CPB analysis shows bright spots for public television

A Corporation for Public Broadcasting “state of the system” analysis of public broadcasting data from 2014 showed some improvements and turnarounds for public television and leveling off in public radio’s recent growth. Public TV ended a nearly five-year trend of staff downsizing, for example, while the size of public radio’s workforce decreased slightly. Major-giving revenues increased across both public TV and radio, but membership results were mixed.

The number of individuals donating to public TV stations grew slightly, while in public radio it dipped. Moustapha Abdul, CPB’s chief financial analyst, gathered the information from about 580 CPB grantees: 410 operate public radio stations and 170 are public television licensees; 79 were joint licensees, which operate both radio and TV stations, were folded into the sample. Ted Krichels, CPB’s senior vice president for system development and media strategy, joined Abdul in presenting the analysis May 27 during the Public Media Business Association convention in Washington (DC). Though the decrease in public radio’s total workforce was less than 1 percent -- the number of employees dropped from 8,477 to 8,403 from 2013 to 2014 -- the dip ended a four-year pattern of growth, according to Abdul. According to Abdul, public radio ended its five-year growth in the number of individual contributors in 2014. The total dipped to around 2.8 million, a 2 percent decrease compared to 2013.