21 percent of small stations financially "fragile," CPB says

Public broadcasting revenue could decline some $418 million in FY09 alone, according to a CPB preliminary report presented at its January meeting in San Francisco (PPT). It estimates a potential drop of $292 million for pubTV (16 percent of revenues) and $126 million for pubradio (13 percent). Some 21 percent of stations with operating budgets under $10 million are considered financially "fragile" in the report; of those, 70 percent are community licensees. CPB's next board meeting is March 17-18 in Washington; more comprehensive details are expected then.