Public TV as we know it is now more than 40 years old. And from it’s very beginning has been largely supported by a slice of it’s viewing demographic, older folks.

Perhaps that’s because these viewers appreciate that public tv has not abandoned them like most of the rest of the video media world. Boomers are just naturally growing into the new generation of public tv donors and are using both mail and online to communicate their loyalty.

Public TV stations are not homogenous; that is, the audience base (potential donor base) of a station in a major metropolitan area might be different than the audience base of a statewide public TV network. As well, the programming of individual stations will vary from market to market because they are not just all getting the same shows from PBS — they’re also producing their own local programs (if they can afford to) and shopping a la carte from other sources.

I suspect that a great number of public TV viewers are not donors, nor are their families, and those families will probably never become part of the PTV donor base. That’s because the viewers are between the ages of 2 and 11 and a good percentage of those come from low-income families where English is not the primary language. Watching public TV kids’ shows has been traditionally viewed as a good way for kids (and adults) to learn English.