Austin PBS: Essential. Trusted. Valued.
We are Public Media and we exist to serve the public good.
For over 60 years, Austin PBS has been a trusted part of Central Texas, providing free, high-quality content and services that educate, inspire, and keep our community both informed and safe.
Why Austin PBS is Essential
Providing Educational Services for All Central Texans
- High-quality, engaging, standards-aligned digital media for PK-12, plus school readiness programs like Play to Learn for children ages 2-4.
- Free, non-commercial educational TV, available over the air and on kids’ favorite platforms—including Carl the Collector, PBS KIDS’ first series featuring an autistic lead. Plus, interactive educational games that promote learning through play.
- Local community events that engage thousands of youth and educators each year, including our Family Fest, Daniel Tiger Be My Neighbor Day, High School Quiz Show, Month of the Military Child, and our Writers Showcase Celebration - all free and open to the public.
Providing Vital Public Safety Information
- Emergency Alerts: Delivering critical early warning communications to keep you safe
- Reliable Resources: Providing clear guidance during crises when it matters most.
- Open: For everyone, serving rural and remote communities across Central Texas.
Free, Trusted Local & National Programming for All
- Commercial-free programming, including Austin PBS Originals Austin City Limits, Overheard with Evan Smith, Central Texas Gardener and more.
- Award-winning, national programs like the beloved All Creatures Great & Small, Frontline, Antiques Roadshow, NOVA, Great Performances and more.
- Reliable local community-centered reporting, including the award-winning series Decibel and Austin InSight, our new weekly program with news and feature journalism that covers the issues and people impacting central Texans.
Our Impact: Educating, Engaging, and Inspiring
- Engaged thousands of community members through events, forums, and workshops.
- Strengthened cross-sector collaboration by amplifying community voices and addressing local needs through our Community Advisory Board.
- Supported training programs in education, childcare, and trust-building.
- Delivered 35,000+ hours of free, educational, and engaging programming annually.
- Showcased Austin to the world through Austin City Limits, the longest-running music television show in history.
The Facts of Federal Funding
Local public media stations are among the last locally managed outlets, with Austin PBS as the only locally owned television station in Central Texas. Together, PBS stations across the country serve 99% of the U.S. population, including 24/7 coverage in rural and remote areas.
- Represents .01% of the federal budget
- About $1.60 per person annually
How You Can Help
As threats to public media funding grow, local stations like ours are at risk. Your voice matters—stand with Austin PBS to remind lawmakers that public media is essential and widely supported.
Federal funding and community support make public media possible. Together, we can protect this vital resource for future generations.
Join the effort at Protect My Public Media, where you can:
- Contact your lawmakers
- Sign up for email alerts
- Become a member of Austin PBS and support our station
FAQS
Q: What percentage of your funding comes from taxpayers, and how is that money spent?
A: Federal funding for public broadcasting amounts to about $1.60 per person annually. This critical seed money is maximized locally to provide essential public services, including children’s educational content and community resources, lifesaving public safety services, and content and services that help engage communities and contribute to a stronger, more connected society.
Q: Why should taxpayers continue funding public media?
A: PBS member stations provide proven educational resources and life-saving public safety services, and we connect communities to the stories, issues, history and culture that are uniquely theirs. It is a vital resource for rural communities in bandwidth-limited areas, where commercial media is out of reach physically or financially. For about $1.60 per person per year of federal funding, public broadcasting provides every American household with exceptional local services – every day, for free, everywhere they are. For families, our educational content helps set children up for success and includes resources for students all the way through the 12th grade. We empower parents with access to safe, high-quality content that helps their children succeed in school and in life. We are also a critical resource for communities and an essential public safety partner, helping alert people about emergencies, such as hurricanes, wildfires and severe winter weather.
Q: What would defunding public media mean for consumers?
A: The substantial majority of federal funding for public media goes to local stations. As a result, defunding public media would have a significant negative impact on local stations and the communities that depend on them for essential public services, from education resources to public safety alerts and community connections. The impact would be felt most severely in rural and remote communities where local public media stations are often the last locally operated and locally controlled media sources – putting at risk local emergency alerting and access to free, trusted, educational resources.
Q: How does U.S. public media funding compare to other democratic countries, and what lessons can we learn?
A: The U.S. invests significantly less in public media compared to other democracies. Countries with higher public media funding often see greater societal cohesion, informed citizenry and cultural preservation.
Q: Which programs or services would be most affected if public media loses government funding?
A: A cut to federal funding is a serious threat to the existence of local public television stations, which puts all of our programming and services at risk. It would be especially problematic for our rural stations and children’s educational content. These are the areas that commercial media often does not attempt to serve, and likely wouldn’t, due to their for-profit model.
Q: How does public media ensure its content remains unbiased and free from government influence?
A: Public media adheres to strict editorial standards and governance structures to ensure independence and fairness and is not swayed by either governmental or commercial pressures. We commit to meeting these standards every day and are constantly looking for any way to improve our ability to do so.