PBS facts for kids
Logo used since November 4, 2019
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| Type |
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|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area |
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| Affiliates | List of member stations |
| Headquarters | Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | PBS's member public television stations |
| Key people | |
| History | |
| Founded | November 3, 1969 |
| Launched | October 5, 1970 |
| Founder |
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| Replaced | National Educational Television (1952–1970) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | (US only) |
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public TV network. It is based in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a non-commercial and free-to-air network. This means you don't pay to watch it, and it doesn't show commercials.
PBS is a nonprofit organization. It is the main provider of educational programs for public TV stations in the United States. You might know some of its popular shows like Frontline, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Masterpiece, and Sesame Street.
PBS gets its money from different places. This includes fees from its member stations, money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and donations from people and groups. All money for shows must follow rules. This makes sure the shows are fair and not influenced by who paid for them. PBS has almost 350 member TV stations. Many of these are owned by schools, nonprofit groups, or state governments.
As of 2020[update] PBS has nearly 350 member stations across the United States.
Contents
History of PBS
PBS started on November 3, 1969. It was founded by four people: Hartford N. Gunn Jr., John Macy, James Day, and Kenneth A. Christiansen.
The network began showing programs on October 5, 1970. It took over many jobs from its older network, National Educational Television (NET). In 1973, PBS joined with Educational Television Stations.
A big moment for PBS happened in 1973. The Watergate scandal hearings began, and PBS showed them live. Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer were the commentators. While other networks showed parts of the hearings, PBS re-broadcast them every night. These "gavel-to-gavel" broadcasts lasted seven months. They made many people interested in PBS and helped the new network become well-known.
In 1994, a study found that PBS was very popular. It was ranked as the 11th "most popular charity/non-profit in America." About 38% of Americans over 12 said they "love" or "like a lot" for PBS.
Since the mid-2000s, polls have shown that PBS is the most-trusted national institution in the United States. A study from 2016-2017 found that 80% of all U.S. TV homes watch PBS shows each year.
In 2009, PBS started being included in Nielsen ratings. These reports measure how many people watch TV shows.
In 2011, PBS added short breaks within some shows. These breaks included messages from sponsors and promotions for other programs. The goal was to see if this would help fund more shows.
Also in 2011, PBS launched apps for phones and tablets. This allowed people to watch full shows on their mobile devices.
A channel called "PBS UK" started in the United Kingdom in 2011. It showed American documentaries from PBS. It was later renamed "PBS America" in 2012. This channel is now available in other parts of Europe and Australia.
In 2012, PBS faced competition from online videos like YouTube. To keep up, PBS created PBS Digital Studios. This group started making educational videos with a fun, online style. One of their first big hits was a music video using the theme from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. By 2013, PBS.org had many more video views. PBS also won more Webby Awards than any other media company that year.
PBS continued to expand its reach. In 2013, PBS shows became available on Roku streaming players. In 2016, Amazon Prime Video started carrying some PBS Kids shows. In 2019, YouTube TV also began to offer PBS programming.
In 2019, PBS announced it would move its main office to a new building in Crystal City. This move happened in 2020.
In 2020, Amazon Prime Video added a "PBS Documentaries" section. PBS also started offering a free live stream of its member stations online. This made it easier for people to watch PBS shows on smart TVs and mobile apps.
More PBS channels have launched on streaming platforms. In 2021, a Julia Child channel was added to Pluto TV. In 2023, channels like "PBS Antiques Roadshow" and "PBS Nature" became available. In late 2023, "PBS Food" and "PBS History" also launched. In April 2024, "PBS Retro" was added to Roku, showing older PBS programs.
How PBS Works
PBS is a nonprofit organization that distributes TV content. It provides shows and services to its member stations. These stations cooperatively own the network.
Unlike regular TV networks, PBS member stations create their own local shows. These can include local news, interviews, and community programs. This local content adds to the shows PBS provides.
Commercial TV networks pay their local stations to show their programs. But PBS works differently. PBS member stations pay fees to PBS for the shows it buys and shares. This gives PBS stations more freedom in deciding when to show programs. So, the schedule for PBS shows can be different in various cities.
PBS does have a "common carriage" rule. This means most stations try to show national prime time programs at the same time. This helps PBS promote its shows across the country.
Once PBS agrees to share a show, PBS usually has the rights to re-broadcast it for a certain time. However, the people who made the show can still sell it in other ways, like on DVDs or as books.
PBS Programs
PBS offers many different types of shows.
- Arts: Great Performances
- Drama: Masterpiece, Downton Abbey
- Science: Nova, Nature
- History: American Experience, Antiques Roadshow
- Music: Austin City Limits
- News and Public Affairs: Frontline, PBS NewsHour, Washington Week
- Documentaries: P.O.V., Independent Lens
- Home Improvement: This Old House
PBS also has a special block of shows for kids. These shows are part of the PBS Kids brand. They are designed to be both fun and educational. Many stations also show educational programs for schools, especially during the day.
PBS does not make all its own shows. Instead, many programs are created by its member stations. For example:
- WGBH-TV in Boston makes shows like Arthur, NOVA, and Frontline.
- WETA-TV in Washington, D.C., produces PBS NewsHour and Washington Week.
- WNET in New York City makes Nature and Cyberchase.
PBS stations are also known for showing many British TV series. These include dramas like Downton Abbey, comedies like Keeping Up Appearances, and science fiction like Doctor Who.
PBS is not the only source of public TV shows. Other groups like American Public Television also provide programs to stations. Stations also create their own local shows. Some of these local shows then get shown across the country.
You might see reruns of some classic PBS shows. For example, The Lawrence Welk Show has been airing reruns since 1986. Children's shows like Clifford the Big Red Dog are also often rerun.
PBS Kids Shows
PBS Kids is the name for children's programs on PBS. It started as PTV in 1994. There was a 24/7 PBS Kids Channel from 1999 to 2005. It then came back in 2017.
PBS Kids shows are on during the day and sometimes on weekend mornings. Many stations also have a 24-hour children's channel on one of their digital subchannels. As of 2019, PBS Kids is the only children's programming block on regular broadcast TV in the U.S.
PBS Kids also shows programs from other countries. These include British series from the BBC and ITV. Some PBS Kids shows have even been shown on commercial TV channels.
Sports on PBS
Many PBS member stations show local high school and college sports. However, the national PBS network usually does not show major sporting events. This is because the rights to broadcast these events are very expensive.
In the past, PBS did show some sports. From 1976 to 1989, it showed German soccer matches called Soccer Made in Germany. PBS also showed tennis and Ivy League college football games.
How PBS is Governed
A board of directors leads PBS. This board makes rules and guides the network. It has 27 members: 14 are station managers, 12 are outside directors, and one is the PBS president. All board members serve for three years and are not paid. The PBS member stations choose the station managers. The board chooses the other directors and the PBS president.
PBS Member Stations
As of March 2015[update], PBS has 354 TV stations. These stations are in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and four U.S. territories. This means PBS is the only TV network in the U.S. that has stations in every state. PBS reaches about 93% of all homes in the United States.
PBS stations are often run by nonprofit organizations, state groups, local governments, or universities. In some states, many PBS stations work together as one "subnetwork." For example, Alabama Public Television is a group of stations across Alabama.
Sometimes, a city might have more than one PBS station. For example, Los Angeles has four different PBS stations. In these cases, PBS uses a plan to decide how many PBS shows each station can carry. The main station usually carries more PBS shows.
Unlike commercial TV networks, PBS does not own any of its stations. This is because of how PBS stations started and old broadcasting rules.
Stations that Produce Shows
Many PBS stations have created shows that are shown across the country. Here are some of the main stations that produce regularly scheduled programs for PBS:
- WGBH-TV (Boston): Arthur, NOVA, Masterpiece, Frontline
- WNET (New York City): Nature, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Cyberchase
- WETA-TV (Washington, D.C.): PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, America's Test Kitchen
- WTTW (Chicago): Nature Cat, WordWorld
- Maryland Public Television (Baltimore): MotorWeek, Julia Child
- KLRU (Austin): Austin City Limits
- KQED (San Francisco): The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!
- WQED (Pittsburgh): Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
- Twin Cities PBS (St. Paul): SciGirls, Hero Elementary
PBS Networks
| Network | What it Shows |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} PBS Kids |
Shows for children. It started as a 24/7 network in 1999, stopped in 2005, and came back in 2017. |
| PBS Satellite Service | A 24-hour channel with a mix of shows from the main PBS service. |
PBS has also created other TV networks, often with other media companies.
- PBS YOU was a channel for education and how-to shows from 2000 to 2006. It was replaced by Create.
- The 24-hour PBS Kids Channel has had two versions. The first was from 1999 to 2005. The current one launched in 2017.
- World started in 2007 and shows news and documentaries.
Many of these channels are available on cable TV. Some are also available for free with a special satellite receiver. With digital TV, many of these channels are also available as extra channels on some PBS stations.
Other Public TV Networks
There are other public broadcasting networks that PBS stations also carry. These are not run by PBS itself.
| Channel | What it Shows | Who Runs It |
|---|---|---|
| Create | Educational and artistic programs | American Public Television |
| World | News and documentaries | |
| First Nations Experience | Programs about Indigenous cultures | San Bernardino Community College District |
Some states also have their own public affairs channels. These channels show events from state government, like legislative meetings.
PBS Logos and Look
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PBS first used a special logo in 1971. It was a colorful wordmark of the letters "PBS." The "P" was shaped like a human face. This "P-Head" became the basis for all future PBS logos.
In 1984, PBS introduced a new logo. The "P" face was flipped to face right. It was also repeated to look like many people. This new symbol was called "Everyone." It was meant to show that PBS serves many different people.
This logo has been used in different ways since then. From 1998, it was often shown in white on a circle.
On November 4, 2019, PBS changed its logo again for its 50th anniversary. The "Everyone" logo was updated. A new font was created for the PBS name. The colors electric blue and white became the main colors. PBS also encouraged its member stations to include "PBS" in their names. For example, Wisconsin Public Television became PBS Wisconsin. PBS helped stations pay for these changes.
See also
In Spanish: PBS (Estados Unidos) para niños
- American Public Media
- List of United States over-the-air television networks
- PBS America
- Public Radio International
- Public, educational, and government access (PEG)
- Television in the United States
Similar Public TV Services
TVOntario, Knowledge Network
China Education Television
Arte- France 5
Educational Broadcasting System
