Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 26, 1995 TAG: 9507260016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN MARTIN PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-BULLETIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Not so bad, I'd say, if the alternative is the extinction of public broadcasting.
In recent years we've seen public television take liberties with underwriting credits that would have been a scandal a decade ago. Gone are the days of the discreet, ``Funding for this broadcast was made possible in part by the Acme Corporation.''
Now you're more apt to see the company logo, perhaps a five-second fanfare and the additional message, ``Acme, makers of the world's most advanced road runner-capturing apparatus. Acme - smart ideas for smart coyotes.''
I don't think people have complained. And I don't think they would if the new 10-second announcement became a full-blown 30-second commercial.
Especially if the intrusion helped save public broadcasting.
Here's a way for Congress to phase out funding of public television (it's looking inevitable) while giving stations a means of recouping the lost revenue.
One reason public television doesn't get more corporate support is that many companies don't believe they get much bang for their bucks. Offer 30 seconds to run a commercial, and many of those companies would, theoretically, come forward.
Congress could increase the incentive by amending the tax law to triple the write-off for supporting public broadcasting.
For the first time, corporate underwriters could get more than a warm, fuzzy feeling from underwriting. Some might, for the first time, see public television as an advertising medium - not a philanthropic money pit. Wouldn't that be something.
Let's say, for example, Acme is about to introduce a patented new rocket vest that, when worn with roller skates, makes catching a road runner as easy as falling off a cliff.
Now, Acme could spend hundreds of thousands at one of the other networks to buy time on a top-rated show like ``ER'' or ``Seinfeld'' or ``Roseanne'' - shows that coyotes generally don't watch. Or, the company could put its money into underwriting ``Nature,'' a series that, despite its low rating, is watched in an extraordinarily high percentage of desert coyote households.
Under my plan, Acme reaches a target audience, gets a big tax break and shows a little class by associating with a distinguished PBS series.
One look at a slick 30-second commercial demonstrating the new rocket jacket's accuracy and reliability, and those ``Nature''-loving coyotes would be dialing 1-800-WILE-E-BUY.
Once Acme is on board, others might follow. Perhaps with these new incentives, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates - who I see now has a net worth of $12.9 billion - might go for a 30-second spot pushing Windows '95 on, say, ``Nova'' or ``Wall Street Week.''
Advertisers would like the fact that viewers would be less likely to tune away, knowing that they're less than a minute away from the start of a program.
Couldn't we live with a Nike ad on PBS or Coca-Cola or Ford or even Frank Perdue or his son Jim selling oven roasters? It's only for 30 seconds - small price to pay for an uninterrupted telecast.
The rule wouldn't apply to children's programs. We still need a place where kids can watch without being bombarded by ads for toys, games and breakfast cereals.
Maybe Congress could find a way to keep funding lines open for shows that give kids safe haven.
Who could argue with that?
by CNB