DirecTV to air Los Angeles Times documentaries

Expanding further into video storytelling, the Los Angeles Times has created a new business venture producing documentaries that explore social issues.

The series, called Los Angeles Times Documentaries, will air exclusively on DirecTV’s Audience Network channel. The channel is available to 20 million DirecTV subscribers nationwide.

The first program in the series, “A Soldier’s Wife,” is scheduled to debut on the channel Sept. 13.

The documentary was developed through more than a year of reporting by a Times reporter and a Times photographer. First published last year, the article chronicled the return from Iraq of a U.S. soldier who brought the war home to his wife and family in Orange County.

The documentaries are expected to be 20 minutes to 30 minutes long.

“Our relationship with the L.A. Times allows DirecTV access to exceptional content,” said Chris Long, the satellite TV provider’s senior vice president for original content and production.

The documentaries are expected to be the first phase of The Times’ accelerated push into video journalism with short- and long-form programs produced under the banner Los Angeles Times Originals.

Terms of the DirecTV arrangement were not disclosed.

The documentaries will run exclusively on DirecTV’s Audience Network for 90 days. The channel currently offers documentaries, concert specials and movies.