PBS will be sending out the broadcast of I Puritani from the Metropolitan Opera on Sunday, February 17 - but KCET in Los Angeles will not, as of yet, be getting it! (This is the same broadcast with Anna Netrebko that was beamed live to movie theatres on January 6). It is currently only scheduled on KCET's HD channel, but not to normal television.
An email to the station inquiring about when they planned to air it yielded this response: "Thank you for programming inquiry regarding Great Performances at the Met: I Puritani. Currently the program does not appear on our broadcast schedule. KCET’s programming, however, is scheduled only two months in advance and it is possible that a decision to air the program will be made at a later date especially since the program is premiering on PBS this month. Your
suggestion that we air this program has been forwarded to our Programming Department for review."
KCET's decision to not schedule it on time seems odd: do they not know that the Metropolitan Opera screenings have been incredibly popular in the LA area, and that screenings have been selling out here? It would be sad if they decided not to air it. While the station has been pretty good about airing major arts programming on time - Live from Lincoln Center, Great Performances and such - sometimes they make very odd programming choices. A few years ago, a great New York City Ballet Live from Lincoln Center broadcast only got aired in the middle of the night after the LA Times badgered the station about why it wasn't airing.
Please email KCET if you agree that the LA area wants its arts programming on time: we don't need a re-air of Andrea Bocelli (which they are re-running this weekend in place of this brand new, hot off the stage production): viewerservices@kcet.org.
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