4 ms·

Seriously, especially since it's funded with tax money. I watched a good amount of PBS when I was younger since we couldn't afford cable. This should be availab

Seriously, especially since it's funded with tax money. I watched a good amount of PBS when I was younger since we couldn't afford cable. This should be available free online through a government maintained portal.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Contact your representative to ensure PBS has the necessary funding to do so. They are working on over the top streaming [1]. PBS could not afford Sesame Street, which is why it's on HBO now [2]. Disclaimer: Staunch supporter of PBS and other public broadcasting (streaming now I guess?) [1] https://current.org/2018/06/pbs-and-stations-working-on-first-skinny-bundle-ott-agreement/ https://current.org/2018/06/pbs-and-stations-working-on-firs... [2] https://www.vox.com/2015/8/13/9149091/sesame-street-hbo-pbs https://www.vox.com/2015/8/13/9149091/sesame-street-hbo-pbs
timthorn 8y ago
Some content is developed as a co-production with other broadcasters, so the rights will be complicated by that.
maverick5 8y ago
Only ~20% comes from tax money. The rest is provided by CPB and private sources. If you don't want it to turn into another corporate-captured YouTube, viewer-subscriber model is the only way to go.
- bbatha 8y ago
  Or you could increase the portion that comes from tax money, a model proven successfully in dozens of countries.
  - hedora 8y ago
    That’s hard. They have a lot of educational programs, and, at least in the US, that implies a liberal bias.
- lkbm 8y ago
  Wikipedia says of CPB: "The CPB's annual budget is composed almost entirely of an annual appropriation from Congress plus interest on those funds."[0] So that portion should still be considered tax revenue. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadcasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadca...
- fuzzybeard 8y ago
  They should be more honest about their other funding sources. They accept advertising, but couch it as "underwriting".
0815test 8y ago
PBS may be "funded with tax money", but apparently the funding doesn't go far enough as to allow for complete independence. It's a common story, that also explains why crowdfunded video projects have been mostly a failure - but I do wonder how the costs can be so high, when so many people publish self-made videos on social media sites for no payment at all other than some pretty nominal "monetization" revenues.

toomuchtodo 8y ago

Contact your representative to ensure PBS has the necessary funding to do so. They are working on over the top streaming [1]. PBS could not afford Sesame Street, which is why it's on HBO now [2]. Disclaimer: Staunch supporter of PBS and other public broadcasting (streaming now I guess?) [1] https://current.org/2018/06/pbs-and-stations-working-on-first-skinny-bundle-ott-agreement/ https://current.org/2018/06/pbs-and-stations-working-on-firs... [2] https://www.vox.com/2015/8/13/9149091/sesame-street-hbo-pbs https://www.vox.com/2015/8/13/9149091/sesame-street-hbo-pbs

timthorn 8y ago

Some content is developed as a co-production with other broadcasters, so the rights will be complicated by that.

maverick5 8y ago

Only ~20% comes from tax money. The rest is provided by CPB and private sources. If you don't want it to turn into another corporate-captured YouTube, viewer-subscriber model is the only way to go.

bbatha 8y ago
Or you could increase the portion that comes from tax money, a model proven successfully in dozens of countries.
- hedora 8y ago
  That’s hard. They have a lot of educational programs, and, at least in the US, that implies a liberal bias.
lkbm 8y ago
Wikipedia says of CPB: "The CPB's annual budget is composed almost entirely of an annual appropriation from Congress plus interest on those funds."[0] So that portion should still be considered tax revenue. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadcasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadca...
fuzzybeard 8y ago
They should be more honest about their other funding sources. They accept advertising, but couch it as "underwriting".

0815test 8y ago

PBS may be "funded with tax money", but apparently the funding doesn't go far enough as to allow for complete independence. It's a common story, that also explains why crowdfunded video projects have been mostly a failure - but I do wonder how the costs can be so high, when so many people publish self-made videos on social media sites for no payment at all other than some pretty nominal "monetization" revenues.