WGBH is the largest public television station in the US. 'GBH is located in Boston, and produces a large amount of the non-commercial television programming in the United States. Revenues were nearly $159,000,000 for FY2000 ($170M+ in '99), roughly 15% of which came directly from the federal government. Additional government revenue comes indirectly in the form of fees from other stations.

'GBH has two television stations on the Boston airwaves, 2 and 44 (I believe there may be a third rebroadcasting station down on the Cape). They also operate two radio stations at 89.7 (WGBH) and 89.5 (WNCK), which produce shows like Marketplace. GBH broadcasts on the web for anyone who can't get good stuff locally.

Television programs produced by WGBH include Nova, Frontline, This Old House, ZOOM (old and new versions), Nova, Arthur, The New Yankee Workshop, Victory Garden and Antiques Roadshow, among others. In the past, they've been known for producing shows like The Electric Company, and beginning in 1965, a series of cooking shows starring Julia Child, notably The French Chef. 'GBH has also imported a lot of British tv, including Upstairs, Downstairs the various programs under the guise of Masterpiece Theater, and Jeeves and Wooster.

'GBH has faced criticism in recent years for airing longer and longer sponsor spots at the beginning of shows. I don't think it's a big deal; GBH still produces stuff that you'd never see on commercial TV, particularly stuff that appeals to some constituencies that are unpopular with the commercial networks: racial/ethnic minorities, gays/lesbians, and geeks/nerds.

Sources
www.wgbh.org
www.wgbhalumi.org
http://www.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/wgbh/

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