(light music) - Welcome.

I'm Julie Sanders, and you're tuning into a special edition of WTVP Now, where we unveil the findings of our recent audience survey.

Since 1971, WTVP has been a vital part of our community, driven by voices and values of Central Illinois.

What matters most to our viewers?

What stories resonate with you?

What stories are you gonna wanna see in our programming?

As we often say, WTVP is brought to you by viewers like you.

So in this new era of transparency, we're thrilled to share the survey results with you.

Joining me today, we have our chairman of the board, John Wieland, and we also have our brand spanking new CEO, Jen Gordon joining us.

Thank you guys for both being here.

- Thank you, Julie.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

John, when you first came on board, it was really important for you to do the survey.

Why was that?

- That's an easy answer.

Actually, we exist at the pleasure of our viewers and our members and our donors, and so we need to serve you well.

And so if you gave us the information on what you like and what you didn't like and how we can serve you better, that is the goal of the board and Jen and her entire team is to serve well.

We have a fiduciary responsibility to the community, and this is like manna from heaven.

- And how important is this for you as you start this new position?

- Oh, just as John said, it really can't be underscored enough to have the data of what our members and our viewers value, what they wanna see in the future, where they wanna see us move.

It really, really is invaluable.

- Well, as Richard Dawson always said on "Family Feud," "Survey says," let's take a look.

- Nice.

- Alright.

So let's take a look at where these people have come from that took the survey.

We're incredibly grateful for our engaged audience here at WTVP 1,244 people took this survey.

That's phenomenal.

That feedback came to us through phone calls and emails and online, and of course, even in the mail.

What we saw again and again, was that the true passion people have for the future of WTVP, and that's exciting.

So let's take a look at where those people came from.

Because of that number of people, it was almost 14% of our membership.

- [Jen] That's incredible.

- [Julie] I mean, what do you have to say to that?

- I mean, anytime you take a survey to a people group, if you get like 2%, 1.75%, you're happy.

The fact that 14% of our members actually responded to the survey is just incredible.

And then we had almost the similar number of just viewers that participated.

And so we are just, I mean, I was praying for 500.

The fact that we got 1,244 was just amazing.

- It is fantastic.

So let's take a look at what our viewing area is.

Our viewing area spans about 20 counties all around the Peoria area, and that reaches about 200,000 households.

So that's everybody who has a TV, and that includes almost 400,000 people who might be watching us.

And that goes to Bloomington-Normal, Galesburg, Canton, Lincoln, Princeton, and beyond.

But let's look specifically of where these viewers came from when they responded, it represents more than 114 different cities and towns throughout our community.

So it's very exciting to see that, you know, the big people, the big people, the bigger towns like Peoria and Bloomington are in there.

But there's also like this small towns Elmwood, Manito, I'm a Mackinac girl, so I love that they made the map as well.

So what does that say to you about our viewership and the diversity?

- Oh, I think it's incredible.

I love that shows like "You Gotta See This," you're tapping into those smaller towns for special features.

It really just shows that we have this incredible reach.

One of the things that kept on jumping out to me from the comment section of the survey, so many people said, "I would volunteer, but I live an hour and a half away."

And it was just that reminder that our viewership expands so far beyond kind of the epicenter of where we are here in Peoria.

- Right.

Our address may be Peoria, but we are central Illinois.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

Now that we know where those viewers came from, let's get to know a little bit more about it.

And one of the things that stood out was our age bracket, our question two.

As we look at these numbers here, it tends to skew a little older.

Jen, was that a surprise to you as you start new here?

- I don't think it's a surprise.

And those numbers track pretty consistently with PBS national numbers when you look at PBS national viewing audience.

One of the things though to frame that conversation is that we know that our five year olds, or six year olds or seven year olds who are relying on PBS Kids and watching it all the time, and even those parents probably don't have the time to take that survey or aren't gonna be taking the survey.

I know my five year old's not taking the survey, and she watches a lot of PBS Kids, and we also know that PBS Kids is reaching this huge audience with, I think, last year it was 4.1 billion streams of content on PBS Kids.

So we know that that audience is strong and that there's a huge need for that piece of it.

Yeah, and then in terms of our other age demographics, I see we an opportunity, I think, to reengage people my age, people a little younger with what PBS and WTVP has to offer.

So I think it's a sign of all of the room that we have to grow.

- Absolutely, and we got a little diversity there with who responded as well.

We had about 63% female and 35% male.

So we got both sides of the fence there.

So we have a good mixture there.

Our next question brings up how frequently they watched, and we talked a little bit about whether they are occasional viewers or if they're frequent viewers, saying they watched it three or more times a week.

71% of the people watch PBS three times a week.

That's a loyal and and dedicated viewership.

It's so exciting to see that.

- It is so exciting.

And this again brings me back to some of those comments on the survey.

I was blown away by the number of times that people wrote in and said, "I watch WTVP 90% of my television viewing time."

90%.

And you know, people who are writing and saying, "I turn it on when I wake up in the morning."

A lot of people who are home bound and don't get out and this is their one source of entertainment.

So just that theme of loyalty and deep commitment, and just knowing that WTVP is embedded into the lives of so many of our members, I think, it's phenomenal.

- It's like a family friend for many people they can trust putting their children in front of the television, know it's reliable, valued product.

And that's a great reputation to have.

Absolutely.

Question number five asks about our auxiliary channels.

The other channels.

We have five channels.

Some people don't realize that we have here, the answers from people, you know, they kind of confirm our age group here, the PBS Kids, just like Jen just mentioned, is fairly low ranked there.

But I think that goes back to the age of the people who surveyed with an older group taking it.

They're not gonna watch PBS Kids unless maybe their grandkids are over.

But we do have Create Channel, which I know a lot of people love.

It's the do-it-yourselfers, the bakers, the painters, the builders, the people who really just wanna create.

And our World Channel, it has a mission to inspire real stories from around the world.

It's news, it's groundbreaking, and it goes against stereotypes sometimes and it's challenges us to think differently.

So a lot of people love the world and the little hard hitting news we have there, but what surprised me a little bit is WTVP Remote.

It's ranked lower, but it's really a growth opportunity for us.

This is a 24-hour channel access to learning.

I mean, it's a classroom over the air.

You don't have to have cable, you don't have to have internet.

What you do need is just to turn it on and watch trusted, valued essential programming.

It's really a favorite of teachers, homeschoolers.

I don't know about students, (both laughing) if they enjoy that or not, but they are getting an education.

- Right, and I keep on thinking as we go into the summer months, all of these parents that are gonna be home with their kids or one parent maybe, or a grandparent that's like, "Well, I wanna make sure that quality learning is still a part of the summer months, during the school break," it's just a fantastic resource that we have.

- One of the things that we wanted to do is when you look at the survey, like that question, some questions you had to respond to, this question you didn't have to respond to.

So on that question, 800 responded to it and then 400 didn't respond to it.

And so when you're looking at the survey, make sure that you understand what percent skip.

And again, a lot of them you had to answer it.

And I think Dr. Chu is really interested in working with the public schools, the private schools, the homeschooling community in regards to getting that Remote more visible.

And also Jen is really gung ho on using Passport to get all of these stations whenever we want it.

And that's a great opportunity that Jen's been talking about.

- It's exciting.

Let's get into what people wanted to watch.

And John, you wanted to speak to this question.

Tell us why.

- Yeah, if you look at the survey, when I put the survey together, I said, "You could select everyone that you wanted."

And so when everybody kind of selected everything they wanted, as you can see on the graph, you like everything, which doesn't tell us as much as I wanted to.

So I think I should have maybe limited it to two or three to see some differentiation.

But again, it's a positive response that virtually all of the major segments are being embraced.

And again, the low one on PBS and children's programming, well we've got a large segment that's not taking that survey.

And so it was a kind of a lesson learned for me.

But again, our members and our viewers like all of these segments.

- It's true.

It's glad that we have that variety within our programming.

PBS doesn't provide all of our programming, some people don't know that, some specialty shows we purchase from outside producers and resources.

And question seven touches on that a little bit, on these different programs.

Jen, these results, what does this tell us about our viewers' preferences?

- Yeah, I was, you know, really, I don't think I was terribly surprised by the preferences, but what it underscores is that our current programming model that we have set up is pretty in line with what people are telling us that they like.

Again, in that comment section, some of the questions that came through were, you know, "I'm nervous that there's gonna be massive programming shifts.

I'm nervous about this, I'm nervous about that."

I love that we did the survey.

I love that John, that was one of his first priorities was to do the survey so we could be getting that impact and that feedback from the viewers.

But it was encouraging to see that the efforts that has gone into having really fantastic programming, for the most part we're really meeting people's needs where they are.

- And there's an opportunity here.

If we see something on this survey, that we can go, pledges coming around the coroner, and we can say, these are extra costs to us, are you willing to support these type of programs?

- Yes.

I am so glad you brought that up.

Pledge is right around the corner coming up in June.

And it does just underscore that we do have, as you said, these special programs.

Every program, those special programs costs dollars.

And we wanna make sure that we are prioritizing members' needs and desires.

And that's really where members have a voice.

- And that goes back to John's comment about fiscal responsibility.

We wanna make sure we're providing and utilizing your dollars the way that the viewers want it.

- Indeed.

- Yeah.

I mean, so when we receive money from the community, we just have a fiduciary responsibility and we can't spend it willy-nilly.

And so this survey, it kind of tells us, we're paying for these programs, if not many people are watching it, then we have to do an analysis, are we being a good steward of our resources?

And we'll talk about that a little bit more as we go down to some of the other questions.

- Okay.

Well, one of the places that WTVP really shines is our local programming.

And we asked you which ones you like.

I'm gonna kind of back outta this, because my favorite show is, you gotta see this, but, Jen, what kind of picture does this paint, these top six we're showing here are something that people really are enjoying, it sounds like?

- Yeah, absolutely.

I think it underscores again that our community values local programming, and that's something that we wanna see strengthen, and develop and grow.

Clearly, you gotta see this had super high marks.

And I think that also speaks to, well, first of all, kudos, Julie.

- Oh yeah.

- Fantastic job with that show.

But also it speaks to kind of that innovation aspect that's baked into "You Gotta See This."

We're taking WTVP out into the community, and I think the results of the survey show that people appreciate that.

So I think that's really fantastic.

And then, we also saw, "Consider This" with Christine Zak very high, so- - "At Issue."

- "At issue," "Mark's Furry Friends," who doesn't love those animals?

- Of course.

Yes.

And then we know like "State & Water" also had a really strong representation.

And one of the questions that again, is coming through the survey, I know people have been curious about is how quickly are we going to be able to enhance or bring back these local programs.

Some of them have been on pause, some of them have not.

But there is an interest in finding out the timeline for that.

And while John and I and the board are committed to fiduciary excellence and oversight, and again, making sure that every dollar is spent with the intention of the member in mind, we are excited to be able to say that we are committed to bringing back "State & Water."

- [Julie] Oh, fantastic news.

- Yes.

Big news.

In a timeline that we can achieve with excellence.

- Okay.

- And then the only other thing I also wanna say about the local programming is like with the purchase programs, 625 people skipped that question, but with the local program and what we do only 290 skipped it, which means almost 1,000 people raise their hand.

And so we wanna let the communities know we're all in on local programming.

You guys like it, we like it.

It's a time capsule for our communities, and we look forward to not only returning some of the programs, but also expanding some things.

- Absolutely.

Let's go on to question nine.

It talks about what types of programs people liked.

This question, What jumps out at me is the local stories.

Again, it jumps out that they want to continue these things.

And we have one of those traditional WTVP documentaries coming up this year.

Our legendary H Wayne Wilson is coming back to do "McLean County History," and we're gonna see that probably November, December.

We're excited about that.

He's a true gift to the station as he helps us out and tells that historical story that we're so excited about sharing.

- Now, in full disclosure, as you look at the graph.

Some of the respondents, I think, in the guide did not include question nine.

Just a mistake.

And so we had to fill that in, and so we decided to put those into the one that had the most anyway, which was the local history and historical.

We just had to put it someplace we decided to put it where that person was first anyway.

And again, we just want full disclosure on stuff.

- Absolutely.

Transparency is what we are talking about here.

We have so much to share with you, it's so exciting.

One of the things that we've already touched on is did people, how do they consume this?

Do they watch it online?

Do they stream it?

Do they watch it over the TV?

This was some exciting results here.

- It was.

I think, we all leaned in when we saw the number of people that in addition to watching it on television, were also streaming it and checking it out a different pathway.

And as you've mentioned before, Julie, WTVP offers so many different pathways to its content.

So sometimes it can feel like a web to kind of figure it out.

But when we look at those national trends of how people are consuming media, the pathways that we know that cable is starting to go down, we know that broadcast is starting to go down, and we know that streaming and broadband is skyrocketing up.

What I am so excited about is that PBS and WTVP, we're ahead of the curve on this one.

So we have an opportunity to really meet our audiences where they are, to educate them about how easy it is to use Passport.

I'd hold up my phone, but I left it out of the studio 'cause I didn't want it to ring, but this is, you know, the way that so many people are getting their media and I think the number one thing is to let people know that there is a place for you to connect with PBS WTVP on your phone.

- Yeah.

I believe this is Jen's third day.

Congratulations.

And she said, "I've downloaded that app on the phone and I haven't gone back."

- Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

I deleted any other streaming apps on my phone because it is binge worthy.

It's wonderful.

- Well, we're quickly running through our time here, but let's talk about this next two things together.

It's about how you receive information about what's going on on WTVP, and specifically the program guide.

What do you think these two questions say about our viewers?

- Well, I mean, again, we wanna be a good steward of our resources.

And last year it was costing about $10,000 a month to send out the monthly program.

With the previous board trying to tighten things, they got that down to about $8,500 a month, but that's still about 100,000 or $90,000 a year.

And we just wanna know if people really still wanted the magazine being delivered or did they want it online or they just get it through the television guide on their television.

And so the response led us to believe that a lot of people really still want that guide mailed to them.

What we're going to try to do is be more prescriptive and make sure that those people get it.

And the people that really don't look at it and don't care, we don't spend that money sending it to somebody.

And again, it all has to do with trying to be good steward of our members' money.

- And there'll be some communication of how you can opt out.

We don't want you just tossing that in the trash.

We wanna use your money correctly.

The next question is, I think, maybe everybody on this set is the most excited about, we asked how people are enjoying the programming.

What is the current opinion of WTVP?

And look at these numbers.

They're phenomenal.

76% of you are happy or very happy with WTVP, and only 6.7, right, John?

- [John] Yes.

- [Julie] Okay.

Were disappointed.

He's a numbers guy, so he's like, "Don't round that up to seven.

It's 6.7."

- Absolutely.

I'm gonna say that what this says to us is, one, our members and viewers, you're gracious people, you're giving us benefit of the doubt.

We still have a long ways to go.

We appreciate the nice thoughts and the support, but we have not arrived at all.

And we'll continue to try to be what you want us to be and provide the content that you and your families want.

But yes, me and the entire board extremely excited about that question.

- Our next question talked about volunteers, which are the lifeblood of WTVP, always have been, and it's near and dear to my heart.

We had so many people, 269 say they wanted to volunteer.

There is an issue.

It was an anonymous survey.

So we don't know who those people are.

How are we gonna solve this problem, Jen?

- Yes, well, it's a problem we're excited to solve.

We're gonna have a button on the website that you can click on to fill out a volunteer form.

We wanna capture your information, we wanna know how to reach out to you.

I'm also gonna be sending out a personalized email to everyone who took the survey, all of our members, just to invite them to give us their information so that we can follow up appropriately and really kind of cast this vision for our volunteers moving forward.

- Absolutely.

Our next question talks about our recent history and the creation, production, distribution of Peoria Magazine.

And we just wanted to gauge what people's interest was.

So if you take a look at this, what does this say for our viewership?

- Absolutely.

So again, I'm gonna reference the comment section, because there so many people comment out on this.

Everyone unanimously thought this was a beautiful production, a beautiful piece that we put out to the community, had value.

However, almost unanimously everyone was highly concerned about funds and the situation for that.

So I think that that's very, very clear.

We may look into doing a limited issue in the future at some point in time.

However, I can promise you that it would be financially solvent and that no member dollars would be going towards the production of a limited At Issue Peoria Magazine.

I can't tell you when that would happen, but it may be something in the future that we consider, only when we know that financially we could do it well.

- And we are also talking to community leaders that you've been part of trying to figure out, it's a great place.

We as a community, not as WTVP, we need to figure this out.

And so we've been consistent on that.

And again, we go back to fiduciary responsibility being a good steward over our resources.

And so we're gonna walk carefully on that.

- Okay.

Well, the last question was simply tell us what we can do better, what we can do more of?

And you've referenced it.

There were almost half of the people left a comment, - 600 comments, absolutely delightful rating.

What struck me most was the passion of the people, the passion and the commitment to write and tell us their thoughts, again, as the data had reflected that you showed in the charts previously, most people were just really excited that we are still here and that we have a brighter future ahead of us.

- [Julie] We do.

- So I think that's the number one thing.

And then also, I just wanna thank everyone personally for taking time to give us your comments, to let them know that we read every single one of them.

And it truly does impact our programming decisions and how we look at crafting a station that really serves the heart of central Illinois.

- John, your thoughts?

- No, just agree with Jen.

Thank you.

I mean, the fact that over 600 actually spent time to share their thoughts, again, it was just very humbling that our members and viewers care that much.

So really excited about that.

- And I think we have a lot to look forward to with WTVP, with the new leadership and with programming, and we're excited to be part of that.

We're so excited that you have taken the survey.

Thank you again and keep looking for more exciting things coming our way on WTVP.

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