PBS Kids facts for kids
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| Network | PBS |
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| Launched | July 11, 1994 (PTV) September 6, 1999 (as PBS Kids) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Formerly known as | PTV (1994–99) |
PBS Kids (also known as PBS KIDS) is a special brand for most of the TV shows for children shown on PBS in the United States. These shows are mostly for kids aged 2 to 8. You can watch PBS Kids shows every day on most local PBS stations, usually in the mornings. There's also a separate channel that plays PBS Kids shows all day, every day. This channel is sometimes called the PBS Kids Channel or PBS Kids 24/7. Both the daily shows and the 24/7 channel can be watched on regular TV, through cable and satellite, and on streaming apps. Some PBS Kids shows are even available in other countries!
The Story of PBS Kids
How PTV Started
PBS has always shown great kids' programs like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow. Before 1993, these shows were just part of the regular PBS lineup. In 1993, PBS introduced new characters called the "P-Pals." These animated characters looked like the PBS logo and helped kids learn important skills like gathering information, feeling good about themselves, working together, and reaching goals. They appeared in short videos between shows.
The idea for PBS Kids grew from PBS's "Ready to Learn" project. This project aimed to help children, especially those who might not have many opportunities, get access to educational TV shows. On July 11, 1994, PBS grouped its children's shows into a new block called "PTV." It started on 11 TV stations. Besides the regular shows, PTV also had short videos with the P-Pals in their make-believe world, "PTV Park," for younger kids. Older kids got live-action videos and music videos.
Apple Computer gave PTV a $1.5 million grant in 1995. This made Apple the first big supporter of PTV. A "Ready To Learn" grant in 1996 helped create new shows like Dragon Tales and Between the Lions, which started in 1999 and 2000. It also supported their online activities. By September 1996, PTV was available on 95 PBS stations, reaching three-quarters of the United States. Starting in October 1996, PBS also created a block called The Game for school-aged children.
The Birth of PBS Kids
On January 18, 1999, PBS announced plans to launch the PBS Kids Channel. This channel was going to be a big part of a new plan. On June 9, PBS revealed a major new look for all its children's programs and services. This new brand was called PBS Kids. PBS also decided to increase its budget for children's programming by 25%. They also committed to two new series: Caillou and Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series.
The "PBS Kids" brand officially began on September 6, 1999, when the 24-hour PBS Kids Channel launched. The new PBS Kids look started appearing on PBS stations in October. PBS even gave money to stations that adopted the new branding early. The new design used a "thought bubble" idea. This was meant to connect "imagination, thinking, and using your head" with PBS Kids. The new look included a bright green logo with two famous mascot characters, Dash (a boy) and Dot (a girl). The PBS Kids website also got a new look on February 1, 2000.
The original PBS Kids Channel closed on September 26, 2005. This was because PBS started a new channel called PBS Kids Sprout with other companies. However, the PBS Kids block of shows continued to air on the main PBS channel during the day.
Before PBS Kids Sprout launched, PBS created PBS Kids Go!. This was a special part of PBS Kids that started in October 2004. It was for older kids, usually aged 6 to 8. There were plans for a new 24/7 channel for these older kids, but it was later canceled. In 2011, research showed that the PBS Kids brand was more recognized than PBS Kids Go!. Also, younger and older kids were watching each other's shows. So, PBS Kids got a new design, and the PBS Kids Go! brand was removed on October 7, 2013. This happened when the show Peg + Cat first aired.
PBS brought back the PBS Kids Channel on January 16, 2017. This time, it was available in many ways. You could watch a live stream of the channel on the PBS Kids website and video app. It also used the same ways to reach viewers as the original channel. When it launched, the main PBS Kids block on PBS didn't change. The shows on the 24/7 channel and the main PBS block are different. This means the same show won't be on both at the same time.
In November 2020, PBS Kids started showing some Peanuts animated specials, like It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. This was part of a deal with Apple TV+. It allowed PBS and the PBS Kids Channel to show these specials once a year. After the 2021 holiday season, the deal ended. Since then, the Peanuts specials have not been shown on regular American TV.
In June 2022, PBS Kids announced a new logo. It's a text-only logo inside a circle. It launched on July 19, 2022. To make the brand look more consistent, the new logo's blue color matches the PBS logo from 2019. It still keeps the familiar bright green for some of the letters.
In February 2023, there was a big change in how shows were scheduled. The daily PBS Kids block on local PBS stations became much shorter. Before, PBS Kids shows took up a larger part of the day, including both before and after school. Many PBS stations had already started making their morning blocks shorter. This change made almost all stations shorten their children's schedules to only the morning hours. PBS said that kids were watching TV differently. They decided it was better to focus children's programming in the mornings. This allowed them to show more general audience programs in the afternoons. They also continued to grow their audience on the 24/7 kids channel.
Watching PBS Kids Online
As watching videos online became more popular, PBS launched the PBS Kids Go! video player on its website on September 8, 2008. This platform had video clips from many PBS Kids Go! shows. These clips changed every week and linked to fun online games. The video player later included all PBS Kids programming. The whole platform became the PBS Kids Video app. This app was first available for free on May 12, 2011. The PBS Kids Video app is now the main place to stream free video clips and full episodes of PBS Kids shows. The app also has a free live stream of the 24/7 PBS Kids Channel.
On May 8, 2013, PBS Kids shows were added to the Roku streaming player.
On July 1, 2016, Amazon Prime Video and PBS Distribution made a deal. This meant several PBS Kids series moved to Amazon Prime Video from other streaming services. The PBS Kids subscription on Amazon lets families stream almost all PBS Kids programs that are currently on TV. However, some big shows are not included. For example, Sesame Street streams on Max, and Curious George streams on NBCUniversal's Peacock. The PBS Kids add-on service also includes some older shows, like Reading Rainbow, Kratts' Creatures, and It's a Big Big World.
On April 23, 2024, The Roku Channel added "PBS Retro." This is a free streaming channel that shows older PBS Kids programs, such as Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Reading Rainbow.
PBS Kids Around the World
Some PBS Kids shows are available outside the United States. PBS Distribution, PBS International, and GBH work together to offer a PBS Kids subscription channel and on-demand video services to people in other countries.
PBS Distribution teamed up with MultiChoice to launch PBS Kids on May 22, 2019. This channel is available on DStv and GOtv platforms in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
PBS Distribution also partnered with Foxtel to launch PBS Kids on July 1, 2021, in Australia. However, this channel was stopped two years later on July 1, 2023.
PBS Kids Shows and Blocks
For a full list of all PBS Kids programs, see List of programs broadcast by PBS Kids.
Current Programming Blocks
- PBS Kids Family Night (since April 21, 2017) – This is an evening block that shows repeats of PBS Kids movies and specials. It also has themed mini-marathons. It usually airs from 7 to 9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. It used to air on Fridays too. This block is only on the 24/7 PBS Kids Channel.
Past Programming Blocks
- The Game (October 7, 1996 – September 6, 1999) – This was an afternoon block for children aged 6 to 8. It aired on PTV.
- PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch (September 30, 2000 – September 5, 2004) – This was a Saturday morning block. It had six animated series made by the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited.
- PBS Kids Go! (October 11, 2004 – October 7, 2013) – This was an afternoon block for children aged 6 to 8.
- PBS Kids Preschool Block (September 4, 2006 – October 7, 2013) – This was a morning block specifically for preschoolers.
The 24/7 PBS Kids Channel
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| Type | Digital broadcast TV network (children's programming) |
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| Country | United States, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide (via OTA digital television) |
| Affiliates | List of affiliates |
| Headquarters | Crystal City, Virginia, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) (some affiliates transmit PBS Kids programming in 1080i 16:9 and 720p 16:9) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | PBS |
| History | |
| Founded | January 18, 1999 (original) February 23, 2016 (revival) |
| Launched | September 6, 1999 (original) January 16, 2017 (revival) |
| Closed | September 26, 2005 (original) |
| Replaced by | PBS Kids Sprout (original) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | PBS Kids Live TV |
The PBS Kids Channel (also known as PBS Kids 24/7) is a TV channel in the United States. It's run by PBS. The channel shows a variety of live-action and animated children's programs. These shows are designed to help young children (ages 3 to 9) improve their reading, math, and social-emotional skills. Some local PBS stations, like KLCS in Los Angeles, have their own PBS Kids channels. These local channels are different from the national one.
The PBS Kids Channel has been around twice. The first version was from 1999 to 2005. The current version launched in 2017.
History of the 24/7 Channel
The First Channel (1999-2005)
On September 6, 1999, PBS launched a 24-hour PBS Kids network. This was part of the new PBS Kids brand. The channel was called the PBS Kids Channel. It was available on higher-tier cable and satellite packages. PBS also offered it to local PBS stations. Stations could use it as a special local channel or to show some of the PBS Kids daytime programming on their regular free-to-air channel. Over 30 PBS stations launched the channel, and more joined later in 1999.
The channel received funding from the satellite provider DirecTV. It was partly created to compete with the Nick Jr. block and its sister channel Noggin. At that time, Noggin was partly owned by Sesame Workshop (the company that makes Sesame Street). Because Noggin had the rights to Sesame Workshop's shows for pay-TV, the PBS Kids Channel did not show Sesame Street. However, it did show Dragon Tales, which was also made by Sesame Workshop.
The first channel was not very successful. By 2002, it only reached 9 million homes. DirecTV decided not to continue funding the channel. So, PBS decided to close the network on September 26, 2005. The PBS Kids Channel was replaced by PBS Kids Sprout. This was a new cable and satellite channel that PBS created with Sesame Workshop, HIT Entertainment, and Comcast.
A Canceled Idea
When the first PBS Kids Channel closed, many local PBS stations had an empty spot on their digital channels. In April 2006, PBS announced plans for a new 24-hour digital channel called the PBS Kids Go! Channel. This channel would expand on the afternoon PBS Kids Go! block. It would have new content and reruns of shows like Wishbone and Kratts' Creatures. It would also have a one-hour Spanish-language block called "PBS Kids Vayan!" and other educational blocks.
The PBS Kids Go! Channel was supposed to launch in October 2006. However, stations found that the fees to license the channel were too high. Not enough stations committed to carrying the new network. So, the plans for the channel were eventually canceled.
The Channel Returns (2017-Present)
On February 23, 2016, PBS announced that the 24/7 PBS Kids Channel would return after 11 years. PBS leaders realized how important children's programming was during prime time.
The PBS Kids Channel relaunched on January 16, 2017. It was set up as a "multi-platform service." This means it was available in many ways. It launched on the digital subchannels of 73 PBS stations. An online live stream of the PBS Kids Channel was also added to the PBS Kids website and video app. This allowed viewers to watch the channel even if their local PBS station didn't carry it. The PBS Kids Channel is also available on DirecTV and DirecTV Stream.
The PBS Kids Channel shows different programs than the main PBS Kids block. This way, the same show won't be on both at the same time. It mainly features reruns of existing PBS Kids series. On April 21, 2017, the channel launched "PBS Kids Family Night." This is a weekly block on Friday evenings (with repeats on Saturday and Sunday evenings). It shows themed programming, new episodes, or special "movie-length" episodes of PBS Kids shows.
Affiliates
The PBS Kids Channel is carried by many PBS member stations across the United States. These stations broadcast the channel on their digital subchannels, making it widely available to families.
Images for kids
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The current PBS Kids logo, introduced in 2022.
See also
In Spanish: PBS Kids para niños
