WEIU will end PBS affiliation as it weathers federal funding cuts
The university licensee of WEIU-TV in Charleston, Ill., announced Tuesday that the station will end its PBS affiliation Oct. 1 due to federal funding cuts to public media.
Licensed to Eastern Illinois University, WEIU has been a PBS station since 1992, according to its website. The announcement follows the vote in Congress to rescind fiscal year 2026 and 2027 federal funding to CPB. The corporation will begin winding down operations Sept. 30.
WEIU-TV received about $790,000 from CPB in FY25, according to a news release, representing nearly 80% of its annual budget of approximately $1 million. The station raises about $165,000 annually from grants, underwriting and fundraising drives. It has not received support from EIU since 2016, according to the release.
University spokesperson Joshua Reinhart said in an email that no staff will be cut. The station will stop airing PBS Kids programs, which it currently runs from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It will also drop shows including BBC World News, Amanpour & Company, This Old House and Ask This Old House. The station will cancel British dramas it now airs and “look for those types of programs from other sources,” Reinhart said.
Reinhart told Current that the station will replace the programming with “various public TV shows from other program providers including kids shows. We will also emphasize our local productions, and some of this will be determined in the next couple of weeks.”
WEIU will also stop offering PBS Passport to members, costing it less than $11,000 in annual revenue. Reinhart said that is “a nominal, not significant amount of revenue.”In the release, the university said it will continue to focus on student programs. WEIU will also continue to air BBC World News America; NHK Newsline, produced by the Japanese public broadcaster; and First Nations Experience, the network focused on Native American and Indigenous programming.
