CPB will increase aid to small and rural public TV operations

Excerpted from an article in Current, Sept. 24, 1998

By Karen Everhart Bedford

With an approving vote of its Board of Directors, Sept. 15 [1998], CPB revised its TV grants policy to provide new assistance to small and rural stations.

Congressional committees have repeatedly asked CPB to give more aid to those stations, and earlier this month the Senate Appropriations Committee published report language directing the corporation to explore new ways to "level the playing field" between urban and rural stations. Rural stations often raise more local money per capita, but, because of their small populations, end up getting less CPB matching money, the committee noted.

CPB's revised policy aids those small stations by putting more money into its Transition Fund, which they can tap for efficiency improvements and fundraising projects. It also creates a new category of Special Assistance Grants that eligible stations will receive automatically.

The Transition Fund will increase from $1 million in fiscal 1999 to $2 million in 2000 and $2.5 million in 2001. The funding boost accommodates stations' increased interest in projects supported by the fund, such as outsourced programming services, cooperatives for back-office fundraising operations, and remote pledging.

"Those activities are increasing, and more stations are participating," explained Doug Weiss, v.p. of TV operations at CPB.

To qualify for the new Special Assistance Grants, stations must be the only local source of public TV ("sole service") and must have nonfederal fundraising revenues of less than $2 million. About 50 stations will be eligible, Weiss estimated.

The Special Assistance Grants are intended to help the financially weakest public TV stations develop "long-term sustainable solutions for their continued support," said the CSG review task force, in a report outlining its final recommendations [accessible online].

Between next year and fiscal 2002, CPB will allocate $2 million a year from the CSG pool and distribute these Special Assistance Grants among transition stations in inverse proportion to their nonfederal financial support (NFFS); in effect, stations with the smallest NFFS will receive the most assistance. (Stations whose income grows with these grants won't suffer by having their PBS dues raised as a result, Weiss said.)

Another policy change affecting some financially vulnerable stations ramps up CPB's minimum NFFS requirement to $1 million over four years, beginning at a $650,000 minimum next year. Stations that are unable to meet the new standards will have an out: they can submit business plans to CPB outlining "the means by which they will maintain or, ideally, exceed, current levels of service to their community," according to the task force report. Stations can seek CPB assistance to develop these plans through the transition fund. 

 

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Later news: Following decisions for additional aid to public TV in rural areas in fiscal 1999, CPB proposed new assistance for rural public radio as well, 1999.

Later news: CPB Board gives final approval to rural radio plan, 1999.

Overview article: Consensus on aid to rural stations was a long time coming.

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