Established on September 7, 1977, the
PBS Home Video, Inc. company originally distributed and sold
VHS and
Betamax tapes simply on their own. Starting in 1989, PBS secured a deal with
Pacific Arts to distribute PBS Home Video's products. In 1994, PBS moved to distribution through
Turner Home Entertainment. In 1996, (after Turner Home Entertainment's
parent company merged with
Time Warner), PBS moved to
Warner Home Video. Then in 2004, PBS moved its distribution to
Paramount Home Entertainment. PBS Home Video was renamed
PBS Distribution—PBSd in 2009, and became independent again in 2011. PBSd is jointly owned by PBS and the
WGBH Educational Foundation.
Independent films After a backlash from filmmakers over
WNET's attempts to move independent documentary series to its
secondary station, PBS took feedback from the documentary community and developed an
indie film strategy. Through
Independent Lens, PBS acquired
Stanley Nelson's documentary film
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. The history of
The Black Panthers was especially timely due to the contemporary
Black Lives Matter movement's growth. The film was first released in theaters in late 2015, then had a special nationwide
public television premiere in late 2016. PBSd expanded its operation to included theatrical distribution of documentary films by hiring Erin Owens as PBS Distribution's Head of Theatrical Distribution; and Emily Rothschild as Director of Theatrical Acquisitions and Marketing. Owens and Rothschild had just worked with PBS on Stanley Nelson's
The Black Panthers distribution. The operations expansion of PBSd was announced at the
Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2017. PBSd put British show,
Jamestown as a streaming first run on PBS Passport and PBS Masterpiece as of March 23, 2018. ==See also==