The Truth Behind the PBS/KCET Split

Al Jerome, CEO and president of KCET Los Angeles, says the reason his station decided to move away PBS was not because KCET thought it could and should do without shows like Nova, Masterpiece, and Frontline -- as some industry insiders have alleged -- but because the Public Broadcasting Service unfairly increased KCET’s yearly membership fees just before the economy tanked, was “completely intractable” during negotiations, and made it impossible for KCET to remain a carrier because of PBS’s archaic dues formula and alleged pig-headed management. This perfect storm of stubbornness left KCET no other choice but to pull out or face bankruptcy, said Jerome, a former PBS boardmember, and could be indicative of why 74 percent of PBS’s member stations have had operational deficits in the last three years and why the system as a whole has been losing money since 2002.