I'm sure everyone with a DStv or GOtv by now heard about the brand (stylised as PBS KIDS) before stations like SABC and e.tv distributed a handful of series such as Zaboomafoo, Clifford The Big Red Dog, Peep And The Big Wide World, Wordgirl, The Magic School Bus, Arthur, Curious George, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Cyberspace and Super Why.
Now we're gonna catch up with what PBS Kids was back when the brand only existed in the market through its series.
Back when PBS Kids was somewhat decent with a huge fanbase (including every other kids channel to date), the channel aired series such as the ones mentioned above along with Mister Rogers Neighborhood, Sid The Science Kid, Dragon Tales and Clifford's Puppy Days just to name a few.
Children's programming has been essential for many decades on PBS even it's successor National Educational Television (NET) had shows such as Mister Rogers Neighborhood, NET Playhouse before it got replaced in the 1970s with PBS.
PBS had a block known as "For Kids" which ran series such as The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Reading Rainbow, Zoom, Shining Time Station, The Big Comfy Couch, Kidsongs, Ghostwriter, Long Ago And Far Away, Newton's Apple, Square One Television and Mister Rogers became a part of it.
In 1994, PBS rebranded For Kids Into PTV as part of their Ready to Learn project a goal in which they can get their content to children living in poor households. Shows that joined it's PTV era included Arthur, Kratts Creatures, Zaboomafoo, Jay Jay The Jet Plane, The Huggabug Club, Theodore Tugboat.
On September 1999, PBS Kids underwent a facelift this introduced their mascots Dash (boy) and Dot (girl) which many only in the United States would recognise through bumpers and interstitials till now. Along came new styles that were simplistic at that time viewers would have praised it just as much as Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. Shows that followed this facelift were Between The Lions, Dragon Tales, Wordworld, Curious George, Clifford The Big Red Dog with the spin-off Clifford's Puppy Days, Sagwa, Cyberchase, Sid The Science Kid, Martha Speaks and Super Why, Cyberchase and Super Why.
On October 2004, through a series offshore PBS Kids GO! was introduced aimed at kids aged 6-12 year olds. Series that joined the lineup include Maya And Miguel, Fetch With Ruff Ruffman(Lost The Rights Off), Wordgirl, Design Squad, SciGirls, Fizzy's Lunch Lab, The Electric Company and Wild Kratts.
On October 2013, a lot happened with PBS Kids first PBS Kids GO! was discontinued, Peg+Cat was introduced, their style was adapted to look more 2010s but even more simplistic, the mascots were changed as well Dot remained while Dash was eliminated (maybe he grew up with the audience that could be the reason for the discontinuation) and became part of the logo with two new characters Dee (girl) came in to cause more mischief with Del (boy, Dash's replacement). Dash is still alive through merchandise and PBS Kids current logo.
As for the state of PBS Kids today you have good shows such as Martha Speaks, Curious George, Arthur, Odd Squad and once app exclusive The Ruff Ruffman Show but most of the shows are a hit or miss and not that great. They bring in series such as Ready Jet Go, Wild Kratts and then of course there's Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Pinkalicious And Peterrific and Peg+Cat that are useful as this brand has been doing for decades.
In January 2017, PBS Kids launched its 24/7 channel in the United States with plans to rollout the brand internationally. The 24/7 channel consisted of of both current and former series from the channel. They also offered a PBS Kids app and programming block.
MultiChoice added the channel back in June 2018 through the DStv Now service with plans to use it elsewhere if it succeeded then Showmax supplied content that hasn't been seen on the channel. In May 2019, it launched as a pop-up channel only in South Africa and Lesotho as stated it launch with it being permanent for the rest of Africa. Now the channel has been added permanently to South Africa and Lesotho.
PBS Kids' African feed uses the same schedule everyday, airs new double or single bill episodes everyday, has no ads like the one in the United States, no bumpers but they do have interstitials, no marathons or stunts and no shorts or movies but maybe they'll add some of these a little later for now they could be familiarising themselves with the market. The current series on this channel are Peg + Cat - Mathematics, Wild Kratts - Wilderness (Natural Science), Wordworld - Numeracy (English), Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood - Emotional intelligence and human respect (Life Orientation), Time Warp Trio - History, Pinkalicious and Peterrific - Visual Arts, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood - Crafts and music (Creative Arts) and Molly of Denali - Culture (Creative Arts).
In the end, these series are watched and have fans as well even I enjoyed some of the shows back in my youth and see a few interesting shows now. Even stations like Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon along with their additional stations were at their prime back then compared to now so these brands are no really no different and are just evolving with time.
THANK YOU MEDORA ENTERTAINMENT FOR PART OF THE INFO
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SURVEY ON PBS KIDS
- PBS Kids is #1 in preparing kids for success in school and in life. For those without the channel selected programs can be found on free-to-air channels.
- Parents report that TV is one of the top ways they spend time together as a family. PBS Kids is the best use for family screentime with 37% along with 24% being Disney Junior, 12% being Nick Jr, 2% being Cartoon Network and 25% having other alternatives.
- PBS Kids is #1 in readiness when preparing kids for school parents discovered the following: PBS Kids is 50% helpful and 31% helps somewhat, Disney Junior is 28% helpful and 36% helps somewhat, Nick Jr is 28% helpful and 31% helps somewhat, and Cartoon Network is 9% helpful and 10% helps somewhat.
- Parents especially in low-income communities rank PBS Kids as the most trusted and safe place to watch television.
- Improving in child's behaviour: 66% being PBS Kids, 56% being Disney Junior, 50% being Nick Jr and 16% being Cartoon Network.
- 74% of parents want high-quality educational content available to children anytime, anywhere and PBS Kids is available on TV and to stream. With its programs available for distribution.
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