Moyers & Company has become the first American Public Television-distributed program to be presented on the PBS COVE online video player and PBS mobile apps.
The weekly public affairs show, hosted by veteran public TV journalist and independent producer Bill Moyers, has been offered on COVE on a test basis for several weeks, according to spokesperson Joel Schwartzberg. With today’s announcement, PBS and APT signaled their intention to collaborate to bring more APT titles to PBS’s online video player.
The arrangement helps to make Moyers & Company more easily accessible for public TV viewers. The series, which launched in August 2010, is the first from Moyers to be distributed by APT. Offering the show on COVE and within PBS apps “is important not just because people associate my work with public broadcasting, but because the show is a natural complement to PBS public affairs programs, including Frontline and PBS NewsHour,” Moyers said in a statement.
“APT recognizes the value of satisfying viewers who want to catch up on missed programs or watch public television online,” said APT President Cynthia Fenneman. APT plans to offer more programs on COVE and PBS apps “over the coming months.”
As Moyers prepared to return to public TV two years ago, PBS declined to distribute the new show. PBS President Paula Kerger told Current in May 2010 that Moyers had requested that PBS designate it for common-carriage broadcasts by local stations, but the network couldn’t do so.
In the May 6 announcement, Kerger said PBS is “delighted” to offer Moyers & Company on digital platforms. “Bill Moyers has had a long and prestigious journalism career and we are fortunate to have him in the public media family,” Kerger said. “Moyers & Company is a terrific addition to the news and public affairs video content that we offer online viewers.”