citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message american public television type non profit industry public television founded 1961 1961 headquarters boston massachusetts united states area served worldwide website aptonline.org american public television apt is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the united states . apt continues to distribute a wide variety of public television programs nationally as well as administering the create and world channels on public tv . contents 1 history 1.1 american public television 2 programming services 2.1 networks 3 programs 3.1 children s or family programming 4 references 5 external links history edit apt began in 1961 1 when it was incorporated as the eastern educational television network een . at first een was a regional cooperative that began to exchange programs between a couple of its member stations . 2 een was one of the first distributors of shows such as the french chef with julia child in 1963 2 mister rogers neighborhood 1 and washington week in review on a national basis . another first from een was the distribution starting in 1970 of newsfront america s first live and non commercial daily news program . 2 een introduced wall street week in november 1970 before pbs began distributing it nationwide in january 1972 . citation needed een began the import to america of bbc and cbc productions in 1974 with monty python s flying circus being one of them . in 1978 the een started the free library . 2 in 1980 eastern educational started the syndication service and was renamed interregional program service ips . ips started the premium service in 1989 . the organization became american program service in 1992 . 2 american public television edit american program service was renamed american public television apt in 1999 . also with many fax requests from international outlets an international division called apt worldwide was started . 2 with the digital role out apt became the distributor of a couple of multicast networks . in january 2006 apt started distributing create . 3 the nonprofit started distributing world in 2010 . 4 programming services edit apt exchange originally the free library was a service in which the company acts a clearing house for pre funded programs that are offered free of charge to stations started in 1978 . travels in europe with rick steves starting in 1990 globe trekker and america s test kitchen are offered through this service . 2 apt worldwide is the corporation s international sales division even representing some a & e and discovery programs . amongst its network clients are discovery national geographic channel nhk itv and italy s rai sat 2 premium service provides programming for stations via outsourcing or acquisition prime time pledge drive programs particularly performance or self help shows which would either trigger a pledge call or a dvd purchased for the viewer s use or as a gift . one of its earliest successful show was the first three tenors . syndication is a service in which completed programs are acquired . muhammad ali through the eyes of the world biography purchased in 2002 was a top hit through this service along with the bbc s battlefield britain series . 2 networks edit apt also owns two digital subchannel networks together with wgbh and wnet.org 2 create which offers primarily crafts and travel programming from the apt library . 2 established in january 2006 many of create s affiliates are pbs digital stations and create is also carried on cable through local agreements with public television stations . shows regularly carried on create include lidia s italy p. allen smith s garden home the joy of painting and america s test kitchen . world channel a 24 hour digital channel showing public tv non fiction science nature news public affairs and documentaries . 2 programs edit apt distributes more than 300 new program titles per year 1 including documentaries talk shows dramatic and comedic series how to programs children s series and classic movies . shows currently or previously distributed by apt include but are not limited to the open mind rick steves europe painting the town with eric dowdle simply ming america s test kitchen from cook s illustrated and its sister series cook s country from america s test kitchen yan can cook the big comfy couch net cafe computer chronicles richard bangs adventures with purpose globe trekker aka pilot guides in other countries doc martin rudy maxa s world sara s weeknight meals and scully the world show . apt distributes weeknight international news series bbc world news programme and newsline from nhk as well as the business news program nightly business report . apt has also distributed special pledge shows to public television including programs such as liza s at the palace ... anne of green gables carreras domingo pavarotti celine dion a new day mike douglas moments & memories broadway the golden age and tony bennett duets the making of an american classic . in 2001 apt was the first company to bring a high definition series to public television with the premiere of smart travels with rudy maxa . apt carries more than ten thousand hours of ground breaking television . children s or family programming edit the big comfy couch february 11 1995 may 24 2009 the adventures of dudley the dragon october 8 1995 september 5 1999 groundling marsh september 1 1997 january 2002 someday school 1998 2000 hello mrs. cherrywinkle 1999 2001 redwall april 1 2001 2006 anne of green gables the animated series september 2 2001 november 18 2005 ; april 5 2010 april 4 2015 the toy castle 2002 2005 curiosity quest july 15 2004 present my bedbugs 2004 2007 peep and the big wide world 2004 2011 pocoyo 2009 2010 mustard pancakes 2005 2008 ribert and robert s wonderworld september 4 2005 november 30 2008 the zula patrol september 5 2005 june 18 2010 signing time january 1 2006 january 19 2008 the saddle club 2006 2012 sheira & loli s dittydoodle works 2006 2009 seemore s playhouse september 10 2006 january 15 2008 biz kid january 6 2008 march 25 2012 raggs february 4 2008 february 18 2009 wunderkind little amadeus september 7 2008 march 1 2009 bali september 12 2010 february 23 2014 wild animal baby explorers october 3 2010 june 29 2014 space racers may 2 2014 2015 lost treasure hunt 2014 present scientastic 2014 roey s paintbox 2015 thomas edison s secret lab 2015 present bug bites 2016 present mack & moxy 2016 present ruby s studio 2016 bloopy s buddies the reppies 1996 1997 references edit a b c block alex ben november 9 2014 . american public television sheds its mister rogers past . the hollywood reporter november 2014 . retrieved december 12 2014 . a b c d e f g h i j k l androich alicia january 1 2011 . growing up in public . real screen . brunico communications ltd. retrieved december 15 2014 . egner jeremy april 3 2006 . world and go streams flow into pbs plans . current . retrieved march 30 2016 . sidebar american public television announces launch of national create channel january 2006 . about . aptonline.org . america public television . archived from the original on march 26 2016 . retrieved march 30 2016 . external links edit aptonline.org v t e broadcast television networks in the united states v t e english language broadcast television networks in the united states major abc cbs the cw fox nbc minor amgtv ion mynetworktv the works youtoo america public tv pbs encore american public television provider only create world cas mhz worldview networks nasa tv specialty news lifestyle accuweather drtv france 24 ion life justice lwn weathernation sports american sports network frost great outdoors pursuit rev n the action channel tuff tv untamed other music thecooltv tcn heartland children pbs kids qubo 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