How can I watch a live stream on PBS.org?
To begin watching a live stream from your local PBS station on PBS.org, click the LIVE TV option at the top right corner of the site. Depending on your browser, you may instead see a menu icon. Click this icon to open the menu where the LIVE TV option will also be listed. Once you’ve opened the live stream, click the Start Watching button or the triangular play button to start the live stream.
Can I watch the live stream from any location or change between PBS station’s streams?
You can only watch the live stream from a local PBS station which serves your broadcast area. You will be unable to view the live stream of a PBS station outside of your geographic area. If you are served by multiple PBS stations in your broadcast area, you can change your local station on the site to view other station live streams.
What devices can I use to watch the live stream?
You can watch the live stream on your computer or on other devices that support the following web browsers:
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge
While other web browsers can visit PBS.org—such as Amazon Silk or third-party browsers included on Smart TVs—these web browsers are not officially supported, and we cannot guarantee video playback or offer troubleshooting for these unsupported browsers.
You can also watch the live stream on the PBS app on the following devices:
Roku
Apple TV (4th generation and newer)
Amazon Fire
Android TV
Apple iPhones and iPads
Android mobile devices
To watch the live stream on these devices, open the PBS app home screen and select Live TV at the top or left side of the app. Press OK on your remote to begin watching.
The live stream is not available on the PBS app on other devices at this time, but we are working on bringing live streaming to other devices in the near future.
Do I need to be a Passport benefit member or pay a fee to watch the live stream on PBS.org?
You do not need to be a member of your local PBS station in order to watch their live stream. There is no fee required, and you will not be prompted to enter any payment information before watching the live stream.
Does my local station’s live stream match what’s airing on their television broadcast? How can I see the program schedule for my PBS station’s live stream?
Your local station’s live stream may not always match what’s airing on their broadcast. You can find your station’s live stream’s schedule to the right of the live stream. Click the See Full Schedule option to view upcoming programs.
I saw a program on my station’s live stream and would like to watch it again. Can I watch the program elsewhere?
The PBS.org site and PBS app offer thousands of videos for streaming at your convenience, including popular programs such as
Nature, Masterpiece, NOVA, American Experience, and more.
Unfortunately, due to the different legal rights required in order to offer videos on our site and app, not every program is available for streaming outside of the live stream. It’s possible that PBS or your local station may only have the rights to offer a program through television broadcast or the live stream and cannot offer the program outside of those two options.
