The company had its genesis as
Southern Educational Communications Association, which was formed in 1967 to produce programming for
National Educational Television and later
PBS, and became a network syndicator of regional programming next to the
Eastern Educational Network. One of SECA's best known programs was
Firing Line, which came to the air in 1971. The company later started its program service NETA Program Service, that rivaled both
American Public Television and
PBS. In 1999, NETA Business Center was launched by Anita Sims for financial services of its programming. In 2000, NETA begin a systemwide reorganization of its public television content. In 2012, NETA begins partnering with Coca-Cola bottler for station health insurance of its programming. In 2017, Skip Hinton, a NETA member was retired. In 2018, the company was underwent a severe reorganization, resulting in a realignment of various staff members across the company. In 2019, NETA partnered with the Affinity Group Coalition to launch a collaborative project. In 2025, as
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, one of NETA's members was about to shut down, NETA took its members virtually. == Programming ==