As January began, it was made known that one of two PBS Member stations in the Toledo DMA would end its relationship with PBS because of the loss of federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Like NJ PBS, a cessation of network programming was slated for June 30.
Now, like its Garden State peer, Bowling Green State University‘s TV station will be keeping PBS.
As RBR+TVBR first reported at the start of 2026, WBGU-TV, based in Bowling Green, Ohio, and situated between Toledo and Findlay (not to be confused with Bowling Green, Ky., home to Western Kentucky University), faced a loss of more than 40% of the dollars needed to keep PBS on the station with the elimination of some $1.1 million in federal funding that was essential to WBGU’s annual budget.
While WBGU has close to 4,000 active donors, their contributions account for roughly 15% of the annual budget for the station.
Enter WGTE Public Media, the principal PBS and NPR service provider in Toledo.
Beginning July 1, WGTE Public Media will assume broadcasting responsibilities for the PBS programming that WBGU-TV has historically provided to viewers in northwest Ohio. Viewers in WBGU’s 19-county area will continue to receive PBS programming on Channel 27 — the same channel they have always used.
“To ensure viewers continued uninterrupted access to PBS programming, WBGU proactively partnered with WGTE — northwest Ohio’s established public media organization — to take on those broadcast responsibilities,” WGTE Public Media said.
Speaking to BG Independent News, WBGU General Manager Tom Cummings said, “For more than six decades, WBGU-TV has served northwest Ohio with educational and engaging programming, and we are proud to partner with WGTE Public Media to continue providing sought-after PBS programming to our viewers. Through this collaboration, we will continue serving the community with uninterrupted access to quality PBS programming on channel 27 that so many people rely on and turn to for information and entertainment.”
WBGU-TV will not shut down as a result of the partnership. “Going forward, WBGU-TV will focus on livestreaming university events — including commencement, Falcon athletics, and arts programming — and continue to provide students with hands-on learning experiences in broadcast communications and video production,” WGTE Public Media said.
That said, local studio programming such as “The Journal” and “BGSU Brain Game,” will be lost – at least for now, the BG Independent News notes.
