Report Sees Few Funding Alternatives for PBS

REPORT SEES FEW FUNDING ALTERNATIVES FOR PBS
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
A new Government Accountability Office study is lending some weight to warnings about the Bush administration's proposal to cut federal funding of public TV. Unless Congress wants to allow stations to air program underwriting messages far closer to traditional ads other revenue sources aren't likely to make up for government cuts, the report says. Secondary revenues from book, toy and DVD deals generate $7 million to $10 million annually, but they come from relatively few shows and at best merely help offset the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and PBS' limited ability to fund upfront development costs for suppliers and stations. The report said 30 of the 54 public TV stations interviewed said cuts in federal funding "could lead to a reduction in staff, local programming or services" and 11 small stations said the cuts could lead to their shutting down.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11590
(requires free registration)

* Telecommunications: Issues Related to the Structure and Funding of Public Television. GAO-07-150
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-150
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07150high.pdf