"We're proud of what we've done. It's a big day," said CEO Howard Blumenthal. "The future is full of promise. There has been a lot of discussion on our board level and across the public TV community about what comes next. I've actually encouraged a number of public stations to think seriously about this option, consider the ways we'll be able to do great new work. Now we and some others will have to get down to the business of executing it . . . considering our long-term community service proposition."