FCC Chairman Launches Investigation Into NPR And PBS Over Program Sponsorships — And Warns About Future Government Funding
New FCC chairman Brendan Carr has ordered the agency to launch an investigation into underwriting sponsorship announcements that air during PBS and NPR programming, suggesting they may cross the line “into prohibited commercial advertisements.”
But in a letter Thursday to the heads of the two networks — first reported by the New York Times — Carr also warned that the public media was facing another congressional battle over federal funding.
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Carr, appointed by Donald Trump to his position, said he would be sending a copy of his letter to members of Congress because “I believe this FCC investigation may prove relevant to an ongoing legislative debate. In particular, Congress is actively considering whether to stop requiring taxpayers to subsidize NPR and PBS programming.” He also indicated that he opposed federal funding, given the changes in the media landscape.
The FCC’s enforcement bureau is being asked to open the investigation, Carr wrote, adding that he is concerned that the PBS and NPR broadcasts “could be violating the law by airing commercials.” He cited a section of the Communications Act that prohibits a non-commercial station from airing commercials or other promotional announcements “on behalf of for-profit entities.”
After news of the investigation broke, FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, wrote on X, “This appears to be yet another Administration effort to weaponize the power of the FCC. The FCC has no business intimidating and silencing broadcast media.”
FCC commissioner Geoffrey Starks, the other Democrat on the commission, said, “Any attempt to intimidate these local media outlets is a threat to the free flow of information and the marketplace of ideas. The announcement of this investigation gives me serious concern.”
Any viewer of PBS’ Masterpiece is likely to have seen pre-show announcements for Viking River Cruises, its main sponsor, with scenic images of passengers traveling to scenic European destinations. But there may be subtle differences in donor messaging on public television vs. commercial outlets, as PBS’ public editor has noted, with things like a sponsor’s “call to action” prohibited.
In a statement in response to the investigation, PBS said it is “proud of the noncommercial educational programming we provide to all Americans through our member stations. We work diligently to comply with the FCC’s underwriting regulations and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that to the Commission.”
Katherine Maher, president and CEO of NPR, said the network’s “programming and underwriting messaging complies with federal regulations, including the FCC guidelines on underwriting messages for noncommercial educational broadcasters, and Member stations are expected to be in compliance as well. We are confident any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm NPR’s adherence to these rules.”
Conservatives have long targeted federal funding for public television, but efforts to scale back budgets have failed to pass in Congress.
In his first term, Trump’s administration sought to zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes federal funding to primarily to public media stations, as well as television programming. Its federal appropriation was $535 million in the current fiscal year. But that Trump administration request went nowhere, even with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress. In 2018, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), who then led a House subcommittee that oversaw funding, was one of its prominent GOP defenders, and he cited strong popular support for the outlay.
This term, Trump has enlisted Elon Musk to target the federal bureaucracy, with Musk touting the goal of trimming trillions from the federal budget.
In his first week in the position, Carr restored complaints filed by a conservative group over the way that ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis moderated the September presidential debate, and over the way that CBS News’ 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris. During Trump’s first term, his appointee to chair the FCC, Ajit Pai, stated that the agency “does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.”
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