PBS Chief Set for Banff Keynote

BANFF/BOSTON: Paula A. Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, will deliver the CBC Opening Keynote at the Banff World Television Festival on June 14.

In the opening presentation that kicks off the festival (which runs June 13 to 16), Kerger will be interviewed by Richard Stursberg, the executive VP of English services at the CBC.

Peter Vamos, executive director of the Banff World Television Festival, said of Kerger’s keynote: “As the leader of the largest public broadcast service in the U.S. and champion of public television, she’ll have a wealth of information to share with the broadcast community, especially when it comes to taking advantage of new technology.”

Kerger has headed up PBS since 2006, where she has led the broadcaster’s transition into being multiplatform service, offering content on air, on mobile and online. In the Banff address, she will talk about that transition, as well as PBS’s initiatives in children’s media, journalism and the arts, and its partnerships with new-media platforms such as Hulu.