Program Challenge Fund

The Program Challenge Fund was created in 1987 to support high profile, primetime limited series and specials for the national public television schedule. The Challenge Fund is jointly administered by CPB and PBS, which make funding decisions based on mutually established programming goals and objectives.

CPB and PBS have re-defined the purpose of the Program Challenge Fund in an effort to bring additional impact to the National Program Service schedule. The Program Challenge Fund has begun to more fully fund high-visibility, high-impact limited series and feature length documentaries that offer a definitive take on a subject or break new ground in popular, public service media.

CPB and PBS expect a successful Program Challenge Fund program to be the highlight of a given season's schedule and have the potential to generate publicity.

Furthermore, to address industry-wide goals for development of digital content, CPB and PBS will dedicate Program Challenge Fund dollars to high-definition or standard-definition widescreen programs only, and recipients will be expected to deliver all digital content with the underlying rights.

Note: There is no standard application process for the Program Challenge Fund, and producers should submit projects according to the general CPB Recommended Submission Guidelines. Producers should also contact PBS. Only those projects deemed to meet the Challenge Fund priorities by CPB and PBS programming teams will be among the final projects considered for investment at the appropriate Program Challenge Fund meeting.

Recommended Submission Guidelines

1. Overview summarizing the subject and story of the program;
2. Treatment communicating the program's story structure, theme, style, format, voice and point of view;
3. Episodic descriptions if project is a limited series;
4. Timetable detailing the plan of work and milestones of all phases of production;
5. Description of all digital content (HDTV, DTO, streaming, VOD, interactive elements) and plan to clear all underlying rights;
6. Detailed budget with line items identifying each production cost (e.g., staff salaries, talent, post-production expenses, web site, outreach, etc.), and any in-kind support or other revenue raised to-date;
7. Key personnel and their bios, including experts or advisors; and,
8. Business plan detailing additional funding resources and plans to complete the project.

Contact CPB

For questions about the Program Challenge Fund, please send an e-mail to programming@cpb.org.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

A private corporation funded by the American people.

• Contact CPB
• CPB Ombudsmen
• Inspector General

• Pressroom
• Jobline
• RSS Feeds
• Privacy Policy