System/Policy
Senate Appropriations Committee recommends continued CPB funding in FY26
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The recommendation follows a House subcommittee’s proposal earlier this month to zero out public media funding.
System/Policy
PBS ends employee loans flagged by CPB as Communications Act violations
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The broadcaster also addressed problems with open meetings and grant reporting highlighted in a CPB audit.
Programs/Content
Programmers work to free PBS’ back catalog from lockdown
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Some stations have been surprised to learn that snags with usage windows are blocking their access to previously aired shows.
System/Policy
PBS Board adopts tiered pricing model for top sponsorships
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The board also heard that PBS’ old non–real-time satellite transponder will be turned off Jan. 2.
PBS
Public TV begins transition to new interconnection system
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Proponents say the system designed to move content from expensive satellite transponders to a terrestrial fiber-based system will be cheaper and more versatile.
System/Policy
Public media again in bull’s-eye in president’s FY19 plans
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CPB would get only $15.5 million next year and $15 million in 2020 to shut itself down.
Quick Takes
Senate committee gives CPB full funding, $20M for interconnection
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Both the House and Senate Appropriation panels defied the president on CPB funding.
System/Policy
House committee backs funds for Ready To Learn, passes over interconnection
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The committee recommends $25.7 million for the public TV early literacy project.
System/Policy
House Appropriations Committee recommends $445M for CPB in 2020
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The bill does not include funding for public broadcasting’s interconnection project or public TV’s Ready To Learn.
Tech
PBS interconnect moves forward amid technological change, political turmoil
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“We’re working on a different model from the old broadcast world,” said PBS’s chief technology officer.
Tech
WGBH to partner with joint master control in Florida
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“We decided to partner instead of compete,” said Ben Godley, c.o.o. of WGBH in Boston.
System/Policy
Consultant’s report favors cloud-based system for new public TV interconnection
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There is considerable urgency for public TV’s leadership to address the issues raised in the report.
System/Policy
NETA attendees get update on funding outlook and auction plans
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An Association of Public Television Stations briefing focused on federal funding prospects and the next steps in the FCC’s 2016 spectrum auction.
Federal budget
Proposed federal budget includes level CPB funding, support for Ready To Learn, new interconnection system
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The CPB funds, which are approved two years before being paid out, not only stay at the current level but would include annual increases of roughly 2.2 percent through 2025.
Tech
Move to PBS’s ACE master control gets mixed reviews
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When Ed Caleca came to PBS a decade ago, he expected to see it through completion of the digital TV transition in ’06 before moving on. But media switchovers don’t stick to schedule. With PBS in unending, overlapping transitions, Caleca and colleague André Mendes are leaving their jobs, the network told stations recently.