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The Public Broadcasting Service, also known as PBS is unlike a lot of American broadcasting television services. Despite being able to make a huge profit, they choose to be a non-profit organization, serving Americans day in, day out. In fact, this is not a singular operation as around 354 TV stations throughout the United States have a shared ownership of the service. This being said, the funds all come from one main source, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Based in Arlington, Virginia, PBS is one of the biggest and well known providers to US public television stations. It allows stations to get their pick of programming, including the likes of PBS NewsHour, Masterpiece, and Frontline. Many more programs have been released over the years.
Over the years, the content has differed, but the general format of the content has remained the same. Some people do wonder how the service is still going, well this is extremely simple. Polls have suggested that this is consistently one of the most trusted institutions in the whole of America thanks to its success and honesty over the years.
It is important that people do not assume that all the content brought to public TV stations is the work of PBC though. In reality, they can not fill the needs of all channels, so usually the majority of content for a station will come from elsewhere. When looking for third party content, most channels and stations will lean towards the likes of American Public Television, NETA and WTTW National Productions. Of course, there are a lot of producers who work alone who can also offer some original content.
PBS is not a company in its own right. It also has a subsidiary which is labeled the NDI, or in other words, the National Datacast. This is a corporation that offers the likes of data casting services. These services are of course only available to its members that are TV stations. Basically, this service not only helps PBS earn additional revenue, but it also allows its members to do the same as well.
PBS was originally created back on Obtober 5, 1970. The function of PBS as a whole was quite clear, especially as a similar operation had already been in place previously. The NET, also known as the National Educational Television was in place previously but later merged with WNDT, which of course created WNET. Following these events, they eventually partnered with Educational Television Stations after a rough year in 1973.
One thing is for sure, commercial television networks work on a totally different basis to PBS. Affiliates of these commercialized networks will exchange part of their advertising time, in return for network programming. Whilst they lose revenue they could have earned from advertising, they save money they would have needed to create the programs in the first place. PBS run their show slightly differently, charging members for shows that are acquired by their organization. It works a lot better for both parties in comparison to commercial networks.
What this does mean is better value for money and an entry place to market for smaller TV stations. It gives them a chance to focus their efforts on promoting their channel and network and an opportunity to get greater coverage in local markets in comparison to competitors. Of course, this does create a slight problem in the industry. The reality is local channels want to preserve their market share, where as PBS are looking to create a regional line up, that could be recognized on a national basis.
National Public Radio also linked to PBS. That being said, they actually have a program that centralizes the company, not to mention a huge news department. Of course, whilst it would be ideal that PBS had the same, they simply do not.
Whilst PBS is a not for profit organization, this does not necessarily mean that all the stations under their guidance are. That being said, many of the stations are run by other non-profit organizations. Take a few examples such as local authorities, educational boards and even universities. Another thing to mention is that PBS does not retain ownership of any of the stations that use its content. This is a combination of licensing issues and the corporation format.
PBS does come under plenty of criticism, as some suggest they are simply devaluing the market for others that are involved. Critics across the globe realize that this structure does work, but they feel that they are not doing the TV industry any favors in the long run.
Some critics have suggested that there should just be one PBS member per state. PBS simply does not agree, saying that it could become extremely controversial and creating a monopoly in an area is more unfair than what they are currently doing. Being community connected and not for profit is what they are all about and they aim to stay this way.
If any critics were against the PBS organizational structure as a whole, then their views would be unheard after 1994. An industry media piece called the Chronicle of Philanthropy released some important results for a recent study. The study, which was produced thanks to Nye Lavalle & Associates showed the top 100 charities or non-profit organizations in America. Of course, PBS ranked well, in 11th, with nearly 40% suggesting they "Love" or "Like a lot" PBS.
After the popularity rating that showed just how popular they really were, PBS started a campaign to show viewers exactly what they were made of. They went on to sign up for the Nielsen ratings for TV networks and channels in December, 2009.
After all of these years PBS is still going strong. Critics will continue to criticize their operation, but will fail to make an impact. The reality is that facts speak a lot louder than words. With ratings and popularity slowly increasing, there is no reason why PBS could not snowball and become a lot bigger than they already are.
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