This post continues my coverage of the PBS audience for History and Science for delegates attending WCSFP Congress in San Francisco.
- The focus here is on the strands American Experience, American Masters and Secrets of the Dead.
- Also profiled are the highest-rated PBS History specials and limited series outside the strands.
- Next post: The Vietnam War.
Top 5: American Experience
- American Experience from WGBH “brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present.”
- 3-Season rating trend:
- 1.98 HH (2014-15)
- 1.72 HH (2015-16)
- 1.52 HH (2016-17).
- The Pilgrims is a Ric Burns production.
Top 5: American Masters
- American Masters: WNET’s “award-winning biography series celebrates our arts and culture.”
- 3-Season rating trend:
- 0.86 HH (2014-15)
- 1.12 HH (2015-16)
- 0.79 HH (2016-17).
Secrets Of The Dead: Top 5
- “Secrets of the Dead is part detective story, part true-life drama that unearths evidence from around the world, challenging prevailing ideas and throwing fresh light on unexplained events.”
- 3-Season rating trend:
- 1.37 HH (2014-15)
- 1.41 HH (2015-16)
- 1.28 HH (2016-17).
- 6 specials / year
- Presented by WNET since 2000, inspired then by the C4 UK series.
- Secrets Of The Dead home page.
Top 5 PBS History Outside The Strands
- Secrets Of The Six Wives is a drama doc from the BBC hosted by historian Lucy Worsley.
History Pipeline (Hours / Est)
- American Experience: 14+/-
- American Masters: 14+/-
- Secrets of the Dead: 6
- Finding Your Roots: 10
- Other specials and series: 30+/-
- Total new History hours: 70-80 (includes personal history, e.g., Finding Your Roots.
RECAP
Context
- PBS’s average primetime rating is 1.41
- That translates as an audience of 2,116,000 P2+
Volume of PBS Originals / Year (Hours / Est)
- History: 70+
- Science: 40-50
- Natural History: 30-40
- Total: 140-160
More in this series of Posts on the PBS Audience
- PBS Series Ranker: The Audience For History & Science Programs, 2014-2017
- NOVA Tops 4 Million Viewers: The Audience, Trends, Filters, and Recent Greenlights
- The PBS Audience for Science: Non-NOVA Series & Specials
- The PBS History Audience: The Strands
- The Vietnam War from Ken Burns & Lynn Novick
Thanks for this Series of Posts
- I’m very grateful to the PBS Programming, PBS Business Intelligence and stations for providing data and context.
Deeper Analysis
- Thanks also to John Morse, the veteran audience analyst who is my partner in providing our many producer clients with otherwise unaffordable deep ratings data and strategic analysis.
- We help producers understand the competitive landscape for U.S. channels so that they can better pitch new programs and negotiate renewals.
- Read more here about how to get a competitive advantage through our custom audience studies.
Archive Valley
- Our sponsor for this series of posts is Archive Valley, the innovative online platform that gives documentary creators convenient access to fresh archive footage sources and to top archive researchers worldwide.
- Read about Archive Valley’s online solutions here.
