Would it be possible for NPR to offer a donation option of not having to listen to their pledge drives?
I would be willing to pay extra for not having to listen to pledge drives. They would not have to introduce new programming, just repeats of prior programs. I am not familiar with electronics, but pay TV and pay radio have some way of only broadcasting only to customers, so I figure it may be technically possible.
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And to answer the question, I would gladly go for that option.
My local station offers a livestream to those who pay the pledge fee.
WBEZ (Chicago NPR) – What is the Pledge-Free Stream?
“The Pledge-Free Stream is a way to listen to the regular WBEZ broadcast without hearing the pledge drive! This stream is only on during our live pledge drives. It is turned off each evening after our drive ends for the day, then turned back on as the drive resumes. You can access the regular WBEZ broadcast at any time at wbez.org or through the WBEZ App.”
@Caravanfan, That is exactly what I had in mind, so it is a technically feasible. I wish there was such a stream for Philadelphia. The people in Chicago are missing out on an easy way of making extra money.
The Chicago pledge-free stream requires a donation.
Maybe. I think more stations will in the future use the no-interruption model pioneered by NCPR 5 or 6 years ago. It turns out that you don’t need to interrupt programming to have a successful pledge drive. They do a longer, “soft” drive and don’t do that shaming and withholding content thing anymore. I like that there aren’t tiers of listenership. You can get it all for free, just like everyone else, but if you can afford to, you know you really should donate.
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