An era ends on PBS stations Friday, when the contract expires for Le Var Burton’s “Reading Rainbow.” After 26 years, and 24 national Emmys, the excellent children’s show will vanish from WPTD-TV (noon weekdays, Channel 16) and many other public TV stations.
The show premiered in 1983. It ceased production in 2006, when funding ran out. The PBS contract expires Friday, so it can no longer feed it to stations.
However, off-air educational rights remain in effect for a year following the last broadcast of each episode, says Darwin McPherson, communications director for Buffalo’s WNED-TV, which has produced the series since its debut in July, 1983. Says McPherson: “We ‘re confident that the Young Writers and Illustrators Contest will live on through PBS Kids.” No word on that yet.
Thanks, LeVar, for your fine work. And thanks from my kids too.
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/tv/2009/08/25/reading-rainbow-soon-to-be-tv-history/
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