(PBS executives declined to quantify the falloff depicted.) Wilson, the chief programming executive for PBS, told attendees to the annual meeting, while exhibiting a Nielsen ratings chart showing a steep cliff where the audience disappeared between shows. “It’s almost as if someone pulled the fire alarm and they scrambled for the exits,” John F. Not surprisingly, viewers routinely flee. Currently, the messages that a PBS station broadcasts are packed into a block at the end of each show, which, for hourlong programs, sometimes stretches to nearly eight minutes. The change is meant to address a serious problem. But, he added, “the people of PBS would not do this lightly.” “My first reaction is that in any kind of marketing opportunity, if you give up something that is desirable and differentiates you from your competition, it’s too bad, and that’s what this is,” said Alberto Ibargüen, a former PBS board chairman and president and chief executive of the Knight Foundation, which finances some public broadcasting initiatives. Oxenford, a partner with the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, who represents some public broadcasters.
“One of the biggest things they have to sell is that they are noncommercial,” said David D. The great unknowns are whether PBS viewers will welcome receiving programming in shorter bites, or rebel against a move they see as more commercial, and if foundation supporters will see the change as an abdication of mission. While many support testing the new model, others are worried about how viewers and the financial supporters will react, and if PBS can recover should they react badly. Based on what PBS learns in the fall, the new format would continue to be introduced night by night through the year, officials said.Įven before the plan became public last week, it was being intensely debated among PBS station executives and program producers. The longest period of uninterrupted programming, according to a plan shown to the programmers, would be just under 15 minutes, compared with the current 50 minutes or more.
#HOTSWITCH TV STRATEGY SERIES#
PBS officials told member stations at its recent annual meeting in Orlando that beginning this fall, the Wednesday science series “Nature” and “Nova” would contain corporate and foundation sponsor spots, promotional messages and branding within four breaks inside the shows, instead of at the very beginning and end. FOR decades, the uninterrupted programming on PBS has been one of its most distinctive selling points to audiences and philanthropic and corporate supporters alike.īut those leisurely stretches of break-free programs could be going away.
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