The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced it will shut down after Congress voted to eliminate its federal funding, ending decades of financial support for public television and radio stations nationwide.
Established in 1967, CPB was created to distribute federal funds to NPR, PBS, and hundreds of public radio and television outlets across the country. Roughly 70% of its budget flowed directly to local stations, with the remainder supporting technical infrastructure and music licensing agreements.
The closure follows a successful push by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to rescind $1.1 billion in future CPB appropriations, citing longstanding conservative arguments that taxpayer dollars should not support what critics view as liberal-leaning media.
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison acknowledged the decision as a major setback for public broadcasting. Despite widespread petitions to preserve funding, most CPB staff positions will be eliminated by September 30, the end of the fiscal year. A small transition team will remain in place through January 2025 to wind down operations and manage expiring licensing agreements.
The end of CPB’s role raises uncertainty for local stations that relied on it for essential services such as negotiating music rights and coordinating infrastructure support. Without a centralized funding source, many public media outlets — particularly smaller stations focused on music and cultural programming — may face significant challenges. NPR has warned that nearly all classical music broadcasting in the United States, for example, is produced by public radio stations.
Source: Phila Inquirer, CPB