Overview

• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has no funds to distribute after Congress rescinded $1.1 billion in mid-July.
• Fiscal 2023 data show CPB grants averaged 10.3% of public TV budgets and 4.1% of radio budgets, with some rural outlets depending on federal support for over 90% of their revenues.
• Hundreds of public TV and radio stations have intensified on-air fundraising appeals and are courting local foundations and private donors to bridge funding gaps.
• PBS and NPR’s defense of an emergency-alert role is under scrutiny since the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act makes no reference to disasters or relief functions.
• A Peak Insights poll found high trust in public media but only 53% of voters support continued federal funding, highlighting political uncertainty over the sector’s future.