PBS commissions Science specials and series in addition to the NOVA pipeline.
Top 5 Non-NOVA Science:
Update
- “Farthest – Voyager In Space” is a standalone special produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios for PBS, and not a Secrets Of The Dead episode.
Context:
- PBS’s average primetime rating is 1.41.
- That translates as an audience of 2,116,000 P2+.
Recap: Volume of Originals / Year (Hours / Est)
- History: 70+
- Science: 40-50
- Natural History: 30-40
- Total: 140-160
Event Strategy
- PBS combines thematic programs from strands like NOVA with outside commissions to create extended thematic events.
Space Event:
- Space is a major theme for 2017, extending into January 2018 with Black Hole Apocalypse.
- The programs:
NOVA: Eclipse Over America
The Farthest: Voyager In Space
NOVA: Death Dive to Saturn
A Year In Space (Encore)
Beyond A Year In Space
NOVA: Black Hole Apocalypse. (Link to Black Hole sizzler.)
Secrets Of The Dead
- History / Science Mysteries blend
- Joined in PBS Space signature theme this season
- Presented by WNET since 2000, inspired by C4 UK series.
- 5 specials / year
- Read more here
More in my series on PBS’s audience
- PBS Series Ranker: History & Science, 2014-2017
- Science: NOVA Tops 4 Million Viewers: The Audience, Trends, Filters, and Recent Greenlights
- Science: Non-NOVA Series & Specials
- WNET’s Nature Strand + PBS Wildlife
- History: Strands & Specials
- The Vietnam War from Ken Burns & Lynn Novick triples PBS average primetime
“A Moral Muddle”
- How my experience in Indo-China during the war determined my reaction to the Vietnam series.
Thanks!
- I’m very grateful to the PBS Programming, PBS Business Intelligence and NOVA teams 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.
