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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting:
Federal Funding and Issues
Mark Gurevitz
Information Research Specialist
Glenn J. McLoughlin
Section Research Manager
November 12, 2009
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS22168
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
c11173008
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues
Summary
Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives virtually all of its funding through federal
appropriations; overall, about 15% of all public television and radio broadcasting funding comes
from the federal appropriations that CPB distributes. CPB’s appropriation is allocated through a
distribution formula established in its authorizing legislation and has historically received two-
year advanced appropriation. For FY2010, the CPB appropriation is $420 million, and for
FY2011 it will be $430 million (passed as a part of the FY2008 and FY2009 appropriation bills,
respectively). The Obama Administration has requested $440 million for the current
appropriations request now being considered by Congress (for FY2012). This report addresses the
components of federal support for public broadcasting, as well as briefly describing those issues
facing public television and public radio. This report will be updated as events warrant.
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues
Contents
Background ................................................................................................................................ 1
Corporation for Public Broadcasting ........................................................................................... 1
Public Television: PBS................................................................................................................ 2
Public Radio: NPR and PRI ........................................................................................................ 2
Federal Funding .......................................................................................................................... 2
Issues.......................................................................................................................................... 3
Tables
Table 1. CPB Federal Appropriations FY2001- FY2011 .............................................................. 3
Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 5
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues
Background
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was incorporated in 1967 as a private nonprofit
corporation under the authority of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 (P.L. 90-129). CPB
funding promotes public television and radio stations and their programs. These CPB-funded
stations reach virtually every household in the United States. CPB is the largest single source of
funding for public television and radio programming.
Most CPB-funded television programs are distributed through the Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) created in 1969 by CPB. CPB-funded radio programs are distributed primarily through the
National Public Radio (NPR), created in 1970 by CPB, and the Public Radio International (PRI).
The number of radio and television public broadcasting stations supported by CPB increased
from 270 in 1969 to 1,050 in 2009,1 of which 356 are television stations. Public broadcasting
stations are mostly run by universities, nonprofit community associations, state government
agencies, and local school boards.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
CPB is a nonprofit private corporation and is guided by a nine-member board of directors. These
directors are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The directors
serve for staggered six-year terms. The current chairman is Dr. Ernest Wilson III, elected by the
board of directors in September 2009. The CPB’s principal function is to receive and distribute
government contributions (or federal appropriations) to fund national programs and to support
qualified public radio and television stations based on legislatively mandated formulas. The bulk
of these funds, including the matching funds received from non-federal sources, are used to
provide Community Service Grants (or CSGs) to stations that meet specified eligibility criteria.
CPB exercises minimum control of program content and other activities of local stations, and is
prohibited from owning or operating any of the primary facilities used in broadcasting. In
addition, it may not produce, disseminate, or schedule programs. The current president and CEO
of CPB is Patricia de Stacy Harrison, appointed by the board of Directors in June 2005.
Approximately 15% of all public television and radio broadcasting funding comes from the
federal appropriations that CPB distributes.2 However, among individual public broadcasting
stations, the amount of federal dollars that contributes to a station’s annual budget depends on the
funds it receives from non-federal sources; the number and extent of broadcast transmitters
required to service its coverage area; the extent to which a station is serving rural areas and
minority audiences; and whether or not it is a television or radio station.
1 http://www.cpb.org/aboutpb/faq/stations.html
2 http://www.cpb.org/stations/reports/revenue/2007PublicBroadcastingRevenue.pdf
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues
Public Television: PBS
PBS was created by CPB in 1969 to operate and manage a nationwide (now satellite) program
distribution system interconnecting all the local public television stations, and to provide a
distribution channel for national programs to those public television stations. Although PBS does
not produce programs for its members, it aggregates funding for the creation and acquisition of
programs by and for the stations, and distributes programs through its satellite distribution
system. Paula Kerger became the sixth and current president and CEO of PBS in March 2006.
Public Radio: NPR and PRI
For radio, a different division of responsibilities was established. CPB created National Public
Radio (NPR) in 1970 as a news-gathering, production, and program-distribution company
governed by its member public radio stations. Unlike its public television counterpart, NPR is
authorized to produce radio programs for its members as well as to provide, acquire, and
distribute radio programming through its satellite program distribution system. Public Radio
International (PRI) was founded in 1983 as an independent, not-for-profit corporation to act as
another distributor of public radio content, in competition with National Public Radio and other
existing distributors. Vivian Schiller became the current president and CEO of NPR in January
2009.
Federal Funding
The Obama Administration requested a $440 million appropriation for CPB for FY2010. The
House agreed to this figure, while the Senate Committee on Appropriations raised the amount to
$450 million. Both the House bill and the Senate committee reported bill include provisions to
assist public broadcasters affected by the recent economic downturn and to provide assistance for
digital conversion.
Since CPB has a two-year advanced appropriation, both the FY2010 and FY2011 appropriations
for CPB have already been approved (in FY2008 and FY2009, respectively). For FY2010, the
CPB will receive $420 million, and for FY2011 it will receive $430 million.
Over the last several years, the Bush Administration had requested that the advanced
appropriations for CPB end. Congress did not support this request. The Bush Administration did
request that some funding from CPB’s enacted appropriations be made available for digital
conversion grants to public television broadcasters, to which Congress agreed. Also, the Bush
Administration asked that CPB funding be made available to upgrade and complete the national
interconnection system, which is the national distribution network of public broadcasting stations.
This was also supported in previous appropriations bills.
From the last year of available information, public broadcasting reported total income of $2.9
million in FY2007.3 The federal contribution made up 13.7% of the system’s total income. The
remaining 86.3% was raised from non-federal sources (including individuals, businesses,
3 http://www.cpb.org/stations/reports/revenue/2007PublicBroadcastingRevenue.pdf
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues
foundations, state and local governments, and educational institutions). The largest single income
source (24.4% in FY2007) came from membership. Neither PBS nor NPR receives grants from
the CPB for their general operations; only local public broadcasting stations receive these
generally unrestricted funds directly.
A history of CPB appropriations from FY2001 is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. CPB Federal Appropriations FY2001- FY2011
($ in millions)
Fiscal
Year
Administration Request House Appropriation
Senate Appropriation
Final
Appropriation
2001 $340
$340
$340
$340
2002 $350
$340
$350
$350
2003 $365
$365
$365
$362.8
2004 $0a
$365 $395 $377.8
2005 $0a $380
$395 $386.8b
2006 $0a
$400 $400 $396c
2007 $0a e $400 $400 $400
2008 $0a e $400 $400
$393d
2009
a e None
$400 $400
2010
a e
$420 $420 $420
2011
a
$430 $430 $430
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, The Budget of the U.S. Government, and Public Laws.
a. The Bush Administration requested that the two-year advanced appropriations funding for CPB end, and
therefore did not request advanced appropriations after 2004.
b. FY2005 final appropriation ($390 million) includes a 0.80% rescission for all federal appropriations (P.L. 108-
447).
c. FY2006 final appropriation ($400 million) includes a 1% rescission for all federal appropriations (P.L. 109-148).
d. FY2008 final appropriation ($400 million) includes a 1.747% rescission for all federal appropriations (P.L. 110-
161).
e. The President’s FY2007 budget recommended a $53.5 million rescission from CPB’s FY2007 advance
appropriation, a $50 million rescission from CPB’s 2008 advance appropriation, a $200 million rescission from
CPB’s 2009 advance appropriation, and a $220 million rescission from CPB’s 2010 advance appropriation.
Issues
In an age of multiple cable channel options, digital radio, and computerized digital streaming,
many ask whether there is a need for a federally supported national broadcasting system.
Supporters of public broadcasting argue that public radio and television broadcasters, free of
commercial interruption, provide perhaps the last bastion of balanced and objective information,
news, children’s education, and entertainment in an era of a changing media landscape. Others
contend that public broadcasting has lost much of its early impact since the media choices have
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grown so much over the last several decades and that the federal role in public broadcasting
should be re-evaluated as well.
For example, many public radio stations now stream their shows over the Internet, either live or
on delay. Federal communications law states artists receive royalties for these Internet-streamed,
or “webcast,” programs from broadcasters,4 but to date artists do not receive royalties for
performances played on AM and FM radio. Many public radio stations that also webcast—
particularly those at colleges and universities—contend that they could not afford to make the
digital royalty payments as commercial broadcasters, as required.
To avoid continued questions regarding webcasting of public broadcasting, or even the cessation
of this part of public broadcasting, CPB and SoundExchange5 came to an agreement in August
2009 that will cover royalties from 2012 through 2015 for NPR member stations, NPR itself,
National Federation of Community broadcasters member stations, Public Radio International,
American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange and certain CPB-qualified stations. The CPB
will pay the royalties out of a system support fund, which is set at 6% of its federal
appropriations.6
The agreement will provide public broadcasters an avenue to continue a wide range of
broadcasting. However, some public broadcast supporters are concerned that this has opened up a
precedent for royalty payments by public broadcast stations, which state they already have
significant financial obligations; other industry observers contend that public broadcasters must
address the same issues that commercial digital broadcasters are facing in the 21st century.
Another issue is multiple ownership of public media outlets in competitive markets. The issue
now before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) involves the attempt of the WGBH
Education Foundation—operator of WGBH-TV, the highly successful Boston-based public
service broadcaster—to purchase the commercial radio station WCRB-FM.
The WGBH Education Foundation is the top-ranked member of the Public Broadcasting Service
in New England and produces about one-third of PBS’s programming. It operates a second
Boston television station, and one in Springfield, MA. In addition it operates four FM radio
stations in eastern Massachusetts, and is a member of National Public Radio and Public Radio
International. It operates two commercial subsidiaries involved in music rights and motion picture
production. The purchase of WCRB-FM, a classical music station that serves the Boston area,
would allow WGBH to potentially alter its format to compete more directly with WBUR-FM, the
leading public radio station in Boston that is operated by Boston University.7
4 See CRS Report RL34411, Expanding the Scope of the Public Performance Right for Sound Recordings: A Legal
Analysis of the Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848 and S. 379), by Brian T. Yeh. Historically, artists do not receive
royalty payments for performances on AM and FM radio; the publishers of songs and performances receive a royalty
rate.
5 SoundExchange is a non-profit performance rights organization that collects royalties on behalf of sound recording
owners (e.g., record companies) and recording artists for non-interactive digital transmissions including satellite and
digital radio broadcasters.
6 SoundExchange, CPB Reach Agreement Through 2015, Public Broadcasting Report, Aug. 14, 2009. p.2.
7 Information on WBGH is available at http://www.wgbh.org/.
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Some contend that if WGBH were a commercial broadcaster, it would have far too much control
of a local broadcast area and that the concentration would harm competition. In deciding whether
to permit the purchase, the FCC faces consideration of whether the expansion of the public
broadcaster harms competitors and plurality and diversity. It may also impact other public
broadcasters in highly concentrated media outlets, where some commercial broadcasters face
declining revenue streams and thin profit margins. The FCC decision is expected by the end of
the calendar year.
Finally, Congress has recognized that, in a sharp economic downturn such as that experienced in
the United States since 2007, public broadcasters may not be receiving the amount of private
membership and foundation support they have received in the past. In the version of H.R. 3293 as
passed by the House, $40 million of the CPB appropriations for FY2010 is directed for “fiscal
stabilization grants to public radio and television stations, which have negatively been impacted
by the economic downturn.” In the version of H.R. 3293 reported out of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, similar language provides $10 million for these types of grants.
Author Contact Information
Mark Gurevitz
Glenn J. McLoughlin
Information Research Specialist
Section Research Manager
mgurevitz@crs.loc.gov, 7-7204
gmcloughlin@crs.loc.gov, 7-7073
Congressional Research Service
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