Create

World Screen Weekly, May 1, 2008

COUNTRY: U.S.

LAUNCH DATE: January 9, 2006

OWNERSHIP: American Public Television (APT), in collaboration with Thirteen/WNET New York and WGBH Boston

DISTRIBUTION: Distributed by 178 stations, which reach 70 percent of U.S. TV households

PRESIDENT & COO, THIRTEEN/WNET: Neal Shapiro

PRESIDENT & CEO, WGBH BOSTON: Jon Abbott

PRESIDENT & CEO,

AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION: Cynthia Fenneman

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BROADCASTING,

THIRTEEN/WNET NEW YORK: Kent Steele

VP, EXCHANGE PROGRAMMING AND DIGITAL SERVICES,

AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION: Chris Funkhouser

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, WGBH BOSTON: Ron Bachman

DESCRIPTION: A 24/7 feed featuring the most popular public television lifestyle and how-to programming, covering genres such as cooking, arts and crafts, gardening, home improvement and travel. Create is the most widely carried public television digital multicast channel in the U.S.

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: As Create celebrates its third anniversary this year, it has steadily been growing its audience base, with a 29-percent rise in the number of stations that are carrying the channel, as well as a 16-percent increase in reach since launch. Create is available in 17 of the top 25 U.S. markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Washington D.C., Detroit, Seattle, Phoenix, Tampa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami, Denver, St. Louis, Portland and Charlotte.

Cynthia Fenneman, the president and CEO of American Public Television, attributes the growth to Create’s mandate to offer “a unique mix of program genres,” and not just programming focused on one genre; a point brought up among participants in focus-group studies conducted by the channel.

Adds Kent Steele, the executive director of broadcasting at Thirteen/WNET New York: “Some of the most popular public television programs are the how-to programs, so we were able to take the best of that genre and make a very well-supported channel out of that.”

Create aims to offer a 24/7 presence of public television’s most popular lifestyle and how-to programs, as many of these shows typically air on weekends on local public television stations’ main channels. “This gives people great flexibility in when they watch,” depending on how busy their schedules are, explains Fenneman.

The channel features a rotating six-hour block to cover the 24 hours. Cooking is still the lead genre on Create, comprising a third of its schedule, with cooking series like Simply Ming, featuring Emmy Award-winning Chef Ming Tsai; Lidia’s Italy, hosted by Lidia Bastianich; America’s Test Kitchen from Cook’s Illustrated, hosted by Chris Kimball; and the new food-and-travel-themed Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie, featuring Ruth Reichl, the editor-in-chief of Gourmet.

Travel is the second most popular genre, with series like Globe Trekker and Rick Steve’s Europe. The schedule also features programming from other genres that range from decorative arts-oriented series like America Sews With Sue Hausmann and The Best of the Joy of Painting, featuring the late Bob Ross, to home improvement shows like This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. Other genres featured on Create include gardening programs such as P.Allen Smith’s Garden Home and The Victory Garden, along with lifestyle favorites like Katie Brown Workshop. `

Another factor distinguishing Create from other lifestyle networks, says Fenneman, is its stable of “credible hosts” who are “steeped in knowledge,” and have experience in the field that they were presenting in. She notes that Create was fortunate to be able to incorporate well-known personalities and programs from its inception.

While the network strives to appeal to its “loyal public-television viewers,” Fenneman says it is “also very keenly interested on bringing in new viewers who may not watch public television but who might greatly enjoy these programs.”

Create presents themed marathons every Saturday, which center on a main topic, such a holiday or a main event. For example, the channel rolled out “Big Game Snack Attack,” in February, offerings tips for foods to prepare on Super Bowl Sunday. These marathons can also focus on a continuous broadcast of multiple episodes of just one series.

WHAT’S NEW: Rolling out on Create over the next few months is Sara’s Weeknight Meals, a new show featuring chef and former Food Network host Sara Molton. Coming up later in the year is Rudy Maxa’s World, a new travel series.

Looking ahead, Fenneman is aiming to bulk up the channel’s website, Create TV.com, with tips, recipes and instructions from Create’s key hosts, as well as increase the amount of information about the channel’s hosts, such as where they are appearing across the U.S. She notes that the channel will also be expanding the available product on its companion e-commerce site, ShopCreate.org, with more books, DVDs, CDs and instructional materials. Additionally, she says that the channel is “working very strongly in securing national underwriting,” which “will be a great opportunity for a company to be associated with these top brands,” and “like most digital start-ups,” is working with Nielsen on obtaining measurement for the channel.

WEBSITE: CreateTV.com

—By Irene Lew