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Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

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Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#11

Post by Spooky23 »

larnmar wrote: post #2

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one, but they seem to have a huge extra layer of bureaucracy in order to broadcast the same programs in a hundred different locations.

No way, they do a ton of local programming. PBS is is really amazing institution.

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#12

Post by blacksmith_tb »

larnmar wrote: post #2

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one, but they seem to have a huge extra layer of bureaucracy in order to broadcast the same programs in a hundred different locations.

My instinct is the tie-in with public radio stations... which do a fair amount of local reporting (at least mine does). Presumably the cost of producing video programs is high enough that most local stations haven't traditionally done that.

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#13

Post by toast0 »

larnmar wrote: post #2

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one, but they seem to have a huge extra layer of bureaucracy in order to broadcast the same programs in a hundred different locations.

CBS (for example) stations are also local; but with many stations corporate owned and many stations owned by a small handful of companies that operate in many markets. PBS stations are owned by local non-profits or often educational institutions and those have less of a motivation/ability to expand to multiple stations and multiple jurisdictions.

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#14

Post by akira2501 »

larnmar wrote: post #2

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one, but they seem to have a huge extra layer of bureaucracy in order to broadcast the same programs in a hundred different locations.

This is a little flip of me.. but, mostly because Nixon's administration wanted it that way. [0]

[0] https://current.org/1979/02/the-nixon-administration-public-...

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#15

Post by iamnothere »

larnmar wrote: post #2

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one, but they seem to have a huge extra layer of bureaucracy in order to broadcast the same programs in a hundred different locations.

Many Americans don't like the idea of a national state-funded propaganda outlet. Not that a national PBS would necessarily be like that, but it has happened in many other countries, and it's a valid concern.

Edit: there are a number of other reasons as well, including the difficulty of coordinating national broadcasts at the time that PBS was founded. Major networks were once also primarily driven by local affiliates, with some differences in local programming. The US is a big place.

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#16

Post by cbhl »

gtirloni wrote: post #3

I would expect PBS, of all TV stations, to be less constrained by distribution contracts and to be able to stream their content worldwide. Instead, they choose Youtube TV which is US-only.

It turns out that licensing doesn't work that way.

Worldwide distribution costs more than domestic, and streaming rights cost more than broadcast-only. And PBS doesn't have as much leverage as for-profit broadcasters, so the negotiations for those rights took longer.

Here's some prior context:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/04/15/w...

https://www.techhive.com/article/3338083/why-live-pbs-stream...

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#17

Post by bdamm »

gtirloni wrote: post #3

I would expect PBS, of all TV stations, to be less constrained by distribution contracts and to be able to stream their content worldwide. Instead, they choose Youtube TV which is US-only.

PBS is available on all kinds of mediums. They have apps on Apple's App store, they have apps on Apple TV, and you can stream content from their web site(s). And not only new programs, but amazing archives of old content as well. Want to relive your childhood of watching Mr. Rogers? It's all there, it's all free, and it's available via a bunch of access methods! So rather than choosing Youtube TV, they seem to be embracing a "all possible mediums" strategy. The only down side is that you need to get around the location check. Pretty great for free if you ask me. I'm surprised all their stuff isn't on Netflix to be honest, since it's just about everywhere else.

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#18

Post by lozaning »

reaperducer wrote: post #6
larnmar wrote: post #2

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one, but they seem to have a huge extra layer of bureaucracy in order to broadcast the same programs in a hundred different locations.

Can anyone explain why PBS television stations are local rather than nationwide? The stations are locally-owned. Usually by a college, school district, or local government entity. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a local program on one Almost all PBS stations have local programming, even in small markets. Some of them award-winning programs. And a lot of the "national" shows are actually productions of local stations.…

Cant let you leave my boy Huell Howser and his California Gold program produced at KCET off this list.

Re: Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

#20

Post by wnevets »

gtirloni wrote: post #5
wnevets wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why would you expect that?

"The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor. It is a nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational television programming to public television stations in the United States..." (emphasis mine) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS

Like others have pointed out they're still licensing from content creators to broadcast in the US.

This is why new Sesame Street episodes are now on HBO and not PBS

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