PBS and Discovery Education Partner to Distribute PBS Programs to Schools

PBS and Discovery Education Partner to Distribute PBS Programs to Schools

PBS Educational Content to be Offered Through Discovery Education's Digital Learning Services

ARLINGTON, Va. and SILVER SPRING, Md., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- PBS and Discovery Education today announced a major multi-year media partnership through which PBS has licensed hundreds of hours from its most acclaimed series and specials for distribution to schools through Discovery Education's digital learning services. PBS titles to be made available via Discovery Education include THE CIVIL WAR and other Ken Burns documentaries; FREEDOM: A HISTORY OF US; the complete CYBERCHASE series; and selected episodes from NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, FRONTLINE and others. A number of local PBS stations already partner with Discovery Education in delivering its flagship video-on-demand service, unitedstreaming, as part of their portfolio of local education offerings.

"For both PBS and our local stations, this new partnership represents an important opportunity to bring PBS content to a growing audience of educators," said Paula Kerger, PBS President and CEO. "PBS is entering into a number of new, non-exclusive licensing relationships to broaden the reach of our award-winning education resources, and we are pleased that the first of these new partnerships is with Discovery Education."

Beginning this fall, schools nationwide will have the opportunity to receive the PBS library as a supplement to unitedstreaming. As with all content delivered through unitedstreaming, the PBS programs will be correlated to state curriculum standards, chaptered into content-specific video clips and offered for teachers to stream or download for instructional use.

"This expansion of Discovery Education's relationship with PBS underscores the alignments of our values and missions," said Steve Sidel, President of Discovery Education. "We're delighted that this arrangement will give teachers and students the opportunity to access these high-quality titles -- on-demand -- through our award-winning platform."

Discovery Education is a leading provider of broadband educational videostreaming content and services in the United States. Discovery Education's unitedstreaming service is licensed to more than 70,000 schools, and is the only digital video-based learning resource scientifically proven to increase academic achievement. Featuring more than 5,000 full-length videos segmented into 50,000 content-specific video clips, unitedstreaming allows teachers to seamlessly integrate its content into their curriculums.

PBS is a leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of other educational services. PBS TeacherSource (http://www.pbs.org/teachersource) helps preK-12 educators learn effective ways to incorporate online tools in the classroom through nearly 3,000 free lesson plans, teachers' guides, homeschooling guidance and other resourceful activities -- all correlated to national and state curriculum standards. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, PBS TeacherLine (http://www.pbs.org/teacherline) provides high-quality professional teacher development through more than 100 online facilitated courses in reading, mathematics, science, curriculum and instruction, and technology integration.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a division of Discovery Communications, the leading global real-world and knowledge-based media company. The leader in digital video-based learning, Discovery Education produces and distributes high- quality digital video content in easy-to-use formats, in all core-curricular subject areas. Discovery Education is committed to creating scientifically proven, standards-based digital resources for teachers, students, and parents that make a positive impact on student learning. Through strategic partnerships with over 25 public television stations across the country, its public service initiatives, products, and joint business ventures, Discovery Education helps educators around the world harness the power of broadband and media to connect their students to a world of learning. For more information, visit http://www.discoveryeducation.com/.

About PBS

PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 348 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of other educational services. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

Source: PBS; Discovery Education

CONTACT: Kevin Dando of PBS, +1-703-739-5073, kdando@pbs.org; or
Shermaze Ingram of Discovery Education, +1-301-272-2594,
shermaze_ingram@discovery.com

Web site: http://www.pbs.org/

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