While for many years psb systems in Europe were mainly monopolies, meaning that broadcasters did not have to compete with commercial television or radio stations, the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States evolved from a purely commercial environment, so its present organizational structure and Financial sources are a result of this specific course of development. pbs is a private, non-profit enterprise including 374 public television stations (fcc report).
Večina evropskih javnih servisov je dolga leta delovala v monopolnem položaju, to pomeni brez komercialnih radijskih in televizijskih programov. Ameriški pbs pa je nastal v popolnoma komercialnem medijskem okolju, tako da je njegova organizacijska in finančna struktura rezultat takega specifičnega razvoja. ameriški javni radiodifuzni servis (Public Broadcasting Service) je privatna, neprofitna korporacija, sestavljena iz ameriških javnih televizijskih postaj.