Messiah, a new BYU-produced show, takes viewers to the Christus in Denmark’s Vor Frue Kirke.
BYU Television is getting a facelift. The channel, now in its 10th year, was rebranded and infused with a slate of new programs in January—programs meant to compete with primetime television—and more new programs will be added in the coming months.
“Viewers will see an immediate and noticeable difference,” says Derek A. Marquis (BA ’88), managing director of BYU Broadcasting.
For starters, the channel has a new slogan: “See the Good in the World.” “We want our audience to see the good. . . . That’s at the center of our programming values,” says Marquis. Viewers are invited to send in photographs or short videos that demonstrate the good they see in the world—the images and videos will be used as interstitials, or branding spots, for the channel.
While the channel will still connect viewers to BYU with programming that reveals campus and strengthens members of the Church, much of the new content is meant to appeal to an audience beyond the university and the Church community. BYU Television reaches 50 million homes, and broadcasting administrators hope to make the channel a “safe haven” for individuals of any faith, with programming that instructs, entertains, and upholds shared values.
BYU Television is also moving toward a predictable program schedule that will take shape over the next several months; for example, Tuesday nights will feature BYU performances, and Friday nights will be family-movie night. One of the first family movies will be the TV premiere of Forever Strong, the story of a troubled youth whose life changes after playing rugby for Coach D. Larry Gelwix (BA ’74).
In addition to family-friendly movies, look for the following new programs on BYU Television in January or February:
Liz Edmunds
The Food Nanny
Author and Internet personality Liz Edmunds transforms dinnertime with new recipes and tips on getting the family to the dinner table. Airs Thursday nights.
More at thefoodnanny.com
The Generations Project
Individuals searching for their roots are featured in this new, BYU-produced reality series. Join them as they make life-changing discoveries about their ancestors and about themselves. Airs Monday nights.
More at byub.org/thegenerationsproject
Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God
At a time when many see Christ as a historical or purely figurative being, this seven-part series affirms His divinity. Filmed in conjunction with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, BYU and other LDS scholars travel to the heart of the Holy Land to answer questions about who Christ was, and who He is. Airs Sunday nights.
More at messiah.byu.edu
Wind at My Back
Never before aired in the United States, this series by Canadian producer Kevin Sullivan, who is best known for his Anne of Green Gablesfilms, follows the Bailey family as it pulls itself together, fatherless, in the midst of the Great Depression. Airs Friday and Sunday nights.
More at windatmy-back.com
Iris
This collection of documentaries captures the good in the world, such as the story of a small Texas town that learns to forgive after a 4-year-old girl is killed in a hit-and-run accident by an elderly man in the community. Airs Monday and Thursday nights.
Coming to BYU Television later in 2010: The Work and the Glory films, Brainiacs, a Saturday-morning children’s block, a series that goes behind the scenes with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and What’s Your Story, a series that enters America’s top storytelling circuits and helps viewers build a tradition of passing on family stories.
Find shows and times at byutv.org.