They feel its journalistic philosophy, and its independence on commercial sponsors, to be threatening to their political and economic agenda. Not only that, its content and format do not lend itself to commercial exploitation, or serve audiences who are particularly vulnerable to it. In other words, they cannot profit from it, so they resist any support for it.

Like any institution not tied directly to, or under the control of, private enterprise, they fear it might provide a counter and alternative to it, and a venue for those not directly involved in it. The private sector fears Public Broadcasting for the same reasons Communist dictatorships fear the internet: they provide an alternative perspective on social reality.

And you know what, they're absolutely right.