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Cooking, Traveling, Renovating, Gardening, Painting, Quilting, Woodworking – 24 Hours A Day! – From Pioneering Public Television
CREATE, NEW DIGITAL CHANNEL,
TO OFFER BEST OF PUBLIC TELEVISION'S
HOW-TO PROGRAMS
BEGINNING JANUARY 2006
Presented by American Public Television, in Collaboration
With Thirteen/WNET New York and WGBH Boston
From America's Test Kitchen to Rick Steves' Europe Classics,
American Woodshop to This Old House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For information, contact:
Aimee Gautreau
914/238-2698
aimee.gautreau@verizon.net
At last! A 24-hour resource for all of public television's groundbreaking, award-winning lifestyle and "how-to" programming!
Beginning January 9, 2006, 137 public television stations – reaching 60 percent of U.S. households – will carry a new digital channel, Create, for viewers to watch favorite series and specials on cooking, renovating, painting, crafts, travel, gardening and other lifestyle passions.
"Public television is where 'how-to' programming began," said Cynthia Fenneman, President and CEO of American Public Television (APT), the program distributor offering Create in collaboration with Thirteen/WNET New York and WGBH Boston, public TV's two largest program suppliers. "With Create, we can showcase viewer favorites, build new audiences, and continue the life-long learning inspired by one of public television's signature programming initiatives."
Stars and Series for January 2006 Launch
Each week, Create will feature approximately 30 high-profile series and specials, including Saturday cooking marathons. Chefs and cooking experts include (in alphabetical order) Lidia Bastianich (Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen), Chris Kimball (America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated), Daisy Martinez (Daisy Cooks!), Tina Nordström (New Scandinavian Cooking with Tina Nordström), Caprial and John Pence (Caprial and John's Kitchen), Jacques Pépin (Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way), Christina Pirello (Christina Cooks), Steven Raichlin (Barbecue University with Steven Raichlin), Ming Tsai (Simply Ming), Charlie Trotter (The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter), Joanne Weir (Weir Cooking in the City), Dede Wilson (Seasonings with Dede Wilson), and Martin Yan (Martin Yan Quick & Easy), all offering episodes from their acclaimed cooking shows.
On the travel front, Rudy Maxa (Smart Travels – Europe with Rudy Maxa) and Rick Steves (Rick Steves' Europe Classics) will escort viewers around the world. P. Allen Smith (P. Allen Smith's Garden Home) and Michael Weishan and his team from Victory Garden will be tilling the soil, and Donna Dewberry (One Stroke Painting with Donna Dewberry) and Bob Ross (The Best of the Joy of Painting) will offer painting techniques. A team of experts will offer their unique perspectives on "scrapbooking" (Scrapbook Memories), Sue Hausmann (America Sews with Sue Hausmann) and Nancy Zieman (Sewing with Nancy) will inspire those with a love of sewing, and Janie Donaldson and Donna Wilder (Quilt Central) will provide answers for quilting problems.
The stars of This Old House and Ask This Old House will be on board, as will Norm Abram (New Yankee Workshop) and Vicki Payne and her daughter Sloan Payne Rutter (For Your Home), all sharing renovation and home improvement tips. Vicki Payne (Glass with Vicki Payne) will also present her popular series about the art of glass working.
Top Cities
Fenneman said that the dynamic service will broadcast 12 to 24 hours daily over the air on stations' new digital signals and via digital cable systems. Create will be available in 15 of the top 25 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, Detroit, Seattle, Tampa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami, Denver, St. Louis, Portland and Indianapolis, in addition to seven statewide public television networks. Fenneman expects another 10 stations will sign on for the service in 2006 (the channel is currently carried in New York and Boston).
Programming Blocks
The channel features four identical, stacked, six-hour blocks of programs linked by Emmy-nominated interstitials. Each six-hour block features "best of" programming from public television distributors: predominantly titles from APT's extensive how-to/lifestyle library and other well-known titles from the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
After launch, other prominent series will be added, and Fenneman indicated that original programming for the new channel is a long-term goal.
Unprecedented Launch
"In today's competitive media landscape, launching a new channel with 60 percent television household penetration is almost unprecedented," said Mike Quattrone, former general manager of the Discovery Channel and an APT board trustee. "With its focus on proven, successful programming, Create looks like a winner for public television."
Support
Support and funding for national Create is provided, in part, by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) through its Digital Services Fund, upon contract execution. National Create, in addition to providing viewers with strong programming, is designed to help meet the digital multicast-generated demand for additional content across the public broadcasting system. It is the first public television digital channel to launch since the historic digital TV carriage agreement with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA). Create is produced and distributed by APT, Thirteen/WNET, and WGBH Boston in association with NETA and PBS.
American Public Television
For 44 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation's public television stations. APT distributes more than 10,000 hours of programming including JFK: Breaking the News, Simply Ming, Globe Trekker, Rick Steves' Europe, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Battlefield Britain, Jungle, America's Test Kitchen, Lidia's Family Table and classic movies. APT is known for identifying innovative programs and developing creative distribution techniques for producers. In four decades, it has established a tradition of providing public television stations nationwide with program choices that enable them to strengthen and customize their schedules. Press should contact Donna Hardwick at 617-338-4455 ext. 129 or via email to Donna_Hardwick@APTonline.org. For more information about APT's programs and services visit www.APTonline.org.
THIRTEEN/WNET
Thirteen/WNET New York is one of the key program providers for PBS, bringing such acclaimed series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Wide Angle, Secrets of the Dead, and Cyberchase — as well as the work of Bill Moyers — to audiences nationwide. As the flagship public broadcaster in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro area, Thirteen reaches millions of viewers, airing the best of public television along with its own local productions. And, through its Web site and educational outreach projects, Thirteen extends the power of its work beyond the television screen. In 2003, Thirteen merged with sister station WLIW21 New York, America's fourth most-watched public television station. WLIW distributes live daily broadcasts of BBC World News and produces PBS programming celebrating the diversity and ethnic character in America. More information about Thirteen and WLIW can be found at www.thirteen.org and www.wliw.org.
WGBH
WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the source of one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup, along with some of public television's best-known lifestyle shows and children's programs and many public radio favorites. WGBH is the number one producer of Web sites on pbs.org, the most-visited dot-org on the Internet. WGBH is a pioneer in educational multimedia and in technologies and services that make media accessible to the 36 million Americans who rely on captioning or video descriptions. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards…even two Oscars. In 2002, WGBH was honored with a special institutional Peabody Award for 50 years of excellence. For more information, visit www.wgbh.org.
National Educational Telecommunications Association
The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) is a professional association that serves public television licensees and educational entities in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. NETA serves by connecting people and ideas, by providing quality programming, educational resources, professional development, management support and national representation. For more information, visit www.NETAonline.org.
Public Broadcasting Service
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 348 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS is the foremost source of programming for public television, providing high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, which consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.
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