PBS Kids

Not to be confused with PBS Kids Go! or Sprout (TV network).
PBS Kids
Type Children's programming
Country United States
Canada
Mexico (1996–99)
Availability Throughout North America
Founded July 11, 1994[1] (as PTV)
September 6, 1999 (as PBS Kids)
Slogan A Little Wonder Goes a Long Way.
Headquarters Arlington, Virginia
Broadcast area
 North America
Area North America
Owner PBS
Key people
 Jake Hollies (PBS Kids Go founder)
Launch date
 July 11, 1994[1] (block; as PTV)
September 6, 1999 (as PBS Kids)
Dissolved September 26, 2005 (PBS Kids Channel)
Former names
 PTV Park (July 11, 1994 – September 5, 1999)
Affiliation PBS
Official website
 pbskids.org

PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS which is produced by independent public television distributors such as American Public Television are not labeled as "PBS Kids" programming, and it is mainly a programming block branding.

History

The framework for PBS Kids was established as part of PBS's "Ready to Learn" initiative, a project intended to facilitate access of early childhood educational to underprivileged children.[2] On July 11, 1994 PBS repackaged their existing children's educational programming as a new block called "PTV".[1][3] In addition to scheduled educational programming, PTV also incorporated interstitial content such as "The P-Pals", which featured animated characters delivering educational content from their fictional world, "PTV Park". These interstitial shorts were aimed at younger children.[1] Older children were targeted with live action and music video interstitials.[1]

On September 5, 1999 the PTV brand was retired. Children's programming on the PBS network was then rebranded with the introduction of new bumpers, idents, and promos (designed by Richard McGuire and produced at Lee Hunt Associates, later produced at Primal Screen) appeared for the first time at 7:00 a.m. ET on September 6, 1999. Along with the block of programming on PBS, the PBS Kids brand lent its name to a separate television network, which also launched on September 6, 1999[4] and was targeted to children from 4- to 7-years-old. The PBS Kids Channel ran for six years and was largely funded by El Segundo, California-based satellite provider DirecTV. The channel shut down on September 24, 2005, in favor of a new commercial cable and satellite joint venture, PBS Kids Sprout, which was developed in partnership with Comcast who later bought full control of the network via NBCUniversal.[5] About half of PBS's member stations still operate their own children's channels as multicasting services.[6]

PBS Kids programming on PBS is now split into two sub-blocks: PBS Kids Go! and the PBS Kids Preschool Block. The former block, PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch, debuted in 2000 and ended in 2004.[7] On May 8, 2013, PBS Kids programming was added to the Roku streaming player.[8] On May 15, 2013, PBS Kids announced that Thomas & Friends, which had aired mainly on weekends on most PBS stations, would be moving to the daily schedule starting on October 7, 2013, due to an increase in ratings.[9]

Programming

Current programming

The following PBS Kids programs are in production and air on PBS stations or are available for streaming online. Programs from both the PBS Kids Preschool Block and the now-defunct PBS Kids Go! are listed because these programs are also part of the PBS Kids brand.

Rerunning programs

NOTE: These programs are no longer in production and run only on PBS stations that select them. Therefore, the programs may vary on every station.

Blocks

Former programming

The following programs are no longer in production, although some of them may still air in reruns on other channels.

Blocks

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bedford, Karen Everhart (June 6, 1994). "Goal for Ready to Learn: engage kids and parents". http://www.current.org/''. Current.org. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ Chozick, Amy (January 1, 2012). "PBS Takes On the Premium Channels". NYTimes.com (The New York Times Company). Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2015. PBS Kids ... was originally created for underprivileged young viewers who lacked access to early-childhood education.
  3. ↑ Pierce, Charles P. (January 22, 1995). "Building a Better Fun Factory : For Years, PBS Had a Monopoly on Quality Children's Programming. Now It's Being Challenged by Brash Upstart Nickelodeon, Which May Prove a Bigger Threat Than a Republican Congress Ever Will.". http://articles.latimes.com/'' (The Los Angeles Times). p. 7. Archived from the original on June 9, 1994. Retrieved June 9, 1994. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ↑ Karen Everhart Bedford (August 30, 1999). "Multi-purpose PBS Kids takes flight next week". Originally published in Current. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  5. ↑ Singel, Ryan (December 3, 2009). "Comcast Buys NBC, Clouding Online TV's Future". Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ Katy June-Friesen (January 12, 2009). "Many stations packaging their own kids' channels They've got something for tots on DTV menu". Originally published in Current. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  7. ↑ "http://www.enotes.com/topic/PBS_Kids_Bookworm_Bunch". Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  8. ↑ Roku's PBS, PBS Kids channels go live, stream full episodes Retrieved May 8, 2013
  9. ↑ "THOMAS & FRIENDS JOINS PBS KIDS' WEEKDAY SCHEDULE" Retrieved July 2, 2013
  10. ↑ "Angelina Ballerina". TV Guide. Retrieved January 3, 2015.

External links