Horizon Moves to 5:30pm Weeknights

Eight, Arizona PBS Renames Award-Winning Public Affairs Program Arizona Horizon
To Emphasize Coverage of Statewide Issues, Especially in 2012 Election Year

PHOENIX…Dec. 6, 2011…Eight, Arizona PBS’s much-lauded public affairs program, Horizon, will debut with a new name, Arizona Horizon, on January 2, 2012, and triple its nightly access to viewers. Most important, the show will switch from its familiar time slot of 7:00 p.m. to an earlier 5:30 p.m. weeknights on Eight HD (Cox channels 8 and 1008) becoming the lead-in program for PBS NewsHour at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, Arizona Horizon will air on Eight HD at 10:00 p.m. and on Eight World (8.3 HD/Cox 88) at 7:00 p.m. Viewers also can watch the program the next day online at azpbs.org/horizon.

“Moving Horizon to 5:30 p.m. puts it smack dab in the middle of the two-hour window when viewers tune in for evening news,” said Eight’s General Manager Kelly McCullough. “By positioning Arizona Horizon in a time period when audiences are looking for news, we expect that to broaden viewership.”

Celebrating its 30-year anniversary, Horizon has developed a loyal cadre of viewers as a reliable source of thoughtful and impartial public affairs reporting. Its new time slot just prior to PBS NewsHour will offer Arizona audiences a combined 90 minutes of local/national PBS public affairs programming. PBS is the most trusted source of news and public affairs among broadcast and cable media, according to 2010 research by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media.

Recently, Horizon was named the Arizona Capitol Times’ 2011 Leader of the Year in Public Policy and also received its leadership award for covering arts and humanities statewide. In October, Horizon Host and Managing Editor Ted Simons and Executive Producer David Majure took home Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards for their work on the show. Simons also was named “Best TV Host – 2011” by Phoenix New Times.

“At a time when Arizonans are decrying a lack of civil discourse, look no further than Arizona Horizon for the nightly antidote,” McCullough said. “Its 30-year reputation for bringing opposing views together in a thoughtful and respectful debate to discuss critical Arizona issues speaks for itself. And the show’s neutral platform will take on even greater significance leading up to the fall 2012 elections.”