D.C. Memo: FCC Should Consider Reallocating NPR, PBS Spectrum If Stations Start to Fail, Media Watchdog Says
Center for American Rights seeks Notice of Inquiry to see if PBS and NPR can prove having a viable long-term business model
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PBS: The FCC should take a close look at the financial strength of public radio and TV stations with an eye toward reclaiming their spectrum for reallocation if the stations are no longer financially viable, according to the Center for American Rights, a conservative media watchdog. “In the wake of the wind-down of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the end of federal funding for NPR and PBS, the Center respectfully suggests that the Commission open an inquiry that looks at the future of ‘public’ broadcasting in that new environment,” said CAR President Daniel Suhr in a fifteen-page filing Tuesday with the FCC. Suhr cited a July 18, 2025 press release in which Kate Riley, President of the PBS advocacy group America’s Public Television Stations, predicted that “this elimination of federal funding – over 70% would go to local stations – will decimate public media and force many local stations to go dark…” across the country. (More after paywall.)
