Why isn OPB airing a program I heard about or that another PBS station carries?
All public broadcasting stations have the flexibility to make their own programming choices, and so no two stations broadcast the same schedule of shows. In some months, more than half of OPB’s prime-time schedule is allotted to “common carriage” – programs we are contractually required, as a member of the PBS system, to air during certain hours on certain days. Other blocks of OPB air time are devoted to themes — children, crafts, cooking or comedy, for instance. Adding a new program to the schedule requires an available and appropriate time slot, something not always easily found. Ultimately, OPB makes programming choices based on many variables: quality, audience interest, diversity, importance, originality and relevance to our stated mission: giving voice to the community, connecting Oregon and its neighbors and illuminating a wider world.
