PBS Guidelines for Submitting Producitons

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PBS Program Guidelines & Policies – The Red Book

KTOO & 360 North has had a goal of presenting between 2-4 productions a year for national distribution.  Here is a link to the PBS Red Book – before producing and working on any production that could potentially have national distribution (I might extend this to anything we produce, as it would be nice to distribute it nationally without having to redo or reedit it). Be sure to be sure that it meets the guidelines. Some areas of close scrutiny tend to be the Format, Underwriting, Production Credits, Producer and Presenter Credits. These things change fairly often, so be sure to check back for any updates or changes.

Standard Length Requirements

Standard lengths for fully packaged PBS programs are as follows:

  • Program length of 30 minutes = 26:46.00
  • Program length of 60 minutes = 56:46.00
  • Program length of 90 minutes = 1:26:46.00
  • Program length of 120 minutes = 1:56:46.00

Perfect Program Packaging (according to PBS):

  • Slate Narrated or Silent
    • 0:20 Required (Not counted)
    • Program title,
    • subtitle,
    • episode number,
    • audio track info, captions,
    • production center (optional)
    • Countdown 0:10 Goes to silent black at 1.8 seconds before program start. (Not counted)
  • Program Begins 0:00:00
  • (Optional) Program Tease Engaging clips and sound bites to capture audience attention 0:30 approx., but no more than 3:00 max. Optional, but recommended
  • Underwriter Credits:
    • “(Major) funding for this program was provided by…”
      • Funder Name
      • Funder Logo
    • Underwriter credits not required at the opening unless program’s subject is controversial.
    • Up to 0:15 per funder.
    • No more than 1:00 max (for entire funding pod).
    • Funders listed in descending order.
  • Program Content Your Program
  • Website Announcement Up to 0:15 max
  • Production Credits
    • Recommended: music under. (Stations may use this time for promotional voice overs.)
    • Must be legible in size and length of on-screen time.
    • In-kind credits and “special thanks” included, in same style as production credits.
    • Ends with copyright notice, dip to black
    • Up to 0:30 max for a half-hour
    • Up to 0:45 max for an hour or longer program.
  • Underwriter Credits “(Major) funding for this program was provided by…”
    • Funder Name
    • Funder Logo
    • Up to 0:15 per funder.
    • No more than 1:00 max (for entire underwriting pod).
    • Funders listed in descending $$ order.
    • Must be the same funders, in the same order as at program open.
  • Program-related Goods & Services offer (E.g. “To order a videocassette of [title]…”)
    • Product and ordering information. 0:15 max
    • Optional
    • Total program length __ : ____: _____ NOTE: Standard public television program length is 0:26:40 for a half-hour, or 0:56:40 for an hour.
  • Run Out Silence Dissolve to synchronous black 1:00 minimum Required (Not counted)

Top of Show Teases & Program Open

The Tease/Open segment must be in 15-second increments and may not run longer than 3-minutes total. Shorter opens or title sequences are preferred. The total running time of the Tease/Open counts towards the total running time of the Body. The Tease/Open spot helps establish the content to follow and can grab the viewer’s attention. It also helps create space between the local station break and the program’s underwriting pod. Teases must be energetic and compelling.

Be sure to pay close attention to providing information about “Flagged” content:

PBS stations need specific information identifying any potentially problematic content (content considered sensitive, objectionable, or adult in nature/content at a higher risk for drawing FCC complaints).

It is imperative for producers to give PBS early notification of any problematic content. In the event that a program contains graphic content (i.e., nudity, violence or sexuality) or language flags, the producer may be asked to edit out material or provide an alternate edited version (at the expense of the producer).

Noteworthy Producer  and Other Credit Information (as of 6/15/16)

Production Credits

  • Up to four artistic cards may be placed at the beginning of program content (Artistic credits that appear at the top of the program may not be repeated in the production credit sequence at the tail of the program.)
  • PROHIBITED top-of-show credits:
    • Any station or consortium identification or logo
    • A production (or presentation) of station WXXX
    • Distributed by XYZ
  • Acceptable top-ofshow credits
    • A film by Mike Smith
    • Mike Smith, Producer (Director, Narrator, Writer)
    • Produced (Directed, Narrated, Written) by Mike Smith

Producer and Presenter Credits

  • In the interest of public disclosure and editorial accountability, the producer or presenter of a PBS program must be identified at the end of the program.
  • No producer/presenter logos at the top of show (Production company logos may not appear at the beginning of PBS programs but may appear as part of the program closing.)
  • Producers and presenters may not be credited as underwriters of the program.

Underwriting

PBS defines an “underwriter” as a third party that has voluntarily contributed cash to finance, in whole or in part, the production or acquisition of a PBS program. Money from such sources used toward research and development, or for packaging or repackaging a program, ordinarily counts as underwriting as well. Federal law requires that those who helped pay for a broadcast be disclosed on the air at the time of the broadcast. Therefore, we identify all of the program underwriters in the underwriting credit pod.

  • No standard underwriting credit pod may be more than 60-seconds in length.
  • No standard single underwriter may receive more than a 15- second credit.
  • The category of Premier Sponsorship is intended to recognize the extraordinarily generous corporate underwriter whose support has made possible certain costly programs.
  • The maximum allowable credit for a Premier Sponsor is 30 seconds.
  • The aggregate time for acknowledging corporate contributions in any underwriting pod containing a Premier Sponsor must not exceed 60 seconds; acknowledgments of corporate and non-corporate funding together must not exceed 90 seconds.
  • Whenever one underwriter is mentioned, all must be acknowledged.
  • The underwriting credit pod at the beginning and end of the program will, in most cases, be the same length. The credits, however, need not be identical. For example, at the top of the program, an underwriter duly identified may feature one product or service and, at the bottom, another product or service.