La Salle 56

La Salle 56

La Salle TV is a Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable television station that offers a Educational-access television channel run by La Salle University and carried within Philadelphia’s city limits on the Comcast Cable system. The station reaches over 300,000 homes and attempts to serve the La Salle University community and its neighbors with educational and entertaining programs. The station also serves as a hands-on teaching facility for students interested in the communication field. In 2009, La Salle 56 officially changed their name to La Salle TV due to a recent agreement with Verizon to carry the Student television station.

La Salle University gained the cable channel in 1991 as part of the franchise agreements between cable providers and the city of Philadelphia. Although originally operated by the Academic Computing and Information Technology Department, the Student television station was transferred to the Communication Department in July 1997, allowing the station to use the department’s technical facility and access more students majoring in communication.

La Salle TV features a variety of student-produced programs, ranging from collegiate sports to entertainment to social issues. Original student films are broadcast in addition to interviews with local and national authors, actors, musicians, athletes, and television personalities. As a service to those people who are unable to attend church, WPVI-TV's Mass is shown every Sunday during a late morning rebroadcast.

One full-time employee runs the station year-round with help from a small group of work-study students during the academic year. La Salle TV receives its funding through a portion of the Communication Department’s budget.