The shift of Independent Lens from Tuesdays to Thursdays this season has created ratings and carriage woes for the indie-doc showcase and highlighted two often-conflicting objectives of programmers: winning larger audiences by serving highly valued loyal viewers, and getting more diverse and sometimes daring programming into the public TV lineup. Continue reading
NPR President Gary Knell has restructured the news organization’s top ranks, elevating digital chief Kinsey Wilson to executive v.p. and chief content officer and appointing Margaret Low Smith senior v.p. of news, a job she took on an interim basis … Continue reading
While a local public broadcasting station traditionally romances big-donor prospects in its locality, it can occasionally find itself in a jealous spat with a national network courting prospects in its nation. It happened recently in Denver…. Continue reading
PBS’s ongoing negotiations to curb per-hour costs of producing programs and to assert more control over content are increasing friction with its largest producer, Boston’s powerhouse WGBH, according to sources at other stations with knowledge of the situation.
For a period until just four days before the second-season premiere of the gem of this season’s PBS schedule, Downton Abbey from Masterpiece Classic, the approval of PBS broadcast rights for the series hung in the balance as WGBH protested the network’s contract demands…. Continue reading
If this is Tuesday, it must be history. At least, that’s what PBS hopes viewers think as the service moves forward with plans to identify specific program genres with days of the week. “People have had difficulty navigating through our … Continue reading
The return of Downton Abbey proved to be a ratings blockbuster for PBS, while critics mostly heaped praise on the Emmy-winning drama’s second season. Downton’s season premiere Jan. 8 [2012] attracted an average 4.2 million viewers, not including viewing through … Continue reading
Next year’s Public Media Development and Marketing Conference, the annual event organized by pubradio’s Development Exchange Inc., will include a new track for pubTV professionals, produced by PBS. The conference runs July 12-14 in Seattle. The track will focus on … Continue reading
It’s been a very good Emmy season for indie documentaries on PBS. POV received four of the six statuettes credited to PBS in the National Academy of Television Arts and Science’s Sept. 26 Emmy announcement. Two went to Food Inc., … Continue reading
PBS Kids unveiled last week its largest offering of math-skill games for preschoolers — a cache of 40 games that can be played on computers, mobile devices and interactive whiteboards. “As the nation’s children continue to fall behind, we need … Continue reading