PartnerFAQS | Southwest Stories

Southwest Stories Sponsor & Partner FAQS

What is the distribution for Season 3 of Southwest Stories with Steve Brown?

Season 3 of Southwest Stories will be distributed nationally to all 360 PBS stations, with an annual audience of more than 200 million viewers. In addition, Season 3, episodes and additional features, will be included on our new Roku channel, reaching an additional 51+ million active monthly viewers. To complement that, Southwest Stories content will be available on a host of online platforms, PBS station streaming channels and websites, as well as our own website and social media.

As our host station, KVCR broadcasts Southwest Stories across southern California to a region of more than 18 million viewers. In addition, the show is distributed to all PBS stations, and we work with KVCR and those stations to ensure the show is scheduled in the best time slots possible across all markets. With PBS stations having more on-demand online programming now, Southwest Stories will also be available for their websites and OTT channels.

To reach a broader, younger demographic, Southwest Stories is building its own Roku channel, Roku channel viewers will be able to see full episodes, as well as features, profiles, full performances, full interviews, attraction/event/lodging/dining/shopping/gallery/museum profiles, personality profiles, and content from partners and sponsors.

PBS and Roku content will be networked with our own online platforms and social media. Even if Southwest Stories Season 3 reaches only 1% of the PBS and Roku audience, that will equate to several million viewers.

How about international distribution?

Roku does reach outside of the United States. We have the ability to subtitle episodes and features in Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Czech, Polish, Dutch, Portugese, Hindi, Russian, Italian, and Turkish (with more language possibilities coming soon). This means we can provide all of our content in multiple languages, and work with our partners/sponsors to provide them with branded content that can be used to reach a broad range of international audiences. We have already had some discussions with Chinese tour operators, as an example. They had an interest in content that would promote U.S. travel they could sell.

What is a Lodging Partner?

A Southwest Stories Lodging Partner provides in-kind support for the show by providing accommodations for the crew during a shoot. In return, the Lodging Partner is credited (thanked in the episode's credits) in the full PBS episode. In addition, the lodging facility may be included in the episode (we retain all editorial control of content for anything produced for PBS, as is required by PBS), and we will produce a Lodging Spotlight feature that will be included in our Roku channel content, as well as online and on social media. Lodging Partners may choose be sponsors instead, with the value of their in-kind services applied toward a sponsorship advertisement (PBS guidelines apply).

What is a Dining Partner?

A Southwest Stories Dining Partner provides one or more meals for the production crew during a shoot. Usually, dining segments are either included in an episode and/or appear as a Dining Spotlight feature on our Roku channel, as well as online and on social media. Depending on the dining experience, additional features may be included for mixology, the chef, etc. Dining Partners may choose to be sponsors instead, with the value of their in-kind services applied toward a sponsorship advertisement (PBS guidelines apply).