PBS Kids programming typically targets children between the ages of 2 and 8,[1] with a focus on live-action and animated series featuring educational and informative (E/I) components; some of its programs were developed under grants with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of PBS and CPB's "Ready-to-Learn" initiative.

[2] On July 11, 1994, PBS repackaged their existing children's educational programming as a new block titled "PTV", airing on 11 member stations at launch.

[3] Apple Computer provided a $1.5 million grant to PTV and became its first national underwriter on June 26, 1995, as part of their "Bring Learning Home" corporate initiative.

[5] A "Ready To Learn" grant unveiled on January 8, 1996, supported the development of Dragon Tales and Between the Lions, which premiered in 1999 and 2000, respectively, as well as their online activities and outreach efforts.

[7] Starting on October 7, 1996, PBS packaged their programs for school-aged children into the block The Game, airing on 31 stations by the end of the year.

[10] Included with the new on-air appearance was a bright green logo featuring iconic boy and girl mascot characters Dash and Dot.

[12][13][13] In the early-2010s, the partners sold their stakes in Sprout to Comcast (via subsidiary NBCUniversal), who assumed full ownership of the channel in 2013.

; this block featured programming directed at school-aged children within oldest subset of the existing PBS Kids demographic (generally ages 6 to 8).

After the 2021 holiday season, the agreement with PBS ended, and since then, the Peanuts specials have not aired on American broadcast television.

The characters have customizable facial features, skin tones, and disability aids to reflect a diverse youth audience and how they portray themselves.

PBS Kids programming has historically received generally positive reviews from television critics and parents of young children.

The PBS Kids Channel has had two iterations in the age of digital television; one which existed between 1999 and 2005, and the current version which was launched in 2017.

The channel was launched on over 30 PBS member stations with carriage methods ranging from a cable-only service, to a standard-definition digital subchannel, to analog simulcasts.

[citation needed] FCC requirements mandated satellite providers to set aside 4% of their available channel space for noncommercial educational and informational programming.

[10][57] Because the pay-TV rights to the Children's Television Workshop's programs were owned by Noggin, the channel did not broadcast CTW programming, including longtime PBS staple Sesame Street, though an exception was made with the CTW-produced Dragon Tales (which premiered on the same day as the launch of the PBS Kids Channel).

[58] In the aftermath of DirecTV's decision not to renew its funding agreement with the channel, which ended in the third quarter of 2005,[56] PBS decided to shut down the network on September 26 of that year.

block on PBS, with additional new content and reruns of returning programs, such as HIT Entertainment's Wishbone and Kratts' Creatures.

Other exclusive content for this channel would include a one-hour Spanish-language block called "PBS Kids Vayan!"

However, stations found that the sliding scale licensing fees were too high for what little exclusive programming they would have received, especially after spending additional funds for the PBS HD feed.

With only one-third of PBS stations initially committing to carry the new network, the plans for the channel were ultimately withdrawn.

[65] A free online live stream of the PBS Kids Channel was also added to the PBS Kids website and video app upon the channel's debut, allowing viewers to toggle from the program being aired to a related educational game extending the interactivity introduced by Sesame Street.

The live stream also provides access to the 24/7 channel even in areas where some local PBS stations, such as WUFT in Gainesville, Florida and WEIU-TV in Charleston, Illinois, do not carry it on its subchannels.

[21] On April 21, 2017, the channel launched "PBS Kids Family Night," a weekly block on Friday evenings (with encore airings on Saturday and Sunday evenings) that showcase themed programming, premieres or special "movie-length" episodes of new and existing PBS Kids children's programs.