If you're so "free" America how come PBS has commercials?

[Dixon Carter Lee]

How 'bout that? Huh? You guys suck!

 

[red_rose]

Oh, those are to raise money so you don't have to watch commercials.

Ironic, hm?

 

[koalabear]

To help pay for Bush's tax cut.

 

[lovetoread]

They kind of make you feel guilty if you dont send money in.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Exactly! And this all started around the time the first President Bush was President and took money away from the National Endowment for the Arts forcing Public Broadcasting to look elsewhere for the 1% of their budget they used to get from the government. PBS regularly broadcasts British drama. OBVIOUSLY this is Bush's attempt to ISOLATE America from England. What's next? INVASION?

You guys suck and stuff.

 

[Moi]

...Because you need the work?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

(Well, there's that, LOL)

 

[sunstruck]

You miss pp_man don't you?

 

[Rubyfruit]

In all seriousness, shouldn't the profits from Barney marketing be more than enough to float PBS for centuries to come?

 

[lovetoread]

Those profits go to the creator doesnt it?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Seriously? PBS is in big trouble. Production costs are tremendous, and people don't give as much as they used to because they have so many other entertainment options these days. It really isn't a loss of NEA funds (although that hurt a tiny bit), it's really the apathy of the viewers.

PBS would LOVE to do without commercials, but they have no real choice.

PBS also isn't as organized, on a national level, as it ought to be. The big guys like WGBH in Boston do okay becuase they're able to produce their own material. They then sell those programs to other PBS channels, and make a great deal of money. This keeps the little guys poor, and unable to afford to produce their own content.

Ah well, there's always the Spice Channel.

 

[Moi]

Ah well, there's always the Spice Channel.

Do you need the work that badly?

 

[Rubyfruit]

I see your point, Dixon. It is a shame. I'm terribly apathetic myself.

I never understood why PBS didn't structure its deals to include profit sharing on the big hits though.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Years ago they had to be convinced to offer some of their programs for VHS sale. Finally some titles were released, but the packaging was awful and the marketing worse, and they lost a ton. Just having a good product doesn't mean you're going to make money. It's takes professional marketing. And profesisonal marketing people don't work for PBS, they work for "Showtime" or "Nike".

As for getting a piece of things like Sesame Street, they have it, but it's really not enough. TV is VERY expensive. If Paramount could live off "Star Trek" video tapes and dolls, it would, but it can't -- they've got to run ads.

 

[RhumbRunner13]

DCL......

Years ago they had to be convinced to offer some of their programs for VHS sale. Finally some titles were released, but the packaging was awful and the marketing worse, and they lost a ton. Just having a good product doesn't mean you're going to make money. It's takes professional marketing. And profesisonal marketing people don't work for PBS, they work for "Showtime" or "Nike".

As for getting a piece of things like Sesame Street, they have it, but it's really not enough. TV is VERY expensive. If Paramount could live off "Star Trek" video tapes and dolls, it would, but it can't -- they've got to run ads.

You seem to be implying that PBS isn't being run by "professional businessmen". Maybe that's the problem with not only the advertising and marketing of programs, but with the whole PBS mess!

Rhumb

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Somewhat.

I sat in a meeting with Al Jerome, president of KCET here in LA, a little while back, and I asked him about fund-raising, and commercials.

He hates their "Captain Infinity" character that sails through their breaks, but he recognizes that people flip channels so fast that you have to have a logo or character to identify yourself immediately.

He hates the commercials, and would dump them, if he could get five million a year in donations. Currently he's working on getting a couple of corporations to just give him lump sums. He's actually being pretty smart about the whole thing.

I asked him, "Why give away things like videotapes and tote bags during the pledge drives? Doesn't the production, storing and mailing of those 'prizes' cost money?" He said that they tried a pledge drive like that, and took in $7,000, about one tenth the money they made during a pledge drive with the prizes. People like little gifts.

They're learning, and trying, but it's very hard to compete in a digital, DBS world.

 

[TWB]

I would rather have PBS than the B1.

 

[TWB]

I'd rather have an estate tax
Than no PBS

 

[sunstruck]

Premiums (the tote bags and tapes and such) are a must. But if you work it right, you can get companies to donate those in exhange for underwriting or name dropping, or at least get you a price break.

My station would make no money without them. It's sad, people can't give freely, but this is the way it works.

A sweatshirt that costs us $10 to buy and approx $6 packing and shipping goes for a $50 pledge. It's not bad, but it'd be better to just get the cash. You can write it off!

 

[Rooster]

'cause we don't like things like a tv tax ..... and vans patrolling our neighborhoods ..... scanning our house for signals ... then knocking on our door to give us a ticket.

I'm taxed enough as it is

 

[Rooster]

I would rather have PBS than the B1.

PBS won't protect your rights ... or intimidate terrorist into submission with American Dominance

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

'cause we don't like things like a tv tax ..... and vans patrolling our neighborhoods ..... scanning our house for signals ... then knocking on our door to give us a ticket.

I'm taxed enough as it is

What. In. The. Fuck. Are. You. Talking. About?

Speak into the bug.

 

[Rooster]

What. In. The. Fuck. Are. You. Talking. About?

Speak into the bug.

Simple ... now pay attention ... we don't want a tv tax like in the UK for something we rarely use .... we don't want some tv police in van prowling our neighborhoods ....scanning our houses ... checking to see if we're watching tv and then bumping it up against a database to see if we've paid our taxes ......

No thank you Our government is intrusive enough as it is.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Pay attention.

What. In. The. Fuck. Are. You. Talking. About?

1) Who's talking about a TV tax?
2) What little vans are scanning houses to check if people are watching TV? Are you freakin' kidding me?
3) Who's talking about a TV tax? Anyone in this thread bring up TV taxes?
4) "PBS won't protect your rights ... or intimidate terrorist into submission with American Dominance" Who's asking it to?
5) The X-Files is NOT a documentary.

 

[RawHumor]

DCL

I looked, but I don't see the word "retarded" anywhere in this thread.

Are you Americans retarded or something?

There. That fixed it.