PBS

PBS

Type	Broadcast television network
Country	United States
Availability	Nationwide
Slogan	Be more
Headquarters	2100 Crystal Drive Arlington, VA 22202
Key people	Paula Kerger, President and CEO[1]
Launch date	October 5, 1970 (1970-10-05)
Former names	National Educational Television (1952 (1952)–1970 (1970))
Picture format	480i (16:9 SDTV) 720p 1080i (HDTV)
Official website	www.pbs.org

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television network in the United States, with 354 member television stations which hold collective ownership.^[2] Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.

PBS is the most prominent provider of television programs to U.S. public television stations, distributing series such as Sesame Street, PBS NewsHour, Masterpiece, and Frontline. Since the mid-2000s, Roper polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as America's most-trusted national institution.^[3] However, PBS is not responsible for all programming carried on public TV stations; in fact, stations usually receive a large portion of their content (including most pledge drive specials) from third-party sources, such as American Public Television, NETA, WTTW National Productions and independent producers. This distinction is a frequent source of viewer confusion.^[4]

PBS also has a subsidiary called National Datacast (NDI), which offers datacasting services via member stations. This helps PBS and its member stations earn extra revenue.

Overview

PBS logo from 1971 to 1984

PBS was founded on October 5, 1970, at which time it took over many of the functions of its predecessor, National Educational Television (NET), which later merged with station WNDT, Newark, New Jersey, to form WNET.^[5] In 1973, it merged with Educational Television Stations.^[6]

Unlike the model of America's commercial broadcasting television networks, in which affiliates give up portions of their local advertising airtime in exchange for network programming, PBS member stations pay fees for the shows acquired and distributed by the national organization.

This relationship means that PBS member stations have greater latitude in local scheduling than their commercial broadcasting counterparts. Scheduling of PBS-distributed series may vary greatly from market to market. This can be a source of tension as stations seek to preserve their localism, and PBS strives to market a consistent national line-up. However, PBS has a policy of "common carriage" requiring most stations to clear the national prime-time programs on a common broadcast programming schedule, so that they can be more effectively marketed on a national basis.

Unlike its radio counterpart, National Public Radio, PBS has no central program production arm or news department. All of the programming carried by PBS, whether news, documentary, or entertainment, is created by (or in most cases produced under contract with) other parties, such as individual member stations. WGBH in Boston is one of the largest producers of educational television programming, including American Experience, Masterpiece Theater, Nova, Antiques Roadshow and Frontline, as well as many other children's and lifestyle shows. News programs are produced by WETA-TV (PBS Newshour) in Washington, D.C., WNET in New York and WPBT in Miami. The Charlie Rose interview show, Secrets of the Dead, NOW on PBS, Nature, and Cyberchase come from or through WNET in New York. Once a program is offered to, and accepted by, PBS for distribution, PBS (and not the member station that supplied the program) retains exclusive rights for rebroadcasts during the period for which such rights were granted; the suppliers do maintain the right to sell the program in non-broadcast media such as DVDs, books, and sometimes PBS licensed merchandise (but sometimes grant such ancillary rights as well to PBS).

PBS stations are commonly operated by non-profit organizations, state agencies, local authorities (e.g., municipal boards of education), or universities in their city of license. In some U.S. states, PBS stations throughout the entire state may be organized into a single regional "subnetwork" called a state network (e.g., Alabama Public Television). Unlike public broadcasters in most other countries, PBS does not own any of the stations that broadcast its programming (i.e., there are no PBS owned-and-operated stations (O&O) anywhere in the country). This is partly due to the origins of the PBS stations themselves, and partly due to historical broadcast license issues.

In the modern broadcast marketplace, this organizational structure is considered outmoded by some media critics. A common restructuring proposal is to reorganize the network so that each state would have one PBS member which would broadcast state-wide. However, this proposal is controversial, as it would reduce local community input into PBS programming, especially considering how PBS stations are significantly more community-oriented, according to the argument, than their commercial broadcasting counterparts.

In 1994, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, an industry publication, released the results of the largest study of charitable and non-profit organization popularity and credibility. The study showed that PBS was ranked as the 11th "most popular charity/non-profit in America" from over 100 charities researched, with 38.2% of Americans over the age of 12 choosing "love" and "like a lot" for PBS.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In December 2009, PBS signed up for the Nielsen ratings audience measurement reports for the first time.^[11]

From the beginning of 2011, KCET ceased to be part of PBS.

Programming

PBS stations are known for rebroadcasting British television costume dramas and comedies (acquired from the BBC and other sources); consequently, it has been joked that PBS means "Primarily British Series". However, a significant amount of sharing takes place. The BBC and British broadcasters such as Channel 4 often cooperate with PBS stations, producing material that is shown on both sides of the Atlantic. Less frequently, Canadian, Australian, and other international programming appears on PBS stations (such as The Red Green Show, currently distributed by syndicator Executive Program Services); the public broadcasting syndicators are more likely to offer this programming to the U.S. public stations. PBS is also known for broadcasting British comedy and science fiction programs such as 'Allo 'Allo!, Are You Being Served?, The Benny Hill Show, Doctor Who, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers, Harry Enfield and Chums, Keeping Up Appearances, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Mr. Bean and Red Dwarf.

PBS is not the only distributor of public television programming to the member stations. Other distributors have emerged from the roots of the old companies that had loosely held regional public television stations in the 1960s. Boston-based American Public Television (former names include Eastern Educational Network and American Program Service) is second only to PBS for distributing programs to U.S. non-commercial stations. Another distributor is NETA (formerly SECA), whose properties have included The Shapies and Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art. In addition, the member stations themselves also produce a variety of local shows, some of which subsequently receive national distribution through PBS or the other distributors.

Rerun programming is generally uncommon on PBS or its affiliates, with some exceptions. The Lawrence Welk Show has run continuously in reruns on PBS (through the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority) almost every weekend since 1986. Other reruns are generally from past PBS series whose hosts have retired or died (for instance, The Joy of Painting and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood).

Primetime

• Fine arts (Great Performances)
• Drama (Masterpiece, Downton Abbey)
• Science (Nova, Nature)
• History (American Experience, American Masters, History Detectives, Antiques Roadshow)
• Music (Austin City Limits)
• Public affairs (Frontline, PBS NewsHour, Washington Week)
• Independent film (P.O.V., Independent Lens)
• Home Improvement (This Old House)
• Interviews (Charlie Rose, Tavis Smiley)

PBS Kids

Founded in 1993, PBS Kids is the brand for children's programming aired by PBS in the United States. The PBS Kids network, which was established in 1999 and ran for seven years, was largely funded by DirecTV. The channel ceased operation on October 1, 2005, in favor of a new joint commercial venture, PBS Kids Sprout. However, the original programming block still exists on PBS.

PBS Kids has imported British children's series from the BBC and ITV (for example, Tots TV, Teletubbies, Boohbah, and Thomas the Tank Engine), as well as children's shows from Canada (i.e., The Big Comfy Couch, Theodore Tugboat, Wimzie's House and Polka Dot Door). On June 4, 2007, their first imported Australian children's TV series debuted on PBS – Raggs. Some of the programs subsequently moved to commercial television (for example, Ghostwriter, and The Magic School Bus).

Big Bird of Sesame Street

Sports

Many PBS member stations, including Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Nebraska Educational Television, and WKYU, locally broadcast high school and college sports. From the 1980s onward, the national PBS network has not typically carried sporting events, mainly because the cost of most sports broadcast rights have become prohibitive in that time frame, especially for nonprofits with limited revenue potential.

From 1976 to 1988, KQED produced a series of Bundesliga matches as Soccer Made in Germany, with Toby Charles announcing. PBS also carried tennis events,^[12] as well as Ivy League football. Notable football commentators included Upton Bell, Marty Glickman, Bob Casciola, Brian Dowling, Sean McDonough, and Jack Corrigan.^[13] Other sports programs included interview series such as The Way It Was and The Sporting Life.^[14]

Participating stations

Most PBS member stations have produced at least some nationally distributed programs. Current regularly scheduled programming on the PBS national feed is produced by a smaller group of stations, including:

PBS networks

PBS has spun-off a number of its TV networks, often in partnership with other media companies. PBS YOU was offered until January 2006, and largely succeeded by American Public Television's Create; PBS Kids was replaced with PBS KIDS Sprout at the start of October 2005. PBS World started operations in 2007 as PBS service, but is now managed by American Public Television.

PBS has also restructured its satellite feed system, simplifying PBS-DT2 into an western timeshift feed, rather than a high-definition complement to its formerly primary SD feed. A proposed network, PBS Kids GO! was cancelled in 2006.

Some or all are available on many digital cable systems, on free-to-air (FTA) TV via communications satellites,^[15] as well as via direct broadcast satellite. With the transition to terrestrial digital television broadcasts, many are also often now available as "multiplexed" (multicasting) channels on some local stations' standard-definition digital signals, while DT2 is found among the HD signals. PBS Kids announced that they will have an early-morning Miss Lori and Hooper block with four PBS Kids shows usually around 08:00. With the absence of advertising, network identification on these PBS networks were limited to utilization at the end of the program, which includes the standard series of bumpers from the "Be More" campaign.

Independent networks

While not operated or controlled by PBS proper, additional public broadcasting networks are available and carried by PBS member stations.

Channel	Programming	Origin
Create	Educational and artistic programming	American Public TV
MHz WorldView	Ethnic programming	MHz
V-me	Spanish language	WNET
World	News and documentaries	American Public TV
The Florida Channel	Regional interest	WFSU-TV
Minnesota Channel	Regional interest	TPT
The Ohio Channel	Regional interest	WVIZ

From 2002 to 2011, WNED-TV produced ThinkBright TV, carried on several stations in upstate New York.

A separate but related concept is the state network, where a group of stations across a state simulcast a single programming schedule from a central facility, which may include specialty digital subchannels unique to that broadcaster.

Criticism and controversy

On-the-air fundraising

Since 53% to 60% of public television's revenues come from private membership donations and grants,^[16] most stations solicit individual donations by methods including fundraising, pledge drives or telethons which can disrupt regularly scheduled programming. Some viewers find this a source of annoyance since normal programming is often replaced with specials aimed at a wider audience to solicit new members and §edonations.^[17] Commercials from business donors are aired which seems to contradict the non-profit purpose of the network.

Accusations of political/ideological bias

• A 1982 broadcast of the United States Information Agency program Let Poland be Poland about the martial law declared in Poland in 1981 was widely viewed in the U.S., but met with skepticism on the part of European broadcasters due to concerns that the show, "provocative and anticommunist," was intended as propaganda.^[18][19]

• Individual programs have been the targets of organized campaigns by individuals and groups with opposing views, including former United States Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.^[20]

• Bill Moyers resigned in 2005 after more than three decades as a PBS regular, citing political pressure to alter the content of his program and saying Chairman of the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Kenneth Tomlinson had mounted a "vendetta" against him.^[21] Moyers eventually returned to host Bill Moyers Journal, after Tomlinson resigned. Subsequently, PBS made room temporarily for conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, formerly of MSNBC and co-host of CNN's Crossfire, and The Journal Editorial Report with Paul Gigot, an editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page (this show has since moved to Fox News Channel) to partially balance out the perceived left-leaning PBS shows.^[22] On November 3, 2005, CPB announced the resignation of Tomlinson amid investigations of improper financial dealings with consultants.^[22]

See also

References

Further reading

• B.J. Bullert, Public Television: Politics and the Battle over Documentary Film, Rutgers Univ Press 1997
• Barry Dornfeld, Producing Public Television, Producing Public Culture, Princeton University Press 1998
• Ralph Engelman, Public Radio and Television in America: A Political History, Sage Publications 1996
• James Ledbetter, Made Possible by: The Death of Public Broadcasting in the United States, Verso 1998

External links

• Official website
• PBS "Red Book" (presentation guidelines for PBS programming)
• Video interview with PBS President Paula Kerger
• Current, the newspaper about public TV and radio in the United States
• PBS on Facebook
• PBS on Google+
• PBS on Twitter
• PBS's channel on YouTube