US EditionArkansas becoming 1st state to sever ties with PBS, effective July 1
Arkansas TV ends $2.5 million annual PBS dues after federal funding loss and shifts to local content with new children's, food, and history series.
- The Arkansas Educational Television Commission voted Thursday to end its PBS membership, effective July 1, 2026, and viewers should expect little to no change until June 30, 2026.
- After losing $2.5 MILLION in CPB support this summer, officials said recent federal budget cuts caused the shortfall from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- Beginning July 1, 2026, Arkansas TV plans several new local series, including two children's, two food-related, and two history series now in development while adding PBS access via myarpbs.org/ArkansasTV.
- Arkansans will lose free over-the-air access to PBS programs, and cable and streaming viewers will also no longer see PBS shows, PBS called the decision a blow.
- PBS confirmed Arkansas is the first state to definitively sever ties, the eight-member Arkansas Educational Television Commission voted, while the CPB funds more than 1,500 stations and Alabama last month faced backlash over similar moves.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Associated Press News
Arkansas becoming 1st state to sever ties with PBS, effective July 1
The commission that oversees public television in Arkansas has voted to sever ties with PBS, making it the first state to end its contract with the broadcast giant.
Arkansas TV, formerly Arkansas PBS, plans to disaffiliate from federal agency after funding cuts
The Arkansas PBS Commission and executive leadership meet on Dec. 11, 2025. (Screenshot from livestream)The governing board of the educational television network formerly known as Arkansas PBS voted Thursday to separate the agency, rebranded as Arkansas TV, from the national network. Six of the eight members of the Arkansas PBS commission voted to notify the federal Public Broadcasting Service of its intent to disaffiliate effective July 1, 2026…
Arkansas’s public television network to rebrand as “Arkansas TV,” end PBS affiliation in 2026
Arkansas’s statewide public television network, long known as Arkansas PBS and previously AETN, will adopt a new identity next year as “Arkansas TV,” the network announced Thursday. The change accompanies a major shift in programming and funding after the organization unexpectedly lost $2.5 million in annual federal support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting this summer. Following the funding loss, network leaders conducted an internal…
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