Formed in 1969 by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, PBS has been a staple for American families for decades. 

From its earliest days airing Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street to iconic shows from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s like Electric Company, Reading Rainbow and Bill Nye the Science Guy, PBS programming has taught children to understand and express their emotions, and helped them build foundational literacy, math and science skills. And since 1999, PBS Kids has brought beloved characters like Daniel Tiger and Arthur into American through shows and digital games.聽

Today, PBS, along with NPR and funded by CPB faces an uncertain future after President Donald Trump signed a bill cutting earmarked for the Corporation.

public broadcasting has been under threat. In the 1990s, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, led efforts to . In 1969, Fred Rogers before Congress to protect $20 million in federal funding for the newly formed Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which the Nixon administration proposed cutting in half.

鈥淚鈥檓 constantly concerned about what our children are seeing, and for 15 years I have tried, in this country and Canada, to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care,鈥� Rogers told then-Senator John O. Pastore. Rogers contrasted his approach with the animated 鈥渂ombardment鈥� and gun violence he saw on other networks.

Underscoring the importance of programs appealing to social emotional learning and mental health, Rogers won Pastore over. “Looks like you just earned the $20 million dollars,” Pastore concluded.

Over the years, PBS has remained a media source among Americans, especially for its children鈥檚 programming. As of 2024, more than 130 million people watch PBS via traditional television; nearly 60% of all U.S. television households watch PBS over the course of a year; and PBS Kids 15.5 million monthly users and 345 million monthly streams across PBS KIDS鈥� digital platforms.

Here’s a visual history of the milestones and iconic moments from the organization that has served generations of learners 鈥� as well as a glimpse into efforts to protect it over the years:

1969

Fred Rogers testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communications to oppose proposed cuts to federal funding for public broadcasting. 

Sesame Street airs its episode in November 1969.

1970

The photos below capture behind-the-scenes moments from the first season of Sesame Street.

1971

1973

1986

’90s and Early 2000s

2005

2008

2009

Sesame Street turns 40. 

2011

2012

2013

2017

2025

The fight to fund continues. 

With federal funding for PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting now wiped out, one of the few trusted, equity-driven sources of children鈥檚 media is seriously wounded. challenge not only the families and educators who rely on PBS Kids, but also the broader media landscape that risks becoming even more fragmented, commercial and inequitable.

The cuts present a critical juncture and potential pivot point. How educators, media makers and policymakers respond will shape not just children鈥檚 school readiness, but the civic health, creativity and curiosity of a generation raised in the shadows of algorithmic platforms. 

To meet the moment, policy leaders and educators must move beyond screen time limits and cell phone bans 鈥� and focus instead on a long-term vision rooted in shared public interest values, powered by human connection and guided by standards that prioritize children鈥檚 well-being from the start.

Babies and Toddlers Are Using Screens 鈥� Now What?

Recent studies and scholars have the growing use of screen media among infants and toddlers. The , a study of media use for children from birth through age 8 conducted in 2024, showed that the average infant and toddler under 2 years old was spending more than an hour a day on screens, with children ages 2 to 4 using screens more than two hours daily. In Fall 2023, while I was head of learning and impact at Noggin, an interactive platform for kids ages 2 to 8, my team led a study of 400 families with children under 3 and found screen use now begins in infancy for more than 95% of families. 

For overworked and under-resourced families, screens aren鈥檛 optional 鈥� they鈥檙e essential tools for navigating daily life. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and AI bots like are commanding children鈥檚 attention, fueled by opaque algorithms and ad-based business models that promote addictive, low-quality content. Early media exposure can no longer be considered peripheral. Reduced federal support for PBS Kids and other public media will make that imbalance more acute unless private and philanthropic sources step up.

Reimagining Early Learning Media in the AI Era

At the same time, a major disruption in media production for kids is underway, powered by fast, cheap video production, artificial intelligence and personalized learning technologies. Legacy organizations like Sesame Workshop and PBS face pressure to keep pace with viral success stories like Ms. Rachel and , which have shown how efficient, engaging content can reach millions.

I currently mentor entrepreneurs experimenting with how new technologies like voice recognition and artificial intelligence can support young kids. I鈥檝e seen promising innovations that build on the foundational equity and inclusion principles popularized by public media pioneers like Fred Rogers and Joan Ganz Cooney. The ones that shine most brightly are those that reflect the original spirit of Sesame Street: equity through innovation.

The founders are prioritizing three key principles: connected learning, personalized choice and family co-viewing. Each principle recognizes that brain development is most rapid in the first five years of life, that intention for little ones can be easily scrambled by powerful algorithms and that busy parents 鈥� like it or not 鈥� have chosen to make digital and screen media a feature of daily life. 

By designing products that stimulate curiosity and discourage overconsumption, media developers can encourage children to practice their 鈥淚 can do it鈥� moments ; use and guide language learning; and deliver 鈥渏ust in time鈥� content to drive school readiness. Some pioneers are taking a playbook from research on Sesame Street鈥檚 power to scaffold learning via to create new opportunities for intergenerational play, a critical opportunity for parent-child and healthy development.

These new models rely on modern ingredients, such as AI, real-time data and mobile-first, multi-platform design. In the wake of federal cuts, companies and organizations building tools to support young children鈥檚 early learning and development have a responsibility to leverage research on the value public media has brought to young children for decades and the opportunity that high-quality, tech-enabled learning can deliver. 

The reality is that child development experts and educators who have been studying how kids learn and grow for decades now must confront a digital revolution powered by generative AI, immersive media and increasingly personal learning companions. This wave could either democratize access to world-class learning or cement a two-tiered system: premium, voice-based tools for the wealthy; and game-heavy, ad-driven distractions for everyone else.

To prevent that outcome, we need clear public standards for AI in early childhood, informed by early learning experts and advocates. 鈥淣o AI bots for tots鈥� should be an early mantra of concern for all human-centered designs for children under age 8. We also need an industry-wide commitment to ethical and responsible development of any AI-driven product designed for children that young and transparency about how AI tools are trained, and who they are designed to serve.

A National Strategy for Children鈥檚 Media

To ensure the next generation of early learning media 鈥� now introduced into the crib 鈥� are 鈥渉elpmates鈥� and rather than substitutes for the warm, responsive adult relationships that fuel real learning, the nation needs a clear strategy for children鈥檚 media. The strategy must safeguard the development of young children, blend the trusted legacy of public media with today鈥檚 most promising tech tools, and embrace a broad cross-sector alliance.

That strategy begins with restoring adequate funding for PBS, but public dollars alone won鈥檛 be enough. To move from patchwork to progress, I propose six coordinated actions:

First, we need a new funding stream for children鈥檚 media modeled on the that created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Backed by a consortium of philanthropies and individuals, the fund could be sustained by state and community-based financing models administered through public agencies and could galvanize public support for inclusive, research-backed media tools built for children鈥檚 developmental needs.

Second, we must establish shared standards for responsible media and AI design in early childhood. Policymakers should work with trusted early learning and development partners to create guardrails that prioritize equity and authentic learning over clicks and virality.

Third, state leaders 鈥� who are poised to wield more discretion as federal dollars devolve 鈥� should direct resources toward high-quality digital tools and educator training to better use proven public media offerings across Head Start, family child care, and pre-K settings.

Fourth, edtech leaders and investors must design learning tools and business models that prioritize trust, transparency and impact and engage in longitudinal research that tracks how digital tools close equity gaps and support healthy development.

Fifth, educators and families must recognize that they鈥檙e not just users, they are catalysts for change who can push for media that鈥檚 feedback-rich, culturally affirming and scaffolded for learning; can demand better integration between home and classroom technologies; and can shape the field by voicing what works, what fails and what鈥檚 missing.

Finally, pediatricians and health leaders must help reframe the screen time conversation from guilt to guidance. By lifting up high-quality media as a tool for overstretched families, rather than a threat, they can re-center the conversation around children鈥檚 real needs: connection, stimulation, and joy.

We鈥檝e lingered too long in the wet cement of funding debates and in a digital marketplace where profit often outweighs purpose. The recent, and sadly predictable, federal cuts to public media should be treated not only as a wake-up call, but as a catalytic moment to act.

This will take public investment, private ingenuity, and political courage. But most of all, it will take national will: the conviction that every child, regardless of income or ZIP code, deserves access to inspiring, developmentally sound, high-quality media content that sparks curiosity, fuels learning and lifts their full civic potential.

This investment, known as the , was designed to do something radical: meet young children where they are and get them ready to learn 鈥�- and thrive 鈥�-in the classroom from their first days. Now, that program is .

As someone who has spent two decades leading an independent evaluation of the impact of this initiative and the child-first media it produced 鈥� designing , conducting randomized controlled trials, and hearing firsthand from families in cities and towns across America, I can tell you this: Cutting Ready To Learn is not fiscal prudence. It鈥檚 a step backward for our nation鈥檚 children.

What has made the program effective isn鈥檛 just the beloved stories and characters. It is the ability to reach all children and to engage them as learners. Through local public media stations and community partners, Ready To Learn brought high-quality, curriculum-based learning to libraries, public housing, laundromats, afterschool programs, and, of course, home screens.

For decades, if a child鈥檚 family could turn on a television or access the internet, they could benefit from educational tools designed to build literacy, math, and science skills. In fact, in the most recent fiscal year alone according to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ready To Learn programming more than .

And what we know is that when children tuned in, they learned.

Children who engaged with Ready To Learn content in early foundational skills, regardless of whether they were enrolled in preschool. They . They . They began thinking like scientists and problem-solvers.

And they acquired emergent reading skills. Just last week, one of our research teams was conducting an initial round of assessments focused on children鈥檚 computational thinking skills as part of a study of Lyla in the Loop. And another study team was putting the finishing touches on a report on the resourceful ways families are engaging with podcasts and saw how the format expanded their children鈥檚 imagination. 

These aren鈥檛 just cute kids doing cute kid things; these are the building blocks of educational and economic opportunity. The building blocks of a great nation, you might even say.

In an era where roughly half of young children in the U.S. are in any formal early education program (a discussion for another day), Ready To Learn has served all children 鈥� especially in communities where access to quality preschool is scarce or nonexistent. It has offered a rare combination of scale, equity, and proven impact.

So why are we making it harder for families to access free, educational resources that work?

The decision to terminate this decades-long effort comes amid broader debates about education, culture, and spending. There are real discussions to be had. But this is a data-driven, cost-effective solution to one of those issues that鈥檚 been working.

Unlike many educational interventions that require the development of large-scale infrastructure or intensive professional development, Ready To Learn makes use of our nation鈥檚 existing public media system. The research is independently conducted. The materials are publicly available. The value is clear.

In communities all across the country 鈥� Tallahassee, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cookeville, Tenn., and many others 鈥� I鈥檝e seen what happens when you put the right tools in front of a curious child: They light up and thrive. And when they thrive from their earliest learning opportunities, their potential is boundless. 

Our country has spent decades building this infrastructure and then producing, testing and evolving meaningful content in partnership with families across the country. To dismantle this effort now is to break a promise to those families: that we鈥檒l do what we can, with what we have, to help every child get ready to learn.

Let鈥檚 not stop them now.