Aaron Pruitt, Director and General Manager, Montana PBS MSU-Bozeman

Anne Hosler, Director of the Broadcast Media Center & General Manager, KUFM-TV/Montana PBS UM-Missoula

With the U.S. House’ passage of H.R. 4 the Rescission Act of 2025, Montana PBS expects that President Trump will sign the bill. The Rescission Act claws back two years of previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which has provided essential annual grant support to America’s public TV and radio stations more than 50 years. 

 As a result of the Rescission bill’s passage, Montana PBS will experience a budget cut of approximately $1.8 million beginning in October. 

While this represents nearly a 20% direct cut to Montana PBS’s current annual funding, the indirect national investment that CPB makes on behalf of local stations could double this impact. Those investments include distribution technologies that allow for satellite delivery of national programs like Sesame Street and Antiques Roadshow to Montana audiences. CPB also pays for music copyright royalties and broadcast licensing fees for both national PBS programs, and local programs like Montana PBS’s 11^th & Grant with Eric Funk and the Backroads of Montana. It will take some time for Montana PBS and the public media system to fully understand the extent of this devastating budget cut.   

Montana PBS strives to serve all Montanans with the highest quality local and national programs that educate our children; documentaries that tell the historical and cultural history of our great state; as well as informational and news programs that connect Montana communities and provide a window to the world. Montana PBS is watched by more than 250,000 Montanans each week, including 30,000 children. 

Montana PBS is thankful to our parent institutions, Montana State University and the University of Montana, who will provide important guidance as we face challenging budget decisions in the coming year. Montana PBS remains committed to our educational and public service mission and we intend to be a resource to our state’s citizens for many years to come. 

We will share additional information about the impact of the Rescission bill on Montana PBS as it becomes available. 

Additional statements regarding the Rescission Act have been made by organizations of which Montana PBS is a member:

See statement from Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stationshttps://apts.org/news/press-releases/local-public-television-stations-will-close-after-us-congress-votes-rescind-essential-funding

See statement from Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBShttps://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-statement-on-the-senate-approval-of-the-rescissions-package/