Congress passed a bill July 17 that claws back $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026-27.

CPB distributes federal funding to local media affiliates, including PBS and NPR stations. KUOW, a Seattle NPR affiliate that serves Kitsap County, will lose roughly $1.4 million, which is roughly 5% of its annual funding, KUOW chief marketing director Annette Promes said.

Promes said the impact in rural areas will likely be heavier than networks in larger metro areas such as KUOW in Seattle.

“While we only receive five percent of our funding from the CPB, there are some rural stations that might receive forty or sixty percent of their funding from the CPB, and they might not have the donor base in those rural areas to be able to replace it,” she said.

Northwest Public Broadcasting, based out of Pullman on Washington State University’s campus, also saw its funding shrink. Sueann Ramella, NWPB program director, said: “We are still waiting to get more concrete numbers of our budget moving forward so we know what shows we can afford. But I do know this: programming changes are going to happen. They have to, because we need to save money and cut costs.”

Ramella estimates NWPB will lose $2 million, or roughly 20% of its budget. “For decades, the American people have, through their tax dollars, subsidized important things for their communities and for their lifestyles,” she said. “Now we are asking local people in communities that use this service, can you help replace that? It’s a lot less convenient. But I want to believe that the American people want it.”

“The federal funding costs taxpayers $1.60 per year, only .01% of the federal budget. We need to ask ourselves if the prospect of losing educational programming, early warning alerts of disasters, and trusted journalism is worth $1.60 per taxpayer nationwide,” said DeAnne Hamilton, KBTC executive director/general manager.

Ramella hopes public donations will keep public broadcasting alive. “So now the question is, will public broadcasting survive in this next iteration of its existence, solely backed by the American people, not through the federal government. I don’t know. I’m really hoping so,” she said.