Network Affiliate - Member Stations

Member Stations

A handful of networks, such as the US-based Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) public television and National Public Radio (NPR), have been founded on a principle which effectively reverses the commercial broadcasting owned-and-operated station model and is called a state network. Instead of television networks owning stations, the stations collectively own the network and brand themselves as "PBS member stations" instead of as affiliates or O&O's.

Individual stations such as WPBS and KPBS are not owned by the Public Broadcasting Service; most belong to local community non-profit groups, universities or local and state educators. The national PBS system is owned collectively by WPBS-DT, KPBS and hundreds of other similar broadcasters in communities nationwide. Individual member stations are free to carry large amounts of syndicated programming and many produce their own educational television content for distribution to other PBS member stations through services like American Public Television or NETA; likewise, most content on PBS's core National Programming Service is produced by various individual member stations such as WGBH, WNET and WETA.

These are not affiliate stations in that the ownership of the main network is not independent of ownership of the individual local stations.

The "member station" model had historically been used in Canada in the early days of privately owned networks CTV and TVA, but the original "one station, one vote" model has largely faltered as increasing numbers of stations are acquired by the same owners. In CTV's case, the owners of Toronto's CFTO-TV's systematic pattern of acquisition of CTV member stations ultimately allowed control over the network as a whole, turning former member stations into CTV O&O's.