How does PBS compare to the BBC and ABC in Australia? Why does it seem they aren’t as popular compared to other private channels like NBC and CBS?

29 comments

  1. It’s not mandatory that you pay for PBS like the British TV watchers are forced to pay for the BBC. They rely primarily on things like pledge drives so their budget is significantly smaller and shows less popular

  2. PBS is supported by viewers like you rather than a tax on TV-watching households, so it has a much smaller budget

  3. PBS is kind of like eating your vegetables. It’s good for you, and some people enjoy it, but most people eat junk food, instead.

  4. Both BBC and ABC(Australia) are government broadcasting corporations that get a substantial portion of their budget from the government. I don’t really know much about them beyond that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show from the Australian ABC.

    PBS is a non profit that receives a small amount of government money in return for broadcasting content that qualifies primarily as a public service rather than profit making, but most of its funding comes from donations, either by individuals or corporations. If the government were to stop funding them tomorrow, the network would be solvent enough to remain on air, though likely some of the less urban stations more dependent on federal money would fail.

  5. Most of the programs, with the exception of some costume dramas they import from the UK, are educational in some way. It doesn’t really compare directly to commercial channels. It has produced some great documentaries and children’s shows though.

  6. Fun fact: the first US channel Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired on was KERA, the North Texas public broadcasting affiliate led by Owen Wilson’s dad.

  7. Traditionally, PBS has focused mostly on educational and cultural programming. So it’s not the bastion of mainstream entertainment that BBC and the “other” ABC have been in their countries from the beginning. Also, it relies mostly on voluntary donations and so operates on a much smaller scale.

    PBS (and its radio equivalent NPR) also tend to be under regular attack by the American political right who are suspicious of anything without a profit motive.

  9. It’s a completely different philosophy here. The BBC and the ABC seem to be conceived of as the definitive TV channels for the whole country. They are similar to national airlines in representing their counties. We just don’t do that here. We don’t have a national air carrier or a national TV service, in the same sense as the BBC. Here, those (airlines and TV) are simply business industries and private companies compete for success, like in other industries. PBS is a low-level supplement to that, focusing on content that’s cultural and educational. I’m sure millions of people never, ever watch it. It’s a niche.

  10. The PBS isn’t a state media, the way the BBC is. It was originally intended to fill gaps in types of programming- things like educational programming, kids’ programming (that wasn’t, like antique cartoons from the the 30s) documentaries, local affairs, things like that.

    (Like, when I was a kid, NH-Public Television’s movies were apparently chosen by a film professor at UNH (probably so his students could do their assignments), and you got to see some REALLY good movies that way. And WGBH-Boston produced their own programs, for national distribution.)

    It was all intentionally less-organized than the BBC (with a LOT more local input- even now, pledge drives are done on a station-by-station basis and what you get differs from region to region), and there’s really not a focus on ratings per se.

    There have only been a few times where PBS has a real ‘hit’ on its hands, and it’s usually notable when it does. (Ken Burns’ *The Civil War*, or say, *Downton Abbey*.)

  11. First off, PBS operates as an affiliate system like NBC and CBS, not like the BBC and ABC. Where I live, we have [PBS North Carolina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS_North_Carolina), which is owned by the University of North Carolina. As such, the affiliate is paying for PBS programming that can be broadcasted on its stations; it also purchases programming from other sources too as well as make its own programming. Money is generated by various sources like endowments, state funding (which covers operating expenses for four channels through 12 stations and 19 translators across the state), and viewer donations. Being that it is operated by the University system, they have a general focus on primarily education; a majority of the programming is focused on that aspect.

    In short, it has a completely different model compared to the BBC and ABC; while its focus on education is a different direction from NBC and CBS, which are more towards entertainment.

  13. One major (majour?) difference between PBS and the BBC is that there’s no mandatory annual license; viewers support PBS voluntarily, and stations do pledge weeks throughout the year to get them to do that. Pledges augment the funding PBS gets from grants and government funds.

    Also, unlike the commercial networks, PBS doesn’t own any of its stations. Each state has a network of public TV stations that carries public programming. The stations produce the shows. WGBH in Boston, MA in particular has produced major standouts (Julia Child, Zoom, Masterpiece Theatre.) Think of it as a broadcasting cooperative.

    The reason PBS isn’t as popular? Its main purpose is to inform, not to entertain, and the entertainment it does run is more sophisticated than the networks’, and it just happens to be a lot of British shows – many fondly remember shows like Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served and Eastenders. Shows like Midsomer Murders run now. Kids’ shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood have cemented PBS’s standing as a more educational alternative to network TV, and a lot of people can’t see past those shows for things like Austin City Limits, which btw is a great music show. If network TV is Froot Loops, PBS is All-Bran.

  14. They were always watched by some, especially before there were other channels. Depends how far you go back in time.

    But now they charge subscription in many regions. There are other paid subscriptions or free streaming services that offer more shows, so, at this point it’s not always seen as the best option.

    You can buy some of the series on there, other ways such as Amazon.

    Many of the things offered on PBS are really made in Britain anyway so might as well subscribe to Brit Box or Acorn, one of the British subscription channels.

  15. As far as popularity: those other networks are free.

    PBS offers documentaries and educational things and British series. Not everyone likes that. People find different things entertaining. But those other networks (NBC, CBS) have such different programming it’s not an equal comparison.

    For instance NBC and CBS have nightly news programs. PBS is not like that, it doesn’t have live shows either.

  16. All you guys need to listen BBC 5 Live World Service All Night Show with Dotun & Tim Vickery especially in this FIFA World Cup year.

  18. PBS broadcasts here in the UK, they’ve got a lot of good educational programmes though some of them were originally produced by the BBC: they seem to often trade programmes with PBS. Only problem is ads, but that’s how they survive here.

  19. I think the key difference is that while all three are publicly funded, PBS seems dedicated to produce what it considers “edifying” programming—concerts, educational documentaries, and the like, while leaving the more “common,” popular programming up to the private networks.

  20. Idk what it’s not more popular, they have fantastic programing, especially their documentaries. But this country liked tiger king, a documentary about terrible people that suggested a woman was murderer, yet she’s still walking free with no charges against her, and the man has gotten arrested for murder. So I guess truth and learning isn’t something they’re interested in

  21. PBS is mostly documentaries, news, educational and other non-fiction programming. They have some fiction, much if it bought from the BBC. Other US channels are mostly sports and popular scripted series, comedies dramas etc. so are much more popular.

  22. PBS never had a monopoly on broadcasting like the BBC did. That’s also why there’s much less of a tradition of pirate radio.

  23. I’d expect that it has to do with the style of programming PBS does.

    Which for me, PBS was the channel with Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

    PBS has pretty much solidified itself in my head as the TV channel for kids – and that’s with knowing that yes, they have other non-children oriented programming (Bob Ross and Julia Child got their start on PBS networks), various news programs and broadcasting international programs (BBC on PBS was/is a thing), some amount of other science, historical documentaries, cultural deep dives, and other kinds of good programming.

    Just that I’d always thought of it first and foremost as “That channel that Sesame Street was on” – which as an adult is less appealing to watch than NBC or CBS.

  24. If you like documentaries about the history of rocking chairs, PBS is your channel.

    Back in the day they showed Doctor Who at 11:30 pm on Saturday night.

  25. Private businesses market their product for sale and profit. Public entities market for donations and grants. Six of one, half dozen of the other. WHERE their funding comes from dictates what they cover and how they cover it. Give the funding what they want and you remain operational.

    Personally, I take in all media: public, private, left, and right; then form my own opinion. Making a conscious effort to avoid the confirmation bubble allows one to discern fact from opinion.

  26. I hate this world…my hikes are pretty, but damn people, we don’t deserve it…like every human fighting another for a leaf or drop of some rare liquid.

  27. NOVA is the best show on television and has been for 30 years.

    Shout out to Nature and Secrets of the Dead

  29. They don’t put out a lot of original programs. Historically, they made children’s shows & reran British sitcoms & period dramas from 2 decades prior. I remember watching Are You Being Served? in the late 80s & the actors would come on to the quarterly fundraisers between episodes to help drum up funds. They were all very noticeably older than they were in the show.

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