Exclusive: PBS poll finds broad Trump voter support amid GOP defunding push

Amid a slew of new efforts by Republicans to revoke funding for public broadcasters, PBS has commissioned a new poll that shows broad support for the public broadcaster from Trump voters, according to a copy of a new internal survey obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: Pulling its budget would be catastrophic for the 54-year-old public broadcaster.

• Congressionally approved government funding amounts to roughly 15% of the overall PBS budget across PBS and hundreds of its local member television stations.

By the numbers: The new internal poll, conducted in conjunction with YouGov, shows 65% of Trump voters think the public broadcaster is either underfunded or adequately funded, according to a copy of the poll obtained by Axios.

• 82% of voters, including 72% of Trump voters, said they valued PBS for its children's programming and educational tools.

Between the lines: PBS has conducted internal sentiment polls for years, but opted to switch to a new polling methodology with YouGov this year that breaks down sentiment by political party.

• The poll included over 2,000 respondents, 792 of which said they voted for Trump.

Reality check: The poll offers PBS an individual temperature check as it gets lumped with NPR amid discussions about funding.

• Other parts of the Trump administration have gone after NPR for what it perceives as coverage bias, but not PBS.
• Last week, a Defense Department memo said NPR, as well as the New York Times, NBC News and Politico, will have to move out of their longtime workspace on Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon, an unprecedented move.

What to watch: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday called on the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify at a DOGE subcommittee hearing on what she described as "systemically biased content" from federally funded radio and TV organizations, Axios' Erin Doherty and Andrew Solender report.

• The hearing, slated for March, marks the first hearing to be announced for the subcommittee, which underscores the committee's priority in targeting media.

What they're saying: PBS said it and its member stations "are grateful to have bipartisan support in Congress, and our country." They said they appreciate the opportunity to explain their value during the hearing, noting they have earned Congress' support from decades of "noncommercial and nonpartisan work" in local communities.

• NPR similarly defended its editorial integrity and said, "We welcome the opportunity to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public."

Zoom out: Greene's hearing dovetails with a Federal Communications Commission investigation into the two broadcasters over whether their member stations violated FCC rules around airing commercial ads.

• The FCC is also applying pressure to private broadcasters, like Disney's ABC. FCC chair Brendan Carr penned a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger in December warning he will be "monitoring" ABC's negotiations with local stations to ensure they can serve "local communities," per CNN.