TV & VIDEO - March 22, 1989

PBS stations are making the final tallies on their March pledge drives that ended last weekend. As of Tuesday, KCET Channel 28 had posted $1,565,070 in pledges from 30,214 subscribers. While that amount was not a record, the station did set a ratings record during the 17-day pledge drive. “Stand and Deliver,” a fact-based drama starring Edward James Olmos as a math teacher who motivated his East Los Angeles students, became the highest-rated program ever broadcast by KCET during a pledge drive, and the second highest rated overall in the station’s history. It posted a 10.3 Nielsen rating, bested only by a National Geographic special, “Land of the Tiger,” a non-pledge program aired in 1985. In San Diego, KPBS Channel 15 took in $390,285.50 during its March 1-19 pledge drive. In Orange County, KOCE Channel 50 received $180,000. Pledge time returns in August. Stay tuned.