Arkansas' public television network is hoping to bring back donors lost after a year of changes for the broadcaster.
Arkansas TV, formerly known as Arkansas PBS, was one of hundreds of public media organizations impacted by the loss of federal funding previously granted by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting last summer.
Pamela Owen is the interim chair of the Arkansas TV Foundation. She told the Arkansas TV Commission last week the foundation saw a decrease of 9% in individual donors in the 2026 fiscal year, and a 51% drop in new donors compared to the year before.
"What we had were a lot of people that stepped up and gave more because they wanted to keep PBS in Arkansas, our donor retention rate in 2026. And that means how many donors gave in 2025 and then gave again in 2026 was 78%. And this compares to 87% the year before. So we have a lot of people that are not exactly happy with us at this moment."
Arkansas TV announced plans to drop PBS programming last year, becoming the first PBS affiliate in the nation to do so. Arkansas TV opted to continue carrying PBS programming after an external fundraising board formed and raised over $3 million to support PBS programming over the next two years.
Owen emphasized the Arkansas TV Foundation operates separately from the broadcaster.
"We have no impact on programming. We can just pass on what our watchers are feeling about what they're seeing. But we tell them we are not the person that can change that for them, that they need to talk to the network if they have any opinions they'd like to share. And they do."
Owen told the commission the foundation hopes to regain donors lost over the last year and add enough new donors to offset low numbers and support significant increases to operational support of the network.
And a note: KUAF also previously received funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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