Public-access Television - Distinction From PBS

Distinction From PBS

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is public television, an educational television broadcasting service of professionally produced, highly curated content. It is not public-access television, and has no connection with cable-only PEG television channels. Although non-commercial educational television bears some resemblance to the E of PEG, PBS bears little resemblance to public-access television.

The PBS service is mostly not local programming content. Instead, it is content produced for a national audience distributed via satellites. There is no generally accepted right of access for citizens to use broadcast studio facilities of PBS member stations, nor right of access by community content producers to the airwaves stewarded by these television stations. These qualities are in stark contrast to PEG channel content, which is mostly locally produced, especially in conjunction with local origination studio facilities. And in the case of the P, Public-access television, the facilities and channel capacity are uncurated free-speech zones available to anyone for free or little cost.

Since 53% to 60% of public television's revenues come from private membership donations and grants, most stations solicit individual donations by methods including fundraising, pledge drives or telethons which can disrupt regularly scheduled programming. PBS is also funded by the federal government of the United States.

PEG channels are generally funded by cable television companies through revenues derived from cable television franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.