SHARE TOOLS PRINT COMMENT SUBSCRIBE RSS RELATED ARTICLES 1. Network Shows Down In November Sweeps 2. What Will Cabler's Ownership OF NBC Mean For Local Affiliates? 3. Nielsen Makes New Cuts In Data Processing Facility, Systems Already Strained 4. Nielsen's Same-Day Decision: All Politics Are Local, All Ratings Are Time-Shifted 5. Microsoft Targets Television Advertisers For Xbox Live, Embeds Nielsen Measurement In-Game TAGS:  TV MOST READ 1. Social Media Fires Up Video Game Marketing 2. Let's Eat: 5 Chains Target Nontraditional Retail 3. Why the Fortune 100 Is The Land Of The Tepid Tweeters 4. Most Mobile Users Indifferent To Or Don't Want Ads 5. No Rest for the Dreary: Newspaper Revs Fall 28% 6. Study: Consumers Value Traditional Attributes In Online Brands 7. Five Lessons Email Marketers Can Learn From @Sh*tMyDadSays 8. Chase Launches Giveaway Via Facebook 9. Microsoft Targets Television Advertisers For Xbox Live, Embeds Nielsen Measurement In-Game 10. 'Grey's Anatomy' Sires Web Series Spin-Off

PBS has been moving to a more advertising-supported model over the last several years. Now the Internet seems to be helping this trend along.

PBS will be adding shows on Hulu.com -- "Nova," "Wired Science," "Carrier" and "Scientific American Frontiers" - and looking for more marketing associations.  

In keeping with the PBS mandate of retaining the integrity of programming, just one 30-second spot will run before these shows, and nothing will run during any episodes. Hulu.com is selling the advertising time, and PBS and Hulu.com will split the revenues from this activity.

This level of advertising activity isn't that removed from the number of commercials the broadcast networks stream with their shows on the Internet. Right now anywhere from three to four 30-second spots run in one hour-long episode that is streamed.

This compares to some 10 minutes an hour of national commercial time  -- and anywhere from 15 minutes to 17 minutes of total non-program time, which includes national and local spots, national and local promo time -- in a traditional network airing of an episode.

PBS also has done deals with Joost, and has run clips on YouTube.com. But on iTunes, PBS shows are just like everyone else's - no advertising at all. Viewers just need to pay $1.99 an episode.

Perhaps even more telling, the Internet has PBS looking to get aggressive saleswise. It'll set up its own advertising sales staff for online efforts. PBS needs this effort to help boost revenues against long-time Federal cutbacks.

Is there a danger the high production levels of PBS programming will be lowered?

That has always been an issue at PBS, even way back in the early '90s when some of the underwriting announcements started looking more like plain old sponsorship and advertising deals.

Now that PBS has moved almost fully into the advertising-supported world, what will viewers think now? Or does it really matter? 

This commentary is insightful. I recommend it to others.

0 people recommend this article.