Looking to download PBS videos? yt-dlp online is the fastest, cleanest way to save PBS content to your computer in original quality. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and member stations: PBS: Public Broadcasting Service, APT - Alabama Public Television (WBIQ), GPB/Georgia Public Broadcasting (WGTV), Mississippi Public Broadcasting (WMPN), Nashville Public Television (WNPT), WFSU-TV (WFSU), WSRE (WSRE), WTCI (WTCI), WPBA/Channel 30 (WPBA), Alaska Public Media (KAKM), Arizona PBS (KAET), KNME-TV/Channel 5 (KNME), Vegas PBS (KLVX), AETN/ARKANSAS ETV NETWORK (KETS), KET (WKLE), WKNO/Channel 10 (WKNO), LPB/LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING (WLPB), OETA (KETA), Ozarks Public Television (KOZK), WSIU Public Broadcasting (WSIU), KEET TV (KEET), KIXE/Channel 9 (KIXE), KPBS San Diego (KPBS), KQED (KQED), KVIE Public Television (KVIE), PBS SoCal/KOCE (KOCE), ValleyPBS (KVPT), CONNECTICUT PUBLIC TELEVISION (WEDH), KNPB Channel 5 (KNPB), SOPTV (KSYS), Rocky Mountain PBS (KRMA), KENW-TV3 (KENW), KUED Channel 7 (KUED), Wyoming PBS (KCWC), Colorado Public Television / KBDI 12 (KBDI), KBYU-TV (KBYU), Thirteen/WNET New York (WNET), WGBH/Channel 2 (WGBH), WGBY (WGBY), NJTV Public Media NJ (WNJT), WLIW21 (WLIW), mpt/Maryland Public Television (WMPB), WETA Television and Radio (WETA), WHYY (WHYY), PBS 39 (WLVT), WVPT - Your Source for PBS and More! (WVPT), Howard University Television (WHUT), WEDU PBS (WEDU), WGCU Public Media (WGCU), WPBT2 (WPBT), WUCF TV (WUCF), WUFT/Channel 5 (WUFT), WXEL/Channel 42 (WXEL), WLRN/Channel 17 (WLRN), WUSF Public Broadcasting (WUSF), ETV (WRLK), UNC-TV (WUNC), PBS Hawaii - Oceanic Cable Channel 10 (KHET), Idaho Public Television (KAID), KSPS (KSPS), OPB (KOPB), KWSU/Channel 10 & KTNW/Channel 31 (KWSU), WILL-TV (WILL), Network Knowledge - WSEC/Springfield (WSEC), WTTW11 (WTTW), Iowa Public Television/IPTV (KDIN), Nine Network (KETC), PBS39 Fort Wayne (WFWA), WFYI Indianapolis (WFYI), Milwaukee Public Television (WMVS), WNIN (WNIN), WNIT Public Television (WNIT), WPT (WPNE), WVUT/Channel 22 (WVUT), WEIU/Channel 51 (WEIU), WQPT-TV (WQPT), WYCC PBS Chicago (WYCC), WIPB-TV (WIPB), WTIU (WTIU), CET (WCET), ThinkTVNetwork (WPTD), WBGU-TV (WBGU), WGVU TV (WGVU), NET1 (KUON), Pioneer Public Television (KWCM), SDPB Television (KUSD), TPT (KTCA), KSMQ (KSMQ), KPTS/Channel 8 (KPTS), KTWU/Channel 11 (KTWU), East Tennessee PBS (WSJK), WCTE-TV (WCTE), WLJT, Channel 11 (WLJT), WOSU TV (WOSU), WOUB/WOUC (WOUB), WVPB (WVPB), WKYU-PBS (WKYU), KERA 13 (KERA), MPBN (WCBB), Mountain Lake PBS (WCFE), NHPTV (WENH), Vermont PBS (WETK), witf (WITF), WQED Multimedia (WQED), WMHT Educational Telecommunications (WMHT), Q-TV (WDCQ), WTVS Detroit Public TV (WTVS), CMU Public Television (WCMU), WKAR-TV (WKAR), WNMU-TV Public TV 13 (WNMU), WDSE - WRPT (WDSE), WGTE TV (WGTE), Lakeland Public Television (KAWE), KMOS-TV - Channels 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 (KMOS), MontanaPBS (KUSM), KRWG/Channel 22 (KRWG), KACV (KACV), KCOS/Channel 13 (KCOS), WCNY/Channel 24 (WCNY), WNED (WNED), WPBS (WPBS), WSKG Public TV (WSKG), WXXI (WXXI), WPSU (WPSU), WVIA Public Media Studios (WVIA), WTVI (WTVI), Western Reserve PBS (WNEO), WVIZ/PBS ideastream (WVIZ), KCTS 9 (KCTS), Basin PBS (KPBT), KUHT / Channel 8 (KUHT), KLRN (KLRN), KLRU (KLRU), WTJX Channel 12 (WTJX), WCVE PBS (WCVE), KBTC Public Television (KBTC). It is built on top of yt-dlp — the most powerful open-source media downloader available — and wraps its full feature set in a friendly desktop interface so you never have to touch a command line.
Paste any PBS link into the downloader below to start a secure download job. When signed download links are available, choose the quality you want — from a lightweight 360p clip to a full 8K HDR master — or use the desktop app for advanced audio conversion. There are no watermarks, no daily limits and no account required.
How to download from PBS
There are three easy ways to save PBS content. The desktop app is the most powerful, but the web downloader above works instantly with no install.
- 1. Copy the PBS URL
Open PBS, find the video, playlist or audio you want, and copy its link from the address bar or the share menu.
- 2. Paste it into the downloader
Paste the link into the box above and press Fetch. The downloader creates a secure job and lists signed PBS download options when they are available.
- 3. Choose your format
Select the quality and container you want. For advanced conversion, audio extraction, and merged high-resolution video, use the desktop app.
- 4. Download
Click download and use the signed link returned by the downloader job. The website does not host media files; use it only for content you have the right to save.
What makes the PBS downloader different
Every PBS quality, from 360p to 8K
yt-dlp reads the full format manifest from PBS, so you get the exact streams the platform serves — including 1080p, 1440p, 4K and 8K where available, with HDR and high-frame-rate variants preserved. Pick the format you want; the app merges the best video and audio with FFmpeg automatically.
Extract PBS audio as MP3, M4A or FLAC
Only need the sound? Grab a podcast, song, lecture or interview from PBS and convert it to MP3, M4A, Opus or FLAC at the highest available bitrate, with chapters and metadata carried over when the source provides them.
Playlists, channels and batches
Drop in a PBS playlist or channel URL and the app previews every item so you can select exactly what to download. Queue hundreds of videos and let parallel fragment downloading — four concurrent streams by default — saturate your connection.
Private and members-only PBS content
Import cookies straight from Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave or Safari to download age-restricted, region-locked or members-only PBS media you already have access to. Proxy support routes requests through any HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS endpoint.
Three ways to download PBS videos
Using the desktop app (recommended)
Install yt-dlp online for Windows, macOS or Linux, paste your PBS link, pick a format and click download. The app self-updates its yt-dlp engine, so extraction keeps working even when PBS changes its site.
Using the command line
Prefer the terminal? Install yt-dlp and run: yt-dlp -f "bestvideo+bestaudio" --merge-output-format mp4 "<PBS URL>". Add -x --audio-format mp3 to grab audio only.
Using the web downloader
The form at the top of this page creates a secure download job and returns signed PBS download links when available — no install required for quick, occasional downloads.
Supported PBS formats & quality
yt-dlp extracts whatever PBS serves and exposes every stream so you can choose precisely what to save:
- Video: MP4 (H.264/H.265), WebM (VP9/AV1), MKV — up to 8K with HDR and 60fps where available.
- Audio: MP3, M4A (AAC), Opus and FLAC at the highest source bitrate.
- Subtitles & metadata: closed captions, chapters, thumbnails and tags embedded automatically.
- Batches: entire PBS playlists, channels and user pages in one queue.