PBS News Confirms Weekend Team Will Air Final Broadcast on Sunday | Video

“PBS News Weekend” will sign off for good on Sunday after federal budget cuts forced the broadcaster to “rework” its staffing and programming.

“PBS News Hour” anchors Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett shared the update during their Friday evening broadcast, where they invited weekend anchor John Yang to reflect on his time at PBS.

“We want to note a change for us here at PBS News,” Bennett started off before handing over the update to Nawaz, who added, “Due to federal budget cuts, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to rework our staffing and programming. And, this Sunday, our ‘PBS News Weekend’ team will sign off the air.”

Before turning the floor over to Yang, Nawaz expressed just how much the PBS family will miss the newsman.

“Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it,” she added. “You and the team have done incredible storytelling and covered major breaking news every weekend.”

Yang took a moment to highlight the major news moments his “small but mighty team” had covered over the last several years, including the October 7 attacks, the first assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

“We’re proud of the creativity and the dedication they brought to each and every segment week in and week out,” he continued. “I’ll be leaving PBS News at the end of the month, as I step back from full time work. But, I’m delighted to say, that many members of this team will be sticking around.”

Per Yang, some of his staffers will be “producing some exciting new programming” that’s set to arrive in the near future.

Watch the news update above.

The announcement comes mere days after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shared that its Board of Directors had voted to dissolve the organization following Congress’ rescission of all federal funding.

The CPB had previously announced plans to wind down back in August, but the Monday vote made it official.

“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans had access to trusted news, educational programming and local storytelling,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. She noted that dissolving the organization was a necessary move to protect the integrity and independence of public media.

President Donald Trump targeted National Public Radio and PBS following the 2024 election, when he formally called on Congress to cancel public broadcaster funding. By mid-July, Congress had approved the taking back of $1.1 billion, which had been set aside for public broadcasters for the next two years.

Reports of restructuring and canceling “PBS News Weekend” surface back in November, when it was said 34 positions would be eliminated across echnical, editorial, administrative and corporate support services roles.

PBS News Weekend’s final broadcast will take place on Sunday, January 11 at 6 p.m. ET.

The post PBS News Confirms Weekend Team Will Air Final Broadcast on Sunday | Video appeared first on TheWrap.