December pledge down but March looking strong, PBS says

PBS says stations raised $32 million in the last pledge period in December, down 8 percent on average from a year ago, reports the New York Times today (March 14). So far the March drive shows a 31 percent increase in the number of dollars pledged compared with March 2010. Since 2005, the average amount of time PBS member stations pledge has increased by 9 percent; some stations now devote 10 weeks a year to the special shows, the Times notes.