PBS Helping Recruit New Anglers!
Category: article
Feb 25th, 2021 by Keith Worrall
Modified Feb 25th, 2021 at 8:53 PM
PBS Helping Recruit New Anglers
So what happens when you broadcast educational television programs that reveal the fun and personal discovery of kids fishing? Networks across the country suddenly want to jump on board!
What began as a regional television program four years ago has erupted into a national series that’s breaking barriers in educational television in recruiting a new generation of anglers across the country. Getting Families Fishing has literally “hooked” the attention of television distributors, including a national network of PBS affiliates from Fairbanks to Washington D.C. that now broadcast these kids fishing shows to millions of households.
“It’s almost impossible today to design an FCC-certified educational television show about fishing and then have that show be embraced by PBS broadcast stations across the country,” said Dan Bertalan, Director of the Into the Outdoors Education Network. “But the aquatic education and conservation content blended with revealing the pure fun of kids fishing unlocked the key to partnering with so many PBS stations.”
Within the past year, the series has soared to 116 broadcast television and digital channels spanning the nation that now include ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku TV, Smart TV, Google Chromecast, Fubo TV, NBC TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, and CBS All Access with the potential of reaching 150 million viewers.
“What makes their content truly educational,” says Pat Neu, President of the Future Angler Foundation and a key partner in launching the program, “is that they also convert the television shows into classroom education videos with lesson activities where kids learn with their peers about how fishing can change their lives. Then it’s all freely distributed to teachers and distance learners using their online education network. I’ve been involved in recruiting new anglers for going on two decades and have never have seen anything that gets into the homes and classrooms of millions of kids who never dreamed of fishing before they were exposed to it through this program. I truly believe that after seeing these programs, they not only dream about fishing, but are ready to take the next step to become anglers.”
Despite the impact of the show on future anglers and the future of the fishing industry, the show’s future remains uncertain. “The key to national networks broadcasting these fishing shows is providing them new content,” says Neu. “We’ve worked diligently over the past 3 years to get some grants to help fund production of the shows. But relying on grants for funding is risky. And because this show represents the future of the fishing industry, the fishing industry really needs to step up and invest in our collective future. It’s the right thing to do on so many levels.”
To learn more about the Getting Families Fishing Series and discover why and how to partner in the show content. visit; https://intotheoutdoors.org/getting-families-fishing-series/
For more information, email [email protected] or go to IntoTheOutdoors.org.