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RFD-TV LIVE Informs Rural America
What do you get when you mix together an hour with an
interesting topic, expert guests, a professional host, and
insightful questions from an attentive national audience
phoned in and answered “live” on the air? It’s RFD-TV
“LIVE”.
RFD-TV “LIVE” has revolutionized the ability for rural
and agricultural organizations, companies, and
government agencies to communicate directly with their
members, consumers, and interested parties, by providing
the opportunity to focus on a particular subject without
the time restraints normally associated with television
broadcasts. More importantly, viewers are given the
chance to see and hear for themselves the latest news from
that organization and/or about that product or service, all
from the comfort of their own living room, in prime time
hours. And, to ask their own questions of the expert panel
that has been assembled for the show.
“It’s the viewers that really make the program work,”
stated Mike Hansen, Executive VP for RFD
Communications, Inc. “Every guest has just been so
impressed with not only the huge volume of calls received
from all around the country during the show, but with the
quality and variety of the questions asked. This response
even continues for weeks after the program airs. People
are hungry for this important information, and RFD-TV
“LIVE” has built a bridge to connect rural folks with these
national topics like never before.”
RFD-TV “LIVE” originates for either one or two hours
from the Nashville studios on most occasions, but the
program can also be produced from remote locations as
was done for NCBA in 90-minute “Town Hall” broadcasts
from the 2004 National Cattlemen’s Convention in
Phoenix, and again from their Summer Conference in
Washington, D.C. In the past year, this format has also
been used by John Deere to educate first-time tractor
buyers and small acreage owners on “tractor buying
secrets” and “small tractor safety”, by the National Pork
Board to communicate with producers the availability of
new educational materials, another special program by
eMerge to announce and explain their electronic cattle
identification program which included sponsored guests
on the set from ADM, McDonalds Corporation, and
Superior Livestock Auction, two-hour “live” programs by
the National FFA Organization to communicate and
reconnect with members, alumni, and the general public
with the latest news from FFA and its national officers,
and by Farm Safety 4 Just Kids to enlist the organizationof new chapters from around the country, and again by
NCBA to immediately discuss the Supreme Court ruling
ofthe Beef Checkoff decision, among others.
“We saw the power and possibilities of this program
format during the BSE scare in December of 2003”, said
Patrick Gottsch, RFD-TV Founder & President. “RFD-
TV carried a number of “live” broadcasts from both the
USDA and NCBA, which updated and answered
questions from both producers and consumers daily on
the latest news about the mad cow situation. After things
settled down, many cattlemen and consumers wrote RFD-
TV to thank us all for putting out information that was
not being carried or covered by other television networks.
If we contributed even a little to reducing consumer
concerns and helping keep the cattle producer better
informed, then it was well worth the effort.”
Most shows are hosted by Orion Samuelson or Max
Armstrong, who have proven to be very popular in
connecting with the audience in this informal format,
turning it into the fastest hour of television for many of
the guests.
Mike Gustafson - Manager, Ad Creative, - John Deere
Agricultural Marketing
“We were extremely pleased with how the live shows were
handled by the RFD-TV crew. More than that, we were very
happyto see that we were reaching the right audience with the
right message. Most of the calls were from rural lifestylers, and
their questions were right on subject.
These two live shows reinforced what we thought about the
Rural Lifestyle market —they’re hungry for information and
very appreciative when they can get straight answers”.
Bill Stagg - Division Director Information Services -
National FFA Organization
“Through “FFA Live!” and RFD-TV’s extensive live
coverage of the national FFA convention, FFA is using the
power of television to connect directly with members,
alumni and educators, while introducing the mission of this
agricultural youth organization to millions of Americans.
The positive response and support received from across the
countryhavebeen overwhelming”.
Michael Wegner - Vice President/Communications -
National Pork Board
“Our most recent hour-long program on RFD-TV generatedavery positive response from smaller producers for whom
pork production is an avocation. This is a group we typically
have difficulty reaching, but they flooded our customer
service center with requests for the educational materials we
promoted on the program”.
Bill Mies - Vice President National Accounts - eMerge
Interactive Inc.
“Animal ID Roundtable was easy to set up and with the
help of the very professional production group in Nashville,
the end result was something we are proud to be a part of.
The customer reaction was very positive and is still causing
our phones to ring. We will be using this medium again in
the educational efforts on animal ID.”
Terry Stokes – Chief Executive Officer - NCBA
"NCBA has been using the live broadcasts on RFD-TV as an
information and feedback tool. The live, call-in format
allows us to effectively get feedback from producers all over the
country -- including those who may not be able to travel to
our annual meetings. Italso allows us to answer the questions
that aretop of mind for cattlemen. NCBAis a solution-
driven organization. We want to give cattlemen the
information they need to make good and profitable
management decisions."
RFD-TV plans on expanding this program into a regular
slot originating “live” on each Monday evening beginning
in September. In addition, the equine audience will also
be included at least one night a month due to the
outstanding response received by “live” test shows in the
past year with Pat & Linda Parelli, and Clinton Anderson,
with a special focus on animal health issues. And finally,
RFD-TV will once again be “LIVE” from the National
FFAConvention in Louisville, Kentucky, broadcasting
over 30 hours of coverage and taking calls from viewers
who could not attend the convention.
We invite you to tune in to the next RFD-TV “LIVE” and
be our guest. |
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Turnin' To Country |
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