WGBH Annual Report 2003-2004
A single Friday afternoon WGBH 89.7 broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra reaches more people than Symphony Hall could accommodate in 13 sold-out concerts.

Financial Report: 2003

Strong community support during difficult economic times as well as careful fiscal management and the use of reserves generated in recent years enabled WGBH to successfully balance its operating budget for the 23rd consecutive year. In response to the continuing soft economic climate, WGBH reduced expenses, including staff and programming costs.

This prudent fiscal approach helped WGBH maintain its position as one of the nation's top public broadcasters, as a leading producer of high-quality content for TV, radio, the Web, and other media, and as a provider of access services for people with vision or hearing disabilities. Our broadcast operations serving New England-area audiences were supported primarily by viewers and listeners, local business sponsors, and a federal Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Programs produced for local broadcast were similarly funded, with additional support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and other area foundations. Program Venture funds augmented critical individual contributions, enabling WGBH to move forward with the development of new productions for local and national broadcast, with the conversion to digital television mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, and with the development of digital cable channels.

Our national productions for television and the Internet were funded primarily by restricted grants from corporations, foundations, government agencies, and PBS stations. Our media access technologies for people with disabilities were supported by grants from CPB and the US Department of Education, and by the sale of services.

Fiscal Outlook

WGBH enters FY04 on sound financial footing due to our early response to the weakening economy over the past three years. We'll carefully monitor our financial activity as the year progresses. Generous membership support allows us to continue to provide important services to audiences across New England. Grants from foundations, corporations, government agencies, and public broadcasting entities enable us to produce programs for the nation. Thanks to all our supporters for your generous contributions.

Operations: Sources and Uses

Sources FY03 FY02 FY 03 sources of funding
Grants and contracts $108,942,000 $122,105,000 pie chart for sources
Contributions from individuals 21,904,00 20,933,000
Community Service Grants (CSGs) from Corporation for Public Broadcasting 8,260,000 10,407,000
Royalties, video, and foreign distribution 18,194,000 23,621,000
Other (including Auction and outside captioning and sales) 18,411,000 14,987,000
Net transfers from WGBH program funds for programming and reserves 11,724,000 7,472,000
Total sources $187,435,000 $199,525,000
Operating Expenses FY03  FY02  FY 03 major activities
Program production (includes TV productions, radio productions, instructional and access technologies, program development) $132,698,000 $140,101,000 pie chart for major activities
Broadcast (Public TV and radio program services) 12,719,000 11,975,000
Educational services and program information 14,993,000 19,928,000
Support services 26,969,000 27,151,000
Total expenses $187,379,000 $199,155,000
Excess of operating sources over expenses and transfers $56,000 $370,000
Fund Balances FY03  FY02  FY 03 fundng sources for WGBH's New England TV and radio stations
Undesignated $15,806,000 $15,748,000 pie chart for funding sources
Grants for future programming (backlog) 121,786,000 88,817,000
Capital campaign, debt service, and Board-designated funds* 162,370,000 170,764,000
Endowment (market value) 34,960,000 32,094,000
Total fund balances $334,922,000 $307,423,000

* This includes the net present value of future revenue streams
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©2004 WGBH Educational Foundation