About Us

Peninsula TV is widening its reach to become the Peninsula Channel, a portal that offers traditional community television broadcasting amplified by web-enabled tools, radio, social media plus blogs that allows the community to weigh in on local politics, education, business, events, personalities, government and entertainment that shape the SF Peninsula.

As we build a next generation public media enterprise that relies on a mix of user-generated content, citizen journalism and professional journalism, we invite you to be a part of the story. You will see an emphasis on the things that make this region and the people who live and work here, in a word, special. Software, world class universities, an international airport, biotechnology, as well as farmland, open space and a 450 mile shoreline where we play. Our mission is to be at the center of the debates, sparking conversations between people and policy makers to help everyone better understand and appreciate this place we call home and the people who live here.

Peninsula TV is an Emmy-Award winning programming resource and community information channel that is broadcast to over 190,000 households. An extended network of six additional cable systems, including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, carry some of our original programming to over 600,000 households, and KRON4 airs our production of Bay Area Quiz Kids. Our goal is to provide residents with a regional community cable television channel combining traditional governmental access with high quality original community programming. We create, find, distribute and promote diverse programming to a solid core of viewers throughout San Mateo County. Peninsula TV is funded through a public/private partnership between participating cities, the County of San Mateo, and several sponsors.

Who’s Watching PenTV?

Peninsula TV, we are creative, community minded and committed to excellence as we tell both unique and universal stories of life on the Peninsula. We are proud to offer fresh content grown locally.

Peninsula TV viewers live predominantly in San Mateo County, California, an affluent county situated on the San Francisco Peninsula between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties whose residents live in the technology center of the United States. Nearly two-thirds of the county’s 720,000 residents tune into Peninsula TV for regional programming that can’t be found on the networks or other cable stations. Peninsula TV features an Emmy-Awarding winning children’s show, a technology ‘magazine’ show, high school and college sports programming, an in-depth public affairs show featuring civic and legislative leaders, and a lineup of local interest programs and specialty issue features.

According to a survey conducted by the San Mateo County Telecommunications Authority in May of 2002 when the station had been on the air a little over a year, the Peninsula TV audience included approximately 43,000 viewers each week. At that time, Peninsula TV attracted more viewers than all other regional public channels.

Two of the station’s original programs, Bay Area Quiz Kids and The Game, have been picked up by Bay Area cable stations and air throughout Northern California on KRON 4 and WB 20. Because the programming is engaging and meets the highest technical quality, both shows attracted the attention of these regional broadcast stations. Additionally, the station’s programming is aired on most of the local PEG channels in San Mateo County as well as some of the other PEG channels operating in other Bay Area counties.

For marketing purposes, we know that the majority of Peninsula Television viewers live in San Mateo County, are likely to be college educated, affluent and working in management, professional or related occupations as noted in the census figures below:

• 39 percent have a college or advanced degree (e.g., PH.D. M.D., MBA)
• 34 percent ear a household income greater than $50,000
• 32 percent earn a household income greater than $100,000
• 42 percent work in management, professional, and related occupations