Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a premier American public broadcaster and non‑commercial, free‑to‑air television network headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Since its inception in 1969, it has aired educational programming, offering acclaimed series such as Nature, Nova, Frontline, PBS NewsHour, Masterpiece, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Arthur, and American Experience, reaching audiences across the United States and into parts of Canada and northern Mexico.

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Media assets

Television: See PBS local subsidiaries list below

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State Media Matrix Typology

Defunding/Closure in progress

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Ownership and governance

PBS operates as a nonprofit cooperative, governed by a board of 27 directors appointed by its member stations. These member stations, numbering approximately 350, co‑own PBS and ensure that local voices inform national broadcasting strategy.

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Source of funding and budget

PBS’s financial model relies on a mix of funding sources: dues from member stations, federal appropriations via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), pledge drives, and philanthropic contributions from individuals and foundations. Importantly, no single source dominates, fostering editorial independence and operational resilience.

From 2020 through 2023, PBS’s finances traced a path of modest fluctuation but overall stability. In 2020, the network’s total income edged close to the US $700 million mark, reflecting a robust mix of member station dues, philanthropic support, and federal grants. The following year saw a slight dip, with revenues slipping to about US $657 million, a decline attributed by analysts to pandemic-related pressures on both underwriting and donations. By 2022, the budget steadied at roughly US $669 million, with member assessments, the dues paid by local stations, providing the largest single contribution at around US $203 million. The upward momentum continued into 2023, when PBS’s budget climbed to approximately US $711 million. That year, member assessments rose to about US $211 million, while the organization channelled its largest share of spending, some US $405 million out of a total US $634 million, into content creation and promotion, underscoring its continued investment in original programming and audience outreach. In 2024, PBS reported US$ 722 million in revenue, member organizations contributing US$ 218.5 million, accordingt to a company report.

Meanwhile, the CPB, the conduit through which PBS receives a significant share of its public financing, received approximately US $525 million in 2024 and US $535 million in 2025, including about US $10 million in interest each year, for a total of roughly US $545 million in 2025. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), in FY 2024, about 10.6% of public television revenue and 6.0% of public radio revenue came through CPB-granted support. On average, PBS‑affiliated stations depended on federal funding for around 18% of their budgets (with NPR’s average reliance hovering at 13%).

The figures above represent total system-wide revenue, not merely PBS’s central operations. In other words, they capture funds circulating across the entire public television network, including income generated by local stations, CPB pass-through grants, underwriting, and other programme-level funding. By contrast, PBS’s national headquarters, its central coordinating body, operated on a significantly smaller budget of approximately US $364.7 million in 2024, according to Current.

Although PBS’s financial structure remained sound, dark clouds have been gathering in recent years. The election of Donald Trump to a second presidential term brought renewed calls from the White House to zero-out federal funding for the CPB. The confrontation came to a head in 2025. In May, the administration issued an executive order to rescind CPB’s funding, followed in July by passage of the Rescissions Act of 2025, which stripped US $1.1 billion from CPB allocations over two years.

With CPB now set to wind down by early 2026, PBS and its member stations face an unprecedented shortfall. Local affiliates—particularly in rural, tribal, and economically disadvantaged areas—are bracing for layoffs, program cancellations, and even outright closure. Prominent voices such as filmmaker Ken Burns have decried the cuts as a needless blow to civic life, warning that the erosion of public media will deprive communities of trusted, non-commercial information at a moment when misinformation already runs rampant.

PBS’s future structure is uncertain. It could persist as a national distributor for the stations that remain solvent, but its reach, diversity of programming, and ability to produce high-cost documentaries and investigative work will likely be reduced.

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Editorial independence

PBS has maintained in its history a clear firewall from government influence: there are no mandates from federal authorities governing its content. Its editorial integrity is enforced internally through its PBS Editorial Standards and Practices. The network also features a Public Editor, whose role is to receive and address public feedback, ensuring programming stays aligned with viewers’ expectations and maintains impartiality.

August 2025

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List of PBS Broadcasters

Alabama Public Television (APT PBS)
• Birmingham – WBIQ 10
• Demopolis – WIIQ 41
• Dozier – WDIQ 2
• Florence – WFIQ 36
• Huntsville – WHIQ 25
• Louisville – WGIQ 43
• Mobile – WEIQ 42
• Montgomery – WAIQ 26
• Mount Cheaha – WCIQ 7
Alaska Public Media
• Anchorage – KAKM 7
• Bethel – KYUK-LD 15
• Juneau – KTOO-DT 3
Fairbanks – KUAC-TV 9
Phoenix – KAET 8 (Arizona PBS)
Tucson – KUAT-TV 6 (PBS 6)
• Tucson – KUAS-TV 27
Arkansas PBS
• Arkadelphia – KETG 9
• El Dorado – KETZ 12
• Fayetteville – KAFT 13
• Jonesboro – KTEJ 19
• Little Rock – KETS 2
• Mountain View – KEMV 6
Eureka – KEET 13 (PBS North Coast)
Fresno – KVPT 18 (Valley PBS)
Huntington Beach (Los Angeles) – KOCE-TV 50 (PBS SoCal)
Los Angeles – KCET 28 (PBS SoCal Plus)
Los Angeles – KLCS 58
Redding (Chico) – KIXE-TV 9
Sacramento – KVIE 6
San Bernardino (Los Angeles) – KVCR-DT 24 (Empire KVCR)
San Diego – KPBS 15
Cotati – KRCB 22 (Northern California Public Media)
San Francisco – KQED 9
• Watsonville (Salinas-Monterey) – KQET 25
San Jose – KQEH 54 (KQED Plus)

Broomfield (Denver) – KBDI-TV 12 (PBS 12)
Rocky Mountain PBS
• Denver – KRMA-TV 6
• Durango – KRMU 20
• Grand Junction – KRMJ 18
• Pueblo (Colorado Springs) – KTSC 8
• Steamboat Springs – KRMZ 24
Connecticut Public Television (CPTV)
• Hartford – WEDH 24
• New Haven – WEDY 65
• Norwich – WEDN 53
• Stamford – WEDW 49
Wilmington, Delaware (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – WHYY-TV 12
• Seaford – WDPB 64 (satellite of WHYY-TV)
• 
WETA-TV 26
WHUT-TV 32/WJLA-TV

Fort Myers (Naples) – WGCU 30
Gainesville – WUFT 5
Jacksonville – WJCT 7 (Jax PBS)
Miami – WLRN-TV 17
Orlando – WUCF-TV 24
Pensacola – WSRE 23
South Florida PBS
• Boynton Beach – WXEL-TV 42
• Miami – WPBT 2
Tallahassee – WFSU-TV 11
• Panama City – WFSG 56
Tampa – WEDU 3 / WEDQ 3.4
Atlanta – WABE-TV 30
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB)
• Athens (Atlanta) – WGTV 8
• Chatsworth – WNGH-TV 18
• Cochran (Macon) – WMUM-TV 29
• Columbus – WJSP-TV 28
• Dawson – WACS-TV 25
• Pelham (Albany) – WABW-TV 14
• Savannah – WVAN-TV 9
• Waycross – WXGA-TV 8
• Wrens (Augusta) – WCES-TV 20
PBS Hawai’i
• Honolulu – KHET 11
• Wailuku – KMEB 10
Idaho Public Television
• Boise – KAID 4
• Coeur d’Alene – KCDT 26
• Moscow – KUID 12
• Pocatello – KISU 10
• Twin Falls – KIPT 13
Charleston – WEIU-TV 51
Chicago – WTTW 11
Moline (Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa) – WQPT 24
Peoria – WTVP 47
Southern Illinois
• Carbondale – WSIU-TV 8
• Olney – WUSI-TV 16
• Jacksonville – WSEC 14
• Macomb – WMEC 22
• Quincy – WQEC 27
Urbana – WILL-TV 12

Bloomington – WTIU 30
Evansville – WNIN 9
Fort Wayne – WFWA 39 (PBS Fort Wayne)
Gary – WYIN 56 (Lakeshore PBS)
Indianapolis – WFYI 20
Muncie – WIPB 49 (Ball State PBS)
South Bend – WNIT 34 (Michiana PBS)
Vincennes – WVUT 22 (Vincennes PBS)

Iowa PBS
• Council Bluffs (Omaha) – KBIN-TV 32
• Davenport (Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa) – KQIN 36
• Des Moines – KDIN-TV 11
• Fort Dodge – KTIN 21
• Iowa City – KIIN 12
• Mason City – KYIN 24
• Red Oak – KHIN 36
• Sioux City – KSIN-TV 27
• Waterloo – KRIN 32
Smoky Hills PBS
• Colby – KWKS 19
• Dodge City – KDCK 21
• Hays – KOOD 9
• Lakin – KSWK 3
Topeka – KTWU 11
Wichita – KPTS 8 (PBS Kansas)

Bowling Green – WKYU-TV 24 (WKU PBS)
Kentucky Educational Television (KET)
• Ashland – WKAS 25
• Bowling Green – WKGB-TV 53
• Covington (Cincinnati, Ohio) – WCVN-TV 54
• Elizabethtown – WKZT-TV 23
• Hazard – WKHA 35
• Lexington – WKLE 46
• Louisville – WKPC-TV 15
• Louisville – WKMJ-TV 68
• Madisonville – WKMA-TV 35
• Morehead – WKMR 38
• Murray – WKMU 21
• Owensboro – WKOH 31
• Owenton – WKON 52
• Paducah – WKPD 29
• Pikeville – WKPI-TV 22
• Somerset – WKSO-TV 29

Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB)
• Alexandria – KLPA-TV 25
• Baton Rouge – WLPB-TV 27
• Lafayette – KLPB-TV 24
• Lake Charles – KLTL-TV 18
• Monroe – KLTM-TV 13
• Shreveport – KLTS-TV 24
New Orleans – WYES-TV 12

Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN)
• Augusta – WCBB 10
• Biddeford (Portland) – WMEA-TV 26
• Calais – WMED-TV 13
• Orono (Bangor) – WMEB-TV 12
• Presque Isle – WMEM-TV 10
Maryland Public Television (MPT)
• Annapolis – WMPT 22
• Baltimore – WMPB 67
• Frederick – WFPT 62
• Hagerstown – WWPB 31
• Oakland – WGPT 36
• Salisbury – WCPB 28

Boston – WGBH-TV 2 / WGBX-TV 44 (GBH)
Springfield – WGBY-TV 57 (New England Public Media)
Bad Axe (Flint-Saginaw-Bay City) – WDCQ-TV 19 (Delta College Public Media)
CMU Public Television
• Alpena – WCML 6
• Cadillac – WCMV 27
• Manistee – WCMW 21
• Mount Pleasant – WCMU-TV 14
Detroit – WTVS 56 (Detroit Public TV)
East Lansing – WKAR-TV 23
Marquette – WNMU 13 (Public TV 13)
WGVU Public Media
• Grand Rapids – WGVU-TV 35
• Kalamazoo – WGVK 52
Austin (Rochester) – KSMQ-TV 15
Crookston (East Grand Forks/Grand Forks) – KCGE-DT 16
Lakeland PBS
• Bemidji – KAWE 9
• Brainerd – KAWB 22
Pioneer PBS
• Appleton – KWCM-TV 10
• Worthington – KSMN 20
Saint Paul (Minneapolis) – KTCA-TV 2 / KTCI-TV 2.3 (Twin Cities PBS)
PBS North
• Duluth – WDSE 8
• Hibbing – WRPT 31

Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB)
• Biloxi – WMAH-TV 19
• Booneville – WMAE-TV 12
• Bude – WMAU-TV 17
• Greenwood – WMAO-TV 23
• Jackson – WMPN-TV 29
• Meridian – WMAW-TV 14
• Mississippi State – WMAB-TV 2
• Oxford – WMAV-TV 18
Kansas City – KCPT 19 (Kansas City PBS)
• KMCI-TV
Ozarks Public Television
• Joplin – KOZJ 26
• Springfield – KOZK 21
St. Louis – KETC 9 (Nine PBS)
Sedalia (Columbia) – KMOS-TV 6

Montana PBS
• Billings – KBGS-TV 16
• Bozeman – KUSM 9
• Great Falls – KUGF-TV 21
• Helena – KUHM-TV 10
• Kalispell – KUKL-TV 46
• Missoula – KUFM-TV 11
Nebraska Public Media
• Alliance – KTNE-TV 13
• Bassett – KMNE-TV 7
• Hastings – KHNE-TV 29
• Lexington – KLNE-TV 3
• Lincoln – KUON-TV 12
• Merriman – KRNE-TV 12
• Norfolk – KXNE-TV 19
• North Platte – KPNE-TV 9
• Omaha – KYNE-TV 26
Las Vegas – KLVX 10 (Vegas PBS)
Reno – KNPB 5 (PBS Reno)
New Hampshire PBS
• Durham – WENH-TV 11
• Keene – WEKW-TV 11
• Littleton – WLED-TV 11
Newark (New York City) – WNET 13
NJ PBS
• Camden – WNJS 23
• Montclair – WNJN 50
• New Brunswick – WNJB 58
• Trenton – WNJT 52
Albuquerque – KNME-TV 5 (NM PBS)
• Santa Fe – KNMD-TV 5 (NM PBS)
Las Cruces – KRWG-TV 22
Portales – KENW 3

Binghamton – WSKG-TV 46
• Corning (Elmira) – WSKA 30
Buffalo – WNED-TV 17 (Buffalo-Toronto Public Media)
Garden City (Long Island) – WLIW 21
Plattsburgh – WCFE-TV 57 (Mountain Lake PBS)
Rochester – WXXI-TV 21
Schenectady (Albany) – WMHT 17
• WCWN
Syracuse (Central New York) – WCNY-TV 24
Watertown – WPBS-TV 16
• Norwood – WNPI-DT 18

Charlotte – WTVI 42 (PBS Charlotte)
PBS North Carolina (PBS NC)
• Asheville – WUNF-TV 33
• Canton – WUNW 27
• Chapel Hill (Raleigh-Durham) – WUNC-TV 4
• Concord (Charlotte) – WUNG-TV 58
• Edenton – WUND-TV 2
• Greenville – WUNK-TV 25
• Jacksonville – WUNM-TV 19
• Linville – WUNE-TV 17
• Lumberton – WUNU 31
• Roanoke Rapids – WUNP-TV 36
• Wilmington – WUNJ-TV 39
• Winston-Salem – WUNL-TV 26
Prairie Public Television
• Bismarck – KBME-TV 3
• Devils Lake – KMDE 25
• Dickinson – KDSE 9
• Ellendale – KJRE 19
• Fargo – KFME 13
• Grand Forks – KGFE 2
• Minot – KSRE 6
• Williston – KWSE 4
Athens – WOUB-TV 20
• Cambridge – WOUC-TV 44
Bowling Green – WBGU-TV 27
Cincinnati – WCET 48
Cleveland – WVIZ 25
Columbus – WOSU 34
PBS Western Reserve
• Akron – WEAO 49
• Youngstown – WNEO 45
Think TV
• Dayton – WPTD 16
• Oxford – WPTO 14
Toledo – WGTE-TV 30

Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA)
• Cheyenne – KWET 12
• Eufaula – KOET 3
• Oklahoma City – KETA-TV 13
• Tulsa – KOED-TV 11
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)
• Bend – KOAB-TV 3
• Corvallis – KOAC-TV 7
• Eugene – KEPB-TV 28
• La Grande – KTVR 13
• Portland – KOPB-TV 10
Southern Oregon PBS
• Klamath Falls – KFTS 22
• Medford – KSYS 8
Allentown – WLVT-TV 39 (PBS39)
Clearfield (Altoona-Johnstown) – WPSU-TV 3
Erie – WQLN 54
Harrisburg – WITF-TV 33
Philadelphia – WPPT 35 (PBS39 Extra)
Pittsburgh – WQED 13
Scranton – WVIA-TV 44 (VIA TV)

Providence: WSBE-TV 36 (Rhode Island PBS)
South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV)
• Allendale (Augusta, Georgia) – WEBA-TV 14
• Beaufort – WJWJ-TV 16
• Charleston – WITV 7
• Columbia – WRLK-TV 35
• Conway – WHMC-TV 23
• Florence – WJPM-TV 33
• Greenville – WNTV 29
• Greenwood – WNEH 38
• Rock Hill (Charlotte, North Carolina) – WNSC-TV 30
• Spartanburg – WRET-TV 49
• Sumter – WRJA-TV 27
South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB)
• Aberdeen – KDSD-TV 16
• Brookings – KESD-TV 8
• Eagle Butte – KPSD-TV 13
• Lowry – KQSD-TV 11
• Martin – KZSD-TV 8
• Pierre – KTSD-TV 10
• Rapid City – KBHE-TV 9
• Sioux Falls – KCSD-TV 23
• Vermillion – KUSD-TV 2
Chattanooga – WTCI 45
Cookeville – WCTE 22
East Tennessee PBS
• Knoxville – WKOP-TV 15
• Sneedville (Tri-Cities, Tennessee/Virginia) – WETP-TV 2
Lexington – WLJT-DT 11
Memphis – WKNO 10
Nashville – WNPT 8 (Nashville Public Television)

Amarillo – KACV-TV 2 (Panhandle PBS)
Austin – KLRU 18 (Austin PBS)
College Station (Waco) – KAMU-TV 12
Corpus Christi – KEDT 16
Dallas (Fort Worth) – KERA-TV 13
El Paso – KCOS 13 (PBS El Paso)
Houston – KUHT 8 (Houston Public Media)
La Feria (Rio Grande Valley) – KCWT-CD 21.4
Lubbock – KTTZ-TV 5 (PBS Texas Tech Public Media)
Midland–Odessa – KPBT-TV 36 (Basin PBS)
San Antonio – KLRN 9
PBS Utah
• Richfield – KUES 19
• Salt Lake City – KUED 7
• St. George – KUEW 18
Vermont Public
• Burlington – WETK 33
• Rutland – WVER 28
• St. Johnsbury – WVTB 20
• Windsor – WVTA 41
Norfolk – WHRO-TV 15
Blue Ridge Public Television –
• Roanoke – WBRA-TV 15 (Blue Ridge PBS)
• Bristol – PBS Appalachia Virginia (PBS Appalachia Virginia)
Virginia Public Media
• Richmond – WCVE-TV 23
• Charlottesville – WHTJ 41
• Staunton (Harrisonburg) – WVPT 51.1
• Richmond – WCVW 57
• New Market – WVPY 51.2
Northwest Public Television
• Pullman – KWSU-TV 10
• Richland – KTNW 31
Seattle – KCTS-TV 9 (Cascade PBS)
• Yakima – KYVE 47
Spokane – KSPS-TV 7
Tacoma – KBTC-TV 28
• Centralia – KCKA 15

West Virginia Public Broadcasting
• Grandview (Bluefield-Beckley) – WSWP-TV 9
• Huntington – WVPB-TV 33
• Morgantown – WNPB-TV 24
Milwaukee – WMVS 10 / WMVT 36 (Milwaukee PBS)
PBS Wisconsin
• Green Bay (Appleton/Northeast Wisconsin) – WPNE-TV 38
• La Crosse – WHLA-TV 31
• Madison – WHA-TV 21
• Menomonie (Eau Claire) – WHWC-TV 28
• Park Falls – WLEF-TV 36
• Wausau – WHRM-TV 20
Wyoming PBS 
• Casper – KPTW 6
• Lander (Riverton) – KCWC-DT 4
• Laramie (Cheyenne) – KWYP-DT 8