The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Classical Music TV

Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-05-24 18:23

Classic Arts Showcase is a Foundation-funded program source. Its presentations are available at no charge for carriage by any television station or cable system (so long as it's done a minimum of one hour at a time). But CAS cannot be shown with any commercial content. This is a condition laid on CAS by the providers of the video clips. Since CAS is non-commercial, copyright owners can provide clips to be broadcast with source information as promotional material. If commercials were carried, copyright owners could demand (it's the law) payment for use of the clips. CAS is available 24 hours a day, but not all viewers gat to have that degree of access. I understand it is now available 24/7 from both DISH and DirecTV.

Years ago, Bravo offered many concert performances and such, somewhat similar to today's Ovation but a bit more fresh, more limited in schedule (evenings only), and leaning more toward the classics, especially in music. It was then a subscription service. Having failed to make enough money to sustain itself, Bravo changed. Radically. Now it operates 24 hours daily with far different programming. Once upon a time, symphony concerts were big on Bravo. Now Bravo's headliner is "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Somehow not the same.

The repeats on Ovation are driven by the lack of enough program material (which has to have a low-enough cost) to do otherwise. If Ovation decides they can make more money by catering to a broader viewer base with demographics that are more attractive, guess what will likely happen.

We're probably fortunate to have Ovation and CAS available at all. But for its total Foundation funding, CAS would not exist. In keeping with Ken Shaw's recent posting ("Where the Money Is") of that article from _The Guardian_, maybe upcoming soon will be "The Ring-Tone Channel."

It's all a matter of bux.

Regards,
John

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics