PBS TO LOSE KCET AFFILIATE?

[dave73]

Then west of the western suburbs of Chicago, wasn't there once a non-commercial allocation allocated to DeKalb (presumably in the hopes that NIU would be interested)? If so, if it had made it on the air, I would think (despite different DMAs) that the DeKalb non-commercial allotment likely would have served as the de facto PBS station for Rockford (which lacks its own PBS station and must rely on WHA Madison and WTTW via cable). In addition, IIRC this was discussed a few years ago on this board, but didn't Freeport have a non-comm allocation at one time?

After looking up in an old online edition of Broadcasting Cable (1981 edition) found on davidgleason.com, Dekalb had an allocation for channel 33, but it was a commercial license. So there would have been fewer restrictions on that channel than what 11, 20, & 56 were given (now for DT, 17, 21, & 47). I know that the Rockford market did have a non-commercial allocation on channel 65, licensed to Freeport. That never went on the air. I believe by now that both of those channel allocations were deleted (I could be wrong).

 

[KeithE4]

After looking up in an old online edition of Broadcasting Cable (1981 edition) found on davidgleason.com, Dekalb had an allocation for channel 33, but it was a commercial license. So there would have been fewer restrictions on that channel than what 11, 20, & 56 were given (now for DT, 17, 21, & 47). I know that the Rockford market did have a non-commercial allocation on channel 65, licensed to Freeport. That never went on the air. I believe by now that both of those channel allocations were deleted (I could be wrong).

IIRC, DeKalb had two allocations: 33 and 48, with the latter being noncommercial. I thought NIU had applied for 48 back in the mid or late '70s, but nothing ever came of it. I don't think anyone had ever applied for Freeport's channel 65.

 

[MarcB]

Channel 48 in Worcester, Mass was allotted for non-commercial use. It sat dormant until WYDN a religious station signed on in the late 90s. It runs programming from Daystar.

 

[FreddyE1977]

1. get rid of the government funding. You heard me. Get rid of it. That money has always come with political trouble attached. Getting rid of it will allow PBS to free itself to do what it wants. It just needs to replace the revenue with something else. (brings me to point 2)

Agreed! As is stands right now, every time some PBS program expresses a political point of view, it is seen as using
taxpayer money to subsidize that viewpoint over the opposition. It's a lose-lose scenario.

 

[dave73]

After looking up in an old online edition of Broadcasting Cable (1981 edition) found on davidgleason.com, Dekalb had an allocation for channel 33, but it was a commercial license. So there would have been fewer restrictions on that channel than what 11, 20, & 56 were given (now for DT, 17, 21, & 47). I know that the Rockford market did have a non-commercial allocation on channel 65, licensed to Freeport. That never went on the air. I believe by now that both of those channel allocations were deleted (I could be wrong).

IIRC, DeKalb had two allocations: 33 and 48, with the latter being noncommercial. I thought NIU had applied for 48 back in the mid or late '70s, but nothing ever came of it. I don't think anyone had ever applied for Freeport's channel 65.

I looked at the allocations, based on the Broadcasting Cable guides on the davidgleason.com websites. For Dekalb Illinois, 48 was originally allocated non-commercial use. By 1981, 48 was replaced with commercial allocation 33, but by 1983, 33 was changed to non-commercial use. So all along, DeKalb was only given 1 channel. I would be surprised if the allocation is still available, but wouldn't be for 33 anymore. I don't see that being used as long it remains allocated to non-commercial use, unless the FCC allows a religious station on that channel.

 

[Carmine5]

I wonder why this hasn't been touch on much on these boards, or the LA TV boards
but the PBS affiliate in LA, KCET, is threatening removing PBS programming to avoid
dues or merging with the other LA area affiliates (KOCE, KVCR, KLCS)

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-onthemedia-20100807,0,173764.column

Is public television finally dying in front of our eyes?

It was being discussed on the LA TV board. The latest is that PBS has been in meetings with KCET to keep it an affiliate.

KCET needs to trim the fat, in this case slashing the excessive salaries of management. There are eight administrative staff on the payroll who are making over 200K a year with the president of KCET making over 300K. In this day of high unemployment there is a surfeit of qualified people who will work for half that.

They can save $900,000 to a million dollars right there. c5

 

[TheBigA]

KCET needs to trim the fat, in this case slashing the excessive salaries of management.

This was once a producing TV station for PBS. There's really no reason why it isn't to the degree it was in the old days. They had Carl Sagan and a few other big shows. Now they do a few kid shows and some specials. I don't know how you can have a modern facility in LA and not attract producers with good ideas. Instead, they still go to Boston and New York. KCET doesn't only need to trim the fat. They need someone who knows the producing community and can attract a new big show for the national service. So yes, clean house, get rid of the fat, and bring in a well connected program development person who can create a new show. That's about all it takes. Boom!

 

[Robnoxious]

The KCET studios are still being used, cept that most of the productions are game shows for GSN.

It seems like all the Southland PBSs (minus KLCS which doesn't beg for support since it's getting funded by LA Unified School District) have been in perpetual Beg Mode for the past 2 years and all that does is cut into the programming I usually watch. Do we all need to see Suze Orman and The Piano Guy and Victor Borge (whom I love) another 35 times before the year is up?

 

[TheBigA]

The KCET studios are still being used, cept that most of the productions are game shows for GSN.

I understand...that keeps the staff working, pays for the utilities, but that's it.

If they had just one centerpiece national show, like Nova or Great Performances, they'd have something to build an endowment around.

 

[flytrap]

My PBS station started running beg a thon during the christmas holiday and preempting the regular programming of christmas specials and concerts that I always enjoyed watching. I missed several shows I was really looking forward too just so they could play the same old worn out beg a thon tapes they play nearly every month. They need to run regular PBS programming and let them beg during the station breaks. Or at least get some new beg a thon specials and quit running the same ones over and over.

 

[Markxxx]

Actually the Kankakee allocation made sense at the time. The south suburbs of Chicago was where all the growth was predicted. Park Forest South, now University Park was planned for 150,000 people, a four year college and two hospitals.

Today it has only around 6,600 people.

But the south suburbs tanked. And these allocations should've been adjusted.

WTTW and WYCC had excellent reasons to keep WYIN off of Sears. WYIN would've paid far less for shows than either station but have gotten similar coverage. It was a matter of being fair.

I think WYIN provides a local slant to TV that is sorely missing. I would hate to see it go, but the population it serves, just isn't affluent enough to make it bigger. I wish other stations would put on at least some genuine local contact to their cities of license. Aurora, Gary, Joliet are big enough cities to warrent some sort of, at least, weekly local program.

I would hate to think PBS stations will just turn into one big rely "network" of programs operated at a switch in NYC or some other big city.

 

[TheBigA]

They need to run regular PBS programming and let them beg during the station breaks.

That's been done. Doesn't work very well. First of all, the reular shows aren't built with pledge breaks. Second the tune-in for specials is stronger than for regular programs. The specials create excitement, which leads to more giving. It's about motivating giving, and that's harder to do with regular programs. If you think people resent beg-athons, imagine how they feel when their favorite show is interrupted. Not the best way to ask for money.

The specials are expensive to create, especially the music shows. They involve rights payments and other costs. The DVDs they sell don't make as much money. PBS has been cutting back on those lately, and instead doing the Dr. Amen self-help shows. They're much cheaper, and involve more items for premiums.

 

[recto101]

Sorry to KCET Go Its like KCSM in San Francisco they switched to independent non-profit from PBS Recently. I used to watch KCSM because they had better PBS shows some of the time than KQED (The PBS in San Fran). Also they had better instructional shows before KCSM, KQED and KTEH started to air more Self Help Infomercials like CNBC financial experts and Live longer health during pledge drives. I only watch PBS for NewsHour, BBC News, Nova, and Nature. I remember KQED used to have better kids shows back in the 1980's and 1990's.

 

[mjlarochelle]

We've seen PBS stations become non-commercial independent stations, but how many PBS stations have became commercial stations? I'm aware of at least one - WNEQ/23 in Buffalo, NY signed on in 1987 as a second PBS affiliate owned by the same organization as WNED/17. WNEQ only broadcast a few hours a day, showing stuff that didn't fit on the WNED schedule - and yet it got cable carriage in a few cities across the border in Ontario. WNEQ was sold to LIN Television, owner of WIVB/4 in 2001 and it became WNLO, first an independent, later UPN and now CW.

The only other remotely close situation like this I can think of was Channel 10 in East Lansing, MI where an NET station shared time with commercial station WILX in Jackson. The NET station eventually moved to Channel 23 as WKAR leaving Channel 10 as an exclusively commercial station.

 

[fybush]

WMHQ/WMHX 45 in Schenectady/Albany NY was a similar situation to WNEQ. It was a secondary station to primary PBS outlet WMHT, and was sold off to go commercial. It's now WCWN, the CW affiliate, and a sister station to CBS affiliate WRGB.

(Actually, it went back to commercial operation - 45 had been indie WUSV before WMHT bought it.)

 

[radiojomo]

If they had just one centerpiece national show, like Nova or Great Performances, they'd have something to build an endowment around.

KCET execs have stated that they've wanted to start producing some original programming for the network but they were always to cash strapped to do this. Oh please, with those salaries you're paying the heads of the network, you're always going to be cash strapped. All they have is Huell Howser...

 

[TheBigA]

KCET execs have stated that they've wanted to start producing some original programming for the network but they were always to cash strapped to do this.

Then how do they expect to fill the airtime without PBS? It costs money to license old movies.

Program development shouldn't cost the station money. The station's asset is their signal. They bring that to the table. The program producer is the one who is spending the money. He has an idea and needs a place to air it. That's how these things happen.

 

[Ultimajock]

...after Ken Burns' shameful schlocumentary Jazz, the continuation of The McLaughlin Group and McLaughlin One On One past the point when those programs became painful shells of their one-time usefullness, and the astonishing screw-ups in damn near every episode now of History Detectives, there's really nothing left on PBS of any legitimate quality. If KCET wants to bail out, I can't blame them...

 

[azumanga]

...how do they expect to fill the airtime without PBS? It costs money to license old movies.

Why not ask WYBE (Philadelphia) and WNYE (New York) that question?

 

[TheBigA]

Why not ask WYBE (Philadelphia) and WNYE (New York) that question?

WNYE runs a lot of ethnic stuff. I think they charge for airtime.

If KCET wants to bail out, I can't blame them...

I don't think they're doing it because of program quality. And from the examples I've seen of non-coms who try to operate without PBS, they won't win any quality awards either.