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Multiple Industry Awards Presented, Nearly 100 Titles Screened: American Public Television’s Fall Marketplace 2014

Public television content leaders and managers from local stations across the country, national producers and U.S. and U.K. talent engage in screenings and discuss TV programs, recognize outstanding colleagues.

BOSTON (November 19, 2014) – At the recent American Public Television (APT) annual Fall Marketplace in San Diego, nearly 250 public television leaders and celebrities participated in program screening, professional development, events and the presentation of several industry awards. The annual Fall Marketplace meeting brings together producers, hosts and stars of new content to the nations’ public television programming community. Amid the screening of nearly 100 new titles and returning seasons of favorite programs, APT presents key industry awards, recognizing leaders and honoring programmers and producers alike for outstanding work over the previous year. Founded in 1961 as a distributor of programming to public television stations, APT was the first to deliver such memorable programs as THE FRENCH CHEF WITH JULIA CHILD, MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD, THE THREE TENORS and MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS to national U.S. audiences. APT continues to be a key industry provider, distributing nearly 300 new titles per year and offering 7,000 program hours in rights.

Person of the Year Award
APT President and CEO Cynthia Fenneman presented APT’s Person of the Year Award to public television veteran Bob Olive, retiring chief operating officer and general manager of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). Olive started his public media career at Cleveland’s WVIZ after receiving an undergraduate degree at Bowling Green State University, a graduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, and serving four years in Vietnam as a Naval electronics technician.

Olive’s career growth in nine years at WVIZ led him to a commercial news managerial position at the ABC affiliate in Cleveland – WEWS-TV – where he stayed for five years. He then returned to WVIZ as director of programming and program administration where, among other responsibilities, he was responsible for the schedule acquisitions, local programming and national productions for the station. His work was recognized by public television programming colleagues in 1996 for achievements in “creative scheduling, audience enhancement, local outreach and audience acquisition,” including growing local viewership in excess of 50%.

In 1999, Olive joined PBS as senior director of major projects, where he worked with local public television stations across the country on political campaign-related coverage, including the national coverage of the presidential campaign and election. At the same time, Olive created and managed the joint PBS and Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Producers’ Academy designed to help local station producers upgrade their skills.

In 2002, Olive moved to GPB, where he managed a staff of 60, nine television and sixteen radio stations. Olives’ successes include fundraising and fiscal management and the management of hundreds of hours of original productions – field and studio-produced series, live remotes and documentaries – leading to the station winning the regional Emmy Award for Best Station of the Year.

Programming Excellence Awards
Fenneman presented five Programming Excellence Awards to honor a select few of the best programs distributed by APT last year. With more than 4,000 titles in rights, APT’s catalog is one of the largest in public media. Since 2002, a select number of programs have been honored each year for their originality, execution, creativity, the scope of content and effectiveness in reaching audiences and engaging them on local public television stations.

Winners of this year’s awards are:
  • VERA, from ITV / Accepting was Jason Kissen, Sales and Contracts Executive from ITV accepted the award.
    A critically acclaimed crime drama, VERA is one of ITV’s strongest series in the UK. According to TRAC Media, with each season, the series has grown by 220% in US markets – building to a 1.59 in its fourth season, placing it at #10 among the top 100 top rated public television titles in the past year. Starring BAFTA winner Brenda Blethyn as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, the series is based on Ann Cleeves best-selling books, Inspector Stanhope, delivering in-depth, edge-of-your-seat, crime-solving drama.

  • CIVIL WAR: THE UNTOLD STORY / Produced by Great Divide Pictures, Presented by Nashville Public Television (NPT). Justin Harvey, Director of Content, NPT, accepted the award.
    o From the compelling and heartfelt narration of Emmy-nominated actress Elizabeth McGovern, to the stirring battle re-creations at the site of some of the Civil War’s most tragic encounters, this series tells the story a war that experts say “should have torn apart the country.” Shiloh. Vicksburg. Chicamauga. Missionary Ridge. Atlanta. These battles turned the war. More than 93% of the public television markets in the United States broadcast this epic series, including all the top 25.

  • MR. ROGERS AND ME / Wagner Brothers, LLC
    From a chance encounter with the iconic Fred Rogers, Benjamin Wagner’s life as a news producer and mission changed. The simple words Rogers spoke – “I feel so strongly that deep and simple is far more essential than shallow and complex” – sent Wagner on a quest which led to the creation of this poignant, award-winning film. This documentary reinforces public television stations’ commitment to quality children’s programming and the importance of media and life that is deeper and simpler.

  • FAKE OR FORTUNE 2 / All3Media International
    Real-life detective skills, investigations and the latest in forensics reveal compelling tales of lost masterpieces, forgery and art looted by Nazis during wartime occupation. The films present a different view of fine art, revealing a darker side of wealth, social ambition and, sometimes, subterfuge in this thrilling mini-series.

  • SPACE RACERS / Presented by Maryland Public Television (MPT); Steven Schupak, Chief Operating Officer; Jay Parikh, Managing Director Content Enterprises; Phillip Guthrie, Director, Station Relations, all from MPT, accepted the award.
    This animated series gained impressive carriage in 119 public television markets across the country, doing a masterful job of introducing preschoolers to meaningful science and technology concepts from the early childhood STEM curriculum. Combined with a strong community outreach effort which features an information-rich website and classroom curricula, the series has delivered multiple child-engaging assets to make this school lesson exciting and entertaining.

Savvy Scheduler Awards
Finally, Fenneman presented awards which recognize specific local public television station programmers who best use APT programming to complement and build their schedules. Called, Savvy Scheduler Awards, this recognition has been presented for nearly 10 years and is based on independent research from TRAC Media, covering October 2013 through October 2014. The analysis from TRAC delivers the stations demonstrating that APT’s programs are outperforming their local schedule in a particular daypart.

Winners of this year's awards are:
Stations with Greatest Full Day APT Ratings Increase Over Station Full Day Average
  • 60% increase: WETA, Washington, D.C.
  • 40% increase: Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)
  • 31% increase: WYES, New Orleans
  • 29% increase: Rhode Island PBS
  • 22% increase: GPB (Georgia Public Broadcasting)

WETA’s Kevin Harris and Bryant Wilson, and OPB’s Mary Gardner accepted their first and second place Savvy Scheduler/Full Day awards.

Stations with Greatest Prime Time APT Ratings Increase Over Station Prime Time Average
  • 54% increase: KCET, Los Angeles
  • 49% increase: UNC-TV, Greenville/Sparta, North Carolina
  • 47% increase: WETA, Washington, D.C.
  • 28% increase: SCETV, Charlotte, South Carolina
  • 22% increase: MPT, Baltimore, Maryland

KCET’s Bhodan Zachary and UNC-TV’s Bryan Sodemman accepted the first and second place Savvy Scheduler/Prime Time awards.

About APT
American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations since 1961. Among its 300 new program titles per year, APT programs include prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramas, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies. America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Rick Steves’ Europe, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders, Nightly Business Report, Moyers & Company, NHK Newsline, Lidia’sKitchen, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming and P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home join numerous documentaries including Ripple of Hope, Eye on the Sixties, Afropop and Pacific Heartbeat and performance programs popular with public television viewers, including Live From the Artists Den, Crosby Stills & Nash 2012 and Paul McCartney& Wings: Rockshow. APT licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. About to enter its 10th year, Create® TV — featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming — is distributed by APT. APT also distributes WORLD™, public television’s premier news, science and documentary channel. To find out more about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.

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