HUNTSVILLE, AL. — A statewide survey commissioned amid months of debate over the future of Alabama Public Television found a majority of respondents support maintaining APT’s relationship with PBS and keeping elected officials out of programming decisions. Days after the results were presented publicly, Gov. Kay Ivey removed five of the seven members of APT’s governing commission and appointed their replacements.
The survey, conducted by Cygnal Sept. 20-23, included 600 Alabama adults and has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Known registered voters were contacted through live telephone calls and text messages, with results weighted to reflect Alabama’s general population. 23813-ALETC-AL-Deck
The Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority had approved spending $39,500 on the survey during a special-called Sept. 16 meeting following months of discussion over APT programming, political balance, state funding and its affiliation with the Public Broadcasting Service.
Majority favors continuing PBS affiliation
Among the survey’s most closely watched findings was the future of APT’s relationship with PBS.
Respondents were told APT pays annual fees to PBS, that PBS national programming accounts for roughly 80% to 90% of APT’s broadcasts and that ending the affiliation would free those fees but require APT to replace most of its current lineup, including children’s programming.
Of those surveyed, 54.2% said APT should continue its relationship with PBS, while 17.7% favored ending it and 28.1% were unsure. The support included 35.3% who said the relationship should “definitely” continue and 18.9% who said it should “probably” continue. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
Support was stronger among regular APT viewers. Cygnal’s analysis found 74% of weekly viewers supported continuing the relationship, compared with 10% who favored ending it. Adults 65 and older favored continuing the affiliation 44% to 28%. Men 55 and older were the only major subgroup identified by the polling firm in which support for ending the relationship narrowly exceeded support for continuing it, 37% to 35%. 23813-ALETC-AL-Deck
The issue had been debated by APT’s governing bodies for months. During earlier discussions, Foundation Authority Chairman William Green acknowledged that disaffiliation had been raised as an option but disputed suggestions that the board had already decided to separate from PBS.
“We’re not trying to destroy PBS,” Green said during the Sept. 16 meeting.
Green said at the time that members should first hear from Alabamians.
“So I would appreciate it if we just get the survey, the results of this survey, look at it, and then see how we can better serve the people of Alabama,” Green said.
Survey addresses political influence
The survey also examined whether elected officials should have a role in APT programming decisions.
Respondents were presented with two positions: that elected officials should have a say because APT receives state funding, or that political officials should stay out of programming decisions so public television remains independent.
Nearly 62% — 61.9% — said political officials should stay out of programming decisions. Another 16.5% said elected officials should have a say, while 21.7% were unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
On a related question, 47.9% said tying state funding to programming content would give politicians too much control over what the public gets to watch. Another 23.2% said funding should depend on whether programming is politically balanced, and 28.9% were unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
When the results were presented at the Foundation Authority meeting in Huntsville, Green initially urged members not to focus on individual findings before reviewing the survey as a whole.
“I think if we cherry pick, it can give a misconception of everything because he won’t get it in context,” Green said.
Authority member Pete Conroy nevertheless began reviewing several findings, including the results concerning PBS.
“This is amazing,” Conroy said.
After discussion about earlier concerns over whether the polling firm selected for the project could produce a slanted result, Conroy said, “I mean if it had been a balanced polling group I wonder what the results would have said.”
Green pointed to the survey’s ultimate finding on PBS.
“I think that makes it very, very clear,” Green said. “You know, we would have — it would have came out saying get rid of PBS, but it didn’t.”
Political bias remains an area of uncertainty
The survey did not find consensus on whether APT programming has a political lean.
Asked whether its programming is liberal, conservative or generally balanced, 28.5% called it balanced, 19.6% said it leans liberal and 12.4% said it leans conservative. The largest group, 39.5%, was unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
Cygnal reported a significant difference between regular viewers and non-viewers. Weekly viewers described APT as balanced rather than liberal by a 49% to 11% margin, while 49% of those who perceived a liberal lean were people who do not watch APT. 23813-ALETC-AL-Deck
Respondents were also told Alabama law prohibits APT from carrying propaganda, attempting to influence legislation or engaging in political campaigns. Of those surveyed, 36.3% said APT generally stays within that requirement, 20.5% said it does not and 43.2% were unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
Educational mission receives broad support
The survey showed stronger agreement when respondents were asked about APT’s educational role.
A total of 67.2% described Alabama Public Television as valuable to Alabama families and students, including 39.5% who considered it “very valuable.” About 16.7% said it was not valuable, while 16.1% were unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
When asked about the amount of educational programming offered by APT, 38.8% said the current amount was about right and 22% said there was too little. Only 4.1% said there was too much, while 35% were unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
More than 81% said it was important for APT children’s programming to include Science of Reading and phonics basics, including 71.6% who described those subjects as very important. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
APT itself received a 49.3% favorable rating and an 8.7% unfavorable rating. PBS received a 60.6% favorable rating and a 16.2% unfavorable rating. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
Respondents weigh in on state funding
The survey also asked whether Alabama should change its financial support for APT.
Before answering, respondents were told that APT receives an annual appropriation from the state Education Trust Fund and had lost more than $2.5 million in federal support during the previous year.
Thirty-nine percent favored increasing state funding, 17.5% favored keeping funding at approximately its current level and 14.2% favored decreasing it. Another 29.2% were unsure. Combined, 56.5% supported maintaining or increasing state funding. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
The wording and context provided with the questions are significant when interpreting several findings. For example, respondents were informed about PBS supplying most of APT’s programming before being asked about affiliation and were told about the loss of federal support before being asked about state funding.
The survey sample identified as 42.1% Republican, 26.9% independent and 24.4% Democratic, with 6.7% unsure. Ideologically, 44.4% identified as conservative, 26.7% as moderate and 16.9% as liberal, with 12.1% unsure. 23813-ALETC-AL-Toplines
Five commissioners removed
The survey results were followed days later by a significant change in APT leadership.
On Friday, Oct. 2, Ivey dismissed five members of the seven-member Alabama Educational Television Commission: Pete Conroy, Ferris Stephens, Les Barnett, Bebe Williams and William Green. Commissioners Tijuanna Adetunji and Logan Glass remained on the commission.
The five dismissed commissioners also served on the Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority.
Gina Maiola, communications director for Ivey, said Saturday that “Governor Ivey believed it was time for the Alabama Educational Commission to have a fresh start.”
The governor appointed Wallace Gilberry to represent the 1st Congressional District, replacing Barnett; Ric Smith to represent the 3rd Congressional District, replacing Conroy; Neil Lamb to represent the 5th Congressional District, replacing Williams; Sally Smith to represent the 6th Congressional District, replacing Stephens; and Samory Pruitt to represent the 7th Congressional District, replacing Green.
The removals came one day after a new state law took effect. HB 220, signed by Ivey in April, gives the governor authority to remove members of boards over which she has appointing authority.
The leadership change also follows a debate that began in 2025 over whether APT should remain affiliated with PBS. Stephens and Barnett had advocated considering disaffiliation. The commission ultimately voted in November 2025 to maintain PBS programming.
Ivey had urged the commission before that vote to proceed cautiously and suggested surveying Alabamians before making a decision on PBS affiliation.
That survey has now been completed, with its central finding showing more respondents favor continuing the PBS relationship than ending it.
The Foundation Authority voted to make the survey materials available to the public. Before his removal, Green said members needed time to study the results before returning to them for a broader discussion.
“We put it up on APTV website so that everybody can get access to it,” Green said. “And then further we would discuss it after we’ve looked at it, looked at the numbers, seeing what it means, everybody had time to look at it.”
The five removals and appointments now mean that discussion will continue with a substantially different governing commission.
