THE FIRST TV AIRING
About a month after I finished The Wildlife of Little Hot Springs Valley, I contacted Redding Community Access Channel 11. My dad knew somebody who knew somebody who was involved with that station. That channel would have given me exposure mainly in Redding, CA, which is about eighty miles southwest of Little Hot Springs Valley. I sent the station a letter and a DVD. They ignored me.
In January 2008 (about five months after I finished Wildlife), I contacted another TV station. I figured I’d go for what was my most coveted local TV channel opportunity: KIXE TV Channel 9 (local PBS for much of northeastern California). The station broadcasts out of Redding and is available in Little Hot Springs Valley.
“KIXE . . . covers a 130 mile radius that includes ten California counties: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity. Today, KIXE is one of the most watched TV stations in this area. The station serves more than 500,000 people with more than 74,000 television households tuning in to Channel 9 each and every week.” —Source: http://www.kixe.org/node/8
I remember KIXE TV as one of the only three channels my family got before we had satellite TV. The station’s availability is pretty universal in northeastern California’s remote regions. I also remember nature documentaries being on that PBS station. Some of the most famous and memorable wildlife series (i.e. Nature and Marty Stouffer’s Wild America) aired on PBS. So, if I could get my material on a PBS station, it would be in the same neighborhood as some of the big shots in wildlife programming.
I got in touch with KIXE TV’s Director of Content, Rob Keenan. I asked if the station would be interested in airing my program, and I sent a link to my website. Rob was interested, so I sent him a DVD. He liked what he saw, and after a few months of e-mail exchanges and waiting, Wildlife was set to make its television debut on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.
After sending out my own press release to several local newspapers, I received significant amounts of publicity prior to the broadcast.
Below is an excerpt from a May 1, 2008 Redding Record Searchlight article written by Jessica Skropanic.
“Howard said he approached KIXE in January, e-mailing them a link to his Web site. Rob Keenan, director of content at KIXE, made the decision to air Howard’s documentary. ‘I was really impressed, especially considering his age,’ Keenan said. ‘He seemed to really grasp how to shoot stuff properly.’ Keenan said he was also impressed by Howard’s narration. ‘We’re really happy to air it; a local theme program,’ said Keenan.”
Wildlife finally aired and was viewed by many people. I got congratulations e-mails from strangers, and my DVD orders spiked. My KIXE TV airing was my big breakthrough and helped me get theater screenings and official recognition at my university.
KIXE TV re-aired my production on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. Wildlife
was so popular that the September airing was presented as one of PBS’s signature characteristics: a pledge drive broadcast. My program was broken into three parts separated by pledge encouragement messages. Wildlife had another pledge drive broadcast on December 7, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. Wildlife has continued to air on KIXE every once in awhile. Its most recent broadcast was on June 6, 2013 at 10:00 p.m.
OTHER TV CHANNELS
My KIXE TV airing gave me additional confidence, so I contacted local PBS stations in Sacramento, Eureka, and San Francisco, CA. Plus, I contacted stations in Reno, NV and Medford, OR. I figured I’d shoot for the stars, and maybe I’d at least be able to grab a chunk of the moon or something like that. Anyway, San Francisco rejected me pretty quickly, Eureka and Reno ignored me, and Sacramento showed tentative interest but eventually deemed my program as not fitting their broadcasting needs.
The Medford station, SOP TV (Southern Oregon Public Television) expressed interest. I had some e-mail exchanges with and sent a DVD to SOP TV’s Programs and Operations Manager, Nancy MacRae. Thanks to her, Wildlife aired on SOP TV’s Cable Channel 21 and its Digital Channel 8.3 on Friday, October 10, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. and on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. SOP TV also broadcast Wildlife at least once in fall 2009. Most recently, the station aired it on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 5:00 a.m. SOP TV serves the Jackson County region of southwestern Oregon.
OTHER DOCUMENTARY AIRINGS
Once I finished Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park: A Biophysical Overview, I sent a copy to Rob Keenan of KIXE TV. He watched it, approved of it, and the documentary debuted on KIXE TV on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. I also got some unique timeslots when Prairie Creek re-aired on April 16 at 4:30 a.m. and on April 17 at 3:30 a.m.
I also sent a DVD to Nancy MacRae of SOP TV. Thanks to her, Prairie Creek aired in Oregon on Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 6:00 p.m.
In winter 2009, I contacted the local PBS station for Humboldt County (KEET-TV of Eureka). After following up twice, I learned that the station rejected my film. I shot it within their coverage zone, but they’re more fastidious than I’d anticipated.
After e-mails, follow-up, and DVD sharing, Conditions of Western Wildlife aired on KIXE TV on Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. It also aired on SOP TV’s Digital Channel 8.3 on Monday, August 30, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.
Because Western Wildlife has a broader scope than my other productions, I contacted various local PBS stations across the American West in hopes of securing more broadcasts. However, those stations thoroughly ignored me. As usual, the Redding and Medford-based stations were the only ones interested in my material.
CONCLUSION
The story of my TV airings is pretty simple. I contacted TV stations, and if they took the time to view my material and thought it was suitable for their station, they aired it. Initiating contact and generating interest were the most difficult aspects of getting my airings. Once a couple TV stations became familiar with me, getting an additional broadcast from them was much easier.
Still, my way of getting things on TV is certainly not the only way. There are all sorts of ways to get stuff aired. I kept Wildlife under an hour to increase broadcasting chances. Still, when I started making it, I never expected it to be on TV. Nonetheless, I had a lot of confidence in my finished product, and I kept trying to expand my distribution. Despite rejections, my persistence paid off.
If you want to get your own documentaries on TV, keep your confidence, and don’t hesitate to contact TV station programming directors. I had to write a fair amount of follow up messages to gauge programmers’ interest levels.