We know PBS is a noncommercial/educational service that was created in 1970 and their predecessor for NET. Why are some markets have 2 or more PBS affiliates especially in the San Francisco bay area in some cable systems that can be picked up at least 4 PBS affiliates (KQED, KQEH, KRCB, KVIE)? Why are some PBS are statewide and others are regional or local pertaining to the market? How did Montana and Wyoming become the last state to get PBS stations in their market/state?
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PBS
- Thread starter e-dawg
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PBS is a membership organization. There is no limit to the number of affiliates in a market or exclusivity to the programming. The regional or local thing isn't controlled by PBS.
KVIE-TV the PBS affiliate for Sacramento in question with connections to the Bay Area. One of the counties in Northern California (Solano) specifically is technically on the border of two media markets Vacaville and Dixon is considered part of the Sacramento Valley and they get KVIE-TV due to the fact that it's in the Sacramento TV market area. Vallejo and Benicia on the other hand is considered in the San Francisco TV market area and they get KQED, KRCB and KQEH. Fairfield and Suisun city is where the border between the Sacramento and Bay Area TV markets are located.
I remember KVIE-TV was even seen in Fresno and Reno at one point until KVPT and KNPB. KQEH when it was signed as KTEH was even seen in Monterey.
Many are statewide because I don't think they can sustain on individual stations in some states. If Nebraska Educational TV did not exist in Nebraska, you would have PBS stations in Omaha and Lincoln that could survive on their own...but forget trying to start an NET (i.e. National Educational TV)/PBS station in Scottsbluff, North Platte, or Alliance. The audience is so limited out there and there are more fields and cows than people. State-run operations in flyover country allow for donations and pledges from the entire state - so someone in Bellevue NE would be able to pledge the same amount as the farmer living in Cozad. Case in point even in Yakima. KYVE-TV had to switch to and from KCTS even at the start of their operation. It took them years to get to a local operation, and then KCTS took them over in the '90s. Now KCTS owns everything on KYVE except the ID at the top of the hour.
If you check the list of PBS member stations/networks, you'll notice that a good chunk of the Southeastern US (or south of the Ohio River) all have statewide networks--Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Tennessee's PBS member stations are all community-owned entities in the individual regions they serve, although the state's Department of Education initially launched stations in Jackson/Martin, Chattanooga, Cookeville (serving the Nashville region) and a regional network serving the Tri-Cities and Knoxville. In Florida, the member stations there, outside of Tampa/St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, are owned by the state universities/colleges, but operate independently of each other. Virginia has a regional network, one serving Richmond, Harrisonburg, and Charlottesville, and the individual member stations in the Hampton Roads (WHRO) and Roanoke/Lynchburg (WBRA) areas.
In many of these locations, they also have more than one PBS option--most notably in South Florida (WPBT/WXEL and WLRN), Atlanta (WGTV and WPBA), Hampton Roads (WHRO and PBS North Carolina's WUND), Charlotte (WTVI, WNSC [South Carolina ETV], and WUNG [PBS NC]), Jacksonville (WJCT and GPB's WXGA), Mobile/Pensacola (WSRE and APT's WEIQ), Nashville (WNPT and WCTE), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (WCET, WPTO, and KET), and the Baltimore-DC region (WETA, WHUT, and the Maryland and West Virginia networks).
On the other end of the spectrum...Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, Orlando, and Sacramento are the largest markets in the top-20 with only a single PBS outlet.
In many of these locations, they also have more than one PBS option--most notably in South Florida (WPBT/WXEL and WLRN), Atlanta (WGTV and WPBA), Hampton Roads (WHRO and PBS North Carolina's WUND), Charlotte (WTVI, WNSC [South Carolina ETV], and WUNG [PBS NC]), Jacksonville (WJCT and GPB's WXGA), Mobile/Pensacola (WSRE and APT's WEIQ), Nashville (WNPT and WCTE), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (WCET, WPTO, and KET), and the Baltimore-DC region (WETA, WHUT, and the Maryland and West Virginia networks).
On the other end of the spectrum...Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, Orlando, and Sacramento are the largest markets in the top-20 with only a single PBS outlet.
People often wonder why Congress keeps on funding CPB year after year. This is a good reason why.
For a long time Suckvision oh I mean Cablevision & then Charter Spectrum had the local WGVSU local PBS long with Chi PBS Charter Spectrum took the Chi PBS off in the fall of 2007. My grandparents didn't like that as they liked having the Chi PBS and could watch the program at a later time as they had other programs they liked.
KCTS serves entire Central and Western Washington on cable especially in Vancouver, Longview/Kelso Wa in which they served by OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting).
Yes, and a lot more since KYVE shut down their local operations at YVC. For a long time, KYVE was its own station, but in the '90s, KCTS provided support to them and slowly, they took over the entire operation. Local pledge drives largely went away by the turn of the millennium, and George Ray simulcasted his segments to Yakima instead. Nowadays the only 'local' anything is the TOH ID at the bottom of the screen.
Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota are all similar, and I think all have the same reasons. They all got PBS in through the whole state with a gradually built statewide network, and the states are also a size where that is possible. You also can get programming for the whole state. I know in South Dakota they've broadcasted some high school state tournaments at times. A state like Montana is so vast that I couldn't imagine how much it would cost to get a statewide network in place. There's huge amounts of area with no OTA signals other than translators if you are lucky. Wyoming isn't really much better.
KUSM didn't sign on until 1984, so Montana did not have PBS over-the-air for many years. KSPS was the default PBS in western MT and eastern MT usually got KRMA, KUED, or Prairie Public. However, KUSM was not carried in many Montana communities even after sign-on, and when KRMA (along with other Denver stations) went to C-Band, it was much easier for small-town cable operators to carry PBS programming.
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