CPB Announces Distribution Plan for CARES Act Funds

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17, 2020) -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) today announced that the CPB Board of Directors unanimously approved a distribution plan for the $75 million of emergency stabilization funds for public media included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which was signed into law on March 27, 2020.

The distribution plan is a consensus recommendation by an advisory group of public radio and television system representatives convened by CPB. The advisory group developed a simple and impactful funding formula that divides the $75 million equally between television and radio grantees and ensures the preservation of small or rural stations. A list of grantees and their grant amounts can be found on the CPB website.

“Public media stations in every state are working through extraordinary circumstances to be of service to America’s communities hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. “Local stations are providing vital health and safety information, while at the same time working to deliver curriculum-based educational programming to homebound students, despite the challenge of declining non-federal revenue. I want to express our grateful appreciation to Congress for their strong, bipartisan support of public media, and to thank as well the advisory group that worked so quickly and thoughtfully to develop a plan for the distribution of these much needed funds in an equitable manner and in a way that honors Congress’ intent.”

Once CPB receives the funds from the U.S. Treasury Department it will move to expeditiously distribute the CARES stabilization grants to each recipient.

About CPB  
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, on Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for other updates.