Public Access TV at Risk: Cable Giants Threaten to Cut Funds for Local Stations Across U.S.
As more people cut the cord and drop their cable TV subscriptions, public access channels are losing a vital source of revenue. For decades, cable television companies have paid franchise fees to local municipalities as compensation for use of the public right of way, through which the companies route cables and utilities. Those fees have funded local stations focused on public, educational, and governmental access programming.
“As there’s migration to digital entertainment and to streaming, there is no local investment — there’s no local jobs, there’s no local programming,” says Michael Max Knobbe, executive director of BronxNet in New York.
We also speak with Joe Barr, executive director of Access Sacramento in California, who says the station is “of the community, by the community, for the community.” He adds that as the corporate media continues to consolidate, “it really could be a dire situation for getting a broad spectrum of viewpoints.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
We end today’s show looking at a growing funding crisis in an often overlooked corner of public media: public access TV. It airs on cable. As more people cut the cord and drop their cable TV subscriptions, public access channels are losing a vital source of revenue. For decades, cable TV companies have paid franchise fees to local municipalities as compensation for use of the public right of way, through which the companies route cables and utilities. Those fees have funded PEG stations, P-E-G. That stands for public, educational and governmental access.
This is part of a video made by BronxNet in New York.
NARRATOR: It’s happening everywhere — cord cutting, outdated law, FCC threats, federal grant cancellations. Doors are being closed, and over 1,500 local media stations across the nation are being punished.
AMY GOODMAN: Public access stations are distinct from the PBS and NPR stations that are also in a funding crisis due to the defunding and dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
We’re joined now by the heads of two public access stations. Joe Barr is executive director of Access Sacramento in California’s capital, and Michael Max Knobbe is executive director of BronxNet in New York.
Michael, let’s begin with you. Talk about what’s at stake. And for people who aren’t familiar with what public access is, explain this sector of public media in the United States.
MICHAEL MAX KNOBBE: Congratulations, Amy, on 30 years of Democracy Now! And BronxNet, public media and public access networks across the nation broadcast this program proudly.
And we are participatory media. As we commemorate 250 years of American democracy and what the First Amendment means and freedom of expression, know that you have community resources, very often near cities and towns, that provide media education, workforce training for the public, experiential learning for students. That’s career building, but also promotes civic awareness, voter literacy, digital literacy and local information. It’s a spotlight on the arts and culture and more.
And BronxNet was formed 30-plus years ago, in part because the Bronx was too often misrepresented and sensationalized in mainstream media. If it bleeds, it leads. Hollywood also contributed to the Bronx being a symbol of urban blight for many decades. And that’s why BronxNet exists, to correct those misrepresentations with authentic community voices. And that’s, in part, why now the Bronx is a symbol of urban renewal.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I’d like to ask Joe Barr, executive director of Access Sacramento: Could you talk about the programming and the work of community media in Sacramento over the last few decades? And how did you find out that your funding might be cut?
JOE BARR: Yeah, well, Access Sacramento does a lot of what BronxNet does. It really is of the community, by the community, for the community. We’re doing workforce training. We’re contributing to the creative economy of this region. The arts is a huge sector of Sacramento’s economy. Movie production is actually a growing part of Sacramento’s economy. As Hollywood studios leave Southern California, they’re looking for other places that are cheaper to shoot their films, and we have people who can crew those films. So, we are really here to give those opportunities to folks, but then also give them platforms for a voice.
And your previous segment was a wonderful contrast to what we’re trying to do in community media, which is really be authentically local, to share viewpoints that aren’t necessarily heard in mainstream media. And for us to be facing these funding situations, when you add it on to what we heard in the previous segment with commercial media mergers, it really could be a dire situation for getting a broad spectrum of viewpoints.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Joe —
JOE BARR: We heard about our funding — yes.
AMY GOODMAN: If you can explain that point of your funding? When we were in Sacramento in the last few weeks, we heard that Access Sacramento might fall off a cliff, that the Cable Commission is cutting your funding. Can you explain what you’ve been told?
JOE BARR: Yes. So, the Cable Commission has been telling us for about the last nine months, they’ve done — run some numbers, and they say that the cable, the PEG money, the money that they give us for operating our organizations, is going to go away in a year, a little bit more than a year. And they are actively moving to shut the community media stations down, the public and educational organizations, and put all that money into the government channel. So, this is really a situation where they unilaterally are making this decision. It’s a policy decision that’s going to affect a lot of people, the community at large. And they’re essentially cutting down or shutting down the community organizations in favor of the government channel. That’s where they want to put their money.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Michael, I wanted to ask you — we’re approaching the 2026 midterm elections. Can you talk about how organizations like BronxNet, the important role that they play in local debates and candidate interviews that maybe major commercial stations or even internet blogs or podcasts don’t cover?
MICHAEL MAX KNOBBE: Thank you, Juan. We’re in an era of media consolidation, as Commissioner Gomez so well stated. And community media networks, like BronxNet, met with her in D.C. a couple of weeks ago to raise awareness about harmful legislation called H.R. 2289, as well as a positive legislation called the Protecting Community TV Act. And we met with congressional representatives. And very often for local races in our given communities, including in the Bronx, the only televised local debates for these competitive races are televised on community media, because in an era of media consolidation, toxic algorithms, addicted feeds, we are not seeing the commercial networks paying attention to the local news and information. As a matter of fact, local reporting jobs, local reporters, have decreased 75% since 2002. And according to Rebuild Local News, that is —
AMY GOODMAN: And, Michael —
MICHAEL MAX KNOBBE: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: We just have a minute.
MICHAEL MAX KNOBBE: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: And I wanted to quickly ask you what the bill in the New York state Legislature is, and about the proposal, as people cut the cord, you know, end their cable subscriptions, to tax Netflix and Hulu. We have about 30 seconds.
MICHAEL MAX KNOBBE: We partner with League of Women Voters of New York to produce these debates, and they’re important. And with cable, there’s arguably a community good. There’s local investment. As there’s migration to digital entertainment and to streaming, there is no local investment — there’s no local jobs, there’s no local programming.
And we have a bill called the Technology, Education and Arts Through Media Act, which corrects that. It provides revenue for municipalities — which addresses what Joe was talking about in Sacramento — revenue for the state, revenue for digital literacy, local arts, community media, nonprofit news and more. So, that’s why we are — right after this interview, I’m heading up to Albany to talk with our state leaders about TEAM New York and build broad consensus. We are very much poised to have model legislation in New York state, which really helps create and foster a healthy news and information ecosystem at the local level, in this, like, really challenging time, where there’s crisis and community media centers closing across the nation, and there’s a loss of local jobs. This bill creates local jobs and local information and promotes civic engagement and awareness.
AMY GOODMAN: Michael Max Knobbe, I want to thank you for being with us, executive director of BronxNet, and Joe Barr, executive director of Access Sacramento, where the next Cable Commission meeting is just in a few weeks, in June.
I’m in Toronto today, speaking at Radiodays North America, moving on to screenings of the new documentary about Democracy Now!, Steal This Story, Please, on Thursday night and Friday morning in Minneapolis, then in Chicago on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and on Saturday evening, when I’ll be joined by Juan González, and then on to Milwaukee on Sunday. You can check our website at democracynow.org. Information for all these screenings and for more as we travel the country can also be found at StealThisStory.org.
Democracy Now! is produced with Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Nicole Salazar, Sara Nasser, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud, Diego Ramos. Our executive director, Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley and to Denis Moynihan. I’m Amy Goodman in Toronto, with Juan González in Chicago.