Thursday, April 19, 2012

News for the Washington. D.C., area ...

The Queen is not coming.  Nor are William and Catherine ... but  Channel 26, WETA (PBS)  is launching a new channel, the WETA UK Channel.  Can you believe it?  Believe it!  The channel will go on the air on June 2.

What a great day!  The Nationals are the first team to win ten games in this season.  Yes, it is only April, but my Nats are in first place in the National League East and the Phillies are in last ... yes, the season is young, but even the New York Times has written about the promising Washington Nationals ...

and now an entire UK channel ... and we have BBC America, too (which isn't as good as it used to be)...   what a great day!

WETA Television Introduces New Channel

WETA UK to Launch June 2 with British Television Classics, Quirky Comedies and Contemporary SeriesFor Immediate Release: April 19, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 2, WETA Television will be launching WETA UK, an innovative channel devoted to presenting British television programming at its best, around the clock, seven days a week. The new, local channel will feature classics, new favorites, and contemporary series currently airing in Britain.
“British programming has long proven popular with our audience on our principal channel, WETA TV 26,” said Kevin Harris, vice president and television station manager of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital. “WETA UK will offer television viewers throughout Greater Washington the opportunity to watch even more of the British drama and comedy that they enjoy. The channel will be a nice complement to our existing television services: WETA TV 26, WETA Kids and WETA HD.”
WETA UK presents a full schedule of what audiences clearly relish: great entertainment programming featuring drama, action, intrigue, romance, mystery, and of course that trademark, wry British humor — all delivered with an accent from the Isles. The channel will be a top destination for viewers seeking the finest television offerings — from an array of major U.K. producers — including classics from the BBC.
Among its many offerings, WETA UK will present a host of dramatic miniseries — including MI-5, Hustle, Waking the Dead, Primeval and New Tricks, several of which currently air in Britain — in addition to such popular classics as All Creatures Great and Small, Ballykissangel, vintage Doctor Who, Inspector Morse, Monarch of the Glen, Prime Suspect, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes and productions from the series Masterpiece (including classics such as I, Claudius). Each Saturday night, the WETA UK Movie will present the best in feature film-length contemporary drama, and beginning this fall, WETA UK will feature major specials.
These programs will air alongside an impressive roster of British comedies new and old, such as Chef!, Doc Martin, Outnumbered, Miranda, Fawlty Towers, My Family, Vicar of Dibley, Keeping Up Appearances, To the Manor Born, Last of the Summer Wine, Waiting for God, Are You Being Served?, and Red Dwarf. Each Friday, WETA UK will present comedy programming around the clock. The channel will also include episodes of the original BBC series Antiques Roadshow, which helped inspire its namesake — and antiques mania — in America.
Program and schedule information is available at wetauk.org. WETA UK is available free over the air on Channel 26.2 in Greater Washington. On subscription services, the channel can be found on Comcast 265, Cox 800, FiOS 474 and RCN 39.

2 comments:

Kalnel said...

Thanks for passing that on. Sounds great!

(Now, if only the Nats' good luck would rub off on the Caps...)

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

the Caps won tonight, I think .. but the Nats lost.