DMPS Red Apple TV

Red Apple TV is an educational access channel on Mediacom Cable featuring news and information about the Des Moines Public Schools. Programming is produced by Video Production Specialist, Kyle Knicley, in the district's Community Relations department. Red Apple TV functions as a "production house with a school district as the only client." Our offices and studio are located in the DMPS administration building at 901 Walnut St. in downtown Des Moines.

Reaching more than 57,000 households in Des Moines and surrounding communities, Red Apple TV covers all schools and grade levels within the district. The staff strives for a mix of feature stories, event coverage, information and announcements. The Des Moines Public Schools boasts over 30,000 students, nearly 5,000 employees, and countless dedicated parents and volunteers. They all work hard to make the district a great place to learn. It is the goal of the Red Apple TV staff to tell the stories of what is happening in the Des Moines Public School District.

The school district does not pay to have Red Apple TV on the local cable channel. Mediacom provides Red Apple TV to the Des Moines Public Schools, free of charge, as part of its franchise agreement with the City of Des Moines.

The website was founded in August of 2005 as another avenue for those without Mediacom Cable to access Red Apple TV programming. Other methods of distributing Red Apple TV content have been explored, including satellite using DirecTV and Dish Network. Unfortunately, DirecTV has stated that their carrier signal is full at this time and therefore are unable to carry our channel. Dish Network (Echostar) spoke with us and also stated their carrier signal is full. We encourage subscribers of these services to call customer service and request this from their company. Consumer demand will likely be the only way Red Apple TV ever has a shot at getting on one of these services.

We shoot and edit all of our content in High Definition using JVC HD250 Cameras along with two Final Cut Pro editing suites. Playback on our channel is run with a Rushworks MasterPlay HD Automation System. Currently, our content is downconverted to standard definition for playback to Mediacom cable. However in the next few years, DMPS has high hopes of operating a low power TV station in High Definition for Red Apple TV, as another way to reach out to the community to show what is happening in the Des Moines Public Schools. Currently, DMPS is in talks with the City of Des Moines on a cost sharing agreement for a plan of this nature.

Frequently Asked Questions about Red Apple TV

Where can I watch Red Apple TV?
Mediacom carries our channel in the basic package of their lineup.
If you have a DVR, Digital Reciver or
Digital to Analog Converter box,
you'll find us on Channel 85.
For those who have a Flat Panel TV
plugged directly into the wall,
we're on Channel 97-3.
If you have an old, tube-type TV plugged
directly into the wall, you won't find our
channel unless you contact Mediacom
and get a Digital to Analog Converter box.
Once that's installed, you'll see
Channel 85.
If you can't find us on one of those channels, contact Mediacom Customer Support and they can help you find our channel.

How do I become a Red Apple TV anchor?
Our anchors are selected from participants in the Central Campus Radio, TV and Film program. We've partnered with this program to provide some practical, on-camera experience for students who are studying broadcast journalism. We audition these students in the first few weeks of the school year. If you are interested in becoming a Red Apple TV Anchor, find out how to enroll in the Radio, TV, and Film program at Central Campus here.

When are school board
meetings broadcast, and do you put those on the internet?
School board meetings are shown live on Red Apple TV at 6:00 p.m. on the day of a school board meeting. These are rebroadcast according to our schedule. Unfortunately, due to the sheer size of the long board meeting files, we are unable to offer those for download.

Can I intern with DMPS Red Apple TV?
We do accept interns from colleges in the area. If you have any interest in getting involved in TV production, we have an amazing opportunity waiting for you. Please email us and let us know you are interested.

Do you accept submitted content?
We offer "Film School" as a way for students and teachers to show their video projects to the community. But other than that, most other content is not accepted. However, if you have a professionally produced video that relates directly to the Des Moines Schools, we will take that into consideration. Please contact us so we can find out about your project.

A Brief History of DMPS Television

The Des Moines Public Schools began using cable TV as a way to communicate to parents in the late 1980's. At that time, it was limited to broadcasts of Des Moines School Board meetings on channel 21. Most DMPS video production was limited to non-broadcast videotapes. In the 1990's, as the local cable company changed hands-and national cable network line-ups expanded-the district was moved to cable channel 4, which it agreed to share with The Learning Channel (TLC).

While on channel 4, the Department of Board & Community Relations developed Classroom Connection , a half-hour talk/news show. Running for three years, it featured studio interviews and short feature news briefs. Classroom Connection aired several times a week but failed to gain a large audience, due largely to the fragmentation of viewers.

This led to the cancelation of Classroom Connection , in favor of its immediate successor, Schoolbreaks . This series of 1-2 minute news stories was produced completely in-house (by Board & Community Relations) and aired by KCCI-TV on NewsChannel 8 This Morning. It marked the first time students were used as on-air reporters, and gave us the opportunity to talk to a larger audience. During the next two years, the district's cable offerings were by and large limited to school board meetings.

In 1999, Mediacom began upgrading the local cable system to fiber optics, and increased the number of channels provided. They decided to move the district to Red Apple TV, and break TLC off on its own. With 24/7 access to a TV channel, and flush with the growing success of Schoolbreaks , the department parted ways with KCCI (amicably) to concentrate on cable and formed it's own identity, becoming known as "Des Moines Public Channel 12" throughout the city.

The "Channel 12" format was created based on expanded versions of the Schoolbreaks -style news features. They are repeated several times each hour (inspired by CNN Headline News). With DMPS high school students as on-air talent,Channel 12 continued to bring news and information to the parents, staff, and students of the Des Moines Public Schools. Other arts-based programming was added, such as Center Stage and Gallery 12.

In 2005, Channel 12 began showcasing it's programming on the web at www.channel12online.org. This was an important step, as it allowed anyone in the world to see what was happening in the Des Moines Public Schools. With the growth of social media services such as YouTube and Facebook,Channel 12 expanded as well and began posting content to those sites in the late 2000's.

On April 27, 2010, Mediacom moved the local Public, Education and Government (PEG) channels from the analog lineup to their expanding digital service. This changed the channel number to Channel 85 or 97-3, depending on the viewer's TV configuration. At this time, "Channel 12" was rebranded to "Red Apple TV" to better reflect the new location in the lineup. A new website was launched, www.redappletv.org.

Today we continue to strive to tell the stories of all the good things going on in the Des Moines Public Schools. And with 60+ buildings, 30,000+ students, and 5000+ teachers and staff... There's never a shortage of great things going on in the Des Moines Public Schools.