By Karen Everhard Bedford

Current Newspaper - July 16, 2001 – "DBS subscribers surfing through their channel choices tend to stumble onto the subtitles and recognize it as something new," says Kim Spencer, a producer who established the channel with like-minded colleagues in independent media. "It's the quality of the documentaries that brings people back."

WorldLink TV, a digital channel that "brings the world's events, issues and cultures" to American audiences, launched in 1999 as a noncommercial, educational DBS offering. It was one of two digital channels created by public TV-related entities that year, when the FCC ordered satellite operators to set aside 4 percent of their capacity for public service programming. PBS operates the other one - PBS You - as a lifelong learning channel that combines telecourses with how-to programming.

Eighteen months later, it's iffy whether either channel can sustain itself financially. PBS's spending on PBS You will run out in late August, and the network continues to seek partners to keep it running. "We're working on several partnerships to provide a greater variety of content and to find funding," said Jinny Goldstein, senior v.p. of education. Potential partners include "more than one entity within the field."

WorldLink TV's situation may be even more precarious. It is backed almost entirely by foundations and lacks both institutional support and a solid business plan. "Our funding stream is sustainable for the moment," said Jack Willis, former president of KTCA in Twin Cities and a founding partner in Link Media, the non-profit that operates the channel. WorldLink runs on a "bare bones budget" of $3 million a year.

"Cash flow makes me very nervous," acknowledges Spencer. "We went into this not knowing how it would work out," a group of producers determined to counter the conventional wisdom that "Americans aren't interested in the rest of the world and tough issue-oriented documentaries."

"By not binding ourselves into a business plan and just taking the leap, we've had a lot of freedom, but some months I've wondered if we were going to make it."

Audience response makes Spencer optimistic that WorldLink TV eventually can develop traditional public TV revenue streams. "The key thing is to come up with something that generates strong viewership - viewers that an underwriter wants to get to - with programming that's compelling and establishes a need to be there."

On this, the channel has made some progress. A publicist called to inquire "who are you and what are you doing?" on behalf of Bill Cosby, who agreed to appear in a promo. Simpsons creator Matt Groening made a similar call after "staying up all night watching an incredible film" on WorldLink, recalls Spencer. Such responses, many coming in a flow of e-mail from regular viewers, are "what keeps us going when we have financially tough moments."

WorldLink this year started fundraising on-air, pitching world music CD's for $50 and higher-priced premium packages. Pledge programs were "not big entertainment specials" but "meaningful documentaries on everything from women's rights to the story of landmines around the world," says Willis, who programs the channel. "They were basically personal stories about heroic people who have accomplished something."

The initial programming concept for the channel was to "bring the world to America" through a combination of news, current affairs shows, documentaries, cultural programs and feature films not found elsewhere on American television, explains Willis. Popular offerings have included Karachi Kops, a documentary series about a police precinct in Pakistan; Jamaica E.R., set in the Kingston Public Hospital; and world music videos.

Last month, WorldLink enhanced its schedule by adding a daily block of documentaries curated by the Independent Television Service, another founding partner in Link Media. The ITVS material broadens the original programming concept to "American issues of interest to our audience that we can often connect to world issues," says Willis.

Father Roy: Inside the School of Assassins - one of nine ITVS documentaries in the new package - deals with human rights abuses committed in Latin America, and Struggles in Steel documents the labor struggles of African-American steel workers. In addition to ITVS-funded programs, acquisitions for Kartemquin Films, Global-Vision, other indies and the BBC add internationalist content to the block. Neil Sieling, former executive director of Alive From Off Center, programmed the block under contract with ITVS, working with Willis and David Liu, chief of program development for ITVS.

"One of the driving forces behind ITVS's involvement in WorldLink was to secure new broadcast platforms for American independent media," says Judy Tam, acting executive director. "We're very pleased to see these programs showcased on this venue to ensure that they reach new audiences for greater impact."

ITVS shows may get "one shot on PBS" or secure slots "scattered around in stations' local schedules," comments Spencer. "This gives them the opportunity for nationwide impact over multiple broadcasts." Over the course of a year, 1 million viewers will have seen each of the documentaries in the block, he estimates.

WorldLink is eyeing other digital distribution possibilities. A proposal to deliver a program strand to smaller public TV stations in overlap markets is pending at the Ford Foundation, according to Willis. If funded, WorldLink would test the strand in two markets, then broaden distribution depending on its appeal. WYBE in Philadelphia has already signed on for the test; the other station has yet to be identified.

"What we're offering is a program strand that's not available on PBS's main service," says Spencer. "We see ourselves as a public service and complementary, and we'd like to position ourselves as part of public television."