MH
Part of the issue with getting BBC programming (outside of BBC America/Canada/and to a lesser extend World) here in the States is a rights issue. Some of the programming from BBC (most notably Doctor Who, Teletubbies and many of the comedies) have been licensed to PBS stations here, and I'm sure you'd get quite a fuss raised if BBC 1/2/3/4/Prime were exported in their present form here.
In the same vein, Walking with Dinosaurs/Beasts has been licensed to Discovery Channel here (who is the co-owner of BBC America), while Weakest Link has been co-licensed by NBC here.
As for exporting local stations here, the best I would suggest is that the NY/LA stations be exported. Many of you would find what we have here to be intolerable: a mish-mosh of network/local programming, followed by hours of informercials overnight.
Dish Network/DirectTV just this week will have to make ALL the local stations in each market available via satellite if they make one available -- each company has about 40 local markets that they serve (it's a huge mess, and mostly related to issues regarding competition with cable television here, thanks to the FCC, and lobby groups with deep pockets).
If someone wanted local stations from satellite, and didn't live near local network affiliates (don't ask - it's a mess), then they could elect to receive the four network affiliates from New York (WCBS/WNBC/WNYW/WABC) or Los Angeles (KCBS/KNBC/KABC/KTTV).
Local news presentation differs dramatically from elsewhere in the world. Using our local stations as an example (Atlanta), we have local news from four stations, WSB (ABC), WAGA (Fox), WXIA (NBC) and WGCL (CBS). They have their own names for their stations, and their newscasts, both of which will differ dramatically from elsewhere in the country.
WSB is on channel 2, and their newscasts are called 'Channel 2 Action News.' WAGA is on channel 5, and their news goes by 'Fox 5 News;' WXIA is on channel 11, and their news is called '11 Alive News' and WGCL is on channel 46, with their newscasts being called 'Clear News.' The channel positions are entirely different on cable than on the terrestrial dial; plus the digital signals are on yet other frequencies. As a result, the numeric positioner will soon go out the window - the CBS station has already tossed this out, with their name 'Clear TV' and their news, 'Clear News.'
On the CBS/NBC/ABC affiliates, newscasts run early (5-7A), at noon (12-12:30), early evening (5-6:30 or 7P), and late night (11P). Network newscasts run in the morning (7-9A), and evening (6:30 or 7P). CBS & ABC both run network newscasts overnight as well. The Fox station runs more local news - with 5:30-9A, 12 Noon, 5-7P and 10-11P. Fox doesn't run network news; if there is breaking news, they will simulcast Fox News Channel.
Much of the network programming is VERY US-centric, which unfortunately does not lend itself to getting a true global view of the news. The local programming isn't much better, and the newscasts look and feel completely different than the network programming. Even in O&O markets (stations owned and operated by the networks themselves - the Fox station here is one) the look/feel, while 'corporate' in terms of being uniform from market to market, is dramatically different than the network.
The local news is very much 'personalized,' and loaded with 'happy talk.' This is based on the original 'Eyewitness News' format as done on WLS in Chicago, WABC in New York and WPVI in Philadelphia in the late 60's and 70's. That newscasts had four main anchors (2 on news, one on weather and one on sports), and pushed the notion of them all being good friends. Not only that, they do (or did) a lot of talking to each other in transitions between program elements.
This was the direct ancestor to the present newscast format used in most local stations in the US.
M
In the same vein, Walking with Dinosaurs/Beasts has been licensed to Discovery Channel here (who is the co-owner of BBC America), while Weakest Link has been co-licensed by NBC here.
As for exporting local stations here, the best I would suggest is that the NY/LA stations be exported. Many of you would find what we have here to be intolerable: a mish-mosh of network/local programming, followed by hours of informercials overnight.
Dish Network/DirectTV just this week will have to make ALL the local stations in each market available via satellite if they make one available -- each company has about 40 local markets that they serve (it's a huge mess, and mostly related to issues regarding competition with cable television here, thanks to the FCC, and lobby groups with deep pockets).
If someone wanted local stations from satellite, and didn't live near local network affiliates (don't ask - it's a mess), then they could elect to receive the four network affiliates from New York (WCBS/WNBC/WNYW/WABC) or Los Angeles (KCBS/KNBC/KABC/KTTV).
Local news presentation differs dramatically from elsewhere in the world. Using our local stations as an example (Atlanta), we have local news from four stations, WSB (ABC), WAGA (Fox), WXIA (NBC) and WGCL (CBS). They have their own names for their stations, and their newscasts, both of which will differ dramatically from elsewhere in the country.
WSB is on channel 2, and their newscasts are called 'Channel 2 Action News.' WAGA is on channel 5, and their news goes by 'Fox 5 News;' WXIA is on channel 11, and their news is called '11 Alive News' and WGCL is on channel 46, with their newscasts being called 'Clear News.' The channel positions are entirely different on cable than on the terrestrial dial; plus the digital signals are on yet other frequencies. As a result, the numeric positioner will soon go out the window - the CBS station has already tossed this out, with their name 'Clear TV' and their news, 'Clear News.'
On the CBS/NBC/ABC affiliates, newscasts run early (5-7A), at noon (12-12:30), early evening (5-6:30 or 7P), and late night (11P). Network newscasts run in the morning (7-9A), and evening (6:30 or 7P). CBS & ABC both run network newscasts overnight as well. The Fox station runs more local news - with 5:30-9A, 12 Noon, 5-7P and 10-11P. Fox doesn't run network news; if there is breaking news, they will simulcast Fox News Channel.
Much of the network programming is VERY US-centric, which unfortunately does not lend itself to getting a true global view of the news. The local programming isn't much better, and the newscasts look and feel completely different than the network programming. Even in O&O markets (stations owned and operated by the networks themselves - the Fox station here is one) the look/feel, while 'corporate' in terms of being uniform from market to market, is dramatically different than the network.
The local news is very much 'personalized,' and loaded with 'happy talk.' This is based on the original 'Eyewitness News' format as done on WLS in Chicago, WABC in New York and WPVI in Philadelphia in the late 60's and 70's. That newscasts had four main anchors (2 on news, one on weather and one on sports), and pushed the notion of them all being good friends. Not only that, they do (or did) a lot of talking to each other in transitions between program elements.
This was the direct ancestor to the present newscast format used in most local stations in the US.
M
