Last week’s presidential debate has many Americans talking about public television and how it should be funded. PBS and its local affiliates offer a lot of educational content such as Sesame Street, but some argue that the government should cut its funding and have it rely more on advertising and other revenue streams. How many Americans watch public television, and how many support government funding for it?
Public Television Viewers
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 19% of respondents said they watch public television often. 36% said they sometimes watch public television. 29% said they rarely watch it. And 17% said they never watch public television.
Of those viewers, 15% said they would definitely continue to watch public television if it contained more commercials or advertisements. 54% said they would probably continue to watch public television. 26% said they would probably not continue watching. And 5% said they would definitely not watch public television if it contained more advertisements.
Educational Programming
85% of overall respondents said they have watched Sesame Street at some point in their lives. 33% of parents said their kids currently watch Sesame Street. 37% said their kids have watched it in the past. And just 12% said their kids have never watched Sesame Street.
Government Funding
Overall, 51% of Americans said they support government funding for public television. 25% said they oppose it. And 24% said they are undecided. 54% of parents said they support government funding for public television. And 58% of those with at least a 4-year college degree said they definitely support government funding for public television.
You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.
Photo Credit: Sesame Street from Flickr
What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on October 5 via AYTM’s online survey panel.
