PBS and ITVS have launched a YouTube channel focused on documentaries in an effort to “meet new audiences where they already are.”
The channel, called PBS Documentaries, launched on Wednesday with the YouTube premiere of the film Independent lens address Detectiveabout the legacy of former Texas Senator and US Representative Barbara Jordan. On March 30, the channel will be launched Be silent and forgiveabout an Amish child sexual abuse survivor’s efforts to change the paradigm in Amish and Mennonite communities about sexual assault.
The goal of the channel is to showcase PBS nonfiction to a broader audience, said PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger. “PBS and our member stations are America’s home for documentary storytelling. This channel gives us the opportunity to meet new audiences where they already are and bring them into a deeper relationship with the exceptional work produced by our stations and partners,” she said.
Kerger added that PBS and ITVS are “building something that strengthens the entire public media system and creates more opportunities for the American people to access our documentary programming.”
The channel will distribute more than 100 new videos annually, including feature-length and short-form documentaries from the PBS series Independent Lens, POV, Real South and Voices In addition to the output of the PBS partnership with BBC Studios. The channel will also feature science and history specials from PBS and projects from PBS Digital Studios.
Co-producing company ITVS was founded in 1989 after Congress called for the service to be created to bring more independent and diverse works to public media. The new channel helps achieve this mission, its president and CEO, Carrie Lozano, said in a statement.
“PBS remains one of America’s most trusted institutions, and documentaries are a cornerstone of its commitment to civic engagement,” she said. “Through this partnership, we are excited to expand our shared public service mission into digital spaces to reach new audiences.”
In April, the YouTube channel will co-screen three documentaries with PBS broadcasters. On April 1, the two-part nature documentary series will be shown Our new worldwhile the channel will debut on April 6 The tallest dwarfabout the community of little people. April 13 will see the premiere of the film Backside: The Hidden Hands of Horse Racingcentered around the experiences of the “groom” working in equestrian sports.
In May, the channel will broadcast Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventurea behind-the-scenes documentary of Sir David Attenborough’s 1976 Universal production of the BBC docuseries Life on Earth.
The attempt to reach a wider audience comes as both PBS and ITVS face unprecedented funding challenges. In 2025, a conservative-controlled Congress defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, stripping federal funding from both ITVS and PBS. As a result, both organizations laid off workers last year.
