The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is the largest provider of public television in the United States, consisting of over 350 member stations. The network distributes educational programs, including science program Nova, news program PBS News Hour, and children's program Sesame Street. Being a non-profit organization, the network is funded by its member stations, the citizens of the United States, and various organizations, including (until 2026) the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
1970–1971
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Helvetica
Launched:
October 5, 1970
PBS was founded on November 3, 1969, and first began broadcasting on October 5, 1970. It served as the replacement for National Educational Television (NET), which at the time was being threatened by its parent company Ford Foundation along with the CPB to have its funding cut unless it merged with New Jersey-based station WNDT, to which NET agreed. WNDT became WNET on October 1, 1970, with NET ceasing operations on October 4; PBS began broadcasting the next day.
Custom (based on Eagle Bold) ITC Avant Garde Gothic
Launched:
Q4 1970 (creation) August 1971
This logo introduced the familiar "P" resembling a human head, known internally as the "Everyman", and nicknamed the "P-Head" by many fans. The on-screen logo was scored by Paul Alan Levi and performed on an EMS VCS3 synthesizer. This logo was still used on new episodes of PBS shows until 1985, a short time after the following logo was introduced. PBS Digital Studios adopted this logo as part of their own from 2014 to 2019, and it would return again with the launch of PBS Retro on April 23, 2024.
March 30, 1984 (reveal) September 30, 1984 (launch)
A new symbol for the network, a reversed version of the "Everyman" from the previous logo with two additional facial contours (one in negative space and one in positive space), was revealed at the PBS annual meeting on March 30, 1984. The identity program was executed by New York firm Chermayeff & Geismar at a cost of approximately $35,000. The "PBS" wordmark used ITC's font Lubalin Graph Demi, in a modification made exclusively for the network. It would officially launch on September 30 as the network adopted the PBS abbreviation as its common name.
In 2002, the logo underwent subtle changes: the Lubalin Graph wordmark would be substituted for the similar Caecilia, and its elements were reproportioned, with the circle now larger than the wordmark. The circle was sometimes given a 3D gloss. Like the previous logo, this one continued to be used by some member stations past the 2019 rebrand.
A gradient would be added to the network's main logo in 2009. In promos and IDs, the logo is 3D and its colors can vary. This logo continued to be used on some PBS member stations until early 2020.
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of its founding, a new identity for PBS was unveiled on November 4, 2019, designed by Lippincott. The Everyman design has been completely redrawn, most prominently rounding and angling the profile's nose. The accompanying wordmark is set in a custom treatment of PBS Sans, a proprietary typeface from Monotype.
