CPB's appropriation request & justification

Appropriation Request and Justification for Fiscal Years 2013 and 2015

CPB distributes its appropriation in accordance with a statutory formula outlined in the Public Broadcasting Act. Ninety-five percent of CPB’s appropriation goes directly to content development, community services, and other local station and system needs. Only five percent is allocated to administrative costs — an exceptionally low overhead rate compared to other nonprofits. By statute, Community Service Grants (CSGs), which go directly to local public television and radio stations, make up 70 percent of CPB’s entire appropriation. Stations have wide latitude to use CSG funds to serve local needs in a manner they choose, which often includes community outreach, program purchasing, and local content development.

Also by statute, the System Support category funds projects that benefit the entire public broadcasting community, while the Television Programming and Radio Programming funds support the development of national content.

If Congress makes no changes to CPB’s authorizing legislation and fully funds our request for a $445 million advance appropriation for FY 2015, the statutory categories under the Public Broadcasting Act would be funded as follows:

Public Television Station and Programming Grants — $297 million

Direct Station Grants (TV CSGs) — $222.8 million

By statute, stations use CSGs “for purposes related primarily to the production or acquisition of programming.” (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(7)) The size of each station’s CSG depends on factors (determined by CPB through periodic system consultations) such as size of station, the amount of nonfederal financial support raised, and the number of stations in a given market. Under current CPB policy, stations can use CSGs for one of seven categories of expenses, all related to production or acquisition of programming: Programming and Production; Broadcasting, Transmission and Distribution; Program Information and Promotion; Fundraising and Membership Development; Underwriting and Grant Solicitation; Management and General; and Purchase, Rehabilitation or Improvement of Capital Assets.

In FY2010, CSGs made up 15 percent of the average public television station’s total revenue, with stations using this funding to leverage other critical investments from station and local governments, universities, businesses, foundations, and viewers. For many public television stations serving rural areas, this percentage is significantly higher. See Appendix G for a full listing of station funding by state, the vast majority of which is CSG funding.

National Television Programming Grants — $75.7 million

The Public Broadcasting Act requires a set percentage of the CPB appropriation to go toward “national public television programming.” (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)(ii)) CPB funds a broad array of national programs in support of the statutory mission to reach underserved audiences, fund independent producers, provide high-quality educational programming for children and adults, and other content-related activities. CPB anticipates that the following activities will receive Television Programming funding in FY2015:

National Program Service ($26 million in FY2012)

CPB funds the National Program Service (NPS) to support children’s and prime-time television programming. NPS funding currently supports signature series and specials, including American Experience, American Masters, PBS NewsHour, NOVA, Nature, FRONTLINE, History Detectives, Washington Week, Wild Kratts, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and Sesame Street. Additional funding helps CPB fund programming that engages, inspires, and educates children and adults.

Diversity and Innovation Fund ($7 million in FY2012)

The Diversity and Innovation (D&I) Fund supports the creation of compelling content that speaks to the diversity of America and brings new production models and content forms to the public television schedule. D&I, founded in 2010, has funded two pilots (one of which will be a new prime-time television series in 2012), as well as several miniseries and specials, including the widely-acclaimed series Blacks in Latin America and its accompanying Spanish language translation. Further funding would allow CPB to sustain this focus on diversity and bring even more content to the airwaves. CPB anticipates bringing the new series to air and continuing the pilot process for potential additional series.

Independent Television Service Programming ($15 million in FY2012)

Since 1990, CPB has contracted with Independent Television Service (ITVS) to support independent producers and production entities. Funding for ITVS furthers the fundamental goals of expanding diversity and promoting innovation in public television broadcasting among producers, which, in turn, promotes a richer array of programming. Among other series and specials, this grant funds production of Independent Lens, public television’s largest showcase of independent films. Independent Lens covers innovative documentaries, dramas, and other programs created by independent producers and available to air on public television stations.

Minority Consortia ($7.65 million in FY2012)

CPB funds the public television minority consortia as part of its commitment to develop and fund quality, culturally diverse programming for the American viewing public. The consortia is comprised of five individual national organizations, each of which selects and funds programs about their communities. Each consortium awards grants to producers for program production, training, exhibition, and outreach activities, and functions as a developer, producer, and distributor of programming that appeals to diverse audiences. Each harnesses the creative talents of minority communities. There is an individual minority consortium focused on the following groups: African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.

General Program Fund ($14.2 million in FY2012)

This fund supports the development of public television content that does not dovetail into an existing fund. It also provides seed funding for content that has significant educational or cultural value. For instance, the General Program Fund supports American cultural programming like A Capital Fourth, PBS’s annual Fourth of July concert, the Memorial Day concert series, and Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentaries.

Public Radio Station and Programming Grants — $99.5 million

“Unrestricted” CSGs — $69.3 million

Like public television stations, eligible public radio stations also receive CSGs from CPB, though for radio, the CSG contains two types of funds: unrestricted and restricted. The unrestricted portion can be used for a variety of purposes, including local content development, community outreach, infrastructure maintenance, and other station needs.

“Restricted” CSGs — $23 million

Radio restricted CSGs are required by the Public Broadcasting Act “to be used for acquiring or producing [radio] programming that is to be distributed nationally and is designed to serve the needs of a national audience.” (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)(iii)) Broadly speaking, public radio stations use the restricted portion of their CSG to acquire programming from national producers such as NPR, Public Radio International, and American Public Media and other stations that produce national content.

Taken together, in FY2010, the average public radio station relied on both unrestricted and restricted grants for 10.9 percent of its annual revenue. However, for some stations, including those serving rural or Native American communities, the CSG provides the bulk of their funding. As with television CSGs, the size of each station’s grant depends on factors such as population density of the market served, local need, and the amount of funds that stations can raise on their own (CPB incentivizes funds-matching by providing additional funding to stations that can leverage those dollars further).

Radio Program Fund — $7.2 million

As on the television side, the Public Broadcasting Act directs CPB to invest a small portion of the appropriation in nationally-distributed radio programming projects. The Radio Program Fund supports the development of new public radio services and series, the production of urgent or timely content, the work of independent radio producers, and the development of innovative content forms. Some of the programs funded through Radio Programming are:

StoryCorps

StoryCorps is the groundbreaking public radio project that honors and celebrates American lives through listening. StoryCorps collects interviews from everyday Americans and edits them for local and national broadcast on public radio. The interviews are available online; they are also archived at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

State of the Re:Union

State of the Re:Union is an innovative, multimedia, multi-platform project that travels the country creating content that highlights the distinctive culture and sensibilities of a community. The program provides new, unique voices for public media — bringing younger and more diverse perspectives to the airwaves. Combined with its community engagement and social media activities, the project is pioneering an integrated approach to digital storytelling that reflects the diversity of America as it explores the themes, stories, challenges, and cultural components that personify communities across the country.

Native America Calling and National Native News

Native America Calling and National Native News cover a wide spectrum of Native American and Alaska Native issues and ensure that Native voices are heard in our national discourse. The two programs enrich the diversity of American media by educating the public with cultural offerings, questions, and dialogue not found in commercial media programming.

The Promised Land

The Promised Land, a public radio series about leaders and visionaries who are transforming lives and communities, was recognized with a prestigious Peabody Award in its first year of broadcasting.

System Support (or “Six Percent”) Funds — $26.7 million

The Public Broadcasting Act directs CPB to use six percent of the appropriation for “projects and activities that will enhance public broadcasting,” also known as “System Support” funds. (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)(i)(II)) System Support funds drive leadership among stations, innovation within the system, and collaboration across the system to help ensure effective and efficient programs and services. For example, in 2010, CPB used System Support Funds to launch American Graduate to help stations help their communities to address the national high school dropout crisis. In addition, System Support funds help offset certain infrastructure costs mentioned in the Public Broadcasting Act such as interconnection and music royalty costs.

While it is not possible to predict all System Support needs in FY2015, the following projects are likely to continue to receive funding:

Expanding American Graduate

American Graduate brings public media together with key community stakeholders to improve student outcomes and raise academic achievement in support of ending the dropout crisis. Next year, CPB will expand successful models to bring meaningful impact and change to more communities at risk. CPB will invest in the development of new tools that support teacher development and engage middle and high school youth to improve learning. Finally, working with producers, stations, and national content distributors, CPB will fund additional national multiplatform content to highlight new information and solutions as the issue unfolds.

Music Copyright Fees

The Public Broadcasting Act says System Support funds “shall be available for expenses incurred by the Corporation for…the payment of programming royalties and other fees,” and CPB has traditionally paid all broadcast and internet music licensing fees on behalf of public television and radio as a service to the station community. If stations paid these fees individually, the overall cost would be much greater. However, CPB payment of these fees could change in the future as these costs have continued to rise at a much faster pace than CPB’s appropriation.

TV Interconnection Operating Grants

As directed by statute, CPB provides half of the net cost of operating the interconnection system that PBS, regional distributors, local public television stations, and other entities will use to distribute programming material to public television stations nationwide.

System Efficiency

One of CPB’s primary leadership responsibilities is to further the long-term health and sustainability of the public media system and, as such, CPB will continue to pursue projects that are focused on maximizing the resources stations have available for service. These initiatives, with the goal of managing the costs of overhead and operations to provide more resources for the content that audiences care about, include facilitating multi-station “master control” systems and cooperative back office operations; encouraging stations to come together through mergers and consolidations where appropriate; developing and implementing sustainable service models for regions served by economically-challenged stations that are the sole public television or radio providers to that community, and improving station fundraising efficiency.

CPB Operations — $22.2 million

The Public Broadcasting Act allocates no more than five percent of the overall CPB appropriation for CPB administrative expenses. (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)(i)(I))