Separate:
    Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET)
  • FY 13-14 Budget:
    10,043,759
  • FY 14-15 Budget:
    10,178,470
  • FY 15-16 Budget:
    10,511,544
  • Other Funding Sources:
    yes - authorized cash fund for NOAA, cell phone leases of tower space
  • Spending Authority:
    yes, as established in Nebraska Revised Statutes
Accomplishments
  • Since July 1, 2012:
    NET switched from leased satellite services to fiber lines and microwave technology to deliver the networks television and radio signals to the transmitters across the state, reducing interconnection costs by over 90%. HD radio channels were introduced statewide, adding more news and music programming. Fifteen new television documentaries premiered in the past three years. Each year more than 200 hours of college and high school sports aired on NET Television channels. NET Radio launched a cooperative programming partnership with KVNO Radio (UNOs classical format station), cutting costs for both stations and allowing each stations programming to be heard statewide.