Make48 Season 9 Nationals Premiere Set for July 1st
- Make48+Team
- Jun 1
- 2 min read
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – May 28, 2026 – Make48, the nation’s premier collaborative innovation and rapid-prototyping competition, today officially announced the upcoming television broadcast of its Season 9 National Championship. The tournament series will premiere nationwide on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 8:00 PM CST on Roku’s This Old House Makers Channel (Channel 458), bringing unscripted STEM excellence and maker culture to millions of households.
Following a highly competitive tournament circuit spanning regional events in Dallas, Texas; Winona, Minnesota; and Kansas City, Missouri, the winning teams advanced to the National Finals. The championship was held at the state-of-the-art Fishers Maker Playground in Fishers, Indiana, where teams were pushed to their creative and technical boundaries to solve a real-world design challenge, called by Corteva.
This season’s broadcast introduces a unique, structured four-episode format that balances competition with human-interest storytelling:
Episodes 1–3: The Competition – Provides viewers a gripping, inside look at the 48-hour build window. Teams collaborate, adapt, and construct physical product prototypes alongside Make48's elite tool techs and industry mentors to beat the clock.
Episode 4: Behind the Scenes & Origins – A cinematic, documentary-style finale exploring the history and mission of Make48, the community impact, and the personal backstories of competition.
"The true heartbeat of Make48 is the collaboration that occurs when you bring diverse minds together under a ticking clock," said Tom Gray, CEO and Co-Founder of Make48. "Season 9 showcased extraordinary regional talent. Bringing this four-part story to a premier platform like Roku’s This Old House Makers Channel allows us to celebrate our maker community on a massive national stage."
How to Watch the Action
Catching the premiere is incredibly easy and entirely free:
Roku Channel Live: Tune in to Channel 458 (This Old House Makers Channel) on July 1st at 8:00 PM CST.
Samsung TV Plus: Find the live broadcast on Channel #1214.
Watch Online: Stream directly on your laptop or mobile phone via the Roku Channel web player.
On-Demand Streaming: Add the free Roku Channel app to your device, search "Make48", and stream the episodes anytime.
Relive the excitement and see highlights from Season 9 at Make48’s YouTube page: https://youtu.be/25Dp7l5iEww?si=y9q4Xy-OkjwGGfFQ
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About Make48
Make48 is a nationwide invention competition docuseries that gives teams a challenge at the start of a three-day event. With just 48 hours, teams must create a prototype, promotional video, and sales sheet, and present their idea to a panel of judges. The teams have access to a makerspace and numerous Tool Techs who can make almost anything, patent attorneys, marketing experts, and more. This format allows everyone to have a level playing field and the chance to win, with no prior technical knowledge necessary.
Make48 Media Contact: cassandra@make48.com
So excited to see Season 9 finally airing—the rapid-prototyping challenges always get my own creative gears turning. I've been using https://cometly.pro
I love that Make48 is giving maker culture this kind of mainstream spotlight — the 48-hour build window sounds absolutely brutal in the best way. As someone who's done a few rapid prototyping projects myself, I know how much pressure those timelines put on teams to just get something working. Speaking of imperfect results, I've actually been using a bad quality image tool lately to mess with product shots for fun, and it's made me appreciate how much polish goes into even the roughest prototypes on these shows. Really curious to see how the Fishers Maker Playground setup translates on screen.
So excited to see the Season 9 Nationals finally hit the airwaves—the rapid-prototyping challenges always bring such intense, creative energy. I’ve been following along with the classroom resources and can’t wait to see how these teams push the limits of STEM. Check out https://veovideoai.com
So excited to see the Season 9 Nationals finally hit the airwaves—this is exactly the kind of hands-on STEM energy we need more of on TV. I've been following along with the classroom resources all season, and I can't wait to see how the teams tackle the rapid-prototyping challenges. Check out https://grok-imagine-ai.net
Can’t wait to see the Season 9 Nationals premiere—love that they’re bringing unscripted STEM and maker culture to the big screen. I’ve been following along with https://lyrics-to-song-ai.com