PBS has named Marie Nelson as its new vice president news and public affairs. Nelson most recently served as executive producer of national programs at PBS member station WGBH Boston, where she oversaw production of eight-part docu-series America After Ferguson, exploring the impact of America’s changing demographics.
Masterpiece, the 43-year-old English drama franchise, is capitalizing on the runaway success of Downton Abbey by adding new shows and more airtime early next year.
That Sesame Street still exists at all says a lot. In 1973, it was one of two TV shows for preschoolers. Now it’s competing with 84 kids’ shows on TV and countless others online. Yet Sesame Street still holds its own, ranking 20th among kids ages 2 to 5 with 850,000 viewers per TV episode, according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the show.
Exclusives
Among all broadcast and cable networks, PBS said it ranked fifth in the Nielsen audience measurement, compared with eighth for the previous season and 11th for 2011-12.
PBS said last month’s seven, two-hour episodes of The Roosevelts from documentary filmmaker Ken Burns had an average audience of 9.2 million viewers, giving PBS its highest weekly viewer average since 1994, when Burns’ series Baseball aired.
Michael Jones, PBS’s chief operating officer since January 2009, is moving into an advisory role as executive vice president. In a Sept. 9 memo detailing several changes within PBS’s top ranks, President Paula Kerger announced that Jones will continue to report to her, serving “as a chief adviser working closely with me on a series of critical projects.” Those include management of an upgrade to public TV’s interconnection system and issues related to television spectrum issues.
Stars and friends of the late comedian will share memories in Robin Williams Remembered — A Pioneers of Television Special. The one-hour show will feature Williams’ last full-length TV interview, including never-before-seen footage and Williams’ stories from his early days as a stand-up comedian, his desire to be a dramatic actor and his efforts to entertain U.S. troops overseas.
One of the biggest events of the TV year and one of the finest new series of the summer arrive on the small screen the next two weeks. In the past, both productions would have been on PBS. Instead, they are on Internet television — Netflix and the Maryland-based Acorn subscription service. Together, they offer a snapshot of both the way technology is radically changing the manner in which we watch TV and the extent to which a downsized PBS is melting away to nothingness except fundraisers, Ken Burns and Downton Abbey.
PBS Tries To Nab Viewers On-Demand, Online
After rising the primetime ratings ranks over the last two years, PBS is experimenting with ways to draw new viewers including on-demand viewing and extending online offerings. Like other networks, the public broadcaster is trying to reach younger audiences.
After 45 years as an hourlong show, PBS will add a half-hour afternoon version of Sesame Street this fall to meet increased competition for preschoolers.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — PBS says “Antiques Roadshow” is dropping appraisals of ivory tusks. The tusks won’t be shown in new episodes or in segments drawn from previously aired shows, […]
WTVI Is 14th ‘Hub & Spoke’ Partner With Centralcast
As television viewers increasingly turn to video on demand to watch shows when they want, PBS and its stations plan to follow them, but with a twist: They are creating a streaming video service that will be available only to members of local PBS stations.
‘The Roosevelts’ To Open PBS Fall Season
A seven-part Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelt political dynasty, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, will air as two-hour episodes over seven nights, beginning Sept. 14. Each episode will be repeated nightly and the show will be widely available for post-air online viewing.
PBS is making clear it is interested in selling sponsorships and other types of advertising for the online video clips and series that are published through its PBS Digital Studios division. But, the nonprofit realizes there is a fine line to walk.
PBS is expanding its digital-video footprint, announcing four new series bowing on YouTube and other platforms that will join its current lineup of 30-plus original shows.
TX PBS May Move To Commercial Subchannel
PBS is talking with at least three entities interested in saving public television programming service in the far southern Rio Grande Valley of Texas after KMBH Harlingen is sold to a commercial buyer.
NEW YORK — Three weeks after losing much of his left arm, science correspondent Miles O’Brien appeared on the “PBS NewsHour” to declare “I’ll be OK” and to announce he […]
Ira Rubenstein, a two-decade entertainment industry vet who has worked at Sony, 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment, is joining PBS On March 24 as general manager of digital.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — PBS science correspondent Miles O’Brien says his left arm was amputated above the elbow after an apparently minor injury turned serious. In a blog post posted […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Benedict Cumberbatch is a star used to working with other stars, but even he was impressed by the cast of a new project. The British actor […]
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — PBS will commemorate Black History Month with shows including a profile of “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker. The public television service announced Tuesday that the […]
The return of Downton Abbey, which began its fourth season on Jan. 5, is becoming a post-holiday tradition for the show’s fans, said Paula Kerger, PBS president. The British series began presenting new episodes in late September back home, but PBS holds it back.
