President Trump has called public media a ‘monstrosity’ that deserves to be defunded, despite millions of US viewers.

The company is among the first casualties of a vote to strip roughly $500 million in federal funding from NPR, PBS and local stations across the country.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced on Friday that it would begin winding down its operations after President Donald Trump rescinded $1.1 billion in funding for the nonprofit, which for decades has helped sustain NPR, PBS, and hundreds of local public media stations across the country.