The Public Broadcasting Service and the Commercialization of Children's Programming

The Public Broadcasting Service and The Commercialization of Children's Programming

By Rachel Wynn

Rachel

November 28 2005

Mass Media

Media Issue Paper

The Public Broadcasting Service and The Commercialization of Children's Programming

Public broadcasting has a special place in television history. Founded in 1969 its goal was to bring quality programming to a mass audience. PBS has its headquarters in Alexandria Virginia and is owned and run by the 349 national public broadcasting stations. As a public broadcasting station it is completely non-profit and is supported not by advertising, but by donations given by the viewers. PBS reaches 99 percent of American homes that have televisions. Aside from being on television PBS is also branching out to other multi media recourses, such as the Internet. Using the Internet has allowed PBS and their member stations reach approximately 90 million viewers per week.

The Public Broadcasting Service has been a leader in quality programming for many years. It is a consistent leader for the most prestigious awards, such as the Emmy's and Golden Globes. PBS has won more Emmy's for their children's programming than any other station. The widely known series, "Sesame Street" has itself won 101 Emmys. This total makes the show the most awarded show ever to compete for an Emmy. It is currently in its 36th season, and is surely to be on for many more years to come.

The standards that are used to determine the programming create a solid foundation for the station. PBS offers programs with credibility, creativity, and innovation. Diversity is also an important component for their programming. Since PBS reaches 99 percent of American homes, it needs to appeal a diverse audience.

What Types of programming they offer. The public broadcasting service offers a wide range of programming. They have award winning science and nature documentaries, arts and drama series, and even of course their widely known children's programming.

They get better ratings with their children's programming

The children's programming offered by PBS is very well respected. It has become a tool to better educate young children. As well as being educational it has also become popular among young children with "Five of the top ten programs among children 2-5 are PBS KIDS series". (PBS.org) The current holders of these five spots are Dragon Tales, Clifford, Arthur, Sesame Street, and Caillou. Of the five our of ten sports, three of them are the top three spots. "Since the launch of the PBS KIDS GO! block, PBS' afternoon ratings among kids 6-8 are up 38% versus the same period of time last season. This is the biggest gain in kids 6-8 in six seasons."(PBS.org) Holding half of the spots on the top ten most-watched children's programs on television demonstrates that educational programming provided from a non-profit organization can be a real player in the children's market.

Having such a command in children's programming has upset the balance that PBS