US Airdates, personal spoiler policy, PBS & BBC

[neadods]

PBS will start airing Sherlock S2 on May 6.

In this journal, I'm going to stop shielding the 4-letter acronyms of the second two episodes Monday (the 23rd), on the basis that everyone who wants to *cough* obtain the episodes has had a chance to. I will mark fic recs and posts for spoilers as necessary until Labor Day (May 28), the week after PBS will have finished its run. Hide or follow my Sherlock tag as necessary. (I'm probably also going to start a "holmesverse" tag for essays like yesterday's on Mary, too.)


Also, a note? I've heard people bitching about PBS showing it after such a long delay, presumably because they've been spoiled by BBCA showing Dr. Who within hours of its British airing. However, that ignores three pertinent facts why PBS is a much better broadcaster for Sherlock in the US:

1) BBCA is a branch of BBC; the only revenue it's bringing in is ad revenue. PBS is unaffiliated and has to buy the shows - which is more $$$ coming back to the BBC.

2) BBCA is a cable station available in only some markets, sometimes only in the "extras" package. PBS is an open network available to everyone with a TV. Bigger audience = more attention = more interest in the show (plus more pressure to buy the next season. See #1)

3) Airing on an American broadcaster makes the show elegible for some American awards. As I personally think it and its actors deserve ALL THE AWARDS (capslock and all) this can't be a bad thing. Besides, this also brings in more attention, etc.

Tempting as it is to snag the R2 DVD set (available in 2 weeks in the UK), I'm going to hold on to the May release of the R1 version so that I can vote with my dollars to let PBS know to keep the show coming here.


Also, speaking of Americans supporting BBC, penfold_x pointed me at an interesting thing. Audio Go is the BBC's audio branch; loads of lovely legal downloads. And it turns out that even after you tell the website that you have a billing address in the States, you can still click the "Shop in the UK" button and have all sorts of otherwise unavailable material suddenly become purchasable. I'm talking stuff that isn't even on CD, so you can't pick it up at conventions/Waterstones/Amazon.co.uk. Cabin Pressure. Ninth Doctor audiobook adaptations. It's ear-candyland.


Y'all, we may not have a license fee, but we need to support the BBC too.

Comments

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

I would be more than happy to support the BBC if they'd simply put the damned episodes up on iTunes 24 hours after airing in Britain, as they did for many of the Doctor Who eps.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm willing to support them because they create/provide the shows *at all.*

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

I didn't make that clear. I'd be happy to pay the fee to them for the privilege of seeing the episode well ahead of the PBS date. As opposed to various nefarious methods of acquisition.