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PBS News Weekend Ends as Funding Cuts Force Pre-Taped Replacements

A $1.1 billion federal rescission forced PBS to cut costs by retooling its weekend schedule.

Overview

  • The live weekend broadcast aired its final episode on Jan. 11, with anchor John Yang saying it is ending “for the foreseeable future.”
  • Starting Jan. 17–18, PBS will air two pre-taped, 30-minute programs—Horizons on Saturdays and Compass Points on Sundays—hosted by William Brangham and Nick Schifrin to reduce weekend staffing costs.
  • Congress’s July rescission of $1.1 billion for public media, pushed by President Trump, also prompted the CPB board to vote to dissolve.
  • Yang said he will leave PBS News at the end of the month as he steps back from full-time work, and reporting indicates roughly 35 positions were affected by the cancellation.
  • PBS says the weekday NewsHour will continue, though an Arizona bureau has closed, and Nielsen data show the weekend edition averaged about 827,000 viewers.