PBS was originally the National Educational Television network, or NET for short, which was founded in 1952, and television broadcasts commencing on May 25, 1953, starting with the PBS station KUHT-TV. On October 5, 1970, NET officially became the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS for short. The company's old logos were rediscovered on Wikipedia on May 29, 2005, and on YouTube since around January 2006.
Children's programming
Children's programming began on February 19, 1968 with Misterogers' Neighborhood (color episodes began in 1969), followed by Sesame Street on November 10, 1969.
Transition from NET to PBS
The network was renamed PBS on October 5, 1970. Despite not being affiliated with any of the "Big Six" film studios, PBS has provided the most public television stations in America.
PBS today
The official PBS website (www.pbs.org) launched on April 19, 1995.
As of November 1998, PBS has been available in HDTV (16:9/1080i) format, though nearly not any shows were presented in HD until at least in 2006. On September 6, 1999, PBS introduced a new generation of PBS Kids, in addition to the launch of a new digital over-the-air broadcast network with the same name on many PBS stations.
List of programs broadcast by PBS
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968-2007)
- Shining Time Station (1989-1998)
- Barney & Friends (1992-2010)
- The Kidsongs Television Show (1994-2001)
- Arthur (1996-present)
- Thomas & Friends (2004-2017)
Logos
1968-1970 (National Educational Television)
Two versions -- black and white, then color. Both versions had different voiceovers. It appeared on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Washington Week in Review, and Sesame Street. It's still intact on the "Sesame Street: Old School Volume 1" DVD set.
1970-1971
A too plain logo, it is now extremely rare, as it is no longer seen on TV at all, but was seen on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, and early episodes of Masterpiece Theatre.
1971-1984
It's pretty unlikely that you'll ever see this on TV again, but it's still intact on the "Best of the Electric Company" and "Sesame Street: Old School" DVD sets. This logo has appeared on 80's reruns of the first series of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, the first season of Reading Rainbow, as well as in 3-2-1 Contact, and on all episodes of The Electric Company.
1984-1989
The PBS logo was redesigned in 1984, and was seen at the end of programs such as Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, 3-2-1 Contact, Square One TV, and several more.
On one variant, the first episode of Square One TV has the logo multiplying off into the distance.
1989-1993
Again, a pretty rare logo. Currently, it's mostly available on home video, but was seen on shows like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, Square One TV, Shining Time Station, Barney & Friends, Lamb Chop's Play-Along, etc.
Practically all the Barney & Friends videotapes from 1992 have a silent version of this logo.
The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour last used this logo on the night of January 4, 1993.
1993-1996
You still might find this on VHS prints of programs from the mid 90's, but other than that, it was the last logo to be seen on children's programming, before the PBS Kids idents began. They were Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, Ghostwriter, Shining Time Station, etc.
This logo was first seen at the end of the January 5, 1993 broadcast of The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and continued use through September 4, 1996.
1996-1998
Like the other PBS idents, it's best to find it on PBS videotapes.
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer began using this logo on September 5, 1996.
1998-2002
When programs began being presentable in HDTV format, the logo slightly changed in 1998. Here, it had many different people holding up a disc with the P-head on it, and different acrobats jumping from all directions. It is the first to contain the company's web address (www.pbs.org).
2002-2009
When the logo changed yet again in 2002, it inluced the slogan "Be More". It can still be seen on lots of primetime shows from the 2000s decade, as well as on digital broadcast networks affiliated with PBS.
2009-present
This ident is currently seen on many programs in ordinary PBS stations.
Websites
| Television networks | ||
|---|---|---|
| NBC Universal | Over-the-air | NBC |
| Cable | USA Network • Syfy • Universal Kids | |
| Streaming | Peacock | |
| ViacomCBS | Over-the-air | CBS • UPN |
| Cable | Nickelodeon • TeenNick | |
| Streaming | Paramount+ | |
| Warner Bros. | Over-the-air | The WB • CW Network |
| Cable | HBO • Cinemax • TBS • TNT • Cartoon Network | |
| Streaming | HBO Max | |
| Walt Disney | Over-the-air | ABC • FOX |
| Cable | Disney Channel • FX Networks • Toon Disney (1998-2009) • Freeform • Disney XD | |
| Streaming | Disney+ | |
| Other | Over-the-air | Broadcast syndication • PBS • PBS Kids |
| Cable | Hub Network (2010-2014) • Discovery Family | |
| Streaming | Netflix • Hulu • HBO Max • Paramount+ | |