At its inception, radio programming was envisioned by many, including industry leaders (such as David Sarnoff, a guiding force behind the development of the Radio Corporation of America [RCA] and the National Broadcasting Company [NBC]) and government officials (such as then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover) as sustaining, that is, provided by stations or networks as a public service. Since programming was needed in order to sell radio transmitters and receivers, it was expected that the stations and networks established by manufacturers such as RCA would provide this programming and finance it from the profits on the sale of equipment. Programming provided by stations not associated with manufacturers was expected to be supported through endowments or municipal financing.

     The vision of a commercial-free, public service medium was short-lived, as American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) began exploiting the commercial potential of radio in 1922. However, the public service responsibility of stations licensed to operate on scarce, public broadcast frequencies was affirmed in the Radio Act of 1927 and reaffirmed in the Communications Act of 1934 (section 303), which states that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall regulate the industry as required by "public convenience, interest, or necessity." The "public interest" standard was further delineated by the FCC in a 1946 document  titled Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licensees, commonly known as the  "Blue  Book."  It states that devoting a reasonable percentage of broadcast time to sustaining programs is one criterion for operating in the public interest. Sustaining programming was deemed to  be  important  because  it  helped the station maintain a balance in program content and provided time for programs not appropriate for sponsorship, programs serving minority interests or  tastes, and nonprofit and experimental programs.  All  licensees were expected to broadcast sustaining  programs throughout the program schedule at times when the audience was expected to be awake. Thus, the importance of sustaining programming was firmly established before television began operation, and these standards were applied to the new medium.

     Sustaining programming also became important in network affiliate contracts. In the early days of radio, NBC charged its affiliates for the sustaining programs they accepted and paid affiliates a small flat fee for broadcast of sponsored programs. In the early 1930s, William Paley, president of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), used sustaining programs to secure greater carriage of sponsored programs, offering the sustaining schedule free in return for an exclusive option on any part of the affiliate's schedule for sponsored programs. Thus, sustaining programming became a bargaining point in network affiliate contracts.

     When experimental television was launched in the late 1930s, only sustaining programming was authorized by the FCC. The NBC schedule in 1939 included films supplied by outside sources; in-studio performances, including interviews, musical performances, humorous skits, and educational demonstrations; and remote broadcasts, mostly of sporting events. Although NBC did not receive compensation to air these programs and shouldered much of the live and remote production costs, advertisers still had an influence on sustaining programming. In the January 1941 issue of The Annals of the American Academy, David Sarnoff, then president of RCA and chairman of the board of NBC, wrote that "invitations have been extended to members of the advertising industry to work with us in creating programs having advertising value, at no cost to the sponsors during this experimental  period." When commercial operation was authorized in July 1941, NBC was prepared to convert many of its sustaining programs to commercially sponsored programs; however, World War II curtailed the development of television and of commercial and sustaining programming.

     As television regrouped after the war, sustaining programming became an important part of the industry's push to sell television receivers and transmitters. Since the financial strategy of many organizations was to use radio profits to provide funds for the fledgling television medium, a side effect of increased sustaining programming on television was the decrease in sustaining programming on radio as programs were dropped in favor of sponsored programming. Sustain­ ing programming on television was varied, including dramatic series, educational programs, political events, and public affairs programs. However, many programs (such as The Howdy Doody Show) that began as sustaining quickly found sponsors once they became popular. As a result, the amount of sustaining programming on commercial television quickly diminished.

     Further, after the freeze on the allocation of station licenses was lifted in 1950, channel space was allotted for educational stations. Industry leaders began to argue that much of the public service responsibility of broadcasting was being shouldered by these stations.

     One of the more remarkable recent sustaining programs on commercial television was Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (an animated anti drug program), which was aired without advertisements in 1990 simultaneously on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CTV, Global Television (Canada), Televisa (Mexico), and Armed Forces Television; several hundred independent stations; plus the Black Entertainment Network, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, the Turner Broadcasting System, and the USA Network on cable. However, This program is the exception.

     With the deregulatory push of the 1980s and the argument that nonprofit, experimental, and minority programming is being provided by educational and public television, little regulatory attention is given to sustaining programming on commercial television. Currently, many programs that fulfill the FCC requirement for "public service" programming are sponsored and are, therefore, not sustaining.