March Madness II
In the United States, March is one of the pledge months for the Public Broadcasting System, and pledge month means incessant "specials" in prime-time featuring such wonderful fare as "Elvis Lives" (Elvis Presley on tape but with a live backing band), Suze Orman and her magical financial blamefest, and Nicholas Perricone and his amazing dermatological cures.
What is odd about pledge drives is that they feature so much atypical PBS programming. One might expect that pledge drives might show the best of Masterpiece Theatre or a Ken Burns retrospective. And indeed, this sort of program does appear. But what one would consider the odd birds tend to dominate the programming.
PBS stations would not feature Orman or Perricone or Presley is they did not rake in the pledges. But why do they work? Are there really viewers out there who expect that Suze Orman will appear on PBS all the time? Or perhaps are they waiting with bated breath until the next time the pledge drive comes around so they can hear more about Doctor Perricone's magic elixirs? Are they disappointed when April arrives and the prime-time hours are filled with public affairs programs and dramas and science?
The television audience is truly a wonderful thing.
Labels: Elvis, Orman, PBS, Perricone, pledge breaks, snake oil
