Streaming PBS For Free – No Cable Or Satellite Required!

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man
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TV Answer Man, I heard something about streaming PBS for free. How do you do that? – Cheryl, Reston, Virginia.

Many seniors enjoy watching shows on PBS such as Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece, Nature and the PBS News Hour. But you don’t need a pay TV subscription to tune in. Streaming PBS for free can be done in four ways. (And there’s another non-streaming way.)

Streaming PBS For Free: Your Web Browser

You can watch the live stream of your local PBS station on your computer that supports the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

To watch your local PBS station on a browser, go to PBS.org and select the ‘Live TV’ button in the right- hand corner of the home page. You will be asked to confirm your location, and once that’s done, your screen will become a video player for your local PBS channel. The service is free, and you don’t need to be a PBS Passport benefit member.

Streaming PBS For Free: The PBS App

You can also watch it on the PBS app with the following streaming devices: Roku; Apple TV (4th generation and newer); Amazon Fire TV; Android TV; Apple iPhones and iPads; and Android mobile devices.

To watch your local PBS station on an app, 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.

Availability is limited to the U.S. and territories, and only stations that participate offer live streams. help.pbs.org.

Streaming PBS For Free: Amazon’s Prime Video

Amazon now offers more than 150 local PBS stations plus the PBS Kids Channel as free, ad-free FAST channels on Prime Video (and Fire TV). Prime members can find the channels in the Live TV section of Prime Video while non-Prime members can watch the under the ‘Watch For Free’ section at the top of the screen.

Important note: The local PBS feeds on Amazon are generally restricted to those in your market, which is the same as the feeds on the official PBS streams.

Streaming PBS For Free: Station Apps

Some PBS stations are now offering their own free streaming apps. For example: WETA in Washington, D.C., KBPS in San Diego and Houston Public Media in Houston, Texas.

Non-Streaming: The TV Antenna

Let us not forget that you can also receive the signal of your local PBS station over the air using the old fashioned TV antenna. Of course, signal quality and availability will vary depending upon where you live.

Important Note:

Not every station is available live on streaming, but here are the ones that are:

• Alaska Public Media
• Arizona Public Media
• Arkansas PBS
• Austin PBS
• Blue Ridge PBS
• Colorado Public Television
• Connecticut Public Broadcasting
• Delta College Public Media
• Detroit Public Television
• East Tennessee PBS
• Florida’s 5 WUFT-TV
• GBH
• Georgia Public Broadcasting
• Houston Public Media TV 8
• Idaho Public Television
• Illinois Public Media
• Iowa PBS
• KAET
• KAMU
• Kansas City PBS
• KCTS
• KEDT
• KEET
• KENW
• KERA
• KIXE
• KLCS
• KLRN
• KMOS
• KNPB
• KPBS
• KPBT
• KPTS
• KQED
• KRWG
• KSPS Public Television
• KTWU
• KUAC
• KUED
• KVCR
• KVIE
• Lakeland LPTV
• Lakeshore PBS
• Louisiana Public Broadcasting
• Maine Public Broadcasting
• Milwaukee PBS
• Mississippi Public Broadcasting
• Montana PBS
• Mountain Lake PBS
• MPT/Maryland Public Television
• Nashville Public Television
• Nebraska Network
• New England Public Media
• New Hampshire PBS
• New Mexico PBS
• NJTV
• North California Public Media
• Northwest Public Broadcasting
• Oklahoma Educational Television Authority
• Oregon Public Broadcasting
• Ozarks Public Television
• PBS39
• PBS Charlotte
• PBS Fort Wayne
• PBS Guam
• PBS SoCal
• PBS Western Reserve
• Pioneer Public TV
• Prairie Public Broadcasting
• Rhode Island PBS
• Rocky Mountain PBS
• SCETV
• Smoky Hills PBS
• SOPTV
• South Dakota Public Broadcasting
• The Kentucky Network
• The Nine Network of Public Media
• Thirteen
• Twin Cities PBS
• UNC-TV
• Vegas PBS
• Vermont PBS
• VPM
• WBGU
• WCMU Public Television
• WCTE
• WDSE
• WEDU
• WEIU
• West TN PBS
• West Virginia Public Broadcasting
• WETA (using WETA Metro channel)
• WFSU
• WFYI Indianapolis
• WGCU Public Media
• WGTE
• WGVU
• WHRO
• WHUT
• WHYY
• WITF
• WJCT
• WKAR
• WKNO
• WLIW
• WMHT
• WNED
• WNIN
• WNIT Public Television
• WNMU Public TV 13
• WOSU
• WOUB/WOUC
• WPBS
• WPBT South Florida PBS
• WPSU Penn State
• WQED
• WQLN
• WQPT PBS
• WSIU
• WSKG Public Media
• WSRE
• WTIU/WFIU
• WTJX Channel 12
• WTTW
• WTVP
• WUCF
• WVIA Public Media
• WVIZ/PBS Ideastream
• WVUT
• WXEL South Florida PBS
• WXXI Public Broadcasting
• WYES
• Wyoming PBS

PBS says more stations are expected to be added in the coming months.

Cheryl, I hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.