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77-640: American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States. It is produced by WNET in New York City. The show debuted on PBS in 1986. Groups or organizations featured include: Actors Studio , Algonquin Round Table , Group Theatre , Sweet Honey in
154-423: A PBS Passport member benefit subscription. On July 1, 2016, Amazon Prime Video and PBS Distribution entered into a multi-year agreement which saw several PBS Kids series on other streaming services move to Amazon Prime Video. PBS Distribution partnered with MultiChoice to launch PBS KIDS on May 22, 2019, on DStv and GOtv subscription platforms across its Sub-Saharan Africa footprint. In mid-2021,
231-523: A 2012 speech to 850 top executives from PBS stations, Senior Vice President of Digital Jason Seiken warned that PBS was in danger of being disrupted by YouTube studios such as Maker Studios . In the speech, later described as a "seminal moment" for public television, he laid out his vision for a new style of PBS digital video production. Station leadership rallied around his vision and Seiken formed PBS Digital Studios , which began producing educational but edgy videos, something Seiken called "PBS-quality with
308-732: A PBS Julia Child channel be added to Pluto TV in the United States. The channels "PBS Antiques Roadshow", "Julia Child", "Antiques Road Trip" and "PBS Nature" were added to a number of American FAST platforms in January 2023. Antiques Road Trip later became available in Australia. The channels "PBS Food" (in the United States) and "PBS History" (in the UK and Australia) launched on certain FAST platforms in late 2023. The channel "PBS Retro"
385-449: A YouTube sensibility". The studio's first hit, an auto-tuned version of the theme from one of their most famous television programs, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood , was one of YouTube's 10 most viral videos of 2012. By 2013, monthly video views on PBS.org had risen from 2 million to a quarter-billion, PBS.org traffic had surpassed that of the CBS, NBC, and ABC web sites, PBSKids.org had become
462-433: A distance education and how-to service operated between 2000 and 2006, and was largely succeeded by Create (a similarly formatted network owned by American Public Television). The 24-hour PBS Kids Channel has had two iterations in the age of digital television ; one which existed between 1999 and 2005 (being superseded by PBS Kids Sprout), and the current version which was launched in 2017. World began operations in 2007 as
539-689: A genre-based schedule (for example, drama series encompass the Sunday schedule, while science-related programs are featured on Wednesdays). PBS broadcasts children's programming under the PBS Kids branding as part of the service's (and including content supplied by other distributors not programmed by the service, its member stations') morning and afternoon schedule. As the children's programs it distributes are intended to educate as well as entertain its target audience, PBS and its stations have long been in compliance with educational programming guidelines set by
616-438: A larger proportion of PBS-distributed programming to the primary member station, with the secondary members being allowed to carry a lesser number of program offerings from the service's schedule. Unlike public broadcasters in most other countries, PBS cannot own any of the stations that broadcasts its programming; therefore, it is one of the few television programming bodies that does not have any owned-and-operated stations . This
693-546: A model that incorporated the work of Albert Bandura and other theorists, as well as research to determine whether programs impacted audience behavior. The first ever television series produced in the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu , entitled Love Patrol and launched in 2007, was praised as an edutainment series, as it aimed to educate viewers on the issue of AIDS , while simultaneously providing an entertaining story. The Hulu Original TV series East Los High
770-548: A number of countries, including India, Kenya, Peru, and China. The television medium can and has been used for a multitude of educational purposes. Some television programs are explicitly educational, while others only incidentally so. Some formats blend the two in the attempt to amuse but also retain some educational value. The time of "TV vs. radio", the early 1960s, were an era of change. Historian Michael Curtin recounted that then-FCC chair Jon Doerfor, and TV network heads, had come to an agreement that most television programming
847-430: A period of five years. After the show's first two seasons, American Masters began producing most of its episodes; in those cases, it hires directors, arranges for funding, manages the budget, and supervises the editing; the show reserves the right to make the final cut on every film it produces. The American Masters production company occasionally plays a more limited role and co-produces some of its episodes, such as
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#1732772503522924-563: A position where it does not belong and be judged "worst ever." In many cases, "worst television series ever" lists are slanted toward more contemporary shows, in recent memory. The Children's Television Act of 1990, which was first fully enforced in 1996, requires broadcast television stations in the United States to carry a minimum of three hours of " educational/informational " programming geared directly at children. The move prompted an exodus of non-educational children's programming to cable television and largely failed in its efforts to expand
1001-423: A secondary concern. Television series notable for negative reception, from around the world, either by published critics, by network executives or by audience response, can be judged based on poor quality, the lack of a budget, rapid cancellation, very low viewership, offensive content, and/or negative impact on other series on the same channel. In some cases, a show that is acceptable on its own merits can be put in
1078-567: A service operated by PBS but is now managed by American Public Television. PBS has also restructured its satellite feed system, simplifying HD02 (PBS West) into a timeshift feed for the Pacific Time Zone , rather than a high-definition complement to its formerly primary SD feed. PBS Kids Go! was proposed as a replacement broadcast network for the original 1999–2005 version of the PBS Kids Channel; however, plans to launch
1155-408: A set schedule of programming, particularly in regard to its prime time schedule, member stations reserve the right to schedule PBS-distributed programming in other time slots or not clear it at all if they choose to do so; few of the service's members carry all its programming. Most PBS stations timeshift some distributed programs. Once PBS accepts a program offered for distribution, PBS, rather than
1232-559: A source of tension as stations seek to preserve their localism, and PBS strives to market a consistent national lineup. However, PBS has a policy of "common carriage", which requires most stations to clear the national prime time programs on a common programming schedule to market them nationally more effectively. Management at former Los Angeles member KCET cited unresolvable financial and programming disputes among its major reasons for leaving PBS after over 40 years in January 2011, although it would return to PBS in 2019. Although PBS has
1309-601: A top building sign visible off the Richmond Highway . On August 4, 2020, the Amazon Prime Video platform added a "PBS Documentaries" package. As of that time it offered four separately-subscribable selections of PBS programming in the United States, "PBS Documentaries", "PBS Living" (also on Apple TV), "PBS Masterpiece" (also in Canada) and "PBS KIDS". In the UK, a "PBS America" documentaries package
1386-482: A very powerful and effective learning tool for children if used wisely. The article states that television can help kids or teens discover where they fit into society, develop closer relationships with peers and family, and teach them to understand complex social aspects of communication. Mexican TV producer Miguel Sabido pioneered in the 1970s the use of telenovela to disseminate the government's policy views to mass audiences. The "Sabido Method" has been adopted by
1463-524: Is The Lawrence Welk Show , which has aired continuously in reruns on PBS (through the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority ) almost every weekend since 1986. Reruns of programs originally produced for public television are common, especially with former PBS shows whose hosts have retired or died (for example, The Joy of Painting and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ). Children's programming (such as Clifford
1540-478: Is NETA (formerly SECA), whose properties have included The Shapies and Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art . In addition, the member stations themselves also produce a variety of local shows, some of which subsequently receive national distribution through PBS or other distributors. Rerun programming , especially domestic programming not originally produced for public television, is generally uncommon on PBS or its member stations. The most prominent exception to this
1617-577: Is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programs to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as Frontline , Nova , PBS News Hour , Masterpiece , Sesame Street , and This Old House . PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting , pledge drives , and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming
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#17327725035221694-445: Is available on Amazon Prime Video. On September 3, 2020, PBS began to offer a livestream of their member stations for free via its website (as well as the websites from the member stations), on smart TVs, and on their mobile apps. However, only a small handful of stations currently do not have a livestream of their stations set up. Jefferson Graham of USA Today called it, "Arguably the best bargain in streaming". July 1, 2021 saw
1771-482: Is backed by a health initiative to teach healthy sexual behaviors (e.g. using protection, getting checked for sexually transmitted diseases). Some television shows incorporate a considerable degree of historical or factual information while attempting to make the presentation or framing of such content entertaining or exciting. By making learning seem "exciting" they can be said to stimulate curiosity, taking Elinor Wonders Why as an example. The presence of edutainment
1848-422: Is charged with the responsibility of programming local content such as news, interviews, cultural, and public affairs programs for its individual market or state that supplements content provided by PBS and other public television distributors. In a commercial broadcast television network structure, affiliates give up portions of their local advertising airtime in exchange for carrying network programming, and
1925-561: Is especially evident in children's television series , such as Sesame Street , Teletubbies , and Barney and Friends . Discovery Channel is also known for its various shows that follow that theme, including MythBusters . Sometimes these programs may be more entertaining than educational and may replace educational shows in the television program lineup. The History Channel has transitioned from producing primarily factual and historical documentaries to more sensational, dramatic, and supposedly entertaining programs, with educational content
2002-556: Is not the only distributor of public television programming to the member stations. Other distributors have emerged from the roots of companies that maintained loosely held regional public television stations in the 1960s. Boston -based American Public Television (which, among other names, was formerly known as Eastern Educational Network and the American Program Service) is second only to PBS for distributing programs to U.S. non-commercial stations. Another distributor
2079-697: Is one of the largest producers of educational television programming, including shows like American Experience , Arthur (with Canada-based CINAR ), Masterpiece Theatre , Nova , Antiques Roadshow and Frontline , as well as many other children's and lifestyle programs. News programs are produced by WETA-TV ( PBS News Hour ) in Washington, D.C. , WNET in New York City and WPBT in Miami . Newark, New Jersey/ New York City member WNET produces or distributes programs such as Secrets of
2156-540: Is partly due to the origins of the PBS stations themselves, and partly due to historical broadcast license issues. Most PBS member stations have produced at least some nationally distributed programs. Current regularly scheduled programming on the PBS national feed is produced by a smaller group of stations, including: PBS has spun off a number of television networks , often in partnership with other media companies. PBS YOU ,
2233-544: Is responsible for governing and setting policy for PBS, consisting of 27 members: 14 professional directors (station managers), 12 general directors (outside directors), and the PBS president. All PBS Board members serve three-year terms, without pay. PBS member stations elect the 14 professional directors; the board elects the 12 general directors and appoints the PBS president and CEO; and the entire board elects its officers. As of March 2015 , PBS maintains current memberships with 354 television stations encompassing 50 states,
2310-619: Is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source. PBS has over 350 member television stations , many owned by educational institutions , nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government . PBS was established on November 3, 1969, by Hartford N. Gunn Jr. (president of WGBH ), John Macy (president of CPB ), James Day (last president of National Educational Television ), and Kenneth A. Christiansen (chairman of
2387-510: Is the only children's programming block on U.S. broadcast television. As PBS is often known for doing, PBS Kids has broadcast imported series from other countries; these include British series originally broadcast by the BBC and ITV . Through American Public Television, many PBS stations also began airing the Australian series Raggs on June 4, 2007. Some of the programs broadcast as part of
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2464-489: Is the use of television programs in the field of distance education . It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as Public, educational, and government access (PEG) channel providers. There are also adult education programs for an older audience; many of these are instructional television or "telecourse" services that can be taken for college credit, such as
2541-542: The Federal Communications Commission in response to the enactment of the Children's Television Act of 1990 . Many member stations have historically also broadcast distance education and other instructional television programs, typically during daytime slots; though with the advent of digital television, which has allowed stations to carry these programs on digital subchannels in lieu of
2618-635: The Open University programs on BBC television in the UK. Many children's television series are educational, ranging from dedicated learning programs to those that indirectly teach the viewers. Some series are written to have a specific moral behind every episode, often explained at the end by the character that learned the lesson. In the social aspects of television , several studies have found that educational television has many advantages. The Media Awareness Network explains in its article "The Good Things about Television" that television can be
2695-555: The 11th "most popular charity/non-profit in America" from over 100 charities researched in the study conducted by the industry publication, with 38.2% of Americans over the age of 12 choosing "love" and "like a lot" for PBS. Since the mid-2000s, Roper Opinion Research polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as the most-trusted national institution in the United States. A 2016–2017 study by Nielsen Media Research found 80% of all US television households view
2772-481: The 1980s onward, the national PBS network has not typically carried sporting events, mainly because the broadcast rights to most sporting events have become more cost-prohibitive in that timeframe, especially for nonprofits with limited revenue potential; in addition, starting with the respective launches of the MountainWest Sports Network (now defunct) and Big Ten Network in 2006 and 2007 and
2849-475: The 2005 documentary on Bob Dylan , No Direction Home , and then in 2010 The Doors , When You're Strange . Jevon Phillips of Los Angeles Times called the episode " Amy Tan : Unintended Memoir", "Fantastic." PBS The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial , free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia . PBS
2926-558: The Big Red Dog and DragonflyTV , the latter of which is also syndicated on commercial television) is rerun extensively. In 2020 and 2021, PBS served as the over-the-air home to select specials from the Peanuts library , under sublicense from Apple ; the deal was not renewed in 2022. Launched as PTV on July 11, 1994, PBS Kids is the brand for children's programs aired by PBS. PBS Kids, launched in 1999 and operated until 2005,
3003-755: The Dead , Nature , and Cyberchase . PBS also works with other networks for programming such as CNN International for Amanpour & Company which is a co-production of CNN International and WNET. PBS member stations are known for rebroadcasting British television costume dramas , comedies and science fiction programs (acquired from the BBC and other sources) such as Downton Abbey ; 'Allo 'Allo! ; Are You Being Served? ; The Benny Hill Show , Red Dwarf ; The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin ; Father Ted ; Fawlty Towers ; Harry Enfield & Chums ; Keeping Up Appearances ; Monty Python's Flying Circus ; Mr. Bean , The Vicar of Dibley ,
3080-557: The District of Columbia and four U.S. possessions; as such, it is the only television broadcaster in the United States—commercial or non-commercial—which has station partners licensed in every U.S. state (by comparison, none of the five major commercial broadcast networks has affiliates in certain states where PBS has members, most notably New Jersey ). The service has an estimated national reach of 93.74% of all households in
3157-601: The Los Angeles market ; KCET served as the market's primary PBS member until it left the service in January 2011, at which time it was replaced by KOCE). KCET rejoined PBS in 2019, thus giving the Los Angeles area four different member stations. For these cases, PBS utilizes the Program Differentiation Plan, which divides by percentage the number of programs distributed by the service that each member can carry on their schedule; often, this assigns
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3234-734: The Pocket, season 16, episode 4) and produced and directed the Emmy Award-winning series, Broadway: The American Musical and Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America with WNET. As head of the American Masters series, Kantor created the American Masters podcast in 2016 and the theatrical imprint, American Masters Pictures, in 2016, which brought ten films to the Sundance Film Festival over
3311-754: The Rock , Women of Tin Pan Alley , Negro Ensemble Company , Juilliard School , the Beat Generation , the singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Sun Records , vaudeville , and Warner Bros. American Masters , a series "devoted to America's 'greatest native-born and adopted' artists", was originally scheduled to premiere in September 1985; for "logistical scheduling reasons" the premiere was delayed until summer 1986, though on October 16, 1985, an American Masters "special" called Aaron Copland : A Self-Portrait
3388-404: The U.S., in which network-affiliated stations were initially owned by companies that owned few to no other television stations elsewhere in the country. In some U.S. states, a group of PBS stations throughout the entire state may be organized into a single regional "subnetwork" (such as Alabama Public Television and Arkansas PBS ); in this model, PBS programming and other content is distributed by
3465-442: The United States (or 292,926,047 Americans with at least one television set). PBS stations are commonly operated by nonprofit organizations , state agencies, local authorities (such as municipal boards of education), or universities in their city of license ; this is similar (albeit more centralized in states where a licensee owns multiple stations rebroadcasting the main PBS member) to the early model of commercial broadcasting in
3542-530: The amount of educational television on the airwaves (in fact, children's television in general has declined significantly on broadcast television since the act was imposed, although it can be argued that the E/I regulations could very well be the only thing keeping children's television on broadcast airwaves in the 2010s). Some programs are primarily aimed at entertainment, but may contain an incidental amount of educational content. Educational content may be inherent to
3619-399: The channel in 2012). However, the original programming block still exists on PBS, filling daytime and in some cases, weekend morning schedules on its member stations; many members also carry 24-hour locally programmed children's networks featuring PBS Kids content on one of their digital subchannels. A revived version of the PBS Kids Channel was launched on January 16, 2017. As of 2019, PBS Kids
3696-448: The channel was added to Australia's Foxtel subscription platform. At the summer 2019 Television Critics Association press tour day for PBS on July 29, 2019, it was announced that MVPD YouTube TV would begin to carry PBS programming and member stations in the fall of 2019. Member stations have the choice of having their traditional channel on the service with its full programming schedule received by Google over-the-air and uploaded to
3773-493: The child but can still be educational. Other television programs are designed to raise social awareness. One form of edutainment popular in Latin America is the educational telenovela . Miguel Sabido, a producer of telenovelas from the 1970s on, has combined communication theory with pro-health/education messages to educate audiences throughout Latin America about family planning, literacy, and other topics. He developed
3850-682: The department of broadcasting at the University of Florida ). It began operations on October 5, 1970, taking over many of the functions of its predecessor, National Educational Television (NET), which later merged with Newark, New Jersey station WNDT to form WNET . In 1973, it merged with Educational Television Stations . Around the same time, the groups started out the National Public Affairs Broadcast Center (later National Public Affairs Center for Television), which offered news and national affairs to
3927-918: The design of the show, such as with medical dramas where the plot invariably explores anatomical and biological issues. The Sentinel Award, which is administered by the University of Southern California 's Annenberg Center for Communication , the CDC and the National Cancer Institute ( NCI ), is given each year to programs that address health and medical issues in their storylines. 2006's nominees/winners included: While some programs are typically "pure" entertainment, they may foray into educational content at select times. For older viewers, individual situation comedy episodes also occasionally serve as educational entertainment vehicles. These episodes are sometimes described in United States television commercial parlance as very special episodes . As early as
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#17327725035224004-594: The digital signals of some member stations, while HD02 (PBS West) serves as a secondary HD feed. With the absence of advertising , network identification on these PBS networks was limited to utilization at the end of the program, which includes the standard series of bumpers from the "Be More" campaign. While not operated or controlled by PBS proper, additional public broadcasting networks are available and carried by PBS member stations. The following three are also distributed by PBS via satellite. Educational television Educational television or learning television
4081-459: The dominant US children's site for video, and PBS had won more 2013 Webby Awards than any other media company in the world. On May 8, 2013, full-length episodes of PBS' prime time, news and children's programs were made available through the Roku streaming player; programming is available on Roku as separate streaming channels for "PBS" and " PBS KIDS " content. Some content is only available with
4158-408: The exception of Sprout, some of these services, including those from PBS member stations and networks, have not made contracts with Internet-distributed over-the-top MVPD services such as Sling TV and the now defunct PlayStation Vue . With the transition to over-the-air digital television broadcasts, many of the services are also often now available as standard-definition multicast channels on
4235-615: The intent to expand the in-program breaks to the remainder of the schedule if successful. In 2011, PBS released apps for iOS and Android to allow viewing of full-length videos on mobile devices. Vern Seward of The Mac Observer calls the PBS iPad App, "...cool on so many levels." An update in 2015 added Chromecast support. "PBS UK" was launched as a paid subscription channel in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2011, featuring American documentary programming sourced from PBS. Better identifying its subject matter, this channel
4312-912: The later launches of the Pac-12 Network and ESPN's SEC Network and ACC Network , athletic conferences have acquired rights for all of their member university's sports programs for their cable channels, restricting their use from PBS member stations, even those associated with their own universities. From 1976 to 1989, KQED produced a series of Bundesliga matches under the banner Soccer Made in Germany , with Toby Charles announcing. PBS also carried tennis events, as well as Ivy League football. Notable football commentators included Upton Bell , Marty Glickman , Bob Casciola , Brian Dowling , Sean McDonough and Jack Corrigan . Other sports programs included interview series such as The Way It Was and The Sporting Life . The board of directors
4389-502: The main PBS feed or exclusively over online, many member stations/networks have replaced distance education content with children's and other programming. Unlike its radio counterpart, National Public Radio , PBS does not have a central program production arm or news division. All of the programming carried by PBS, whether news, documentary or entertainment, is created by (or in most cases produced under contract with) other parties, such as individual member stations. Boston member WGBH-TV
4466-419: The network pays its affiliates a share of the revenue it earns from advertising. By contrast, PBS member stations pay fees for the shows acquired and distributed by the national organization. Under this relationship, PBS member stations have greater latitude in local scheduling than their commercial broadcasting counterparts. Scheduling of PBS-distributed series may vary greatly depending on the market. This can be
4543-493: The network were folded in 2006. Programming from the PBS Satellite Service has also been carried by certain member stations or regional member networks to fill their overnight schedules (particularly those that have transitioned to a 24-hour schedule since the late 1990s), in lieu of providing programming sourced from outside public television distributors or repeats of local programming (program promotions shown on
4620-469: The network's programs over the course of a year. However, PBS is not responsible for all programming carried on public television stations, a large proportion of which may come from its member stations —including WGBH-TV , WETA-TV , WNET , WTTW , WQED , WHYY-TV , Twin Cities PBS — American Public Television , and independent producers. This distinction regarding the origin of different programs on
4697-634: The original run of Doctor Who , and Sherlock . However, a significant amount of sharing takes place. The BBC and British broadcasters such as Channel 4 often cooperate with PBS stations, producing material that is shown on both sides of the Atlantic . Less frequently, Canadian, Australian and other international programming appears on PBS stations (such as The Red Green Show , currently distributed by syndicator Executive Program Services); public broadcasting syndicators are more likely to offer this programming to U.S.-based public television stations. PBS
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#17327725035224774-1113: The originating member station, retains exclusive rebroadcasting rights during an agreed period. Suppliers, however, retain the right to sell the program's intellectual property in non-broadcast media such as DVDs , books, and sometimes PBS- licensed merchandise . The evening and primetime schedule on PBS features a diverse array of programming including fine arts ( Great Performances ); drama ( Masterpiece , Downton Abbey , American Family: Journey of Dreams ); science ( Nova , Nature ); history ( American Experience , American Masters , History Detectives , Antiques Roadshow ); music ( Austin City Limits , Soundstage ); public affairs ( Frontline , PBS NewsHour , Washington Week , Nightly Business Report ); independent films and documentaries ( P.O.V. , Independent Lens ); home improvement ( This Old House ); and interviews ( Amanpour & Company , Tavis Smiley , The Dick Cavett Show ). In 2012, PBS began organizing much of its prime time programming around
4851-562: The originating station in the subnetwork to other full-power stations that serve as satellites as well as any low-power translators in other areas of the state. Some states may be served by such a regional network and simultaneously have PBS member stations in a certain city (such as the case with secondary member KBDI-TV in Denver , which is not related to Colorado member network Rocky Mountain PBS and its flagship station and primary Denver PBS member, KRMA-TV) that operate autonomously from
4928-520: The profile of the fledgling PBS network. In 1991, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting resumed funding for most PBS shows that debuted prior to 1977, with the exceptions of Washington Week in Review and Wall Street Week (CPB resumed funding of Washington Week in 1997). In 1994, The Chronicle of Philanthropy released the results of the largest study on the popularity and credibility of charitable and non-profit organizations. PBS ranked as
5005-475: The regional member network. As opposed to the present commercial broadcasting model in which network programs are often carried exclusively on one television station in a given market, PBS may maintain more than one member station in certain markets, which may be owned by the licensee of the market's primary PBS member station or owned by a separate licensee (as a prime example, KOCE-TV , KLCS and KVCR-DT —which are all individually owned—serve as PBS stations for
5082-439: The satellite feed advertise upcoming programs as being aired on PBS during the timeslot card normally used as a placeholder for member outlets to insert local airtime information). Some or all of these services are available on a digital cable tier of many cable providers, on a free-to-air (FTA) satellite receiver receiving from PBS Satellite Service , as well as via subscription-based direct broadcast satellite providers. With
5159-743: The service presents a frequent source of viewer confusion. In December 2009, PBS signed up for the Nielsen ratings audience measurement reports, and began to be included in its primetime and daily "Television Index" reports, alongside the major commercial broadcast networks. In May 2011, PBS announced that it would incorporate breaks containing underwriter spots for corporate and foundation sponsors, program promotions and identification spots within four breaks placed within episodes of Nature and NOVA , airing episodes broken up into segments of up to 15 minutes, rather than airing them as straight 50- to 55-minute episodes. The strategy began that fall, with
5236-559: The service's children's lineup or through public broadcast syndication directly to its members have subsequently been syndicated to commercial television outlets (such as Ghostwriter and The Magic School Bus ). Many PBS member stations and networks—including Mississippi Public Broadcasting ( MHSAA ), Georgia Public Broadcasting ( GHSA ), Maine Public Broadcasting Network ( MPA ), Iowa PBS ( IGHSAU ), Nebraska Public Media ( NSAA ), and WKYU-TV ( Western Kentucky Hilltoppers )—locally broadcast high school and college sports. From
5313-552: The service, a YouTube TV-only feed provided by the station with some programming substitutions due to lack of digital rights, or a PBS-provided feed with limited localization, though with no local programming or pledge drive programming. In 2019, PBS announced plans to move its headquarters to another building in the Crystal Gateway complex, while remaining in Crystal City, Virginia , and did so in 2020, which included
5390-766: The service. The group was later merged into member station WETA-TV in 1972. Immediately after public disclosure of the Watergate scandal , on May 17, 1973, the United States Senate Watergate Committee commenced proceedings; PBS broadcast the proceedings nationwide, with Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer as commentators. Although all of the Big Three TV Networks ran coverage of the hearings, PBS re-broadcast them on prime time . For seven months, nightly "gavel-to-gavel" broadcasts drew great public interest, and raised
5467-657: The specific filmmakers, and oversaw a first-season budget of $ 8 million. Before creating the series Lacy had been the senior programmer for Great Performances and one of the "architects" of American Playhouse , having written the original proposal for the latter. At the time of the show's premiere, she was also the East Coast head of the Sundance Institute . In 2014, Michael Kantor succeeded Lacy as executive producer. As an independent producer, Kantor had directed one American Masters episode (Quincy Jones: In
5544-461: Was added to Roku's live TV channel lineup in the United States on April 23, 2024, airing PBS Kids shows from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Even with its status as a non-profit and educational television network, PBS engages in program distribution, providing television content and related services to its member stations, each of which together cooperatively owns the network. Unlike the affiliates for commercial TV networks, each non-profit PBS member station
5621-529: Was aired. The first of the 15 first-season episodes was Private Conversations , a " cinema-verite documentary by Christian Blackwood done in that trickiest of cinematic forms: a film about a film, in this instance the television version of Death of a Salesman , directed by Volker Schlöndorff ". It aired on June 23, 1986, as one of two episodes not specifically commissioned for the show's first season. Susan Lacy , American Masters creator and former executive producer, selected each subject, matched them to
5698-593: Was based on commercialism and emphasized entertainment too much. To help counterbalance this, there was a plan organized to produce more serious news and documentary programs. This policy was placed just in time for networks to expand their news coverage on the Kennedy-Nixon campaigns and debates. This increase in coverage stirred up the polls as those who saw the debates, with Kennedy's good looks and camera confidence, decided he had won, whereas those who listened were more impressed with Nixon. By 1962, TV reform
5775-520: Was in full swing, and 400 prime-time documentaries had been produced, as opposed to a total of zero back in 1957. Curtin noted that news programs were extended to full half-hour segments, and foreign and domestic issues were receiving heightened degrees of attention. Some television programs are designed with primarily educational purposes in mind, although they might rely heavily on entertainment to communicate their educational messages. In children's programming, edutainment becomes fun and interesting for
5852-406: Was largely funded by satellite provider DirecTV . The original channel ceased operations on September 26, 2005, in favor of PBS Kids Sprout , a commercial digital cable and satellite television channel originally operated as a joint venture between PBS, Comcast , Sesame Workshop and Apax Partners ( NBCUniversal , which Comcast acquired in 2011, later acquired the other partners' interests in
5929-472: Was renamed " PBS America " on July 4, 2012. The channel has subsequently become available in other parts of Europe and Australia. On February 28, 2012, PBS partnered with AOL to launch Makers: Women Who Make America , a digital documentary series focusing on high-achieving women in male-dominated industries such as war, comedy, space, business, Hollywood and politics. PBS initially struggled to compete with online media such as YouTube for market share. In
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