PBS KIDS

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

LAUNCH DATE: PBS KIDS launched as a block on PBS in 1993.

OWNERSHIP: PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 356 public television stations.

DISTRIBUTION: Serves more than 115 million people on-air and online each month.

DESCRIPTION: PBS KIDS is a programming block targeted towards kids 2- to 5-years old and PBS KIDS GO! is targeted towards kids 6- to 8-years old. Both offer children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through TV, online and community-based programs.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT:
VP, Children’s Programming, PBS: Linda Simensky
Director, Children’s Programming, PBS: Paul Siefken

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Parents, children, industry leaders and teachers have all endorsed PBS’s kids’ programming for its aim to empower children for success in school and in life. In fact, PBS KIDS has earned the distinction as the most educational media brand, according to a GfK Roper survey out this June. The report shows that of all networks, the U.S. public exudes the highest level of confidence in PBS, with 73 percent agreeing that PBS serves all children, regardless of their circumstances. Additionally, 73 percent of respondents indicated that the network provides "a trusted and safe place for children to watch television," and 70 percent say that PBS serves as a "safe haven for children."

"PBS’s children’s media is designed to nurture a child’s total well-being—cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically," says Linda Simensky, the VP of children’s programming for PBS. "We buy programs that are educational and entertaining. Our areas of interest include literacy, math and science. We work with PBS producing stations, including WGBH and WNET, and with experienced kids’ TV production partners, including The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop, HIT Entertainment, Out of the Blue, Soup 2 Nuts, as well as others."

Some of the channel’s top kids’ shows include Curious George, Super Why!, Sid the Science Kid, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Arthur, Martha Speaks and Sesame Street.

In designing its schedule, PBS set aside the programming block PBS KIDS GO! specifically for early elementary school kids, "an audience that has limited options for age-appropriate programming that is educational and fun," Simensky says. "Oftentimes kids 6 to 8 are watching up or watching down, so we scheduled this block to run after school so kids in this age group can have a place of their own." The corresponding website at pbskidsgo.org is also used to reach this audience with age-appropriate games, activities and videos. 

PBS supports its kids’ offerings with a host of new-media extensions—PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org)—and community outreach programs, including PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country. "Each of these areas extends a child’s learning experience by bringing the lessons they learned through our programming to life," says Simensky.

WHAT’S NEW: This September, on Labor Day, PBS KIDS will debut the new CGI-animated series Dinosaur Train. The series combines preschoolers’ fascination with dinosaurs and love for trains while encouraging basic scientific thinking and educating about natural science, natural history and paleontology. The series joins the schedule alongside fellow The Jim Henson Company series Sid the Science Kid, which premiered in fall 2008.

The Electric Company, which debuted on PBS KIDS GO! in January, takes on a daily slot this September. There will also be several new episodes from a variety of continuing series, from Sesame Street‘s 40th season to new episodes from It’s a Big Big World, Barney and more.

WEBSITE:

Pbskids.org