Basically:
Pronounceable: takes no article
Spelled out: takes an article if and only if its full form does
Except:
Regular classes of exceptions: initialisms for educational institutions and terms which primarily denote specific particular broadcasting channels take no article (even when the full forms do take an article)
Isn’t it supported via TV licensing (i.e. taxation)? That’s govt-related enough for me! 
The BBC is an independent organisation that receives public funding, which whilst set by the government isn’t collected or disbursed by the government, it is not a government agency or body, nor is it a state-sponsored broadcaster. The government has no say in how the funds are spent, nor a say in how editorial policy is set. It is in no way, shape or form a government-related organisation.
I don’t know too many non-government related organizations that are run by people appointed on advice of the government.
Good point. Also forgot things like the NAACP, the IEEE, etc. Amended as follows
**
If acronym is pronouncable**
Don’t use “the”
Nato, FEMA, Nasa
otherwise
If it is government related, or is some sort of “organization” or "association"
[INDENT]Use “the”
IRS, FBI, UN, BBC, NFL, NBA, NAACP, IEEE
**otherwise**
Don't use "the"
*NBC, CBS, KFC*
[/INDENT]
Well the board of governors has been replaced by the BBC Trust, and their guiding principle is:
*“The BBC Trust works on behalf of licence fee payers: it ensures the BBC provides high quality output and good value for all UK citizens and it protects the independence of the BBC.” *
That is the case, but that has been true only since January 1, 2007.
Before that, and therefore for most of its existence, it was run differently and was definitely government-related.
They may not have influenced actual editorial decisions, but being “appointed by The Queen or King on the advice of the government”, and AFAIK receiving income from taxes levied on citizens specifically to fund it, hardly describes a non-government-related organization.
Also, according to this: “The BBC World Service on radio is funded by government grant”
Again, not the hallmark of a non-government-related organization.
ignore this post
I dunno; it seems to involve some fuzzy judgement calls (not that the truth of the matter might not actually involve some fuzzy judgement calls). I guess L.A. doesn’t count as government related, IBM isn’t an organization, etc.? I still prefer my guidelines (well, they’re basically Arnold Zwicky’s); I think the general principle that spelled-out initialisms are arthrous or not according to the status of their full form is a good one that deserves prominence, and which happens to handle all of your “government, association, and organization” examples very neatly, rather than as special cases (of course, it has a different system of exceptions of its own).
Incidentally, I speculate that the historical reason for broadcasting channel names to act the way they do (as one of the exceptional cases in my scheme) is because of call sign station identification.
Actually I think the difference is whether the acronym is a “thing” or a “name”.
“Kentucky Fried Chicken” is a name.
“British Broadcasting Corporation” is a thing.
“Automated Teller Machine” is a thing.
“Internet Explorer” is a name.
NASA and the others are the exceptions, I think. People have forgotten what they actually stand for, and consider them as “names”. If you say the entire name, you’d naturally use the article “the”.
In what sense is KFC a name while BBC is a thing?
And then again, there’s (the) Marylebone Cricket Club, abbreviated to (the) MCC. For the benefit of non-cricket-playing nations, I should explain that MCC is the world’s most famous cricket club, and has traditionally been responsible for formulating the Laws of the Game. Link
Most people in the UK refer to it as “The MCC”, but MCC insists that “MCC” without the definite article is correct. (They argue that the “the” implies that there could be other MCCs, whereas as all MCC members know, they are unique and irreplaceable. ;))
I work for the DoD. But sometimes I just work for DoD.
They’re both correct in different (sometiems overlapping) contexts. I can’t even really pin down when you’d use the article. But I do know that sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.
Canadians can watch CBC or talk about the CBC but they can work for either of them. In other words no real preference.