Arkansas TV, PBS dispute accounts of decision to end membership
PBS and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission disagreed in dueling correspondences shared with Current about the events leading up to the commission’s decision last month to end its PBS membership.
Members of the commission voted 6-2 Dec. 11 to drop PBS as of July 1 and rebrand the Arkansas PBS network as Arkansas TV. The network said continuing to pay its annual PBS membership dues of nearly $2.5 million was “simply not feasible” after it lost federal funding with the end of CPB support.
In a Dec. 17 letter to AETC Chair Woody Freeman that was shared with Current, PBS SVP of Station Services Susi Elkins wrote that the network’s decision “came as a shock to us” and that “PBS did not receive any indication from Arkansas TV that this was under consideration.”
Arkansas TV CEO Carlton Wing pushed back on Elkins’ framing of events in a statement emailed to Current Dec. 18. “Regarding any level of surprise from PBS, that statement is itself surprising since a vote to renew affiliation with PBS was taken in June,” Wing wrote. “… This station’s dire financial situation has been public record for months.”
Wing said that in “multiple meetings with PBS leadership,” Arkansas TV had requested a reduction in annual dues. He added that the network had also sought clarification about whether it would be obligated to pay PBS dues for fiscal year 2027 if it ended its membership less than 180 days before the start of the fiscal year. PBS’ bylaws say that a member must send written notice of its resignation “at least one hundred eighty (180) days before the effective date of the resignation so that the Corporation may plan for an orderly transition.”
Arkansas Assistant Attorney General William Puddephatt addressed the question of the 180-day cutoff during the commission’s Dec. 11 meeting. “What we’ve been told by their counsel is that 180-day deadline needs to be met, otherwise membership dues will be obligated for the next fiscal year,” Puddephatt said.
In her Dec. 17 letter, Elkins said that was “simply not true.”
“PBS does ask for 180 days’ notice when a member decides to resign from membership to ensure an orderly transition, but there is no particular significance to a January 1 notice date,” she wrote. “The 180-day notice period operates on a rolling basis.”
In his Dec. 18 statement, Wing said Elkins’ characterization conflicted with advice Arkansas TV had previously received from PBS. At a July 9 meeting initiated by PBS, Wing said, “PBS clearly stated its position regarding the 180-day clause: A member station wishing to resign had to give notice at least 180 days in advance of the membership renewal deadline or the member would be obligated to pay dues for the following year.”
“On December 11, 2025, the Commission acted based on the plain language of the bylaws with the affirmation of PBS’s legal counsel,” Wing said.
Responding to Wing’s statement, a PBS spokesperson told Current that Arkansas TV “never told us they planned to drop their membership. Or even shared it was an option their leadership was seriously considering. So, if they are telling you we had a serious discussion about the financial implications of starting the 180 days that’s not accurate.”
The spokesperson said Arkansas TV “did receive significant dues relief for FY26.”
Wing said in his statement to Current that Arkansas TV and the AETC “remain open to constructive discussions with PBS regarding possible options, recognizing that any continued affiliation or alternative arrangement would need to reflect proper fiscal stewardship of taxpayer funds.”
Commissioner asks Wing to reconsider
Annette Herrington, one of two commissioners who voted against dropping PBS, told Current in a statement Dec. 19 that she believes “there were many considerations not disclosed at the Commission meeting on December 11 in the push to move with undue speed in disaffiliating with national PBS programming.” She also wrote that “financial issues are being blamed for the change and no real alternatives to dropping PBS were considered.”
Herrington, who has been on the commission for 14 years, shared a letter she had sent to Wing Dec. 19 about her concerns. “PBS is absolutely willing to discuss solutions to keep PBS programming available to Arkansans,” she wrote.
She added that 78% of Arkansans support PBS content, a statistic that she told Current came from a June YouGov survey. “Viewers and donors definitely deserve our best efforts to find a solution for the people we serve,” Herrington said in the letter. “With all of that, I cannot understand how the only option presented after your first 70 days was to deny PBS content to all Arkansans.”
Herrington said the state network’s foundation had committed to covering PBS membership costs for an additional year to allow different options to be explored. She noted that a 17-state survey found that no other state network is considering dropping PBS.
“Assuming the best of intentions, perhaps the perceived pressure of time did not allow a full airing of the facts,” she wrote. “I remain hopeful that with a better understanding of those facts and with no political agenda, discussions with PBS and the Foundation will still take place and allow a full range of options to be considered for the next year, while keeping the PBS resources available for Arkansas families.”
Seems like no one is willing to state the obvious. The state’s top political leaders wanted to jettison PBS. It’s ok to say it.