Germany to Test Book TV

I know that we have Book TV in this country on weekends (on C-Span2) and I do usually watch it for a couple of hours every weekend. But I sometimes grow a little weary of its emphasis on political books and I tend to get a little burned out to the point that I forget about the channel for weeks at a time. I've often wondered why, with the dozens and dozens of cable and satellite channels available these days, someone doesn't try to come up with one that focuses in on all things book related, something on the air every day.

I'm sure that would be a rather risky investment but there are so many little niche channels out there already that it doesn't seem impossible. According to DW-World, a group in Germany has decided to see if they can make just such a station work there.

The broadcaster, called lettra, aims to keep book lovers up-to-date with what's going on in the world of fact and fiction. It's set to go on air on Nov. 24. on the pay TV channel Premiere Star.


The idea of literature TV was the brainchild of Jan Henne De Dijn who announced the launch at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Thursday.

...

The company aims to appeal to book worms of all kinds, featuring programs about children's literature, novels, factual and self-help books, educational literature and reference works.

Five hours of programming a day are initially planned. The centerpiece will be a two-hour live show every weekday evening. There will also be a morning show for children, along with literary adaptations, magazine shows and documentaries.

"We won't be presenting books and reading in a high-brow manner, but competently and informatively," said lettra's co-managing director and editor-in-chief Carsten Meincke. "We want to be entertaining and humorous and reflect the creativity and the variety of the book world. After all, we want to make television for everyone who love books."

...

Lettra also wants to let everyone with a passion for books have their say, giving a voice to readers, as well as writers and publishers.

De Dijn is hoping to attract half a million viewers by the end of the
year.

German television viewers will have to pay to be able to see this programming. I'm not sure from the article whether or not it will be available as part of a "package" or if it will have to be purchased separately. But this is exactly the kind of thing that cable television and satellite TV people love to package here as part of their "basic package" so that they can claim a higher number of viewer choices. Oh well, I can dream.