The last funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are to be distributed to public broadcast stations in the coming days.
CPB said Monday that it will distribute the remaining $7.1 million in obligated Community Service Grant funds to eligible local public radio and television stations.
“Unless new federal funding is appropriated to CPB, these payments will mark the final CSG payments to stations, ending the foundation of federal support that has sustained the operations of 1,500 local public media stations across the country,” it said in a press release.
The announcement was made by COO Kathy Merritt.
Earlier this year, CPB distributed $388.4 million in funding for fiscal 2025. But some money was left over from funds reserved for grantees that were not awarded or returned because of inspector general audits.
“Under normal circumstances, these funds would roll over and be distributed in FY 2026,” CPB explained.
“However, the Rescissions Act of 2025 eliminated already appropriated funding for public broadcasting in FY 2026 and FY 2027. With no future federal funding available, CPB is winding down its operations and will now distribute the remaining $7.1 million to stations in the coming days.”
Radio grantees will receive between $5,370 and $26,582, based on CPB’s formulas that assess station size, coverage and service obligations. Each public TV grantee will receive $15,680.
CPB lamented the government’s actions withdrawing support for public broadcasting.
“These final payments represent only a fraction of the CSG funding that stations normally receive each year. With no new federal funds available after Oct. 1, 2025, they cannot begin to offset the significant loss of CPB’s federal appropriation. As a result, many stations are already reducing staff, cutting local programming, scaling back educational partnerships and curtailing local journalism — leaving neighbors without a trusted source of information, education and community connection.”
