The framework for PBS Kids was established as part of PBS's "Ready to Learn" initiative, a project intended to increase the amount of educational programming children were exposed to. On July 11, 1994 PBS repackaged their existing children's educational programming as a new block called "PTV". In addition to scheduled educational programming, PTV also incorporated interstitial content such as "The P-Pals", which featured animated characters delivering educational content from their fictional world, "PTV Park". These interstitial shorts were aimed at younger children. Older children were targeted with live action and music video interstitials.
On September 5, 1999 the PTV brand was retired. Children's programming on the PBS network was then rebranded with the introduction of new bumpers, idents, and promos (designed by Richard McGuire and produced at Lee Hunt Associates, later produced at Primal Screen) appeared for the first time at 7:00 a.m. ET on September 6, 1999. Along with the block of programming on PBS, the PBS Kids brand lent its name to a separate television network, which also launched on September 6, 1999 and was targeted to children from 4- to 7-years-old. The PBS Kids Channel ran for six years and was largely funded by El Segundo, California-based satellite provider DirecTV. The channel shut down on September 24, 2005, in favor of a new commercial cable and satellite joint venture, PBS Kids Sprout, which was developed in partnership with Comcast who later bought full control of the network via NBC Universal. About half of PBS's member stations still operate their own children's channels as multicasting services.
PBS Kids programming on PBS is now split into two sub-blocks: PBS Kids Go! and the PBS Kids Preschool Block. The former block, PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch, debuted in 2000 and ended in 2004. On May 8, 2013, PBS Kids programming was added to the Rokustreaming player. On May 15, 2013, PBS Kids announced that Thomas & Friends, which had aired mainly on weekends on most PBS stations, would be moving to the daily schedule starting on October 7, 2013, due to an increase in ratings.
