Payments represent CPB’s commitment to delivering every last dollar to stations
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 22, 2025) – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will distribute the remaining $7.1 million in obligated Community Service Grant (CSG) funds to eligible local public radio and television stations. Unless new federal funding is appropriated to CPB, these payments will mark the final CSG payments to stations, ending the foundation of federal support that has sustained the operations of 1,500 local public media stations across the country.
“Local public media stations are rooted in and responsive to the information and education needs of the communities they serve. Through unique local programming and reporting, civic engagement and volunteer opportunities, their viewers and listeners become a community of neighbors,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB chief operating officer. “But the public media neighborhood has been hard hit because of the loss of federal funding.”
CPB is winding down its operations, but it is not abandoning its responsibility to steward the remaining federal funds and distributing them in line with its longstanding statutory mission. Yet the reality is that many stations will not endure—and the heaviest losses will fall on small towns, rural areas, and tribal communities, where public media has long been a lifeline.
Earlier this year, CPB distributed $388.35 million in available funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025 CSG payments to local public media stations based on its established eligibility criteria and payment schedules. A small balance remained, largely from funds reserved for grantees that were not awarded or returned because of Inspector General audits.
Under normal circumstances, these funds would roll over and be distributed in FY 2026. However, the Rescissions Act of 2025 eliminated already appropriated funding for public broadcasting in FY 2026 and FY 2027. With no future federal funding available, CPB is winding down its operations and will now distribute the remaining $7.1 million to stations in the coming days.
Each public television grantee will receive $15,680. Radio grantees will receive between $5,370 and $26,582, based on CPB’s established formulas that take into account station size, coverage, and service obligations. These formulas were developed in consultation with station representatives to ensure fairness and transparency.
These final payments represent only a fraction of the CSG funding that stations normally receive each year. With no new federal funds available after October 1, 2025, they cannot begin to offset the significant loss of CPB’s federal appropriation. As a result, many stations are already reducing staff, cutting local programming, scaling back educational partnerships, and curtailing local journalism—leaving neighbors without a trusted source of information, education, and community connection.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967. It has helped support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is the largest single source of funding for public radio, television, and related online and mobile services. With the rescission of federal funds for FY 2026 and FY 2027, CPB is in the process of winding down operations. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn.
