I received an email update from KCET's Viewer Services department today, informing me that I Puritani from the Met has been added to the schedule! It is currently scheduled for Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 1 pm.
First of all, I'm quite impressed that KCET's viewer services people responded to my email with a follow up email, and made me feel all important and listened to. While I'm grateful that this program will be shown at all, it is still being shown a full month and a half later than New York its PBS affiliate, WNET, will get the program. At least it's airing, right? I just wish they put these programs on their schedule on time so that we in the performing arts provice of Los Angeles can join in all the excitement New York audiences are experiencing.
It seems as though KCET doesn't see as much value in programs such as this. I can't stress the value of PBS' - and by extension, KCET's - performing arts programming for arts education. For me, part of what got me interested in the arts was stumbling across opera and ballet on PBS while channel surfing. And while that may not necessarily capture a large or a lucrative part of the television viewing audience, PBS is public television and we support it so that it can afford to broadcast less profitable programming like the opera or ballet. And programs such as Great Performances from the Met or Live From Lincoln Center are high quality programs with the best artists today, so it's not like they are airing something of questionable value.
This democratic system of letter writing seems to have worked this time. So if you care to bug KCET so they see than appreciative audience would love to see the rest of the Metropolitan Opera season programming on time, please email viewerservices@kcet.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment