# I Pit PBS **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226 "2012-10-09T16:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/21 "2012-10-09T18:54:45Z")
i think commercials work well, in commercial broadcast tv, because they are situated throughout the show. i expect that underwriting is done at less cost to the underwriter than commercials to the advertiser. also the charter of PBS and the cost to the advertiser would change if PBS became a commercial broadcaster. TLC may have started good but look at the that crap they have become to get advertising revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Deser2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@Deser2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deser2)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/22 "2012-10-09T19:27:29Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > i think commercials work well, in commercial broadcast tv, because they are situated throughout the show. > > i expect that underwriting is done at less cost to the underwriter than commercials to the advertiser. also the charter of PBS and the cost to the advertiser would change if PBS became a commercial broadcaster. > > TLC may have started good but look at the that crap they have become to get advertising revenue. I don’t know if it is still like this or not, but maybe 10 years ago German television would have uninterrupted shows and then a block of 10 minutes or so between shows where commercials were shown. Don’t know how that worked out for companies though. I always wished thats how they did things here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/23 "2012-10-09T19:37:59Z")
> [@Deser2](#): > > I don’t know if it is still like this or not, but maybe 10 years ago German television would have uninterrupted shows and then a block of 10 minutes or so between shows where commercials were shown. Don’t know how that worked out for companies though. > > I always wished thats how they did things here in the US. Advertisers would refuse to buy airtime because it would be too easy for people to tune out after the show was over. In the U.S., networks don’t make money off of people watching the shows; they make it off of people watching the ads. Plus, networks like when a high-rated show leads directly into another show. It discourages people from changing the channel. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/24 "2012-10-09T19:45:15Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > How much does PBS bring in during pledge week? What if instead of a pledge drive with begging between Simon and Garfunkel they sold commercial time? That would work, and there would be minimal impact on overall programming. There might be a bit of tailoring closer to pledge week–better shows bring in more viewers, more viewers means larger donations from corporations to buy ad-time. The likely increased revenue would actually bolster year-round programming, as budgets increased. > > Actually, there’s even a great model already in existence. I know it’s bad form to link to hard-right sites, but I believe this one illustrates the point very well (and thoroughly illuminates the sarcasm of my post): > [How the Privatization of NASA’s The Learning Channel devolved into a for-profit channel pushing Honey Boo Boo](http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/286613_How_the_Privatization_of_NASAs) Great article…how is that a hard-right site, though?? I just read a few other articles and they seem generally left leaning. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/25 "2012-10-09T20:19:45Z")
Has an ad for _Dexter_. Dexter is a psychopath. Connect the dot. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/26 "2012-10-09T20:28:56Z")
Time to contribute to PBS again, now that I have a job. It’s worth it. Where else can you see _I, Claudius_, Ken Burns’ documentaries, Masterpiece Theatre in all its variations, Britcoms, stage shows/musicals (Les Mis, Phantom, Sweeney Todd …), Frontline, NOVA, and a host of other things that would never, ever make it on commercial TV? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/27 "2012-10-09T20:48:39Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Great article…how is that a hard-right site, though?? I just read a few other articles and they seem generally left leaning. Maybe I’m confusing it with green pajamas or something similar–but I seem to remember their output being on par with WDN and RedState. I should have done a bit more digging before insulting them like that. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/28 "2012-10-09T20:52:38Z")
Apparently its history is. . .[varied](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Footballs). ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/29 "2012-10-09T21:01:43Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Apparently its history is. . .[varied](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Footballs). That’s fascinating. Particularly: > [@](#): > > On November 30, 2009, Johnson blogged that he was disassociating himself with “the right”, claiming that “The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff. I won’t be going over the cliff with them.” He has been heavily critical of conservatives and libertarians since then. So my bad for not re-checking an old assumption/impression of the site. Next you’ll be telling me that Fox News has a hint of journalistic integrity or the Wall Street Journal isn’t continuing its slide into a foxhole. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/30 "2012-10-09T21:18:16Z")
If only there was a device that allowed easy recording of shows and skipping over the parts you don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/31 "2012-10-09T22:46:46Z")
My gripe with pledge drives is the Simon and Garfunkel specials or whatever that preempt the normal programming. They could show that as an American Masters episode, and I’d be fine with it, but instead they dump a science show or Masterpiece Theater to give us bulging has-been acts that left their talent and youth in the 1970s. They make no attempt at all to match the special pledge programming to what normally fills that time slot. A couple decades back my local PBS affiliate had a “best of pledge” contest where they tracked the donations by program and replayed the highest earning show. The winner was an episode of NOVA. From this they learned nothing. NOVA has been off the air during pledges ever since. They look at data from nationwide polling and ignore the fact that their market has the highest concentration of PhD’s in the country, as well as the result of their own experiment. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/32 "2012-10-09T23:23:32Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > How much does PBS bring in during pledge week? What if instead of a pledge drive with begging between Simon and Garfunkel they sold commercial time? That would work, and there would be minimal impact on overall programming. There might be a bit of tailoring closer to pledge week–better shows bring in more viewers, more viewers means larger donations from corporations to buy ad-time. The likely increased revenue would actually bolster year-round programming, as budgets increased. > > Actually, there’s even a great model already in existence. I know it’s bad form to link to hard-right sites, but I believe this one illustrates the point very well (and thoroughly illuminates the sarcasm of my post): > [How the Privatization of NASA’s The Learning Channel devolved into a for-profit channel pushing Honey Boo Boo](http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/286613_How_the_Privatization_of_NASAs) > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Great article…how is that a hard-right site, though?? I just read a few other articles and they seem generally left leaning. > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Maybe I’m confusing it with green pajamas or something similar–but I seem to remember their output being on par with WDN and RedState. I should have done a bit more digging before insulting them like that. No, you are correct, it is the same little green footballs, I’m familiar with them because they popped up on many scientific issues that the Republicans are fumbling nowadays. The owner of the site is conservative, but he is also good at seeing the BS coming from the right, and that caused a problem. More often than not his editorials turned to hard criticism for conservative causes as many of their talking points were not based on science or were just plain stupid. So, as most of the subjects he reported on turned to be against most of the current conservative positions he and his colleagues on the right parted ways. > **[Little Green Footballs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Footballs)** > > Little Green Footballs (LGF) is an American political blog run by web designer Charles Foster Johnson. In its beginning years, the site had a right-wing orientation and was known for its advocacy of the War on Terrorism and the Iraq War, as well its strident criticism of political Islam. The blog moved away from the right around 2009 and has become focused mainly on posts about music of Johnson's liking. > > The site originally had a "right wing" orientation. It was one of the most well-known and v... > [@](#): > > Parting ways with the Right > > On November 30, 2009, Johnson blogged that he was disassociating himself with “the right”, claiming that “The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff. I won’t be going over the cliff with them.” He has been heavily critical of conservatives and libertarians since then. [31] ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/33 "2012-10-10T00:35:21Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Don’t they just fundraise one week a year? Seems like you could just not watch PBS for seven days and avoid the frustration. It’s more like 6 weeks (maybe more). And in addition to the long fundraiser, my PBS station has at least one other shorter pledge drive every year. That’s a good chunk of the year that they don’t have any real shows. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/34 "2012-10-10T01:47:08Z")
Okay, Mike, I’ll pledge, I promise. “The Learning Channel was founded in 1972 by NASA and the Health Department as an educational channel. It was privatized. Now it shows Honey Boo Boo. #SavePBS” Josiah Bartlett ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/35 "2012-10-10T04:56:32Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > there isn’t 15 minutes of underwriting between shows. > > cable is not available to all people even if they want it. cable isn’t affordable to all people even it was available. I don’t have cable TV. I just hit the mute button and surf the web during commercials. If I record the show to watch later, then it is even easier to skip the commercials. I have a laptop with Vista and a USB tuner and watch shows with the Windows Media Center. ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/36 "2012-10-10T21:21:01Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I know they they have to raise money. I contribute every year. But when they run shows and spend more time asking for money than they do actually running the show it REALLY pisses me off. Case in point - they aired a Simon and Garfunkel documentary the other night that hadn’t been shown since 1969 (and only once, then) or something. Here is something that hasn’t been aired in 40+ years and PBS ruined any enjoyment that could had. It was pretty good for the first 15 minutes but then they cut to begging. How many times do you need to tell me what I can get by donating a certain amount? I wish I had a stopwatch on it but the commercial was as long as the portion of “show” that proceeded it. It was so irritating that at the second break I just gave up and turned it off. It was far worse than watching regular commercial TV. At least then you have an idea of when the show is going to start again. Somebody at PBS needs to recalculate how much crap their viewers are willing to put up with. Get a fucking hobby. ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/37 "2012-10-10T21:22:04Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > I stopped watching PBS a long time ago and don’t miss it. Maybe it was the phone calls and mail that told me I was stealing if I watched PBS without paying or maybe it was the callers who claimed to be friends of my wife, only to find out they were begging for money. Or maybe it was the poor quality reruns they show, with a rare good documentary thrown in during pledge week. Turn it off, you won’t miss it. PBS was great when I only had 3 channels, now I have something like 300. I’m sure one of them could fit in a quality show if PBS wasn’t around. You too, ffs. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226/38 "2012-10-11T22:18:55Z")
Pledge week or not, PBS is still the best channel on TV. Speed and Comedy Central are tied for close second. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-pbs/637226.md?page=1)