Corporation for Public Broadcasting shuts down after Congress strips funding

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced it will wind down operations due to a total loss of funding. The impending closure came after the organization lost all its remaining government funding for this year and was not able to secure any new funding for 2026.

Congressional Republicans rescinded CPB’s funding for this year when they passed a $9 billion rescissions package earlier in July. The final nail in the coffin came Thursday, July 31, when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a government funding bill for 2026 that doesn’t include anything for the CPB.

First time in more than a generation

This is the first time in more than five decades that Congress has declined to provide money to the organization. It provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year to PBS and NPR stations around the country. 

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

CPB staff were informed Friday morning, Aug. 1, that a majority of its positions would be terminated on Sept. 30, which is the end of the federal government’s fiscal year. A small “transition team” would remain through January 2026 to formally close out operations. The last remaining business items will include compliance issues, final monetary distributions, resolving long-term financial obligations and handling continuity for rights and royalties.

“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison said. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”

CPB said that its board of directors and management are working to address the legal, financial and operational requirements of the closure.

What now?

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit organization that was created by Congress in 1967. It supports 1,500 local public stations around the country with grants and other funding to support their operations. The money it provided went toward research, technology and programming for public radio, television and websites.

Local stations are now scrambling to find millions of dollars to keep their own operations going. For instance, WETA-TV in Washington, D.C., which produces shows like “PBS NewsHour,” will lose a total of $18 million over the next two years. That led the station to implement an immediate hiring freeze.

WQED-TV in Pittsburgh announced that it would lay off 19 employees to ensure its long-term financial stability. 

“This was a very difficult decision,” Jason Jedlinski, WQED’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We value the contributions of every departing colleague and thank them for their commitment, creativity and meaningful service.”

A source informed Straight Arrow News early in the week of July 27 that CPB was preparing to shut down because of the funding loss. When asked, a CPB official told SAN they were not closing and were working to secure funding for the next fiscal year. However, that conversation took place before Thursday, when the Senate Appropriations Committee finalized the vote.