PBS

PBS
Be more.
Genre: Public broadcasting Country: United States Release Date: May 16, 1954-October 4, 1970 (as National Educational Television) October 5, 1970-present; (as Public Broadcasting Service)

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor.

Why It Is Really For Viewers Like You

In General

1. The channel is, for the US, educational programming at it's peak.
2. Its most iconic "Everyman" P-Head logo, which he debuted in 1971.
3. The PBS network had many great original shows, including Sesame Street, Nova, This Old House, Washington Week, Nature, Antiques Roadshow (US), Frontline, Masterpiece, MotorWeek, PBS NewsHour, Finding Your Roots, Masterpiece Mystery! and Austin City Limits.
   • Its most-watched original children's program was Sesame Street that the preschoolers watched and learned from this show, every day.
4. In addition, they have introduced US audiences to many great British programmes, such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Downtown Abbey, BBC World News America, Dr. Who, & Antiques Roadshow (UK).
5. Its music video, "Just Watch Us Now", was very catchy.
6. The music in the 1999-2002 bumpers and IDs is great. It can best be described as synth or art pop and acapella.
7. It spawned into a UK-exclusive network, PBS America, which was great for non-Americans who wanted to watch PBS shows.
8. It spawned into three spin-off networks, Create, World and First Nations Experience.
9. Because of how funding is generated, programming can feel much more organic, as there's no need to pander to corporate interests.

PBS Kids

1. PBS Kids has a great range of well-made shows that were produced over the years. While their focus has mainly been on young children, they have also targeted older kids as well, with shows like Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (the game show), The Electric Company, and their former block PBS Kids Go!, which included Cyberchase, Fetch! with Ruff Ruff Man, Arthur, WordGirl, and a reboot of the aforementioned The Electric Company.
   • Before PBS Kids Goǃ was released, they, along with Canadian-studio Nelvana, produced the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch, airing shows such as Elliot Moose, Corduroy, and four other shows that were created by well-known book authors, including show creators.
     • George Shrinks, created by William Joyce (who also created Rolie Polie Olie for Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior).
     • Seven Little Monsters, created by Maurice Sendak (who also created Little Bear for Nick Jr.)
     • Marvin The Tap-Dancing Horse, created by Michael and Betty Parakevas (who also created Maggie and the Ferocious Beast for Nick Jr.)
     • Timothy Goes to School, created by Rosemary Wells (who also created Max & Ruby for Nick Jr.)
     • The block ran from September 30, 2000 until September 5, 2004 (the same day Thomas & Friends came to the channel, premiering its 8th season (which also started it's HiT model era) as a stand-alone program).
2. The animation in the bumpers and IDs are also quite creative, especially the simulating cutout animation in the 2008-2013 era.
3. Speaking of which, PTV Park, enough said!
4. Like PBS America, it has its own network of the same name with additional service in Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia.
5. It had some heartwarming promos with the Sesame Street Muppets.
6. PBS is the only major over-the-air network still airing children's cartoons on weekdays.

Bad Qualities

In General

1. It can sometimes lean to any toxic political-wings, though being a public broadcaster, this is rare.
2. The bumpers and IDs from 2002 to 2008 ditched the art pop music and acapella in favor of synth-pop, but luckily trace elements of these remained until mid 2008 when they were ditched in favor of acoustic instruments.
3. Some bad or average shows here and there, such as:
   • Donkey Hodie
   • The 2019 reboot of Clifford the Big Red Dog
   • Angelina Ballerina
   • Pinkalicious & Peterrific
   • The 2015 reboot of Bob the Builder
   • The HiT Model and Sharon Miller era of Thomas & Friends
   • Seasons 9-14 of Barney & Friends
   • Caillou
   • Boohbah

PBS Kids

1. Their bumpers and IDs used from 1999 to 2008, while creative, are infamous for frightening young viewers. Thankfully, they were phased out by 2010.
   • Similarly, some have found some of the newer bumpers and IDs from 2013 onwards to be annoying.
2. Speaking of PBS Kids, it took a dip in quality starting in 2013. For instance, with the removal of the PBS Kids GO! block, there's currently little to no content for older kids. They will lose interest in the network and stop watching because of this and move on to cable networks (Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel), video games, and digital streaming services. Luckily, they do have their own streaming service (as well as a deal with Amazon Prime Video) and currently haven't seen too much decline regarding its main target audience.

Trivia

• PBS was founded on November 3, 1969, before Sesame Street premiered.
• It was America's very first major commercial-free television network.
• Starting in 2016, Sesame Street aired on HBO, which meant that PBS was its second-run network.
• Before it became PBS in 1970, it was originally launched as National Educational Television (NET).
• After the original PBS Kids all-day channel was shut down in 2005 due to a lack of funding, PBS had planned to make an all-day channel based on the new PBS Kids GO! block, but stations turned it down, due to the channel lacking in shows. The shows planned to be exclusive to the channel were later added to the PBS Kids website instead.

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