KEET-TV outsources broadcast operations amid funding cuts and staff losses

KEET-TV is outsourcing major parts of its broadcast and transmission work after months of financial strain, a sharp staff reduction and aging equipment that the station could no longer afford to keep replacing on its own. The Humboldt County PBS member station said the move is intended to keep the signal stable while lowering costs, but it also marks a clear shift away from local control over some of the station’s core technical functions.

General Manager Amy Stem-Faulk, who took over in January, said the station’s workforce had dropped from 13 employees to six over the past year. She said the equipment used to capture, save and rebroadcast the station’s signal had become so old that KEET faced a choice between paying to replace it or finding a cheaper workaround. That workaround is a partnership with Public Media Management and Transmission Services Group, and the station said the transition will be cloud-based with contracts already signed.

The move reflects the pressure facing local public media as federal support has been cut and operating costs keep rising. KEET said the change follows losses tied to the Trump administration’s cuts to public broadcasting support, as well as the higher cost of maintaining infrastructure that has been in service for years. For a station that has long been one of the North Coast’s most recognizable institutions, the decision is less a routine vendor change than a sign of how close to the edge local broadcasting can get when staffing and funding both shrink at once.

Even with the outsourcing plan, Stem-Faulk said KEET will keep its tower on the hill in Kneeland, which means viewers, including those still depending on rabbit-ear antennas, should not see a service interruption. That matters in a county where reliable over-the-air television still serves homes far from town centers and where a weak signal can cut people off from emergency information and local coverage.

The station’s leadership is framing the new model as a way to preserve long-term sustainability, but the broader story is harder to ignore. When a staff of 13 drops to six and the technical backbone of the station moves offsite, Humboldt loses not just jobs but expertise built around local broadcasting. KEET says the signal will continue; the bigger question is how much of the station’s Humboldt-made work can remain local as the financial squeeze deepens.