The Quiet Before the Storm

TRAC Scheduling Assistant August 2011

The Quiet Before the Storm Dates to Remember: 8/6 – 8/14: August Pledge While there may be nothing particularly unique about this August versus previous years, the month could be considered the end of the NPS as we know it, and the start of a brave new world. With proposed schedule and program architecture changes coming to the NPS this fall, PBS and its member stations are set to embark on a journey that could be either a game changer, or a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. Only time will tell. And now to the matter at hand – August. The month begins for most with pledge and with repeats for those not pledging. FRP titles available for June and August should serve as a decent start for scheduling your drive, but remember to scan past performance to get in titles that worked well in previous drives.

August 2011 NPS – A Week by Week Walkthrough

Week 1 (8/1 – 8/6) Title (Common Carriage in bold) Projected Rating

Monday, 8/1 Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids, MI” (r) 1.9 Antiques Roadshow “Spokane, WA” (r) 1.5 Abraham and Mary Lincoln, A House Divided (r) 0.8 Tuesday, 8/2 Live from Lincoln Center “Mostly Mozart Festival…” 0.3 P.O.V. “Steam of Life” 0.2 Wednesday, 8/3 Nature “Black Mamba” (r) 0.9 NOVA “Rat Attack” (r) 0.9 Killer Stress, A National Geographic Special (r) 0.5 Thursday, 8/4 Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids, MI” (r) 0.9 Killer Stress, A National Geographic Special (r) 0.4 This Old House Hour (r) 0.3 Friday, 8/5 Washington Week (shortened) 0.5 Need to Know 0.3 Live from Lincoln Center “Mostly Mozart Festival” (r) 0.2

 Certainly, many readers will be in pledge at the start of August, but for those lucky enough to be pushing a regular schedule the week is mostly anemic. On Monday the NPS delivers two repeats of ARS and the final episode of Abraham and Mary. We suppose you could do worse than a stack of ARS. Wednesday night brings a new Live from Lincoln Center, which is good mission, but no GRPs – consider a fringe slot.

1 Week 2 (8/7 – 8/13) Title (No Common Carriage Due to Pledge) Projected Rating

Sunday, 8/7 Nature “Life in Death Valley” (r) 0.8 Masterpiece Mystery! “Inspector Lewis Series II” (r) 0.9 PBS Previews: Prohibition (r) 0.3 Monday, 8/8 Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids, MI” (r) 1.5 Antiques Roadshow “Louisville, KY” (r) 1.3 After the Wall: A World Divided (r) 0.5 Tuesday, 8/9 History Detectives (r) 0.9 P.O.V. “Food, Inc.” (r) 0.4 Wednesday, 8/10 Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice (r) 0.7 NOVA “Is There Life on Mars?” (r) 0.7 400 Years of the Telescope (r) 0.5 Thursday, 8/11 Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids, MI” (r) 0.7 After the Wall: A World Divided (r) 0.3 The This Old House Hour (r) 0.3 Friday, 8/12 Black Grace: From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s… (r) 0.4 Washing Away: After the Storms (r) 0.2

 The week is replete with repeats and plenty of room to get creative in the search for GRPs. Fortunately, with no Common Carriage you can put together a strong schedule without worrying about the hours. On Wednesday, however, the NPS looks fairly strong and may suffice for the low-HUT nights of August.

Week 3 (8/14 – 8/20) Title (No Common Carriage Due to Pledge) Projected Rating

Sunday, 8/14 Nature “Fellowship of the Whales” (r) 0.8 Masterpiece Mystery! “Inspector Lewis Series III” (r) 0.9 Washing Away After the Storms (r) 0.2 Monday, 8/15 Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids, MI” (r) 1.8 Antiques Roadshow “Louisville, KY” (r) 1.5 A Flea Market Documentary (r) 1.0 Tuesday, 8/16 History Detectives (r) 1.1 Frontline 0.7 P.O.V. “The Oath” 0.4 Wednesday, 8/17 Nature “Fellowship of the Whales” (r) 0.9 NOVA “Secrets Beneath the Ice” (r) 0.9 Masters of the Arctic Ice (r) 0.6 Thursday, 8/18 Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids, MI” (r) 0.7 Masters of the Arctic Ice (r) 0.4 The This Old House Hour (r) 0.3 Friday, 8/19 Great Performances “Vienna Philharmonic…2011…” 0.3

 The NPS delivers another week rife with repeats and a few potentially low-rated new titles. PBS begins the warm up for the PBS Arts Festival on Friday with a new Great Performances. Let’s put it this way: we’re nervous.

Sunday, 8/21 Nature “Kilauea: Mountain of Fire” (r) 1.1 Masterpiece Mystery! “Inspector Lewis Series III” (r) 1.2 Tuba U: Basso Profundo (r) 0.4 Monday, 8/22 Antiques Roadshow “Hartford, CT” (r) 1.8 2 Antiques Roadshow “Louisville, KY” (r) 1.5 RFK in the Land of Apartheid: A Recipe of Hope 0.7 Tuesday, 8/23 History Detectives 1.2 Frontline 0.7 P.O.V. “POV Short Cuts” 0.4 Wednesday, 8/24 Eden at the End of the World (r) 1.1 NOVA “Hunting the Hidden Dimension” (r) 1.1 Earth: The Operators Manual (r) 0.7 Thursday, 8/25 Antiques Roadshow “Hartford, CT” (r) 0.7 Eden at the End of the World (r) 0.6 The This Old House Hour (r) 0.4 Friday, 8/26 American Masters “Pete Seeger: The Power…” (r) 0.7

 Pledge is (presumably) over and it’s back to Common Carriage beginning Monday night. The 3rd hour on Monday offers up a potentially weak title with a doc about RFK’s little-known trip to South Africa in 1966 – you can do better coming out of Antiques Roadshow. Wednesday has some decent pairings, but with only the 2nd hour being Common Carriage you have the opportunity to try stronger titles.

Sunday, 8/28 Nature “Is That Skunk?” (r) 1.3 Masterpiece Mystery! “Insp. Lewis Series III” (r) 1.4 PBS Previews: Prohibition (r) 0.5 Monday, 8/29 Antiques Roadshow “Hartford, CT” (r) 1.9 Antiques Roadshow “Las Vegas, NV” (r) 1.5 Objects and Memory (r) 0.8 Tuesday, 8/30 History Detectives 1.2 Frontline 0.7 P.O.V. “Armadillo” 0.5 Wednesday, 8/31 NOVA Becoming Human “First Steps” (r) 1.1 NOVA Becoming Human “Birth of Humanity” (r) 1.1 NOVA Becoming Human “Last Human…” (r) 1.0

 Sunday kicks of the week with repeats, but the Inspector Lewis episode should help with promoting the new series coming in September. Monday is pro forma, including a repeat of Objects in Memory, which may be in the schedule as we near the 10th anniversary of September 11. NOVA’s “Becoming Human” eats up the Wednesday schedule and will likely be carried widely because of Common Carriage.