JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A portion of a bill signed by President Donald Trump is leaving one Mississippi agency with more questions than answers.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) is rethinking how to fulfill its mission in light of the looming defunding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

MPB debuted in 1970 as Mississippi ETV. Its mandate was to fill the educational gaps in a mostly rural Mississippi, especially for children. By and large, that’s still a major pillar of what MPB does. 

“We do not enjoy some of the resources that other states have, such as broadband. MPB, it’s free. It doesn’t require a subscription, and all you need is a television set to get it. And in a lot of places, that’s all that there is because they don’t have broadband, because they don’t have Head Start programs. Mississippi children really rely on resources like PBS Kids,” said Anna Neel, the Chief Operating Officer of MPB.

With the looming cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the future of MPB is in question.

“We’re a state agency. We’re funded by the state. That’s not going to go away. We have a great relationship with the legislature, and I thank them all the time for their support. So, that’s not going to go away. It’s just the national programming that this money affects,” said Royal Aills, executive director of MPB.

Content we have come to love on MPB will go away, including Nova, Masterpiece Theatre and other shows.