People

PBS’s top engineer McCoskey heading to Motion Picture Association of America

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John McCoskey, PBS’s head of technology for six years, has accepted a position as executive vice president and chief technology officer at the Motion Picture Association of America. He will develop and oversee the MPAA’s global technology policy as well as handle advocacy, legal, communications and content protection initiatives, reporting to COO Diane Strahan. At PBS, McCoskey was responsible for all technology strategy, development, operations and infrastructure for PBS member stations. Prior to his public broadcasting tenure, he was v.p. of product development at Comcast; co-founder and c.t.o. of Brief Original Broadcasts, a digital TV network for short-form content; and s.v.p. of technology and c.t.o. at Discovery Communications.

Quick Takes

Sheriff arrests two in connection with break-in at West Virginia pubcasting tower site

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Two men were arrested Wednesday and charged with breaking and entering in connection with a burglary at a remote West Virginia Public Broadcasting tower facility on Kopperston Mountain, reports CBS affiliate WVNS in Ghent, W. Va. Wyoming County Sheriff Randall Aliff said arrests were made after the public identified the men on a surveillance video that aired on WVNS. Keith Dotson and Joe Torres are being held on $20,000 bond each. West Virginia Public Broadcasting Executive Director Scott Finn told Current that the break-in occurred around 4 a.m. Sept. 18 in the main building of a tower site, and a nearby generator shed.

Quick Takes

Jim Henson’s daughter donates Elmo, Bert, Ernie and other Muppets to Smithsonian

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Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim Henson, donated 21 Muppet puppets and props to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on Sept. 24, reports USA Today. The latest band of furry Muppets to move to the Smithsonian includes early iterations of longtime Sesame Street fixtures Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster and Count Von Count. They’ll join up with their buddies Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch, who are already members of the Smithsonian’s Jim Henson Collection. Miss Piggy is also joining the collection.

Programs/Content

PBS SoCal offering Imagen Awards for pubTV broadcast

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For the first time, PBS SoCal will distribute the annual Imagen Awards for broadcast on public television stations nationwide. The honors recognize positive portrayals of Latinos in media, as well as achievements of Latino celebrities in the entertainment and communications industries. The 28th awards gala took place Aug. 16 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The televised special will highlight attendees, winners and presentations.

Quick Takes

WKGC dropping NPR affiliation, picking up BBC, APM shows

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WKGC in Panama City, Fla., will replace NPR’s newsmagazines with BBC news programs distributed by American Public Media. The station, which is also dropping its NPR membership, cited duplication of NPR programs in the market as the reason for the schedule change, which takes effect Oct. 1, reports the local News Herald. During morning and afternoon drive times, BBC World News and NewsHour will air on the WKGC instead of NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. WKGC is licensed to Gulf Coast State Community College and shares its service area with WFSU in Tallahassee, operated by Florida State University.

Quick Takes

Former CNBC On The Money host Ulrich named new Marketplace Money host

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Starting Nov. 2, the new host of Marketplace Money will be Carmen Wong Ulrich. Ulrich is the former host of CNBC’s On the Money, and the author of  Generation Debt: Take Control of Your Money. She is co-founder of ALTA Wealth Management, a New York-based financial planning firm. She will host the weekend show, blog at MarketplaceMoney.org and appear on the daily Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report shows.

Quick Takes

FCC to host workshop on issues surrounding spectrum repacking

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Lonna Thompson, e.v.p., Association of Public Television Stations, is a panelist on the FCC’s Sept. 30 workshop on issues surrounding the reassignment of television stations after the upcoming broadcast spectrum incentive auctions. The workshop will be streamed live on the FCC website from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Panelists will discuss reimbursement costs that broadcasters may incur as a result of spectrum repacking, and how broadcasters might coordinate efforts to mitigate those costs. The Spectrum Act of 2012 provides a $1.75 billion relocation fund for the FCC to reimburse stations for costs associated with spectrum repacking.

System/Policy

CPB finds pubTV stations committed to keeping spectrum

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Anxiety among public TV executives about channel repacking after spectrum auctions outweighs their enthusiasm for selling bandwidth, CPB s.v.p. Mark Erstling told corporation directors during their Sept. 17 board meeting in Washington, D.C.

CPB has commissioned Booz & Co. to research the effect of spectrum policy issues on the pubTV system for a white paper CPB will release early in 2014. The outcome of the upcoming auction to clear broadcast bandwidth for use by mobile devices is as critical to the future of public media “as the original noncommercial set-aside of public spectrum and the Broadcasting Act of 1967,” Erstling told directors. CPB’s greatest concern is loss of universal access to local public TV services, Erstling said.