PBS Deal With Comcast Seen as Militating Against Mission & Values

Stations fear the unabashedly commercial nature of the venture will give lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in the states an excuse to drastically cut or even eliminate funding for public broadcasting. But they also point out that U.S. public broadcasters are “chronically underfunded” compared with those elsewhere and say lawmakers shouldn’t begrudge them additional sources of revenue. The move also has raised question about the propriety of Corp. of Public Bcstg.-funded programs being run on commercial channels.

Many TV series popularized on public broadcasting have migrated to commercial cable networks because producers tend to go where the money is, said Rob Bates, gen. mgr. of the Neb. Network and a PBS board member. The same is “inevitable” with children’s programming, he added. PBS was confronted with the producers deciding to move their programs to the kids channel with or without PBS, COO Wayne Godwin told us. “So the question for us was, could we stop them from moving by not being involved? Those days are long over.” By becoming involved in the deal, he said, PBS got a say in “shaping the programming philosophy” for the channel -- what programs will and won’t go on. PBS along with Sesame Workshop will also have influence over the kind of commercials that will run, he added.

Godwin said the commercial partners had agreed that ads on the channel wouldn’t speak directly to children, and instead would only address adults or caregivers. It was also agreed that ads would conform to the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) guidelines, he said: “That to us was an absolute imperative and we were pleased to exercise… the voice to make sure that happens.” Said Bates: “My understanding is that there are safeguards and they [Comcast and HITS] have agreed not to interrupt programming” to run ads.

But activists such as Jerrold Star, exec. dir. of the Citizens for Independent Public Bcstg. (CIPB), are taking such assurances with a grain of salt. “When you look at the advertising on PBS now -- it’s Frosted Flakes, Chucky Cheese and McDonald’s -- it’s hard to believe it’s directed at adults,” he said. CIPB has always maintained that commercialism “corrupts” PBS’s mission, he said, and “this is especially the case with respect to commercials on programming for children.” Ads on kids channels communicate “an excessive concern with commercialism and materialism and children are simply not equipped to make good consumer judgments,” he added: “So we object to commercialization of children’s programming very strongly.” The venture also raises serious questions about programs that are underwritten by taxpayer dollars, Starr said. If 60% of revenue from the channel goes to Comcast and HIT, “it raises serious questions about the propriety of that kind of enterprise.”

As for fears the commercial venture would jeopardize federal funding, Godwin said “early conversations” with key congressional leaders had led PBS executives to believe that “they [members of Congress] are very understanding of the need for us to do this.” But, he said, the situation could give those “wishing to distract” from public broadcasting a stick to beat public broadcasters with. Those who want to find a reason not to fund public broadcasting will probably find one, he added: “We do not see this as either a solution to public television funding or as anything negative to the noncommercial nature of our primary service.” Bates said the PBS board had been assured that Pres. Pat Mitchell had talked to several leaders of Capitol Hill and “they have been supportive and understanding.” But, he said, this nevertheless was a “declaration that we are doing a commercial channel.” And a fully commercial venture would make the situation on the Hill “a little more volatile.”

Godwin said the commercial channel would provide a 2nd home for public TV programs, besides allowing a longer first view of some programs the joint venture is working on. This was an outcome of a public-private partnership that many, including those on Capitol Hill, were encouraging public broadcasters to pursue, he said. Regarding criticism about federally funded programs being used in commercial channels, Godwin said: “We believe that moving these programs to another platform is a good service to the American people.” There’s nothing unusual in that, he said, and Sesame Workshop has been doing that with material from Sesame Street. “There is nothing new about this situation. It has been going on for years.” Moreover, he said, it’s seldom that any program is solely funded by CPB, PBS or a producing public TV station. “It is a price you pay for not being able to fund the entire program yourself.” What’s important, he added, is that the federal dollars not be shortchanged and not used solely for something that gets on a commercial medium.

“I'm kind of ambivalent about it,” said Nashville PTV Pres. Steve Bass, echoing many other station executives. A former chairman of the Assn. of Public TV Stations (APTS), Bass said many public broadcasters felt a commercial channel wasn’t in keeping with the “ideals and core values” of public broadcasting. But, he said, they also recognize that the “environment we are operating in is changing.” He said he was pleased that cable operators were finally being asked to pay for a service they deem valuable and sell to their subscribers. “I don’t think it’s good for us that we are excluded from being able to negotiate with cable operators for the services we provide them. It denies us a potential revenue source and everybody knows that they are making money from it.” However, he said, he wished PBS weren’t starting the commercial venture in the children’s area because “I am very sensitive to the issue of parental trust.”

Peter Morrill, gen. mgr. of the Ida. Networks, said he was concerned by the public policy implications of the commercial channel. His concerns were somewhat assuaged by the strict guidelines for advertising on the channel and PBS’s right to veto advertising that doesn’t conform to those guidelines, he added. Morrill said he was convinced that it was an “above-the-desk deal,” and he supported the “difficult decision to either go forward or let that opportunity go.”

PBS presented the commercial channel as a fait accompli to station executives, said La. Public Bcstg. Pres. Beth Courtney, who also is a CPB board member. Stations were faced with the question of whether they wanted public to keep getting Sesame Workshop and HIT programs, she said. The issue of whether it was good public policy was decided already by PBS, she added. The potential for endangering federal funding is a concern, she said: “We have to explain it very carefully to lawmakers at the national, state and local levels that we are not abandoning our mission to provide commercial-free children’s programming.” But, she said, lawmakers who dislike public broadcasters will “find any excuse not to fund you.” They must keep in mind “we do not have sufficient monies to continue operating.” She said she believed the producers initiated the proposal and PBS was last one at the table: “And so it would have gone forward without us.”

Some executives like Bates see an opportunity in advancing digital carriage deals with Comcast through the children’s channel partnership. “I think it [PBS-Comcast deal] helps a lot. We have got to find ways to cooperate with MSOs as long as they are the gatekeepers now.” That was not to say public broadcasters should ease the carriage “pressure” on MSOs through APTS, he added. “I think it’s fundamentally important that we require carriage, but in the meantime this sort of voluntary agreement with the MSO strengthens that relationship is a good thing.”

The APTS board has emphasized that the public policy implications of business decisions such as the PBS-Comcast deal be “throughly vetted,” said Pres. John Lawson. “We expect board to board discussion between APTS and PBS around that issue.” Godwin said the PBS board had given “significant review” of the public policy implications of the deal and determined that such public-private partnerships were needed to raise the resources to “continue our noncommercial mission.”

Any messaging on the channel would comply with the Children’s TV Act and the CARU guidelines, said a Comcast spokeswoman, who made clear that the network was still in the early stages of development. She said messaging on the channel wouldn’t interrupt programming and would be directed at parents or caregivers. Asked if PBS and Sesame Workshop would have final say over the kind of advertisements on the channel, she said, “those are issues that are going to be sorted out.”

There’s no flat-out prohibition on CPB-funded programs moving to commercial channels, said CPB Pres. Kathleen Cox. Any prohibition would depend on the rights associated with a program, such as who owns the rights and the extent of investment, she added. She said the CPB board had made clear through a recent resolution that as public broadcasters explored alternative ways of distributing programs, they make sure that federally funded programming remains available on a universal basis free of charge. She said CPB wasn’t consulted on the PBS-Comcast deal: “We were briefed after the deal was complete.”