http://www.tvpredictions.com/smithhd012907.htm
The network is expected to launch this fall.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 29, 2007) -- Showtime and the Smithsonian Institution say they will launch a High-Definition channel this fall.
The HDTV channel will feature documentaries on Smithsonian's vast treasure of artifacts.
The companies, which will also offer a Video on Demand service this spring, will co-produce the programs with the BBC.
As of now, they say, no TV providers have agreed to carry the VOD service or the HD channel.
David Royle, executive vice president for programming at the newly created Smithsonian Networks, tells the Associated Press that the channel intends to reach beyond stuffy "museum television."
For instance, actor Tom Cavanaugh will host a six-part series called Stories From the Vaults, which will take a lighthearted view of the museum's varied collection.
"One minute (Cavanagh) is coming across Phyllis Diller's joke file, which has every joke that she's ever told in it, and the next minute he's taking part in a CAT scan of a Stradivarius, and then he's in the cold tissue storage center, where they're keeping everything from beetles to elephant blood," Royle told AP.
The new channel plans to spend at least $10 million annually for more than 130 hours of programming.
The network is expected to launch this fall.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 29, 2007) -- Showtime and the Smithsonian Institution say they will launch a High-Definition channel this fall.
The HDTV channel will feature documentaries on Smithsonian's vast treasure of artifacts.
The companies, which will also offer a Video on Demand service this spring, will co-produce the programs with the BBC.
As of now, they say, no TV providers have agreed to carry the VOD service or the HD channel.
David Royle, executive vice president for programming at the newly created Smithsonian Networks, tells the Associated Press that the channel intends to reach beyond stuffy "museum television."
For instance, actor Tom Cavanaugh will host a six-part series called Stories From the Vaults, which will take a lighthearted view of the museum's varied collection.
"One minute (Cavanagh) is coming across Phyllis Diller's joke file, which has every joke that she's ever told in it, and the next minute he's taking part in a CAT scan of a Stradivarius, and then he's in the cold tissue storage center, where they're keeping everything from beetles to elephant blood," Royle told AP.
The new channel plans to spend at least $10 million annually for more than 130 hours of programming.
