If federal funding were reduced by the twenty-five percent recently proposed by The Bush Administration, Public Television stations would need to reduce their level of service, or some would completely shut down their operations, a GAO study released this week reported.

The report comes just weeks after President Bush proposed slashing federal funding for public broadcasting, including the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB), by roughly $145 million in his FY 2008 budget submission to Congress.

The GAO study, “Telecommunications: Issues Related to the Structure and Funding of Public Television,” reviewed revenue, membership and programming data for all Public Television licensees. The GAO also interviewed officials from 54 of Public Television’s 173 licensees, CPB, PBS, federal agencies, and program producers for commercial and Public Television.

The GAO concluded that another source of funds doesn’t exist to fill the void that would be left if federal funding were reduced or eliminated. The GAO further found that substantial growth of nonfederal funding for Public Television stations “appears unlikely.”