[Rebel_Ace]

You are absolutely correct that it is PBS that gets the Federal dough, no argument from me there. However, every time the Sesame Street program is aired on PBS, it amounts to a taxpayer subsidised 30 minute commercial for their merchandise.

The Left however has framed the argument that Mitt Romney would somehow KILL Sesame Street if funding were pulled from PBS, so by demonstrating that Sesame Street is a SERIOUS cash cow, it solidifies two positions:

(1) Sesame Street is actually big business, and can stand on its own two feet (it is, actually, but people routinely conflate Sesame Street with PBS)

(2) PBS could easily charge Big Bird for their air time, eliminating the need for Federal $$$

[PittsburghAfterDark]

PBS could charge Sesame Workshop for airtime ala infomercial but they never will.

- The second they proposed it Sesame Workshop walks on the meeting and announces their programming is up for open bids.

- Disney, which owns the rest of the Muppet characters and franchises, opens up the check book and reunites the Sesame Workshop characters with their always for profit counterparts.

Jim Henson, RIP, was completely adamant about keeping the Sesame Street and Muppet franchises separate from the Disney deal. A fact which Michael Eisner hated since their had been no successful Muppet franchise on commercial TV since 1981.

This whole argument has got to be a nightmare scenario for Sesame Workshop. Their financials are being brought way out into the open. Maybe not in terms and accuracy suitable for an SEC report but accurate enough to show the public that subsidizing PBS is a boondoggle.

The delicious irony of all of this is that the feel good liberals all up and down the line with this program and PBS will eat each other alive if it means survival for one and continued profitability for the other.