Arkansas PBS on Thursday severed ties with the PBS network, a move that will take shows like “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” and “Antiques Roadshow” off the air for tens of thousands of viewers.
The decision makes Arkansas PBS the first statewide public TV system to break from PBS since Congress voted this summer to strip $500 million in annual funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which backs TV and radio stations across the United States.
The loss of federal funding has put enormous pressure on the public media system, sending stations scrambling for ways to fill big budget gaps.
The Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees public television in the state, voted 6 to 2 to disaffiliate with PBS, citing concerns about the cost of membership since the recent loss of federal funding. Arkansas PBS is also changing its name to Arkansas TV.
Carlton Wing, the executive director and chief executive of Arkansas TV, said in an interview that Arkansas PBS had been set to lose $2.2 million to $2.5 million every year if it didn’t cut ties with PBS. He said that PBS fees for this year were more than $2 million.
“At that rate, we go bankrupt in two years,” Mr. Wing said. “This was a strictly financial decision.”
Mr. Wing said that the commission was forced to choose between keeping PBS or losing public media in Arkansas altogether. That was unimaginable, since local TV provides essential services, such as alerting Arkansans to tornadoes and other severe weather events.
Arkansas TV said in a statement that the move would result in more shows about Arkansas, “centered on the people, places and experiences of our state.”
“We only provide 5.5 percent of the content that airs on our station, and that is just abysmally low,” Mr. Wing said. “We are absolutely going to multiply that in short order to meet the needs of Arkansans.”
A PBS spokesman said in a statement that the decision to cut ties with the network “is a blow to Arkansans who will lose free, over-the-air access to quality PBS programming they know and love.”
“More than 70 percent of Arkansans surveyed by YouGov in June stated that PBS brings an excellent value to their communities,” the spokesman said.
Mr. Wing said that many Arkansans would be able to continue viewing PBS programming online, adding that he would be in favor of reconsidering the decision if PBS lowered its fees.
“We are open for any alternatives — they just have to be fiscally responsible for us,” he said.
Benjamin Mullin reports for The Times on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact him securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or at [email protected].
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