PBS Digital Stations Blog

YoPro San Diego: Let's Go!

2017-03-22T11:44:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not it’s time to start getting ready for the PBS Annual Meeting. At this year’s meeting PBS Digital will be presenting a FREE young professionals workshop called YoPro: San Diego. The mission of the larger YoPro initiative is to pull together young professionals, 35 and under, within Public Media to network, collaborate and discuss topics relevant to their professional development. This year the YoPro workshop at the PBS Annual Meeting will be held Monday, May 15, 2017 from 8AM-3PM at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego, CA.

Registration is open, so sign up today! (psst Early-Bird registration ends Friday, April 14, 2017, so register before prices go up)

Scholarship
YoPro will be offering two scholarships to young professionals at stations to attend this pre-conference workshop event only. Learn more about eligibility requirements and apply now. The deadline for submission is April 12th, and selected applicants will be notified no later than April 14th.

Agenda
Attendees will hear from a range of speakers and participate in discussions topics like building strong digital and content strategies, innovative storytelling methods, building leadership skills, and learning how to fail and succeed professionally as gracefully as possible. All while networking with some of the system’s most engaged, forward thinking and innovative future leaders.

The day starts with a welcome from PBS' CEO Paula Kerger; then hear from system leaders Andrea Downing, Co-President, PBS Distribution and Renard Jenkins, Vice President, PBS Operations about how they got to where they currently are and what career choices they made along the way.

Other speakers participating in the day are VP of Digital at KCPT, Carla McCabe, and Chief Digital Officer & CMO Ira Rubenstein. As the agenda continues to expand, look for additional information on the agenda to be sent out. Stay tuned!

The workshop will also feature an in-depth collaborative exercise with station General Managers and young professionals. These groups will come together and brainstorm ways to create, sustain and lead the digital culture at public media stations.

Have we given you enough reason to get excited and register for this event? We hope so!

If you have any questions about the workshop or scholarship please reach out to yopro@pbs.org.

Jen Hinders | Director | PBS Digital
Amy Lust | Assistant Director | PBS Digital

Announcing the Digital Immersion Project Partners

2017-03-21T16:53:00.000-04:00

by Max Duke | Senior Director | PBS Digital & Marketing

The 2017 Digital Immersion Project application and judging process has completed, and the 25 station individuals participating in the project have been chosen. The response to the project was extraordinary, with over 90 individuals from PBS stations applying to participate.

All applications were reviewed by a panel comprised of PBS and station colleagues, bringing multiple perspectives and levels of experience to the judging process.

We are excited to kick off this project with such a strong, well-rounded group of public media professionals. The 25 station professionals participating in the Digital Immersion Project are:

Jennifer Amend, WyomingPBS
Ellie Banks, Mississippi Public Broadcasting
Jordan Basham, WKU PBS
Kristin Benjamin, WUCF TV
Alexa Corcoran, Rocky Mountain PBS
Charlotte Cushing, South Florida PBS – WPBT
Makenzie Demmert, KUAC
Dale Fisher, Nine Network of Public Media
Mary Gribulis, WMHT
Kimberly Harbrecht, WPBA
Carl Heidle, KSPS Public Television
Nick Houser, WOSU
Matt Kawamura, NWPTV (KWSU/KTNW)
Barbara Linstrom, WGCU Public Media
Abby Malik, KET
Angela Massino, Community Idea Stations – WCVE
Karen Mell, KCPT
Liberty Peralta, PBS Hawai'i
Joan Rebecchi, New Mexico PBS
Bill Richards, WKAR
Tabitha Safdi, South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV)
Nicholas Scalera, WETA
Jeff Tucker, Idaho Public Television
Matt Wilson, WITF
Chris Zellers, WVIA Public Media

The Digital Immersion Project was created by PBS Digital & Marketing, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to help improve digital efforts at stations, while offering a way for station staff to connect to a greater public media community of digital professionals.

The professional development program also focuses on strategic and organizational tactics, with the selected participants being able to draw on the project’s teachings and a national network of public media contacts to further digital success at the local level.

Thank you to all station professionals that applied for this program. PBS and CPB are committed to supporting the development of public media digital professionals, and we hope to continue to offer the Digital Immersion Project and similar opportunities in the years to come.

Veterans Initiative Page Launches on Station Management Center

2017-03-15T15:53:00.000-04:00

by Megan E. Paparella | Senior Manager | Station Services

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Veteran Initiatives page on the Station Management Center. This will be a space to share engagement case studies, resources, collaborative events and local film content.

We hope you will join for our monthly Stories of Service webinars, a multi- platform initiative that unites powerful stories and conversations around our military veterans. Visit the Veterans Initiatives page to watch a recording of the initial webinar and join us for future events.

Don’t have an account on the SMC? Register today

ValuePBS Bentomatic

2017-03-13T15:35:00.001-04:00

VALUE PBS, A NEW BENTOMATIC FOR STATIONS

by Katie Wilson | Senior Manager | PBS Digital & Marketing

A new ValuePBS website launched this week and it’s available for stations to integrate into their websites, using Bentomatic. It makes the case why PBS and its member stations are a trusted, valued, and essential resource for communities, educators, and families. The new mobile responsive site can help you communicate the value of our collective work.

Site features include:

Education station map (same map as the one on the previous ValuePBS site that stations have access to update and edit the information)
Brand touchstone videos
Testimonial videos
Stats and infographics
Social sharing features

How to Add ValuePBS to your site:

Follow these steps to gain access to the ValuePBS Bentomatic

1. Request the ValuePBS experience from Support
2. Insert the ValuePBS Bentomatic into the Page Content placeholder/section of your page

The Bentomatic works best on the Studio One template. But it will also work on the two-column Studio and 1 and 2 column Station Explorer templates.

Don't forget about Curate!
Stations who use the Bentomatic can also leverage the localization features on PBS.org to promote the ValuePBS campaign on your website.

A station’s ValuePBS Bentomatic page can be linked to the following locations:

1. Local menu dropdown on the top navigation of PBS.org
2. Local homepage carousel feature (3rd slide in carousel)
3. Station hub/landmark image area

Stations who don’t select to use the Bentomatic can also take advantage of the localization feature on PBS.org, either by linking to a page that you have created on your own website or linking to the pbs.org/value website.

As a reminder, you can also find a number of case-building assets on the Source, including infographics highlighting the findings of the recent American Viewpoint-Hart Research Voter Survey and the Top 9 Reasons why the public sees PBS and stations as Trusted, Valued and Essential. PBS’ social media channels have been promoting these materials so also feel free to share or re-post.

Happy Birthday Mister Rogers!

2017-03-10T16:32:00.000-05:00

Fred Rogers’ birthday is coming up on Monday, March 20. To mark the occasion, honor Fred's legacy and galvanize fans to share their personal stories of how Fred, PBS and stations have positively impacted them, we have kicked off a social media activation leading up to March 20 and invite you to join the celebration.

This initiative will include engagement activities across PBS KIDS, PBS Parents, PBS Teachers and other social media platforms incorporating the hashtags #BeMyNeighbor and #ILovePBS. We encourage you to join in by spreading the word on your social media platforms using the hashtags, and encouraging fans of your station to share their stories. A toolkit is available on the Source to help you do so, including:

-- Content calendar with template language

-- Facebook and Twitter skins

-- Fred Rogers quotes, images and other graphics

-- Videos

-- Trolley cardboard cutout

In addition, beginning this week we will roll out Fred Rogers-related content on pbsparents.org, PBS Teachers’ Lounge blog, pbskids.org and on the PBS KIDS YouTube channel.

We also encourage you to reach out to us if you’d like to experiment with Fred Rogers’ birthday-themed Snapchat geofilters localized to your station, which we are piloting as part of this effort. In addition, we encourage stations to contact us if you would like to share images of local Fred Rogers-related landmarks (murals, etc.) in your town, which we will incorporate into our social efforts on March 20. Interested in these opportunities? Email the PBS KIDS Team!

We hope you join us as we celebrate Fred Rogers, one of public media's most beloved pioneers whose legacy continues to impact the lives of many today.

Questions? Reach out to Maria Vera Whelan.

PBS Throwback campaign - coming very soon!

2017-03-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

News from Kevin Dando, Sr. Director, PBS Social Media

(This campaign is now live -- find updates from Kevin below)

Update #1

Update #2

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A scrappy, quick turnaround pilot, the PBS Throwback campaign's goal is to tap into the affection and nostalgia folks have for PBS and its various icons and content (Mister Rogers, Bob Ross, Julia Child, Reading Rainbow, etc.) to help increase relevance and support for PBS and its member stations.

Starting on Thursday, 3/9 with the re-posting of the Mister Rogers "Garden of Your Mind" remix, and a new PBS Throwback FB cover image, PBS will activate this campaign to increase PBS and member stations' profiles and brand presence and push to this Throwback page (pbs.org/specials/throwback-pbs).

More details of the campaign will follow, utilizing Julia Child, Bob Ross and Reading Rainbow, along with trivia, polls and social assets modeled off the always popular "I <3 PBS" buttons and using the hashtag "#ILovePBS". A small amount of paid social will boost assets to younger audiences.

Using existing assets and some conversational posts, we look forward to driving some brand love and heightened affection and welcome your help and ideas to extend this campaign locally. Updates will be posted here as we move forward. Thanks for your support!

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Stay up to date with the PBS Social Media Facebook Group, and Social Media Resources.

TechCon Sessions: Birds Eye View

2017-03-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

by Katie Wilson | Senior Manager | PBS Digital

Spring is on the way, and with it, thoughts of #TechCon17 bloom in a digital mind. This year promises even more sessions dedicated to digital strategy, audience engagement, product discovery and other fascinating topics.

We have 30 Digital sessions for you to select from, and we are adding 4 Development sessions for a total of 34 Digitally focused sessions! You will not want to miss a minute. Leave early and you pass up “10 Low Down Dirty Tricks to Speed Up Your Digital Video Production” from PBS NewsHour. Arrive late and you’ll miss "Investing in Innovation" from KQED's Colleen Wilson. Peppered throughout the conference are sessions dealing with interconnection, public safety, organizational structure, and too many other topics to list.

See below for a few highlights and check out the full agenda here.

COMING UP ACES: MARKETING

Found Audience Using Curate To Attract National Attention to your Local Station: A Workshop Curate is your tool to customize the user experience for your viewers and members across PBS digital properties. Customize links, images, PBS newsletters, show pages and more on this easy-to-use interface! With new features for 2017, spend some time at a workshop (bring your laptop and PBS account login!) with Eric Freeland, Joe Hilton, and Leif Brostrom.

DOUBLE DOWN ON: STRATEGY

YoPro Talks: Leadership Panel
For the first time at TechCon join YoPro (PBS’ young professional initiative) for a leadership panel. Bringing the heavy hitters, hear from PBS’ Chief Digital Officer & CMO, Ira Rubenstein, PBS’ CTO Mario Vecchi and WUCF- TV’s Director of Communications, Jennifer Cook. The panelists will discuss and share their career paths, lessons learned, career advice, and much more. This session is meant to be informal, the audience participates by guiding the direction of panel by asking questions.

Digital Immersion: Building a Digital Department
So your station wants to build a “Digital Department” but doesn't know where to start. How do you create an organizational structure that prepares you for growth and evolution? How do you get buy-in as priorities shift and workloads change? How do you prepare for the constant change that digital brings? You'll hear from KPBS's Tammy Carpowich and ThinkTV's Justine Moore who will discuss the obstacles and victories in building their digital departments. This session is part of the Digital Immersion Project from PBS Digital and CPB.

KNOW HOW TO HOLD 'EM: CONTENT AND ENGAGEMENT

Experimenting with Digital Engagement Tools to Have Fun and Make an Impact
This session will present several mini case studies involving innovative experiments in social and digital engagement at WCVE/Community Idea Stations. Supercharge your social media engagement with available digital tools to increase your reach and engagement and to strengthen your community. By shifting the way you view and use social media, your station can move beyond simple promotion of your content to creating strong connections with - and among - your fans and other community non-profits. Learn how the Community Idea Stations/WCVE used scavenger hunts, infographics, video storytelling, Facebook Live, Google Maps, SnapChat filters and other digital tools to reach new audiences, increase the fun quotient in our programming, strengthen our connections with other non-profits, and create a sense of community around important issues. We will also reflect on creating a realistic budget for social media, managing (and creating) realistic expectations for management, and evaluating the success of your digital experiments.

Engaging Niche Audiences Through Digital Marketing
This session will discuss the value in identifying and reaching niche audiences with hyperfocused social campaigns. Rewire's Bryce Kirchoff, KCTS's Stacey Jenkins and PBS's Matt Schoch will share strategies for catering to your unique audiences to figure out what genres they love, and illustrating that your brand understands why they love it. Using The Great British Baking Show and content verticals as examples, learn the value of live-tweeting, GIFs, original digital content, and leveraging a “human” voice.

ANTE UP: DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING

Measure the Money
Google Analytics is the standard tool that most stations use to measure their digital experiences. But few have taken advantage of a powerful feature in that tool that allows them to measure online donations. Google Analytics has the power to tell you exactly what marketing activities are driving donations, how donors enter and leave your site and what content they consume when they are there. Dan Haggerty will walk you step-by-step through an implementation of this feature (known as Enhanced eCommerce Tagging), show working examples, share insights and give you tips and tricks for avoiding some of the most common challenges. You will leave this session with a clear understanding of how you can specifically track the online behavior of your membership and the exact dollar amounts that each type of behavior generates.

HIT THE JACKPOT WITH: PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Accessibility is an Everyone Issue
What if you came to a show's website, but couldn't watch any videos? What if you couldn't make a donation to a station? That wouldn't be acceptable. Yet this is the reality for many users on the internet today. Lars Klores will be giving an introduction to the reasons why accessibility on the web matters. He will discuss the efforts of PBS to make PBS.org and other PBS digital products accessible to users with a range of disabilities. This includes color blindness, inability to use a mouse, deafness, or complete blindness. He will also discuss the legal dangers of remaining inaccessible. Chip Cullen will then give a live demonstration of navigating a website as a disabled user, using a keyboard and a screen reader. He will also discuss common accessibility issues and basic fixes.

Facebook Live: Best Practices And Basic Production Setups
Although they didn't invent live streaming, Facebook's streaming product "Facebook Live" has emerged as a unique way to reach and directly engage your fans, viewers, listeners and members. In this session, WGBH's Tory Starr and Shane Miner will walk through some great use cases of stations using Facebook Live and introduce you to what WGBH has classified as the "four tiers of Facebook Live Page 26 TechCon Agenda as of 2/27/17 production," ranging from basic iPhone broadcasting to a full studio setup using the Facebook Live API. We'll also leave time at the end to answer your questions, and demo the MEVO camera, a low-cost pocket-sized live video camera that lets you edit while you film.

Reimagining Websites Through a Better Bento
At last year’s PBS TechCon, Bento 3.0 was introduced as a key priority for improving the station and producer communities. Bento is PBS Digital’s website building tool, which is leveraged by a majority of stations and producer. Bento 3.0 aims to address concerns In this session PBS's Jen Hinders will take attendees through a live demo of the environment, outlined feature roadmap, and product insights from peers who have launched using the new version of the tool.

Have you registered yet?

Additional Information to plan your trip:

Registration - http://www.pbstechconference.org/registration/
Hotel - http://www.pbstechconference.org/hotel/
Session Agenda - http://bit.ly/2mcu2AN (subject to change)
Schedule - http://bit.ly/2lLO87D (subject to change)

See you in Las Vegas!

From Whiteboard to Web, a Bento 3.0 Success Story

2017-03-01T11:17:00.001-05:00

In preparation for the launch of Bento 3.0, PBS Digital began a beta group consisting of stations not previously using Bento to build a site from scratch with the goal of launching that site. The group consisted of thirteen stations. Ray Walters, Television Operations Support Engineer from KMOS participated and was the first station to launch on Bento 3.0. In the coming weeks we will have more information about Bento migration and upcoming training opportunities.

Ray Walters | Television Operations Support Engineer | KMOS-TV

Stop me if any of this sounds familiar to you when it comes to your station’s website:

You need an easy way to rapidly create content pages that actually look good;
You need a way to decentralize content creation to the rest of your staff so that the responsibility doesn’t rest with one person, thus one point of failure;
You need an easy way to tap into PBS Digital's product and service offerings like COVE, Merlin and Passport;
You need a way to allow users to easily donate and become members;
You need a fresh start to your site, giving you the ability to implement lessons you’ve learned when it comes to bringing content to the web; and
You need it all now.

It certainly sounded familiar to the staff here at KMOS, because these were all issues that we had identified during our journey of learning about creating an excellent web presence for our station.

The good news for us here at KMOS and you and the staff at your station is that because of the hard work of the people at PBS Digital, we have a solution that provides for all of the items above in the form of Bento 3.0. While still a work in progress, the new 3.0 release of the Bento platform provides a powerful web publishing tool for PBS stations.

Our journey with the KMOS website has been a bit of a long one. From a small standalone server running a static set of information pages to a Bento 2.0 site that we created in an over-complicated fashion, we had learned a tremendous amount of information from our experiences, and really needed to do a whole-site refresh to re-align our web presence towards our station’s digital goals. So when the opportunity arose to be a part of the beta pilot group for Bento 3.0, KMOS jumped at the chance as it would provide a platform to start from scratch and do things right.

Our development process for the Bento 3.0 site centered around the singular idea that our GM put forth to us, to make KMOS.org an online “marketplace” for all things KMOS. Unpacking that a bit, we came up with the following things that we needed to be successful in meeting this goal:

All content should be no more than one click away.
PBS KIDS content should be front and center rather than buried behind a menu system.
Users should be able to easily donate and become members.
Navigation should be clear and not convoluted.
Users should be provided a “one-stop” shop for our original content offerings.
Users should be able to leverage content from Passport, Cove and Merlin seamlessly.
Site content updates need to be decentralized so there is not one point of failure on updates.
The site needed to be able to leverage Google Analytics.
The site needed to be able to leverage underwriting opportunities with Google DFP
The site needed to be dynamic with front page content being kept relevant and fresh.
The site needed to look clean and professional.
The site needed to be responsive for mobile users, since our analytics have shown that most visitors are using mobile devices to access KMOS.org.

With these key indicators of a successful site in place we began our work not on a computer, but on a whiteboard with various staff members. We sat down and sketched out our entire site using a couple of dry erase markers, a camera and about 4 hours of meeting time. You might be asking yourself “How in the world were they able to plan out an entire site in just 4 hours?” It’s a valid question with a very simple answer. We had access to the Bento 3.0 framework and it’s powerful page layout editor.

The new editor in Bento 3.0 gives you a specific set of features, layout guides and components, making it incredibly easy to plan pages while at the same time providing balance and flexibility in design choice. Because of this we were able to go to our staff and provide them a list of design options that gave them choice while still maintaining a linear workflow for those of us whose job it was to transfer the whiteboard plan to the actual Web. This allowed us to rapidly design the new KMOS web presence in a way that satisfied all of our milestone goals listed above as well as gave us design choices to avoid a cookie-cutter look and feel. With the planning and sketching done, we were able to switch quickly to getting the pages and full site built.

As far as the actual development work of the site and its content, this proceeded just as rapidly as the whiteboarding process, albeit in a relative fashion. Where in the past it would take us days and even weeks to develop pages and content, Bento 3.0 allowed us to create fully populated show pages complete with inline video playlists in literally minutes. The interface to work with layouts and content is intuitive and easy-to-understand. Page previews were a huge help to seeing progress and making changes on the fly.

From planning to implementation we estimated that KMOS.org running on Bento 3.0 took us between 35 and 40 hours to create and launch. This is an incredibly fast turnaround time that is obviously very exciting for us. PBS Digital has created a platform that is both powerful and easy-to-learn and use in Bento 3.0, a technological feat that isn’t easy on the scale that it’s working with. We’re looking forward to seeing how the platform continues to evolve with new features and formatting. Bento 3.0 FTW!

YoPro Talks: Leadership Panel At TechCon

2017-02-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

Facetime with those in leadership is a rarity in a lot of organizations. When do you get the time to hear from leadership, more often than not it’s in a big room at conferences or staff meetings. Topics like how those in leadership got to where they are, career advice and lessons learned are rarely discussed.

To help break down the walls that can form between leaders and staff in an organization, YoPro looks to better connect system leaders with those in non-leadership roles, specifically young professionals within public media. Kicking off the conference season, at this year’s PBS TechCon, YoPro will be presenting a leadership panel.

During this panel, audience members will hear from PBS’ Chief Digital Officer & CMO, Ira Rubenstein, PBS’ CTO Mario Vecchi and WUCF- TV’s Director of Communications, Jennifer Cook. The panelist will discuss and share their career paths, lessons learned, career advice, and much more. This session is meant to be informal, the audience participates by guiding the direction of panel by asking questions.

The session will take place on Wednesday, April 19th at 5:30PM. Click here to download a calendar reminder! As the last session of the day, we want to encourage all attendees to head over to the PBS kiosk reception to continue conversations with the panelist and their young professional peers.

Scholarship Opportunity

In case you missed the call out, YoPro will be offering two scholarships to young professionals at stations to attend TechCon this year. Learn more about eligibility requirements and how to apply by viewing the previous SPI blog post about YoPro at TechCon.The deadline for submission is March 10th and selected applicants will be notified no later than March 15th.

Amy Lust | Assistant Director | PBS Digital

Jen Hinders | Director | PBS Digital

Be a Voice That Inspires at the 2017 PBS Annual Meeting

2017-02-27T10:50:00.000-05:00

The theme of the 2017 PBS Annual Meeting is “Voices That Inspire” and we’d like to hear from some of our most inspirational voices – you! Whether you will be attending this year’s Annual Meeting or not, PBS would like to showcase your voice during the General Audience Programming Sessions. We want to know:

· How you are using national programming at a local level;
· What impact you are seeing from your efforts; and
· How national programming is resonating with and inspiring your station and your viewers

PBS is seeking videos of up to one minute in length from our station colleagues addressing any or all of the points above. The videos do not need to be high-tech – they can be shot on your phone if that works best for you – but be as creative with your video as you’d like. For example, you could show us an event you hosted, share a viewer response, or create a musical homage to your favorite PBS series (complete with costumes!). We will use the videos you submit to create a spot or spots to be shown during the Annual Meeting to demonstrate how national programming is inspiring at a local level.

We’d like to be able to share these spots with stations for off-air use (not on-air or online) following the Annual Meeting, so please keep that in mind as you create and submit your videos.

Click here for upload instructions. All videos are due by March 31, and we will follow up with all submitters by May 5 with more information.

Are you registered for the Annual Meeting?

Please contact Gina Hardter or Cynthia Hynes with any questions.

Africa's Great Civilizations : COVE Programming Update

2017-02-24T12:53:00.001-05:00

Due to President Trump’s Address to Congress on Tuesday, February 28 @ 9PM ET, Africa’s Great Civilizations will have an adjusted COVE release scheduled. The President’s Address will preempt broadcast programming that night, delaying episodes 2 & 3 by one night for primarily for east coast viewers. However, streaming in COVE will take place as follows:

Episode	Broadcast Feed	COVE Release
Ep. 1 - Origins	2/27/17	2/27/17 at 9pm ET
Ep. 2 - The Cross and The Crescent	2/27/17	2/27/17 at 10pm ET
Ep. 3 - Empires of Gold	3/1/17	2/28/17 at 9pm ET
Ep. 4 - Cities	3/1/17	2/28/17 at 10pm ET
Ep. 5 - The Atlantic Age	3/2/17	3/1/17 at 9pm ET
Ep. 6 - Commerce and the Clash of Civilizations	3/2/17	3/1/17 at 10pm ET

Going All In with PBS TechCon 2017

2017-02-22T15:45:00.001-05:00

Every April, amidst glow and glimmer of the City of Lights, there is a special gathering unlike any other in public media. A special group of professionals—time-tested and supremely-dedicated—come together for a learning event beyond compare in our industry.

For those who have attended in the past, it has become a permanent fixture in their calendars. And each year, the individuals planning the experience try to outdo themselves, adding more engagement and wisdom at every turn. You’ve heard the tales, and read the stories! (here, here, and here)

If you haven’t already guessed (or read the headline of this article), PBS TechCon is the event, and the 2017 conference is right around the corner.

REGISTER FOR PBS TECHCON 2017 TODAY!

This year, PBS TechCon is expected to offer even more learning, networking, and growth opportunities for attendees. The amount of sessions being offered for each discipline—T&O, Digital, Traffic—has increased, with sessions focused on digital fundraising and production being added to the mix.

Here is a look at what you can expect at this year’s PBS TechCon:

80+ tactical and strategic breakout sessions focused on broadcast infrastructure, content & engagement, fundraising, future tech, media management, digital products, traffic, and more. (Check out the session agenda - http://bit.ly/2mcu2AN)
Over 10 peer-to-peer networking opportunities across two and a half days
Four general sessions with PBS leadership and industry experts
Two exhibit areas featuring industry-related vendors and core PBS services for stations
An integrated Digital Immersion track focused on building an effective multiplatform strategy

Add in multiple off-agenda evening events, and each day is filled, from start to finish, with a chance to grow as a professional and engage with system colleagues.

WINNING COMBINATION OF SESSIONS
From the very first concurrents on Wednesday afternoon to last breakouts on Friday, each session provides a chance to hone existing skills and absorb new knowledge. The sessions are a mix of PBS and system-crafted topics designed to present success stories and learning from across our industry. You will not want to miss a minute. Peppered throughout the conference are sessions dealing with interconnection, public safety, organizational structure, and too many other topics to list.

Next week, we will go more in-depth with a look at session highlights from the Digital track. Be sure to check back in.

A FULL HOUSE OF NETWORKING

Beyond the sessions, there will be an exhibit hall filled with industry-related vendors, and another area dedicated to PBS services for stations. At the PBS Digital booth you can receive demos, meet PBS Digital staff, and members of the Digital Media Advisory Council. In addition you can learn more about the Source 2.0, get hands-on technical support for PBS Digital products and services, or set up time to meet with colleagues while you charge your devices.

One of the goals of PBS TechCon is to foster collaboration and connections, so take advantage of the spaces and times set aside for networking.

TRIFECTA OF OPPORTUNITIES
This year, there are three different scholarships available for those seeking assistance to attend TechCon.

The Tracy Carter Traffic Scholarship (February 28th deadline) awards two station traffic staffers with registration for TechCon.
The YoProWo Scholarships (March 10th deadline) offers two young professionals, relatively new to PBS stations, a chance to attend, covering registration, hotel, and airfare.
The Digital Immersion Project (February 28th deadline) will be rewarding 25 PBS member station staff who work on digital initiatives with a professional development opportunity that includes a TechCon scholarship for registration, hotel, and airfare.

Early Bird registration ends March 17, so there is still time to apply and receive notice before each scholarship deadline.

If you haven’t thought about attending TechCon, it is definitely worth considering. Public media is quickly becoming a cross-skill industry, and adding new proficiencies will help you and your station adapt to the constant changes. If you’re looking for some talking points to help justify your trip, visit this link: http://www.pbstechconference.org/agenda/justify-your-trip/

Here are some additional info to plan your trip:

Registration - http://www.pbstechconference.org/registration/
Hotel - http://www.pbstechconference.org/hotel/
Session Agenda - http://bit.ly/2mcu2AN (subject to change)
Schedule - http://bit.ly/2lLO87D (subject to change)

We hope you can join us at PBS TechCon 2017. We are excited to meet you and hear about what your station is doing. See you in Vegas!

Dont Miss DevDay at PBS Annual Meeting!

2017-02-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

Amanda J. Hoehn | Assistant Director | PBS Development Service

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LATEST DEVDAY AGENDA - All workshops now posted!

The PBS development community is invited to gather at the Annual Meeting in San Diego for a new learning and networking experience!

By first attending the Annual Meeting, development professionals will access the full range of upcoming programming, general sessions, and educational strategies PBS offers and gain important skills at the development breakout sessions.

After the Annual Meeting wraps, we’ll kick off our development-specific gathering on Wednesday evening with a Development Late Night Networking Event. The networking and social event for development professionals, this high energy gathering is a place to reconnect with colleagues from across the system.

Then, at Thursday's DevDay, we’ll present a series of interactive, hands-on training workshops focused on the most relevant fundraising and development activities. These workshops will center around four tracks: Corporate Support, Digital, Philanthropy, and Sustainers. During these workshops, participants will step out of the “conference bubble,” apply what they’ve seen and heard earlier that week at the Annual Meeting, and create new fundraising strategies and plans to use back at their stations. We’ll also recognize the 2017 Development Award winners at DevDay!

DETAILS:
Where: All DevDay events will be held at the Annual Meeting conference hotel, the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina.
Registration: Registration is open! You can register for both Annual Meeting and DevDay at the same time.
Lodging: After you register, you will receive a link to reserve your hotel stay at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina.
Fee: DevDay is included with an Annual Meeting registration. If you are attending only the Development Late Night Networking Event and DevDay, the fee for PBS Member Stations is $125; for nonmembers the fee is $250.
Sign up to receive Development Services’ newsletter and get important DevDay announcements.

See you in San Diego!

Notes from TechCon16

2017-02-08T11:34:00.002-05:00

by Pam Parker | Director of Communications and Social Impact | CPT12

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time in front of your computer screen busily creating lists and ticking off the items. Sure I seek input from outside my day-to-day work life on how to connect better with our audience; how to compel our viewers to support the work we do. But most of the time I’m working in isolation from the larger, connected community of colleagues we call PBS.

TechCon is an opportunity to burst that isolated bubble. It’s a chance to reconnect with a group of really smart, creative people who have experimented in the digital and tech space.
So with that preamble, here are my three reasons to attend TechCon.

1. You’re not alone! While at your office you’re certainly interacting with the really smart people at your station but at TechCon, you’re connecting with people from all over the country who are experimenting, creating, and tackling issues that are common to all of us. You’ll learn a ton about what’s happening at PBS in Washington and what’s working around the country. For those of us who cannot attend the Annual Meeting, the sneak peek of the programming pipeline is incredible.

2. You’ll meet people who are in your shoes…and who have walked through the same challenges. You’ll take away ideas but perhaps more important, you’ll take away contacts (and friendships) that will serve you in the future. The community I’ve been able to build by being face-to-face with station colleagues has given me important relationships to turn to for information and concepts.

3. You’ll be able to look at your challenges from a 10,000-foot view. Seeing the big picture always helps me make sense of the individual tasks and goals I need to achieve. Zooming out to that macro level helps to put things in perspective and gives me the long view to plan beyond the immediate horizon. Plus the keynote speaker is always an expansive thinker who helps to make sense of trends.

Take advantage of the opportunity to get out of your every day work life and go beyond your own great ideas to learn more great ideas among a lot of inspired, clever, and talented people. You’re guaranteed to walk away with more than you thought possible and you’ll certainly meet people to whom you can turn in the future.

This year TechCon is back at Caesars Palace. Have you registered yet? Want more information? Check out this year's agenda!

Consider applying for the Digital Immersion Project; find details here!

Webinars: Road to TechCon

2017-01-31T14:52:00.001-05:00

Join PBS Digital for two encore performances of the most popular sessions from TechCon16.

On Thursday, February 16th Dan Haggerty will take us through his Joy of Analytics session, sharing out insights from the PBS audience and showing you step-by-step how to conduct the same analysis with your data. You’ll learn techniques like “How are my links on PBS.org performing?” and “What are my most popular shows in the Video Portal?" to “What's driving donations on my site?” and “What videos are my Passport members watching?” Don't miss it! Go here to register.

Then join us Thursday, February 23rd with Matt Schoch's Technology, Data & Editorial: A Digital Match Made in Heaven. Matt will cover the ways digital technology and development, data and analytics and editorial functions can work together to make digital projects more successful. To register head here.

Are you registered for TechCon?

Make sure you check out the evolving TechCon agenda and continue to check back as we get closer to conference time for more updates.

Black History Month 2017

2017-01-27T13:52:00.000-05:00

Join Black Culture Connection (BCC) for 2017 Black History Month celebrations!

This year, the BCC is turning its lens onto audiences with the return of #MyBlackHistory a social media campaign that asks audiences to share how Black History & Culture influences their lives and directly from their point of view.

Every week, the BCC will release a series of GIFs and time-lapse videos with quotes from prominent voices in Black history and present. In turn, we'll ask audiences to help identity their favorite and inspiring quotes, and share them using the hashtag #MyBlackHistory.

Many of these quotes are tied to the men & women featured in the films streaming this BHM. With this in mind, we hope your social teams will help us unearth inspirational quotes, moments, sayings from the people featured in your priority films. We¹d love to highlight them in #MyBlackHistory and have you use the hashtag to do the same.

Please reach out to nreley@pbs.org to sign up for weekly social updates.

Additional BHM Assets:
E-banner/ Video: Please see The Source.
Press release: Black History Month 2017

Discover more BCC content below.

Browse BCC Bentomatics:
Black History Month 2017
#MyBlackHistory Social Media Campaign
10 Top Black History Documentaries
10 Black Authors Everyone Should Read
10 Little Known Black History Facts
10 Different Ways to look at Iconic Black Pioneers

To gain access to any of the available Black History Month Bentomatics for your station site, submit your request via the Digital Support Portal.

Happy Black History Month!

Nicole Eley-Carr | Sr. Manager, Content Strategy and Partnerships | Digital

YoPro Goes to TechCon!

2017-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

For the past three years YoProWo [n: Yo-Pro-Woah], the in-person young professional development event, has been held prior to Annual Meeting. YoProWo events are geared towards helping young professionals network and grow their working knowledge of the public media system, and industry wide trends through engaging and collaborative discussions.This year along with the YoProWo event at the PBS Annual Meeting in San Diego,YoPro is expanding its presence to PBS TechCon in Las Vegas.

For nearly 40 years PBS TechCon has been a place where technology professionals can gather and meet to learn more about technological advances, best practices and share station success stories with their peers. With the added involvement of PBS Digital, the past three years PBS TechCon is quickly becoming the place for digitally-focused conversations.

We believe that young professionals are agents of change in their workplaces across the system, especially in the digital space. In addition to the expanded presence at TechCon, YoPro is excited to offer two scholarships to attend PBS TechCon!

This scholarship is focused on staff who normally wouldn’t be able to attend a PBS conference. Scholarship applicants should meet the following eligibility requirements:

Currently work at a PBS member station
Work at the station for 0-3 years
Are 35 years of age or younger;
Have NOT previously attended PBS TechCon;
Attend the YoPro session
Have interest in all things digital

Apply for the scholarship today or forward it to a colleague who might be interested! The deadline for submission is March 10th and selected applicants will be notified no later than March 15th.

Send all questions about this scholarship opportunity or general YoPro inquiries to yoprowo@pbs.org. If you are interested in receiving information and news about upcoming YoPro opportunities, sign up for the mailing list today!

Amy Lust | Assistant Director | PBS Digital
Jen Hinders | Director | PBS Digital

Learn More With Our CDM/Media Manager Training Series

2017-01-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

As part of the new PBS Digital Core Data Model project, the new Media Manager will replace the current Merlin and COVE admin that stations and national producers use every day to upload and update their video content.

Want to learn a little more? Click here to watch a recent webinar and learn the Media Manager basics.

To better assist you as we move forward, PBS Digital will host weekly webinars from now until March to keep you updated and informed. Each webinar will take place at 3:00pm EST. These webinars are targeted towards local stations, but national producers are invited to join. Webinars will repeat for 6 weeks, allowing attendees to review concepts and practice within their staging environments.

"Do What You Do in Merlin in Media Manager and Curate"
We will discuss current functionality in Merlin/COVE that can be achieved in Media Manager.

Wednesday, January 25 - Register Now
Wednesday, February 1 - Register Now
Wednesday, February 8 - Register Now
Tuesday, February 14 - Register Now
Tuesday, February 21 - Register Now
Tuesday, February 28 - Register Now

"New Functionality for COVE Through Media Manager and Curate"
We will discuss new functionality available in Media Manger as well as new terminology, and we'll also review the activation plan.

Thursday, January 26 - Register Now
Thursday, February 2 - Register Now
Thursday, February 9 - Register Now
Wednesday, February 15 - Register Now
Wednesday, February 22 - Register Now
Wednesday, March 1 - Register Now

As always, please email your station representative with any questions or concerns, or email our team at spi@pbs.org.

TechCon: A Digital Marketplace for Exchanging Ideas and Learning

2017-01-23T12:47:00.000-05:00

By Larry Rohrer | Director of Content | South Dakota Public Broadcasting | DMAC

If you have been around the system long enough, you can recall when annual meetings were only accessible in person, you realize now that iMA was not ahead of its time, and you understand the value from an industry conference is in the hallway peer to peer as well in the break-out sessions.

There may be no better example going than TechCon.

Look, everyone is wrestling with “digital” and we all know the questions… What is the right presence and digital presentation our system or for YOUR station? How much can I afford to invest? Where and How? And how do I measure my return? You would be amazed at how many answers are attending and walking around at TechCon. Station by station, these questions are being answered.

I have watched the conference grow the last couple of years, adding elements regarding station work flow, program production and audience development across platforms, and (dare I say it) Fundraising! But, in my opinion, the greatest personality trait of TechCon is the willingness of attendees from all station sizes and flavors to share their experiences. You will see it in the break out session titles and you will experience it in the casual hall-way conversions.

At South Dakota Public Broadcasting, we have been making a VERY concerted effort to grow our digital media presences and audience. But we are working with limited resources like you. Each of the last several TechCon meetings have provided idea starters for use to incorporate digital production into the workflow of radio and television producers, drive more and more people to the “donate button” even if they only know us from Facebook. And each of the last several TechCon meetings have provided me with useful interaction with station peers trying digital fundraising with varying levels of success with; with station peers sharing the value of their “digital-first” strategy and why it builds audience online and on-air; with station peers sharing their experience restructuring their production centers, master-controls, and audience outreach to include digital components.

If you are at “Where do I start” or “What can we do next” I would encourage you to consider representing your station at TechCon. It’s Vegas baby, but it’s a sure bet you will bring home valuable ideas and enthusiasm.

TechCon is a fixture on our professional development calendar; I would encourage you to put it on your calendar as well. Digital workflow, program distribution, tips and techniques for local stations in a digital world are NOT one size fits all. Neither is TechCon. When you see me there, ask me about live streaming, teaching old producers the value of new digital tricks, and the public broadcasting life in a REALLY red state.

To register for TechCon head here. Want more information? Check out this year's agenda!
Consider applying for the Digital Immersion Project; find details here!

Mercy Street Season 2 Digital Assets

2017-01-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

Mercy Street returns this Sunday, January 22, and a wide variety of assets and opportunities exist for digital to support the second season of this exciting drama.

Promotional Assets
A full suite of promotional assets is available now to help you continue your support of Season 2 of Mercy Street, including several recently-posted video elements and more to roll out during the season. Check out the assets listed below on the Source, and learn more about some of the newest elements on myPBS.

Website and Social Media
Building on the dynamic Mercy Street website from Season 1, new assets include an expanded character hub, a Season 2 episode guide and sneak-peek photo galleries, a host of Season 2 costumes and costume sketches, and more information about the real people, battles, and places behind this historical series.

The Mercy Street Revealed blog follows series production news, cast interviews and more. In-season, look out for historical analysis and GIF recaps for each episode — check back each Monday! Two bloggers have been added to the expert lineup: Kenyatta Berry, co-host of Genealogy Roadshow and Jeffrey S. Reznick, PhD of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. The Tintype Me photo maker is back (and available as a Bentomatic) and the Mercy Street Social Hub has been expanded to highlight all the #MercyStreetPBS social activities.

360°
Lastly, immerse yourself in two 360° projects! First, experience “A Letter Home,” a narrative 360° VR video that takes place in the Mansion House Hospital, the main location for Mercy Street. Next, spin around 360° degree images and experience a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Season 2.

As with Season 1, all episodes of Mercy Street will be available for two weeks after broadcast via PBS.org, on PBS apps for iOS and Android devices, and via station-branded digital platforms including Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. After the two-week free streaming window, episodes will be available in Passport.

Follow along with the Mercy Street social accounts using @PBS and @MercyStreetPBS. A social media outline highlighting in season assets for Mercy Street will be made available shortly, with suggested language to promote upcoming web assets (including the new 360 projects, sneak peek photo galleries, and GIF recaps) as well as episodic preview videos. Other assets include costume sketches, a story map with episodic tie-ins, and a "Meet the New Characters" video.

TechCon 2017 Registration is Now Open

2017-01-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

Viva Las Vegas!

Its that time of year again when public media descends upon Las Vegas to get our Tech on.

TechCon 2017 registration is now open. This year's digital track will focus on multi-platform strategy and tactics, with the sessions covering a variety of topics. More specifics on the digital track will be able in the coming weeks, but look for sessions that explore:

Social Media Collaborations and Facebook LIVE

Building a Digital Department

Optimizing Production Workflows and Digital First Content

Serving Niche Audiences through Digital Marketing

Engaging Audiences through Multi-platform Approach

and many more!

Also, check out the Digital Immersion Project professional development opportunity, created by PBS Digital with support from CPB, that will be launching at this year's TechCon. More information can be found here.

The agenda can be found here, and will be updated as we get closer to conference time.

PBS has reserved a block of rooms at Caesar's Palace, and hotel information can be found here.

Key dates to remember:

Early Bird registration deadline is Friday, March 17, 2017
Hotel cut-off date: Friday, March 17th
Advance Registration closes Friday, April 7, 2017

Stay Tuned for more information....Register Now!

APPLY NOW: PBS Digital Launches the Digital Immersion Project, Kicking off at TechCon 2017

2017-01-13T16:02:00.000-05:00

It’s a new year, and with it comes the urge to set new goals and objectives, buoyed by the promise of new possibilities.

In the spirit of harnessing those ambitions, PBS Digital is excited to announce a new professional development opportunity for stations and their digital professionals aimed at improving local efforts across platforms.

The Digital Immersion Project, developed by PBS Digital with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is a unique opportunity that mixes in-depth training, hands-on workshops, and collaborative mentorship to improve overall expertise in digital strategies and tactics. Twenty-five (25) digital professionals from PBS member stations will be selected to become Digital Immersion Partners.

The professional development program also focuses on strategic and organizational tactics, with the selected participants being able to draw on the project’s learnings and a national network of public media contacts to further digital success at the local level. Follow the link below to apply, or keep reading for more details.

Follow this link to apply:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/digitalimmersionproject

Deadline: February 28, 2017

KEY DIGITAL IMMERSION PROJECT ACTIVITIES

After an initial onboarding, meet and greet, and assessments, the core in-person training week of the project begins with participants sponsored to attend PBS TechCon 2017 from April 19-21. In addition to general conference activities, Digital Immersion Partners will attend a curated program of workshops, sessions, and events, that will lead into post-conference follow-up and goal setting.

For more specifics on activities and schedule, check out the first page of the application.

Following the initial immersion training experience, participants will work with each other and mentors for six additional months to not only gain knowledge, but also achieve a uniquely set goal that is specific to their station.

Key concepts covered by the training curriculum include:

Digital-first Production
Distribution Platforms
Key Infrastructure Technologies
Audience Development
Organizational Structure and Culture
Multi-platform Strategy and Tactics
Digital Marketing
Data Analysis and Metrics

Upon completion, each participant will also have completed a Digital Strategy exercise that takes the project’s learnings and maps them to station’s goals, complete with tactics and deliverables.

APPLICANT CRITERIA AND DETAILS
The primary requisite for applicants will be a responsibility for digital strategy or execution at a PBS Member Station, which can be either direct or a part of a larger set of job duties. Recipients will be selected from with a wide-range of skillsets and experience in public media.

Ideal applicants have demonstrated leadership in their field of expertise and a commitment to strengthening public media’s reach across platforms to communities around the country.

Since the project emphasizes ongoing learning, applicants should articulate how they would use this digital training to improve their station’s overall digital efforts. A letter of support from a supervisor or GM is also required for the application.

Recipients will be required to participate in all activities detailed in the application introduction, available here.

The Digital Immersion Project application deadline is February 28th, 2017, with recipients being announced in March.

Our goal for the Digital Immersion Project is to work with individuals from stations of all size and license types. Applications will be reviewed by a multi-discipline group of colleagues from PBS and the Digital Media Advisory Council (DMAC), a representative body of station leaders focused on advocating for station digital needs.

PBS Digital is excited to offer this unique opportunity to stations and their digital professionals with CPB’s support. We hope the talented professionals across the system join us in further developing our industry’s multi-platform capabilities.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to PBS Digital at spi@pbs.org.

DIGITAL IMMERSION PROJECT OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY
What: An immersive professional development opportunity developed by PBS Digital, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, that mixes in-depth training, hands-on workshops, and collaborative mentorship to improve overall expertise in digital strategies and tactics. Participants will attend PBS TechCon 2017 for an in-person training week, followed by six months working with each other and mentors to gain not only knowledge, but also achieve a uniquely set goal that is specific to their station.
Application Deadline: February 28, 2017
Application Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/digitalimmersionproject
Core Applicant Criteria: PBS Member Station employee; any discipline or skillset with total or partial responsibility for station digital efforts; all levels and all station sizes/types welcome
Project Duration: 7 months (April - October 2017)
Total Available Slots: Twenty-five (25)

Innovative Ideas & Amazing Possibilities: The Digital Media Advisory Council

2017-01-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

by Cheraine Stanford | Senior Producer/Director | WPSU

What do you get when you gather a group of smart, thoughtful, people from public media stations around the country in a room to talk about the future of digital media?

The answer is a lot of innovative ideas and strategies and a clear sense of the amazing possibilities on the horizon for public media.

For two days in November, members of the PBS Digital Media Advisory Council (DMAC) gathered for its annual Summit at PBS Headquarters to discuss the future of the digital space in public media. We shared successes and challenges and spent some time defining our role in advocating for digital in public media. Members serve as a voice for stations large and small.

As a newly minted member of the council, this was my first DMAC Summit. I filled pages with notes about new program and funding ideas and information learned from presenters. I also shared feedback and ideas from my experiences at WPSU.

A few highlights from the Summit:

We heard from PBS Digital & Marketing about work they are doing to better understand how younger audiences consume media as well as how we can successfully incorporate services like Passport.
We heard from a representative from Facebook Strategic Partnerships who helped us think about ways to use the platform creatively to reach our desired audiences. He noted that successful organizations are creating platform-specific content.
We heard presentations from DMAC members about successful events around phenomena like Pokémon GO and ways those events brought in people who had never visited their stations.
DMAC members shared advice and questions to ask as we navigate the digital world. The most important ones for me were: what are your goals and who are you trying to reach? It’s very easy to get caught up in new technologies or the latest social media platform and lose sight of our goals and how these trends can help us serve our communities.
We discussed ways to work across platforms to collect data and how to use analytics to determine whether we are reaching and serving our audiences.
We heard from PBS Digital Studios about ways they can work with stations to develop projects, give advice and help them navigate digital. PBS is a great resource for stations.
We discussed the exciting sessions coming up at the PBS TechCon (the digital and technology conference) which will be held April 19-21 in Las Vegas.

I realized that things that in the past would have been seen as hindrances for smaller stations (fewer people, less funding) don’t have to be limitations in the digital space. There are ways to use the size and ability to move quickly to your advantage.

Innovations in digital media are already impacting every aspect of the work we do. We have the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to tell compelling stories in new ways, to broaden and diversify our audiences, to engage with our communities in ways we couldn’t before, to reach new supporters and find new ways of fundraising.

The possibilities are endless, which can be daunting, but it’s been important to me to focus on how digital can help public media better fulfill its mission of “using media to educate, inspire, entertain and express the diversity of perspectives.”

Above all else, DMAC reinforced a realization I have had several times during this past year when I have been a public media Next Generation Leadership Fellow. That is, that as public media stations, we are our best resources. Stations in major and smaller markets are doing incredible work, taking chances, making mistakes, learning from them and having great successes.

One of the most important roles of the DMAC is fostering this kind of station collaboration.

In a time when technology, platforms, and modes of storytelling are changing rapidly, it’s important for all of us in public media to be sharing our successes and challenges. No one has all the answers, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy, but we can all be working together to learn and grow and make an impact.

Because, as our very wise DMAC Chair Colleen Wilson noted: Digital is our present. Digital is our future.

Sherlock Season 4: Tune in or Streaming Event

2016-12-22T15:58:00.004-05:00

To take advantage of the new season of Sherlock on Masterpiece, streaming availability in COVE will be available directly after the East Coast broadcast. This opportunity will allow stations to promote broadcast tune-in or streaming online starting at 10PM ET.

Streaming release times for these episodes

January 1, 2017: Episode 1, The Six Thatchers | PBS Video Link
January 8, 2017: Episode 2, The Lying Detective
January 15, 2017: Episode 3, The Final Problem

These episodes will now be available by the time each east coast broadcast concludes.

Each episode will be available for two weeks after broadcast. Passport rights are not available for this program. Promotional assets for Sherlock on Masterpiece are available on Pressroom and the Source.

Mercy Street Season 2 Digital Content

2016-12-12T15:12:00.002-05:00

Season 2 of Mercy Street premieres January 22 and to help you with promotion, below is an overview of some of the digital support you’ll see in the coming weeks:

Website
Continuing to build on the dynamic Mercy Street website from last season, there will be new content and experiences to excite your viewers for Season 2.

New assets include:

Season 2 episode guide
Season 2 costumes and costume sketches
Information about the real people and places behind this historical series

Popular returning assets:

Revealed blog that follows series production news and historical episode recaps
TinType Me Bentomatic available!
#MercyStreetPBS Social Hub

Even more exciting content, including 360 videos and photos, will be rolling out in January, so stay tuned for more website information.

Social Media – #MercyStreetPBS and @MercyStreetPBS
An in-season social media outline, including brand new videos, will be available the week of January 16. Leading up to the premiere an overview of this content highlights the new characters and provides a countdown calendar to the premiere.

PBS LearningMedia

Here are the Mercy Street education materials available:

Time Capsule videos
Additional series excerpts
Contextual educational materials to support these videos
New video excerpts will be added to the PBS LearningMedia collection for Season 2, along with new support materials like activities, discussion questions, and teaching tips focusing on themes from the new season.
PBS Teachers’ Lounge will also have a blog around the series, with new posts for each episode premiere.

Make sure you check out the wide collection of promotional assets on the Source – don’t miss the brand new program guide feature for use around Black History Month – and publicity assets on PBS PressRoom.