Public Television? Give Us A Break! Give Us Commercials!

Los Angeles--Saturday Night (June 18, 2005)--Tonight I watched portions of "Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop" on KOCE-TV, Orange County's PBS affiliate. I saw this show when it aired some months ago on KCET-TV, Los Angeles' PBS affiliate. The show's promotional tag read: "Stroll down memory lane as Mary Lou Metzger, Phyllis McGuire, Pat Boone, Debbie Reynolds and Patti Page offer a cavalcade of 1950s pop music. The program also includes archival footage of the fads, fashions, news and pop events of the decade."

The show delivered. And it annoyed the hell out of me, just as PBS musical programs have driven me up the wall for decades.

Why? Because we're allowed to watch a couple of numbers, and then we're socked with seemlingly endless pitches for donations. What a drag! I would much rather see commercials than these annoying appeals that last 10-15 minutes and run a few times each hour.

I think the time has come to allow PBS stations to compete in the real world. Let PBS stations survive on commercial revenue in the marketplace, just as other stations do. Stop the government subsidies and tax-deductible charitable contributions. Wouldn't you really rather see Paris Hilton slithering on a Bentley in a Carl's, Jr. commercial or the satisfied wife in the Levitra ad than hear these painfully boring appeals for donations?

By the way, ever notice that PBS stations only air big band programs during pledge weeks? They know very well that the senior citizens who enjoy these big band shows have deep pockets. And now that a new generation has hit 65, they're also showing programs such as "Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop" and "The Sixties." Sadly, they shelve these shows during the rest of the year.

Other thoughts: PBS could partner with HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, offering its musical productions minus PBS-promos on these channels. Viewers also could watch them anytime using the new "On Demand" feature offered by Comcast and other cable TV providers. Or, PBS could launch its own subscription cable channel, drawing on its vast library of programming. What a tremendous resource that would be!

If you are as fed up as I am with PBS appeals for donations, here are a couple of email addresses you can use to contact the two main PBS stations in Southern California: KCET-TV and KOCE-TV. You'll have to look up the email address for the PBS station(s) in your area.

I would have included an email address for PBS. Unfortunately, their web site doesn't offer a PBS email address, although it does provide email addresses for many of its programs.

If you prefer to watch PBS stations as they are, then don't do anything. But next time you get annoyed by their appeals for donations, let them know that you are fed up and won't put up with this nonsense any longer.