KZTV(TV) Corpus Christi and co-owned KVTV(TV) Laredo, both Texas CBS
affiliates, have decided not to air that network's two-part biopic, Hitler:
The Rise of Evil, scheduled to air Sunday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 20.
Dale Remy, general manager of both stations, said that after getting a dozen
or so complaints from viewers, including "community leaders," he decided that
"at the end of the day, we didn't think it was something that was going to
benefit our audience or our station."
He added, "The potential downside of humanizing this character in a world
where Nazism is still real scares me a little."
For the record, Remy said, "I did not tell CBS I would not air it," nor did
he think it was something people shouldn't see at all.
Instead, he added, he offered to air the show in late-night, but the network
declined.
In place of the two-part miniseries, Remy will air theatricals Superman
III and Naked Gun 2 and 1/2, which he had to pick up from Paramount Pictures
since he didn't have a movie library on hand.
Remy thinks the move may cost him money, and potentially ratings, but he said
the money issue "was no reason to run or not run something that was problematic
from a content standpoint."
CBS has received both complaints and praise for slating its showcase sweeps
mini about Hitler's rise to power.
Corpus Christi viewers will still have a chance to see it, however, since it
has been picked up there by low-power UPN affiliate KTOV-LP.
CBS said it knew of no other affiliates that had declined to carry the show.
KVTV is not to be confused with KTVT Fort Worth, Texas, which is owned by CBS.
