Public Broadcasting Service

Current PBS logo (as of late 2019).

Logos[]

1st logo (May 17, 1970-September 18, 1971)[]

Just a black background with the words:

PUBLIC

BROADCASTING

SERVICE

stacked on top of each other in red, yellow, and blue.

2nd logo (September 18, 1971-September 30, 1984)[]

On a black background, an abstract blue P zooms out to the top portion of the screen. The "P" turns into a P-shaped head facing left with the text "PUBLIC" appearing underneath (this set and the later lines of text underneath being set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic); both move to the left side of the screen. An abstract orange B pops in to the right of the P-Head and two black dots form the holes within the B (the latter dot coinciding with the text "BROADCASTING" appearing below "PUBLIC"). An abstract green S appears to the right of the B; two black dots cut the inner curves of the S as the text "SERVICE" appears below "BROADCASTING" (coinciding with the second dot). The final text stack reads:

PBS

PUBLIC

BROADCASTING

SERVICE

Variants:[]

On the April 19, 1977 episode of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, the logo is superimposed over a shot of the set; then it cuts away after the S pops up.
On the 1977 "Go Public" promo, the entire logo is seen. Also, the "B" is red and the logo is shifted to the middle. Then, the "B" and "S" move away in opposite directions while the "P" moves from the left into the middle.
On some episode of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, there is a light blue zooming in effect to reveal the PBS logo.
There were two different endings: one with a fadeout, and one without a fadeout.
On an episode of Alvin Toffler's The Third Wave, the P-Head is green. This is most likely due to videotape deterioration.
A still version was used for program breaks.
While it is not an official variant perse, this is worth mentioning. This logo was parodied on Family Guy, specifically the season 1 episode 'The Son Also Draws'. In the episode this logo is seen fully formed, except it's crudely drawn, all of the letters are white and the P-Head is facing the wrong way. Also, there are no circles on the S and the logo is called 'Public Broadcasting System' instead of 'Public Broadcasting Service'.

3rd logo (September 30, 1984-September 17, 1989)[]

On a black background, a blue P-head appears on the upper-mid screen, facing backwards. A piece, which many people call, "The Split", comes out to the right and settles itself about half an inch away. The text "PBS" appears below in a slab serif font, which was designed specifically for PBS (called "ITC Lubalin Graph Bold").

Variants:[]

On the series premiere of Square One TV, after the logo forms, the P-head and letters multiply off into the distance, with voice-overs singing "and on...and on...and on..." (taken from a song from the episode) until it fades.
There is also a still version with a voice-over saying, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service."
A version exists with the PBS text in yellow.
As with the previous logo, this faded out sometimes, including on Eyes on the Prize.
On season 1 episodes of Shining Time Station, one of the last new programs to use this logo, the fadeout was slower.
A filmed variant exists. This variant is silent and the "P" logo is a much lighter blue color, resembling a sky blue.
A variant exists with the piece colored red. On superimposed footage of fireworks, two CGI P-Heads (blue and red) appears from off-screen. As the P-Heads turn, the blue head is placed behind the red one, where most of it dissolves away, forming the piece in front of the blue P-Head. After the logo settles in place, the footage fades to black and the text "PBS" fades in. This was spotted on a KETC sign-off in 1991.

4th logo (September 15, 1989-July 31, 1993; November 20, 1995; April 23-24, 2011)[]

On a black background, a side-facing transparent dark blue P-head folds to the right, leaving behind a residue trail of "P-Heads". The residue trail fades into the PBS logo from before, which settles itself in the center of the screen, occupying almost all of it. Several multi-colored lines wipe across the bottom of the screen, leaving the text "PBS" in the same font as before to the bottom left.

Variants:[]

In an alternate version of the ident, the "P-head" appears just by fading in with the "PBS" text. No lines streak across the screen; therefore it is a still version of the ident.
There is a 1990 Just Watch Us Now ident where we zoom out of the P-Head made of glass with light rays coming out of the P-Head's eye. Then the words "TV WORTH WATCHING" zooms out, and goes to the bottom left. The rest of the animation proceeds to this logo starting with lines wiping the word "PBS".
There is another version of the ident that fades in, lines already intact. This was used for program breaks.
There is a promo variant where the background is changed to white and there are multi colored shapes rotating around the P-Head. The "PBS" Text is also colored purple.

5th logo (January 4, 1993-February 18, 1997)[]

In a pink/orange lighted environment, several transparent ellipses revealing people faces appear and disappear one at a time. Then we zoom out through a circle, which turns out to be the eye in the PBS P-Head standing on a floor, made from glass. To the left of the P-Head, the text "PBS" rotates to face the screen.

Variant[]

There is a completely still variant with a male or female announcer saying, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service." This was used for program breaks. The same still variant, without the announcer, would be substituted in place of the "Viewers Like You" credit on Ken Burns' The West.

6th logo (July 21, 1995-1998)[]

On a blue aurora background, we see dark blue lights and blue lights swirling and moving around. As they do so, we see basically the same concept as the 1984-1989 PBS logo, but the entire logo is colored light blue with a slight tint of a teal color instead of being purple and white. Also, the entire logo is still and does not move at all, the P-Head and text are metallic and the entire logo reflects the aurora and the lights moving around.

7th logo (July 21, 1995-1998)[]

One of seven genre-based logos, which would form the basis for the 1996 PBS logo:

Arts and Entertainment: On a black screen, half of a blue vase painting obscures the left half, while a metronome ticks in the right half. As the metronome exits stage right, a modern dancer appears performing from behind the painting, and then framed footage of Derek Jacobi from I, Claudius also appears from behind the painting as an artist's palette appears from above, then a music bar from below, which touches the pallet. The scene cuts to a yellow background, with a framed music bar with tap dance shoes on top and a brass trumpet in the upper-left-hand corner, and a framed portrait of an opera singer with an upside-down writing in progress to the right. In the upper-right-hand corner, a portion of T.S. Eliot's "Little Gidding" is being written. The opera singer is replaced by a fingerprint as a framed video of Charleston dancers appears from the left and settles in the lower-left-hand corner. Finally, the fingerprint is replaced by a portion of the opening to Mystery!, while the trumpet is replaced by a smoking pipe.
Nature: A water drop hits a body of water, then a frame showing the same animation and more flips forward against a white background as a white feather floats down, a wooden rectangle appears from the left to settle in left-center, and a video of dolphins is shown before fading to blue. The scene cuts to a nest being lifted, which then appears in a frame against a black background with the same wooden rectangle in the center and footage of wildlife playing on either side.
Explore: At the top of the screen is a video of an approaching train, with a wooden frame and a wooden globe in the upper-left-hand corner. At the bottom is a variety of bluish and greenish rectangles in which the word "explore" appears. Between these two portions of the screen is a canoe. The next screen to be shown includes a teal rectangle with black slowly creeping into it, with video of a hot air balloon to the left and a cartography drawing, in teal on white, to the right. A framed picture of sun rays moves downward, and a framed video of a book's pages being turned moves towards the right, as a flashlight appears briefly before flashing out. Then, a black rectangle appears to the left, with footage of kayakers going along a river to the right. Finally, the footage is put inside a rectangle in the center going up to a framed teal picture. To the right is an empty kayak. A spinning globe goes upwards to the right.
Science: An x-rayed hand in blue appears to the left and moves to a frame in the lower-right-hand corner of a screen with a multi-colored but predominantly white background. The word "SCIENCE" appears above that frame as another frame, with a see-through video, moves downward. In the lower-left-hand corner of the screen, a ruler spins on a red background as the Moon fades in above. Next, on a green and yellow screen, a black machine moves towards the camera. Finally, a framed video of an astronaut zooms out to the upper-left-hand corner of the same background as the earlier screen, with a black stripe in the lower-left-hand corner and footage of Albert Einstein to the right.
Depth, Dialogue, Discussion: Against a white background, a red frame, a framed teleprompter from the October 17, 1994 edition of The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and a microphone appear. Black and white footage is overlaid over the teleprompter frame as the same spinning globe from Explore appears from the right and the background darkens and merges with a camera with four flashes. In the lens of the camera is a clock to the right with blue lighting. A windowsill appears from the top, framing footage of an anchorman delivering his report.
Do-It-Yourself: Against a light yellow background with footage from The French Chef playing behind, a brush leaves a yellow paint streak on the left, while the upper-right-hand corner shows a framed animation of a carrot being prepared, and the lower-right-hand corner shows some clay being molded into a pot. Next, a framed animation of scissors snipping appears, with a fork and spoon to the right and some silver circular parts to the left. The same silver circular parts, enlarged, appear along a darker yellow rectangle to the left along with two squares, one resembling marble and the other resembling a shadow with "do it yourself" along the top edge, in the center and a framed wrench animation in the right. The marble square opens to reveal footage of someone drilling into wood. Finally, seven frames appear on the screen, showing the wrench, a hammer, string, a thimble, and footage of someone working with a plant, and sometimes nothing but solid color.
History: Against a mahogany background with black markings, a framed front page of the New York Times depicting the lunar landing swings in from the left and is then shown from a distance, with an animated baseball and American flag in the foreground. Next, we pan across a picture of Union soldiers, with a framed red picture and an animated cannon in the lower-left-hand corner and a picture of Abraham Lincoln to the right. A red stripe appears in the center, with the initial animation framed, but this time with a glove catching the baseball. Black and white newsreel footage appears to the left. Finally, video footage showing a wheel appears to the left, with a Dorothea Lange photograph to the right as framed footage of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech moves towards the right.

8th logo (August 12, 1996-December 5, 1999)[]

On a black background, a CGI window appears with a birds-eye view of the earth, a plastic globe spinning on the top right, and a telescope rotating on the bottom left. The pear-colored PBS P-Head (with the split colored light blue) appears in front of the window and grows smaller as the window grows bigger. As the two meet each other, the window disappears. Inside the P-Head are transparent images of two globes, a feather and a telescope. The P-Head takes it's place in the top center of the screen and turns to light blue and aquamarine as the text "PBS" fades in below them.

Variant:[]

Early episodes of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer had this logo fading in and out.

9th logo (September 11, 1998-September 22, 2002)[]

On a computer-generated sky background, a person standing to the left covers his or her head with a black circle with the PBS P-Head on it in white. Acrobats jump from all directions off the circle. The text "PBS" appears to the right, with the URL www.pbs.org appearing below it. This is the last logo that used the words "This Is PBS". Also, throughout the ident, different things happen in the background: On all ten variants, there are tiny superimposed silhouettes of people flying in a circle behind the acrobats. On three out of ten of the variants, there are silhouettes of big wands briefly flying down behind the PBS text. And on the rest, there are silhouettes of people tip-toeing in an oval (a circle on the widescreen version) around the person.

Variants:[]

Each time you see this logo, different people are holding the circle with the P-head on it, and the acrobats doing different kinds of tricks around the P-head circle. Here's a list of the men and women you see:

Man in gold shirt; female acrobats with orange do a backflip.
Man in blue shirt; same acrobats from 1st variant.
Woman in blue shirt; male acrobats with yellow shirts do a "side spin". This version was also used for high definition programming.
Woman in deep red shirt; male acrobats with Prussian blue shirts curl into a ball and spin around.
Man in orange-tan shirt; same acrobats from 3rd variant.
Older woman (Lauren Bacall herself) in red shirt; same acrobats from 4th variant.
Woman in folly shirt; same acrobats from 4th variant.
Man in dark blue shirt; same acrobats from 1st variant.
Woman in red shirt; same acrobats from 3rd variant.

10th logo (1998-2000)[]

Against a computer-generated sky background, a kaleidoscope consisting of several humans holding placards is zoomed in on, with the PBS circle in the center. The circle briefly fades out before fading back in, and the placards alternate between a random program's title card and a still from the same program throughout.

11th logo (November 2000-July 21, 2002)[]

On a light blue background, the PBS circle slowly eases back and fades out as four lighter blue circles appear and spread across the screen, revealing smaller, even lighter blue circles inside. The PBS circle, now in black and white, reappears in the center of the screen. "Stay curious. PBS" appears below.

12th logo (November 2000-2002)[]

Against an orange background, we see the PBS circle in a light yellow color with the P head being the same orange color as the background. The "P" Circle slowly eases back and fades out as four green circles appear and spread around the screen revealing smaller light yellow circles inside. Four more circles appear and the outer circles merge with the other circles before they begin spreading out. The PBS "P" Circle now in the standard black and white colors appears with a blur effect. Small circles form "pbs.org" below in a white Calibri font.

Variants:[]

A version with a blue color scheme was used between programs. Instead of the URL, the text below the PBS circle read "Stay curious. PBS".
An extended variant begins on a blue background with a darker blue P head. The camera zooms into the pupil and the normal animation begins. The logo also has a green tint to it.

13th logo (September 23, 2002-December 3, 2010; (2002-2022 on PBS National Feeds))[]

We see a letterboxed clip show of live-action footage, filmed on a large set with hardwood floor and a background of shaggy raw sienna-colored curtains. Culturally and generationally diverse people are employed in the variants, each giving different performances on-camera. As the last clip plays, we see the “Circle P-Head” logo animating with the word "PBS" on the right and the slogan “Be more” on the left. The text has been modified a bit after the past 18 years. Throughout the bumper, a bug for the URL "pbs.org" is seen in the lower left corner.

Variants:[]

Here are some of the variations that have been seen of late, with a list of the clips in each variant in chronological order

Young People: A teenage girl presses her hands on her boyfriend’s cheeks and gives him a kiss; a mother plays with her baby’s feet; a dad and his little boy are holding guitars; mom and daughter are side by side; a mom runs pulling a red wagon holding her two little girls (Edie Mirman: “We are PBS”).
Standard: A woman threads her fingers through her hair; another young woman gyrates from right to left; a baby wearing a hat walks. ("We are PBS").
A man sits with a pile of books; a young man smiling; a close-up of a smiling young woman's head; a close-up of of the previous man smiling. ("We are PBS").
Performers: A man sits on a stool holding a guitar; a dressy man plays his trumpet; a teenage boy is "bopping" to his headphones; a young dancer spins in her dress; an elderly man takes a bow (David Kaye: “We are PBS”).
Activities: A man sits with a pile of books, a woman takes a picture of flowers with her camera; a young man in a wheelchair; catches a soccer ball; a man plays with his dog; a young woman hula-hoops.
Flowers: A close-up of a smiling woman’s head; then we see her holding a large bouquet of flowers, a close-up of the flowers, and finally a close-up of the woman holding the flowers (Helen Mirren: “I am PBS").
Daddy and Son: A dad and his little boy are holding guitars; a close-up of them playing; and the dad and son on a playground swing (Kyle Eastwood): “We are PBS.”)
Mother and Daughter: A mother and her teenage daughter are seen spinning and dancing; a close-up shot of the daughter kissing her mom; and the two hug (Edie Mirman: "We are PBS.").
Generations: A mother holds her baby; an old man smiling; a young man takes off his cowboy hat. (Edie Mirman: “We are PBS.”)
Cowboy Hat: The young man from the "Generations" variant is dancing with his cowboy hat; a close-up of him wearing it; and finally he briefly tosses it at the camera and giggles (David Kaye: "I'm PBS.").
Basketball: We see a facial close-up of the man in a wheelchair from "Activities"; he plays with his basketball; then we see him on the left smiling ("I am PBS.")
Young Woman: This variant features the same dancing woman from "Performers". First, we see her riding on a scooter, then smiling at the camera wearing a picture hat, and finally we see her spinning in her dress as she does in the "Performers" variant, but closer to the right of the screen so we see the logo animating ("I am PBS").
There is also a version of the logo that has no live-action footage. A burst of light comes in from either side of the screen, and we see an outline of the "P-head" logo (in a style similar to the 1984 logo). Other lighting effects occur, and at the end the circle "P-Head" logo animates, with "PBS" on its right side and "Be more" on its left. There is no voice-over.
On Carrier, the voice-over says “This show will return in a moment over most of these local stations. We are PBS.”
On The This Old House Hour, there was another version with a voice-over saying "This PBS show will return in a moment".
There was another version with a voice-over saying "The following PBS show is closed captioned".
There was another version with a voice-over saying "PBS will return in a moment".
There's also a version that appeared on Frontline and a few episodes of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer from 2003. On the same background as the CPB logo of the time but darker, we see the words "Perspective. Analysis. Understanding." in white slowly zoom in and shine. Then the words "dissolve" away and the Be More PBS logo animates. In the background throughout the ident is a wallpaper-like array of transparent copies of the words seen earlier. (Bob Hilton: "This is PBS.")
There is another non-animated variant which is adapted from the 2004 PBS Distribution logo, which is normally shortened at the end except after a 29-minute program (usually from PBS Kids). As with the blue variant of the previous logo, this is being used as the national network ID on the satellite feed.

14th logo (September 28, 2009-November 3, 2019)[]

We see a video of a person or people having activities. Suddenly, the PBS logo appears with "Be More" on the left and "PBS" on the right. The word "PBS" then changes to the URL "pbs.org". A voice-over says "Be More, PBS." as the logo animates.

Variants[]

Art Interacts: A man is walking in a street when he encounters a gigantic exotic Pine Green object that looks like a Rubik's-Cube slanted on its corner, which twirls around quite to the man's amusement.
Big Dreams: An Ecru-clad woman and her son are in a mall. The kid looks through an astronaut helmet.
Observing Child: A boy in a forest-green jacket is walking in a shallow lake with his doodling pad.
Family Viewing: A family is looking through a telescope at the stars in the sky.
Bluesman: Calvin Keys is playing the tune on his guitar while someone films it on camcorder. On Bluegrass Underground, this fades in and out.
Photo Album: A man and his grandson are looking at old pictures of their African ancestors in a scrapbook.
Symphony: A symphony orchestra performs the tune. The camera sees the violin, bass clarinet, marimba, cymbal and tuba.
Strange Recipe: A storekeeper recommends a pineapple to his supermarket's customer.
Generic: Sometimes, there is no live action footage; instead the logo is placed on a custom background with bubbles. The background is used in four different colors: blue, green, orange, and magenta. On some shows, an announcer says, "You're watching PBS". On the orange variant, "PBS" does not change to the URL.
Masterpiece: A variant appears on episodes of Masterpiece. Clips from episodes of the anthology series are shown one by one over the blue background before the PBS logo appears as usual. The voiceover says, "Masterpiece, only on PBS."
Antiques Roadshow: A variant appears on episodes of Antiques Roadshow. Clips from episodes are shown together over the orange background before the PBS logo appears as usual. The voiceover says, "Antiques Roadshow, only on PBS." Officially retired as of November 4, 2019, having last appeared on the program on October 28, 2019.
Public Affairs: A variant appears on episodes of Frontline and Washington Week, as well as on the special America After Charleston. Depicted over the blue background are various public affairs personalities (as of 2016, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Hari Sreenivasan, and Charlie Rose, in that order; early programs with this logo featured a different montage with a different slate of public affairs personalities), before the PBS logo appears as usual. The voiceover is the same as on the generic variants. This variant was retired following Ifill's death in November 2016, and with Charlie Rose having fallen from grace just over a year later it's safe to say this variant is gone for good.
Generic (We'll Be Right Back): As with the previous logo, the generic logo (often using the blue or green version) is sometimes shown at the start of program breaks, with a voiceover saying, "This PBS program will return in a moment."
Opening Variant: Against the blue background, the circle P-head appears in the center.

15th logo (November 4, 2019-)[]

Depends on the given ident.

Selfies: A man and his girlfriend take a selfie together. It fades to another shot of them walking down a wooded path. Debuted on November 4, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on July 26, 2020, at 9:56 PM ET.
Nature Walk: A woman is in a forest. She grabs onto a leaf on a tree, lets go of it and stares at it in awe. It cuts to another shot of her opening a notebook with a sketch of a leaf. Then it fades to another shot of the woman sitting down while the PBS logo and the letters come out from left side of the logo and shifts to the right. Debuted on November 4, 2019, at 10:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on November 6, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET.
Backyard Party: A family is gathered in a backyard late at night following a party, watching a Nature episode being shown on a projector. Debuted on November 5, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on November 6, 2019, at 9:56 PM ET.
Kayaking: Two women kayak down a river. Debuted on November 6, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on November 7, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET.
All-American Memories: A woman labels a photo of a waterside mountain as "Beautiful ♥". It cuts to another shot of her pinning the photo on a map of America before admiring her handiwork. Debuted on November 12, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on November 6, 2019, at 9:56 PM ET.
Guitar Lesson: A man teaches a guitar chord to his son and shows his approval when he plays something on the guitar. Debuted on November 9, 2019, at 11:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on November 8, 2019, at 11:56 PM ET.
Cooking: A woman reads a recipe from a digital screen, and she and her daughter mix some of the ingredients in a bowl and knead some dough. Debuted on November 9, 2019, at 4:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on November 10, 2019, at 11:00 PM ET.
Gaming: A girl and her father play a PlayStation 4 game together. Debuted on November 30, 2019, at 1:56 PM ET.
Family Dinner: Family and friends are gathered together in a kitchen. One man dices some vegetables and pours them into a pot on the stove. One woman prepares some pasta while the man is cooking the diced vegetables in the background. Debuted on December 13, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET.
Planetarium: Children are in awe as they watch a show and view some other exhibits at a planetarium. Debuted on December 22, 2019, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on January 6, 2020, at 1:56 AM ET.
Dancing: A hip hop dance troupe performs at a small-town auditorium, to great applause. Debuted on January 1, 2020, at 5:56 AM ET.
Antiques: A group of women check out a brace of telephones in an antique shop. Debuted on June 15, 2020, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on January 12, 2021, at 9:56 PM ET.
The Learning Experience: Children paint their hands with paintbrushes and press them against a white wall to make color art as their teacher watches. Debuted on June 16, 2020, at 9:26 PM ET.
Earth Science: Two children catch a caterpillar and study it. Debuted on June 17, 2020, at 10:56 PM ET.
Coffeehouse: TBA. Debuted on June 21, 2020, at 10:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on September 27, 2020, at 8:56 PM ET.
Volunteer Gardeners: Volunteers plant a tree in a park. Debuted on June 23, 2020, at 9:56 PM ET.
Temptations: TBA. Debuted on July 7, 2020, at 8:56 PM ET; extended version debuted on September 18, 2020, at 9:56 PM ET.
Audiobooks: TBA. Debuted on July 10, 2020, at 11:56 PM ET.
Photography: TBA. Debuted on July 22, 2020, at 8:56 PM ET.
TBA: TBA. Debuted on July 26, 2020, at 9:56 PM ET.
Generic: The P-Head circle zooms out against a PBS blue background and slides to the left, with PBS appearing in white, in the PBS Sans font, to the right. Debuted on November 9, 2019, at 6:26 PM ET.

Variants[]

Opening Variant: Same as the generic variant, except somewhat quicker. On some programs, the logo will animate in reverse, with the opening shot of the program fading in within the P-head's eye.
On the 2020 rebroadcast of The War, an in-credit version of the P-Head is used during the "Viewers Like You" funding spot, with a black P-Head in a white circle and the old serif PBS to its right.
In lieu of the usual "Viewers Like You"/"Thank You" text, the P-Head animation, minus zooming, is used for the "Viewers Like You" funding spot as a whole on Driving While Black.

Music/Sounds[]

1st logo[]

An announcer, MacDonald Carey, says "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service." Later programs used a different announcer.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variant:[]

On Calebration, the opening theme plays over this logo, and there is no announcer.

2nd logo[]

A telephone-like Moog synthesizer scale descending rapidly, followed by 5 Moog synthesizer tones as the black dots appear. There is also an echo in the final note. Composed by Paul Alan Levi.

Music/Sounds Variants:[]

On We Interrupt This Week, a short-lived game show produced for PBS by WNET in 1978, the regular music was replaced by a male choir singing very loudly, "Happy birthday to you!!". This could have been for PBS' 5th anniversary though, as only one episode of the game show is online and that is the one with this variant.
Southbound episode "Mouth Music" had an acapella version of the logo's music.
A low tone variant exists.
The program break variant has a voiceover, different than the previous logo, which also says, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service."
A prototype logo was found on episodes of Firing Line from September 18 and October 2, 1971, which shows the logo completely formed, with the same announcer from before saying "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service".

3rd logo[]

A majestic piano chord, followed by six string pizzicato tones, and then a softer version of the piano chord. The Square One TV variant also has the same music, but associated with the "And on....and on...." vocals taken from the series premiere episode. Composed by Jonathan Elias.

Music/Sound Variant:[]

Very scarcely (possibly, only a couple of times during this logo's lifespan), a narrator might talk over the logo. This variant was first found on an airing of Sesame Street from the November 18, 1987.

4th logo[]

A long held-out string note combined with synth bells (played on a Roland D-50 using the Fantasia preset) and chimes, followed by an announcer (probably Peter Thomas, who also did the funding credits voiceovers for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, Nova, and A World of Ideas at the time) saying "This is PBS".

Music/Sounds Variants:[]

On the still version, the same music, as in the ident's original version, is used. Once again, the announcer says "This is PBS". There is also a silent variant as well for this variation.
A silent version was used on VHS releases of Barney & Friends season 1 episodes. This version also appeared one time on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood "No & Yes #1541".
The still version with the lines intact uses a different male announcer saying, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service."
On Mister Rogers Neighborhood episode 1250, the normal theme plays. However, if you listen closely, the 1971 logo's music plays quietly. This is a result of a bad plaster.
On the white background promo variant, a synth note is heard instead and the announcer also says "This Fall, on PBS".

5th logo[]

A funky piano and choir boogie tune, followed by an announcer (Chris Murney, the voice of Elisha Hunt Rhodes in Ken Burns' The Civil War and the funding credits announcer for PBS NewsHour since 1993) who says "This is PBS." The music was composed by Peter Fish, who has also done music for CBS News.

Music/Sounds/ Variant:[]

There is a rare variant that exists without the voice-over. This was seen on Making the PBS Logo, a filler program for when there was plenty of time at the end of any program.

6th logo[]

No music is heard at all in this logo. Instead, we only hear Chris Murney saying, "You are watching PBS, viewer-supported public television."

7th logo[]

Differs based on the ID.

Arts and Entertainment: A rhythmic tune followed by an Oriental-esque woodwind flourish. A classical guitar is strummed in a descending fashion as a soprano starts singing. Finally, a jazzy-sounding strings tune can be heard.
Nature: An echoing high-pitched piano tune.
Explore: A train whistle, overlapping a quick, somewhat dissonant-sounding piano tune, followed by tribal chanting backed by strings.
Science: A choir note held for several seconds, with a new age keyboard tune in the background.
Depth, Dialogue, Discussion: A dramatic tune with crosstalk at the start and a brass note near the end. On the PBS satellite feed, a voiceover at the start (Chris Murney) says, "When you want the whole story and all of the angles, turn to PBS."
Do-It-Yourself: A pizzicato tune.
History: A new age choir and strings tune. In the second half, applause can be heard, and MLK declares as part of his "I Have a Dream" speech, "Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee!"

8th logo[]

A new age tune with guitars and flutes, followed by a female announcer (the late Lauren Bacall) who says "This is PBS."

Music/Sounds Variant:[]

On some shows, Lauren Bacall says "You are watching PBS." This was used for program breaks.

9th logo[]

A brief synth swell and a 3-note flute fanfare, then a new age percussion/choir tune, followed by the female announcer from the previous logo (Lauren Bacall) who says "This is PBS." If you listen carefully, you can also hear a trombone and strings in the background as well. There is also a variant that exists with Lauren Bacall saying, "You are watching PBS." This was used for program breaks.

10th logo[]

A rearrangement of the 1998 PBS logo's theme.

11th logo[]

Either a three-note ascending tune (G, A, D) played on a celesta followed by a new age celesta/acoustic guitar rhythmic tune, or the tail end of the 2001 CPB logo's music.

12th logo[]

A three-note ascending tune (D, E, A), and a voiceover saying "This is PBS."

Music/Sounds/ Variants:[]

On the blue variant, one of two tunes was used:

Usually, the tune was played in the key of D (G, A, D) on a celesta, followed by a new age rhythmic tune played on a celesta and acoustic guitar.
A slightly longer version of the blue variant, usually shown before the 7PM broadcast of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, uses the second half of the CPB/Viewers Like You music of the era.

13th logo[]

A majestic orchestral tune. The same tune is always used, but is rearranged for some variants and has a different voice-over (see above for examples).

On the "Flowers" variant, the music is given a Baroque style arrangement.
The "Daddy and Son" variant uses a guitar-rock arrangement with horns.
The "Mother and Daughter" variant uses a soft guitar arrangement.
The "Cowboy Hat" variant uses a groovy country-style version of the tune, played on bass.
The "Basketball" variant uses a funky hip-hop style version of the tune.
The Frontline variant uses a piano arrangement, ending in a dramatic string cadence.
The satellite ID variant uses an extended version of the piano arrangement.

14th logo[]

A 5-note tune, created by music company Expansion Team. Like the eighth logo, the same tune is always used, but is rearranged for some variants and has a different voice-over.

Art Interacts: The music is played on percussion, electric piano, and celesta.
Big Dreams: The music is played on electric piano.
Observing Child: The music is played on a harp and concertina.
Family Viewing: The music is played on piano and cello.
Bluesman: The music is played on guitar.
Photo Album: The music is played on drums, piano, and electric guitar.
Symphony: The music is performed by an orchestra.
Strange Recipe: The music is played on woodwinds, with the CPB logo's music playing as a backing track (albeit muffled or in a different arrangement)
Generic: The music uses either the standard strings and keyboard arrangement or (for the magenta version) a classical guitar and harp arrangement.
Masterpiece: The music is played on strings and keyboards.
Antiques Roadshow: The music is played in a soft guitar and piano arrangement.
Public Affairs: A hard-rock arrangement of the music.
Generic (We'll Be Right Back): The music is played either on strings and keyboards or in an electronic arrangement.

15th logo[]

Selfies: An upbeat piano rendition of the 2009 logo's theme. A male voice says, "You're watching PBS."
Nature Walk: A piano piece followed by a guitar rendition of the 2009 logo's theme. A male voice says, "You're watching PBS."
Backyard Party: Same as Nature Walk. The extended version has the sound of a dog barking at the start.
Kayaking: Same as Nature Walk.
All-American Memories: A held synth chord followed by a synth rendition of the 2009 logo's theme. A male voice says, "You're watching PBS."
Guitar Lesson: Same as Nature Walk.
Cooking: Same as Nature Walk.
Gaming: Same as Selfies.
Family Dinner: Same as Selfies.
Planetarium: An orchestrated version of the Selfies/Gaming/Family Dinner variant with violins and brass instruments. A male voice says, "You're watching PBS."
Dancing: Same as Selfies, but with the sound of applause at the end.
Generic: Same as Planetarium, but extended at the start with the first six notes of the Selfies/Gaming/Family Dinner variant. When used for intermissions, the voice instead says, "This PBS program will return in a moment." This intermission variant debuted on November 14, 2019.
Opening Variant: Just the modified 2009 theme (C-D-G-F#-power chord D).

Scare Factor[]

1st logo[]

Low. Though not widely seen, the darkness and creepy announcer might get to some. Otherwise may cause possible boredom.

2nd logo[]

Low. The sounds may get to some, but this is a great logo, and it is a favorite of many.

3rd logo[]

None to low. The music is fairly dramatic and the logo does not give much warning to its appearance, so some may be startled by it. Additionally, the vocals "And on... And on...." variant may surprise you. Like the previous logo, this logo's a favorite of many.

4th logo[]

Low. The dark vibe of the logo may get to some, but the music and animation are cleaner this time.

5th logo[]

Low. The weird music and fast pace of the logo might catch some off guard, but otherwise it's harmless.

6th logo[]

Minimal to low. The aurora and lights might catch you off-guard, but the entire logo having an announcer with no music might just harken back to the 1970-1971 logo if you were scared of it. The lights being the only things animated in this logo might cause some boredom.

7th logo[]

Low, depending on the ident. Nevertheless, it's very creative and pleasant.

8th logo[]

Low. It might surprise you the first time you see it, but it's harmless, and it's rather interesting to see stuff in the P-head. Otherwise, it's soothing.