Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Tim Cuprisin Column: PBS' V-Me Channel Plans to Put Language Outreach Programs on the Air
Posted on: Wednesday, 7 May 2008, 09:00 CDT
By Tim Cuprisin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 7--After little more than a year on the air, PBS' Spanish channel, V-me, is studying new programming options.
"We do have in development some outreach for parents and children in connection with the learning of English," says Carmen DiRienzo, president of the digital TV channel.
That would be a step beyond the current focus of V-me, which is pronounced "veh-meh" and means "see me." It's available over the air as digital channel 10.2 on a digital TV or a converter box, and at Channel 551 on Time Warner Digital Cable.
DiRienzo says that while plenty of Spanish-language TV was available before V-me launched in March 2007, the focus was limited.
"There's nothing wrong with telenovelas and soccer," she tells Inside TV & Radio. "But there was a world of content that was just missing."
The channel features its own productions, along with programming from various sources around the world, including Food Network shows with a Spanish soundtrack.
DiRienzo, who will be in Milwaukee Thursday to meet with Latino community leaders, says market research provides a picture of who is watching V-me.
"What our online research told us was that the average length of time that our viewers have spent in the country was 16 years," she says.
Among the interesting finds is that the audience includes U.S.-born adults particularly happy with the preschool programs.
"They want their children to learn the language better than they themselves did."
And then there's a group of viewers who don't speak Spanish at all, but who've stumbled across V-me's yoga show, "Aire Yoga."
"We have gotten so many requests for the program to be broadcast in English or to provide English-language DVDs," says DiRienzo. "I just get the biggest kick out of it, because they're people who don't speak Spanish but are enjoying it."
Program information is available at www.vmetv.com.
CHANNEL SURFING: Milwaukee Public TV's annual auction, which ended over the weekend, earned $1,207,620. Last year's fund-raiser pulled in $1,107,114.
--The "Discover Wisconsin," travel show has bought time on the Travel Channel and other cable outlets to give a wide platform to a one-hour special highlighting the state. The first Travel Channel airing is 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
--Lindsay Lohan joins ABC's "Ugly Betty" for a six-episode run next season as Betty's old schoolmate.
CUTTING THE NEWS: For the second Friday, Channel 6 is cutting its 9 p.m. Friday news to seven minutes, with a "special" filling the rest of the hour. This week, it's a compilation of "Contact 6" reports. Last week's truncated newscast was followed by investigative reports.
"We're taking the opportunity to give news and headlines, which people tune in to see, and then brand two of the key products at our station," explains general manager Chuck Steinmetz.
Of course, we're also well into the May ratings "sweeps." Turning 53 minutes of the hour into a special means the Friday night 9 p.m. hour, which could take a ratings hit, won't be rolled into the average for newscasts.
Reach Tim Cuprisin at (414) 224-2397 or tcuprisin@journalsentinel.com. Read his blog at blogs.jsonline.com/cuprisin.
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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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