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Q:  Is it true that The Metropolitan Opera is not returning to KRVS?      Why?
A:  Yes, it is true.  The Met has presented KRVS with a contract that pre-empts large portions of KRVS’ locally produced Saturday morning program. The program “Zydeco n’est pas Sale” is central to the mission of KRVS and is designed specifically to reach our African American / Creole community.  The program features the Creole French language, indigenous Louisiana music, interviews with community leaders and notices of cultural activities, e.g. trail-rides and a regional calendar of events.  

Q.  Are listener numbers and money the reason for discontinuing The Met?
A.  No.  While fiscal responsibility is vital to the success of any organization, this decision is more about an external entity, The Met, demanding control of our Saturday morning programming.  The contract simply disregards all prior local programming agreements and obligations. This year The Met is requiring a start time of 10:00 A.M. CST.  The Met will not negotiate this arrangement which encroaches deeply into KRVS’s existing programming. 

The Met is the only national producer that does not have a specific start-time and will not allow local broadcasters to record and schedule their program to best serve their home community. 

We believe that recording this premier event and airing it at a consistent time would attract and retain a much larger audience.   The Met has refused this option.

Q:  How do you know how many people are listening to The Met broadcasts?
A: KRVS subscribes to Arbitron, the radio industry’s equivalent to television’s Nielsen ratings.  Arbitron distributes radio listening diaries throughout our service area twice a year (in some areas four times per year).  Radio listeners document their listening habits in the diaries and return them to Arbitron who then tallies the data and publishes the results.  The research indicates a strong audience on Saturday mornings up to the point that The Metropolitan Opera begins airing.  For years, the data has indicated that the audience drops off sharply during The Met and does not return for the remainder of the day. 

Q:  Isn’t there strong support for The Met broadcasts?
A:  There is certainly strong enthusiasm among those who love and listen to The Met broadcasts. However, the actual number of people who tune in and listen to The Met is quite small.  Probably due in part to its small audience, the station has historically received very little financial support for the program.

Q:  Is it important for The Met to have a large audience?  Isn’t it worth keeping The Metropolitan Opera even if it doesn’t have a large audience?
A:  While it is always our hope to have significant listenership, it is not critical that The Met have a large audience.  Like most Opera fans, we agree that it is worth keeping the program even if it only serves a small audience.  Many of our programs do not command a large following.  However, these programs can be recorded and locally scheduled to achieve maximum results.  Again, our preference is to reposition The Met, possibly to an evening, where there is a larger potential audience.

Q:  What can I do to restore broadcasts of The Metropolitan Opera on KRVS?
A:   The future of The Met on KRVS is contingent on our ability to record and schedule the program at a specific time.  Permission to do so rests entirely with The Metropolitan Opera in New York.  If you would like to discuss the situation with them, please direct your comments to:   Ellen Godfrey, The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023, phone: 212-799-33100, email:  egodfrey@metopera.org.

Q:  Will KRVS continue to broadcast Opera?
A:  Yes.  “Monday Night at the Opera”, starting at 7:00 P.M., will become a standard feature of our program schedule.  Programming will initially present NPR’s World of Opera.  We also have the ability to air the Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, The Chicago Lyric Opera and The Houston Grand Opera.

Q:  What will replace the Opera on Saturday?
A:  After years of receiving  requests to extend and continue “Louisiana Music”, Saturday programming will recognizes our own Grammy winning artists, such as Terrence Simien and Michael Doucet  avec Beausoleil, as well as a range of young roots musicians like Fuefollet, The Lost Bayou Ramblers, Cedric Watson and others playing traditional Cajun, Rhythm and Blues, Zydeco, Swamp-pop, Jazz and Blues.

Q.  Is the Metropolitan Opera available elsewhere?
A:  Yes.  The Met provides a live stream of their performances “on-line” and also has a vast presence on the newly merged XM and SIRIUS satellite radio services.  (Attached list)

CELEBRATE THE MET'S 2008-2009 SEASON on Metropolitan Opera Radio.  This service features every season premiere. Tune in for six new productions, including the Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic, 18 revivals and the season grand finale — Wagner's epic 'Ring Cycle' conducted by Music Director James Levine.

SIRIUS Channel 78:  Metropolitan Opera Radio: 7 days per week, 24 hour commercial free. The service offers up to four live broadcasts weekly during the season as well as an amazing collection of live recordings, newly restored and re-mastered, from The  Met's radio broadcast library. Live Performances from The Met, plus gems from the company’s broadcast archives, 24 hours/day, and commercial free.  Enjoy historic Met performances from our vast archives every day and encore presentations of the 2007­-08 season's highlights every Friday night on SIRIUS Channel 78.

 WWW.OPERAINFO.ORG

THE MET PLAYER:  (7 day free trial)

·         13           HD Metropolitan Opera Videos

·         37          Met Opera Television Performances

·         120         Radio Broadcasts

THE MET ON RECORD

Sundays 9 pm ET

·        Experience the thrill of opera beyond the live and archival broadcasts featured each day on Met Opera Radio. Tune in every Sunday night at 9:00 pm ET as we spotlight one of the many complete opera studio recordings made by the Metropolitan Opera throughout its history.

The Metropolitan Opera:   7 days per week:  XM Channel 79
www.fathomevents.com:  Metropolitan Opera Live “On Screen”

Ten matinees and one evening performance will be broadcast live from the Met stage into select movie theaters.  The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD series is made possible by a grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation.

TO CONTACT KRVS:

E-Mail:  krvs@louisiana.edu

KRVS Met Comments:
BOX 42171
LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA 70503