Sesame Street Gentrified: The Future of Public Media A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University By Jordan B. Abrams in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Television Management March 2017 © Copyright 2017 Jordan B. Abrams. All Rights Reserved Running head: SESAME STREET GENTRIFIED: THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC MEDIA ii Dedications To my father, Jerry, for his continual support and encouragement to push onward and find new depths iii Acknowledgements With great appreciation to Janice Selinger and Al Tedesco for their guidance in completing this thesis iv Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................... 6 Background and Need ...................................................................................................................... 8 Purpose of Study ..............................................................................................................................11 Description of Study........................................................................................................................12 Research Questions .........................................................................................................................13 Significance to Field ........................................................................................................................13 Definitions / Acronyms .................................................................................................................14 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................17 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................17 History of PBS Member Stations ................................................................................................19 Corporation for Public Broadcasting ........................................................................................20 The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 ..................................................................................21 Public Broadcast Service ...............................................................................................................22 Finance .......................................................................................................................................23 Programming ...........................................................................................................................24 National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) ........................25 American Public Television ................................................................................................26 Audience ....................................................................................................................................27 When We Want It, How We Want It, Where We Want It: Population Trends, New Technology, and Generational Shifts ........................................................................................32 People ..........................................................................................................................................33 PBS Sustainability ............................................................................................................................39 Threats ........................................................................................................................................40 Competition ..............................................................................................................................42 Funding .......................................................................................................................................43 Technology ................................................................................................................................46 Spectrum Auction .....................................................................................................47 Audience ....................................................................................................................................48 Pledging ......................................................................................................................................49 New Initiatives .........................................................................................................................52 HBO and Sesame Workshop Deal ..............................................................................................55 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGIES ..........................................................................................58 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ................................................................................................................62 Last Three Months of 2016 ..........................................................................................................64 How Sesame Street Has Changed In It’s New Neighborhood .........................................67 Sesame Street Resembles The Street Today ..........................................................................69 v Survey Results ...................................................................................................................................70 Customers Don’t Know What They Want ...............................................................................78 The Future of HBO ...........................................................................................................................80 PBS New Programming .................................................................................................................81 Summation..........................................................................................................................................81 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ...........................................................................................................84 So Where Are We Heading? What’s Next ................................................................................87 Suggestions for Further Research .............................................................................................89 Limitations ..........................................................................................................................................89 Ethical Considerations ...................................................................................................................90 Some Final Food For Thought: Humans v. Computers ......................................................91 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................92 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................ 114 vi List of Figures 1. TABLE 1: Respondents Awareness of Sesame Street / HBO Deal and Feelings Toward It ...................................................................................................................................70 2. TABLE 2: Respondent Opinions of Sesame Street being on HBO ........................72 3. TABLE 3: Contrast Between Men’s and Women’s Opinions Regarding Sesame Street Being On HBO ............................................................................................................. 73 4. TABLE 4: Contrast Between White And Non-White Participant Opinions Regarding Sesame Street Being On HBO ......................................................................74 5. TABLE 5: Respondent Likelihood Of Contributing To Local PBS Station Knowing That Sesame Street Is Now A Part Of The HBO Brand .........................75 vii Abstract Sesame Street Gentrified: The Future of Public Media Jordan B. Abrams The intent of this thesis is to consider the future of public television by looking at its past and present . While doing a literature review of the history of public media, the idea of incorporating the audiences feelings and analyzing the cultural trends taking place due to economics, technology, current events, and collective value shifts begun taking precedence in the research as it became clear that the future of public media is dependent on the audience’s ideals. During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the abolishment of federal funding was a major topic. The imminent threat posed to public media inspired this research, as the arguments for reallocating funds away from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting did not seem in line with what the American People wanted – those people that, in theory, own the airwaves. In 2009, the television industry went through its biggest change with the Digital TV Transition, leaving Public Television especially at a crossroads, not having the budgets that