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Quilters across the United States are upset over the changes that HGTV is planning
to make for Alex Anderson's TV show Simply Quilts. Home & Garden Television has
announced plans to cut back on the number of showings per day from two a day to
one time a day. It has been showing on Monday through Friday at 8:30 am and 1:30
pm Eastern Standard Time. On September 29th, the network is planning to start a
dual feed for both the western time zone and the Eastern Time zone and air the
show at 8:30 am. (which is actually nice for those in the Pacific Time zone:
they don't have to get up early to watch the show.)
I went to the Website www.hgtv.com and registered a complaint
on their decision and this was the answer I was given and I quote:
"Hello and thank you for contacting HGTV. There have been a lot of
questions and speculations surrounding our upcoming schedule for Simply
Quilts and we'd like to take this opportunity to provide you with the
correct answer.
Simply Quilts will be going to one airing a day, Monday through Friday, and
can be seen in its new time slot of 8:30 a.m. ET/PT, beginning September
29th.
To offer you a bit more explanation as to why, let us explain. In
conjunction with HGTV's new Fall Programming, scheduled to debut on
September 29th, we will also begin our dual feed. What dual feed means to
you as a viewer -- There will be two feeds of our programming, one for our
East Coast viewers and (finally!) one for our West Coast viewers. So, if a
show is promoted and scheduled to air at 9 a.m., it will be the same for
both coasts (not 6 a.m. for our West Coast viewers, which is currently the
case). In the past, we have offered daily "double runs" of our programs
(such as Simply Quilts airing twice in a one day) so that viewers on the
West Coast wouldn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to watch. With a
dual feed, this will no longer be the case.
Also, over the years, viewers have been requesting more variety, which
hasn't been possible because of the "double runs" of programs.
Not only will having a dual feed allow our West Coast viewers a timelier
viewing experience, but also it will allow us to provide a greater variety
of programs to our viewers.
We hope this answers your questions and thank you for watching HGTV.
Best regards,
HGTV Viewer Services"
That is all well and good, but it does limit us to only one
show a day. I am not able to watch the show everyday, but am able to tape the
shows so I can view it later. I am trying to "catch up" on the shows that I
have missed over the years by recording the repeats...this is the only time I love
the repeats. Something that we heard once in quilting may need more clarification
the next time we hear it. I have heard of many new to quilting that were turned
on to it by watching Simply Quilts. Not all of us get cable television, but those
of us who do not may benefit from a friend being able to tape it for their viewing.
There are other quilt shows out there, but they are on PBS Television and those are
not readily available to everyone, since it is up to the discretion of the PBS
affiliate in your state. That is a whole other story we won't even get into now.
Here is a show (Simply Quilts) that has been on regularly,
is a wonderful show, and presents a variety of quiltmaking techniques and types
of quilts: from art to traditional, from new to historical quilts. A show that
is well organized and presented in a very professional manner. Now, half of it
is being taken away from us and the quilters are not happy! And they have decided
to do something about it and use their right to freedom of speech. They have called
into the office, faxed their complaints, and have passed around the email address
to let they voices be heard. They have even started a petition online.
If you would like to let the HGTV Company know how you feel
about the cutbacks of Simply Quilts here are the following links:
Email HGTV
Call HGTV: 865-694-7879
Fax HGTV: 865-531-1588
Email Scripps Broadcasting at corpcomm@scripps.com
Sign the online petition
©2003 Dori Hawks
www.thequiltercommunity.com
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