Oklahoma's statewide public broadcasting network — responsible for bringing "Sesame Street," "Antiques Roadshow" andKen Burns' documentariesto Sooner State viewers — is again at risk of gettingshut down by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
On Wednesday, May 6, Stitt vetoed OklahomaSenate Bill 1461, which would have extended the sunset date for theOklahoma Educational Television Authority, or OETA, from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2031.
"Though OETA’s programming might be worthwhile for the viewer, funding a television station is not a core function of state government," Stitt said in his veto message.
"I have beenconsistent in my positionthat public broadcasting should not depend on government subsidies."
In 2023, lawmakersvoted to overrideStitt's veto of House Bill 2820, which reauthorized Oklahoma'sPublic Broadcasting Servicemember station as a state entity for at least another three years.
Without the state Senate and House of Representative's overriding Stitt's veto of this session'sSB 1461— authored bySen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, andRep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus — OETA's legal mandate to operate as Oklahoma's public broadcaster could expire on July 1.
However, the House did unanimously override the governor's veto of House Bill 3320, which would extend the sunset date of several agencies, including OETA. Stitt vetoed that bill on May 5. The House voted to override that veto on Thursday, May 7.
In order to keep OETA from sunsetting this year, the Senate must also override Stitt's veto of House Bill 3320.
“Fornearly 70 years, OETAhas been a tremendous public-private partnership that serves all of Oklahoma,” saidOETA Executive Director Shawn Blackin a statement. “OETA’s state funding supports far more than television programming. It helps sustain the infrastructure that delivers emergency alerts and public safety communications to communities statewide, while also ensuring free access to educational and public service content for families, educators, and rural viewers across Oklahoma.”
In a statement, the board of trustees of the nonprofitFriends of OETAsaid they "respectfully call on the Senate and House to override that veto so that OETA may continue operating and fulfilling its public safety and services missions to the people of our state.”
The board also noted that the state Legislature gave its "bipartisan endorsement of OETA's mission through the strongly affirmative reauthorization votes cast."
State recently invested about $3 million in infrastructure upgrades for OETA
The state Legislature establishedOETA as its own agency in 1953, and in 1956, OETA began airing with one transmitting station, little money, limited broadcast hours and a small audience.
Nowadays, it is the eighth most-watched public TV station in the country, reaching more than 3 million households per year and providing in excess of 35,000 hours of noncommercial programming annually, according to an OETA fact sheet.
OETA programming is available to Oklahomans 24/7 via television, cable, streaming, online and app access.
Advertisement
The dues-payingPBS member stationairs PBS series like"Antiques Roadshow,""Nature" and"Austin City Limits,"along with emergency alerts and local shows like"Outdoor Oklahoma,""OETA Movie Club,""Gallery America,""Back in Time" and"Oklahoma News Report."
Black said that the state recently invested about $3 million in critical infrastructure upgrades to OETA’s broadcast network, helping modernize and strengthen the system of four towers and 14 translators that deliver service across the state. Those upgrades are expected to sustain the network’s broadcast capabilities for the next 20 years and beyond.
Friends of OETA board of trustees called OETA "an integral part of the Sooner State’s public infrastructure on several key fronts:"
-
It is the only broadcaster in Oklahoma that covers all 77 counties, with 18 antennas spread across the state, making it the sole statewide provider for emergency communications. Each year, an average of 230-plus alerts are transmitted by OETA, keeping the public informed about tornadoes, flash floods, ice storms, wildfire evacuations and missing, endangered or abducted children and adults.
-
OETA bills itself as the "state’s biggest classroom," with 1 in 8 Oklahoma City households and 1 in 12 Tulsa households watching children's shows weekly on the network. OETA's educational children's programming gets more than 60 million streams a year, with 170,000-plus educators, parents and students using the authority's digital learning media annually.
-
"OETA is a model successful private/public partnership. The (annual) state appropriation for OETA of less than $3 million unlocks over $7 million in private support — a substantial return on investment for the taxpayers," the Friends of OETA board added in its statement.
For the 2026 fiscal year, the state appropriated $2.95 million to OETA to fund employees' salaries, health insurance and retirement contributions, plus utilities, tower rental costs and other expenses.
With his veto, Stitt points to Trump's targeting of federal funding for PBS, NPR
With his 2023 veto,Stitt said he questionedOETA's value to the state and laterclaimed OETA "overly sexualizes" childrenand indoctrinates them. Asked for proof of the latter, he pointed to news programs that discussed transgender issues and scripted programming acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people.
In his latest OETA veto message, Stitt pointed to President Donald Trump's May 1, 2025,executive orderaimed at ending federal funding for PBS andNational Public Radio.
Following the president's order, the Republican-led U.S. Congress last summer fulfilledTrump's requestto claw back$1.1 billionthat had been allocated for public broadcasting, eliminating a significant source of financial support for hundreds of public radio and TV stations across the country, including OETA.
"Those platforms have survived and continue to operate," Stitt said in his SB 1461 veto message. "President Trump has shown that ending guaranteed taxpayer subsidies for public broadcasting is not the crisis its defenders claim it to be. Oklahoma should follow his lead by letting viewers and advertisers fund OETA, not Oklahoma taxpayers."
But the Friends of the OETA board pointed out that "OETA, as an instrumentality of the State of Oklahoma, cannot operate without that reauthorization from the Legislature."
If a state entity's sunset legislation isn't adopted before the expiration date,Oklahoma lawallows it to operate for an additional year. At the end of that one-year period, "the entity and its personnel positions shall be abolished," with any leftover funds sent to the state's general revenue fund and assets transferred to the Oklahoma Management and Enterprise Services agency.
In a statement, Cherokee Nation Principal ChiefChuck Hoskin Jr.urged lawmakers to override Stitt's veto of SB 1461 "because the veto would effectively destroy public television in our state."
He added that OETA "has earned the support of state leaders over generations because it provides a valuable public service to all 4 million Oklahomans."
Contributing: Dale Denwalt,The Oklahoman
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman:Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoes OETA extension, putting it at risk
