Arkansas is set to become the first state to dump PBS after a commission that oversees public television in the state voted to end its contract and stop paying the broadcaster $2.5 million in dues.
The eight-member Arkansas Educational Television Commission announced on Thursday that it plans to disaffiliate from PBS next July 1, describing annual membership dues as “simply not feasible.” The commission projected a $6 million deficit by 2030 if it kept paying the national network.
However, public television “is not going away” in Arkansas, according to PBS Arkansas Executive Director and CEO Carlton Wing, a former Republican state representative.