WNET Documentary Debuts on Facebook Live

WNET New York, one of the iconic content suppliers to the Public Broadcasting Service, will be making its 1963 documentary Take This Hammer available on Facebook Live Friday at 8 p.m.

It will mark the first WNET archival content available on the live-streaming video content platform. Excerpts from the show were used in the Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro—the Oscars will be given out Feb. 26.

From the sound of it, it won’t be the last. “We are privileged to have a broad archive of noteworthy film content from throughout our 54-year history,” said WNET president Neal Shapiro in announcing the stream. "Facebook Live can serve as yet another way to broaden the channels we use to reach the public with high-quality, informative and free content.”

A station spokesperson confirmed that it is indeed not a one-off, calling it part of a strategy to integrate more of the station's content with digital platforms.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.