Pipeline Blog
Hello. My name is Holly. I'm part of a team of people who assemble the programming schedule for OETA.
We look at the PBS national schedule, local programs and programs from other stations and distributors. We take in all that information and combine it with Member ballot feedback and viewer suggestions, and at the end of the month, I put together a schedule for each of our four channels.
The following are some notes about upcoming programs, preemptions and other points of interest that viewers might not hear otherwise. I hope you'll find it useful!
The New Doctor
Written by Holly on Thursday March 31, 2011
If you're a long-time DOCTOR WHO fan who has been watching the series on OETA, then you've probably picked up on our pattern. We obtain the rights to a new series once a year, usually in the spring. We air the episodes from that series as many times as our broadcast rights will allow until we get the next new series.
Some of you might have become irritated at the repeats of the same episodes through the year, but we do the best we can until we get the broadcast rights to the new series. If we took DOCTOR WHO out of the schedule while we waited for the new series and replaced it with something else, that would just upset fans even more. So, thank you for waiting patiently.... Your wait is over. DOCTOR WHO Series 5 starts this Friday night.
For those who follow the production of the series and its broadcast on the BBC, Matt Smith took over as The Doctor in Series 5. The Head Writer and the team of Executive Producers also changed. Can a series have that kind of turnover and survive, much less prosper? Well, you be the judge. (Spoiler: YES, it can. And it has!)
The first episode is titled "The Eleventh Hour." The Doctor has just regenerated into a brand new man, but danger strikes before he can even recover. With the TARDIS wrecked, and the sonic screwdriver destroyed, the new Doctor has just 20 minutes to save the whole world - and only Amy Pond to help him.
DOCTOR WHO airs Friday nights at 10:25pm on OETA's main channel.
BBC News
Written by Holly on Tuesday March 29, 2011
It has just come to our attention that the cable channel BBC America has announced it will no longer have news reports. They consider themselves now purely an entertainment channel. They are telling their viewers who want news from the BBC that they’ll have to watch their local PBS stations.
Aren't you glad OETA is carrying the BBC news programs on our OKLA channel?! And it's free! No cable bill required.
BBC WORLD NEWS airs on OKLA weekdays at 6am. It delivers the latest global news, including up-to-date news, interviews, analysis, business reports and world sports news.
BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA airs on OKLA weekdays at 4:30pm. This program delivers coverage and analysis of international events and issues with a fresh perspective, connecting the dots between the United States and the world. Matt Frei and Katty Kay serve as series anchors.
BBC NEWSNIGHT airs on OKLA Sunday evenings at 7:30pm and is a weekly round-up of news and current affairs, offering in-depth analysis of complex global issues, interviews with global opinion leaders and documentaries from all over the world. Presenters include: Jeremy Paxman, Kirsty Wark, Gavin Esler and Emily Maitlis.
Programming Notes
Written by Holly on Wednesday March 23, 2011
Here are a few notes about upcoming programs...
Where Is My Regular Friday Night Program?
Written by Holly on Friday March 4, 2011
You have questions! I have answers...
Where is NEED TO KNOW? -- The program is being preempted for the next three Fridays during Festival 2011. It will return on Friday March 25 at the usual time. You can see the latest NEED TO KNOW episode by setting your DVR/VCR to catch it on Sunday mornings from 3:30am to 4:30am. You can see most videos online on the program's website.
Where is EBERT PRESENTS AT THE MOVIES? -- This series will return to its usual time period following Festival 2011. Until then, you can see it on Sunday mornings at 6:30am.
Where is THE RED GREEN SHOW? -- We are not airing any RED GREEN episodes during the pledge drive. We'll pick up where we left off on Friday March 25 at 10pm with "The Drive-Thru." A truck full of burgers flips over and turns the Lodge into a Drive Thru.
Where is DOCTOR WHO? -- We've left you with a cliffhanger, haven't we? Part One of "End of Time" aired last Friday, and this Friday we're showing Roy Orbison at the usual DOCTOR WHO time. You'll get t see Part Two on Friday March 25th, and then we begin DOCTOR WHO SERIES 5 starting Friday April 1.
March 3rd Programming
Written by Holly on Thursday March 3, 2011
Woah, what is this? Big band music? Ed Sullivan? Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn? It's great and all, but maybe it's not what you expected to see on OETA tonight.
If you tuned in for our local documentaries or THIS OLD HOUSE HOUR, GLOBE TREKKER or AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, I promise you aren't missing any new episodes.
We are recording the new episodes of THIS OLD HOUSE HOUR being fed to us by PBS and we'll air them after the pledge drive, starting Thursday March 24.
GLOBE TREKKER episodes are also being held for broadcast after the pledge drive. (Exciting news... We just secured the rights to the new episodes of GLOBE TREKKER. They'll begin airing in April!)
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS isn't feeding new episodes to us at this time. We'll continue to air some of the classic episodes after Festival 2011.
