For an event that informs millions of Americans on the positions of aspiring presidential candidates, the degree to which the entire primary debate process is dictated by a handful of corporations who’ve turned the democratic process into a profit center is disconcerting. This control covers everything from who gets to appear, to which broadcasters and services get to carry the event live.

Admittedly, and as last night’s fourth Democratic primary debate showcased, viewer access to the debates has certainly improved since the tube TV era, when broadcast TV was your only option. The debate, hosted by both the New York Times and CNN, was available not only on CNN’s channels and websites, but via both the New York Times and CNN apps. The pair also allowed Hulu to stream the event.

But while access to the debates has improved in the streaming era, there are still barriers to entry. Driven away by high costs and abysmal customer service, a growing number of Americans have hung up on traditional cable TV service. On the streaming side, FCC data indicates that 34 million Americans lack access to broadband, a number that’s likely significantly higher thanks to terrible US broadband availability data.

For a Democratic party that talks a lot about inclusion and access to essential services, the entire debate structure remains tightly controlled by just a few major media and broadcast empires. So far, the DNC has worked behind closed doors with ABC, Westwood One, The New York Times, and CNN to determine who appears and how the public can access the events.

Instead of being made uniformly available to every PBS station from coast to coast and managed via a transparent process that prioritizes the public interest, private corporations dictate the width and breadth of debate availability with a focus on advertising revenue.

Victor Pickard, an American media studies scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, told Motherboard that the problem, as usual, is the United States’ relentless obsession with prioritizing profits over public welfare.