PBS and ITVS have launched a YouTube channel focused on documentaries in a bid to “meet new audiences where they already are.”
The channel, called PBS Documentaries, launched on Wednesday with the YouTube premiere of the Independent Lens title The Inquisitor, about the legacy of former Texas state senator and U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan. On March 30, the channel will debut Keep Quiet and Forgive, about an Amish child sexual assault survivor’s efforts to change the paradigm in Amish and Mennonite communities around sexual abuse.
PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger said the aim with the channel is to expose PBS’ nonfiction fare to a broader audience. “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 extraordinary work our stations and partners produce,” 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 programs.”
The channel will distribute more than 100 new videos annually including feature-length and short documentaries from the PBS series Independent Lens, POV, Reel South and Voces as well as output from PBS’ partnership with BBC Studios. The channel will also feature science and history specials from PBS and projects from PBS Digital Studios.
Co-producer ITVS was founded in 1989 after Congress called for a service to bring more diverse, independent work to public media. In a statement, its president and CEO Carrie Lozano said the new channel helps fulfill this mission.
“PBS remains one of the most trusted institutions in America, and documentaries are a cornerstone of its commitment to civic engagement,” she said. “Through this partnership, we’re thrilled to expand our shared public-service mission into digital spaces to reach new audiences.”
In April, the YouTube channel will co-premiere three documentaries with PBS broadcast stations. On April 1, it will offer the two-part nature documentary series Our New World, while on April 6 the channel will debut The Tallest Dwarf, about the little people community. April 13 will see the premiere of Backside: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing, centered on the experiences of “groom” workers in the equestrian sport.
And in May, the channel will stream Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, a documentary about the behind-the-scenes of Sir David Attenborough’s globe-trotting 1976 production of the BBC docuseries Life on Earth.
The attempt to reach a broader audience arrives as PBS and ITVS both face unprecedented funding challenges. In 2025, a conservative-controlled Congress defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which stripped federal funding from both ITVS and PBS. As a result, both organizations conducted layoffs last year.
