# PBS: Watch TV & Documentaries — user reviews > 921 indexed App Store user reviews of PBS by PBS, rated 4.90/5 from 356,208 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pbs-watch-tv-and-documentaries/id398349296/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pbs-watch-tv-and-documentaries/id398349296.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 332,560 · 4★ 16,202 · 3★ 3,279 · 2★ 1,265 · 1★ 2,902 ## What do users think of PBS? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 🎥 Excellent programming, especially documentaries - 🎨 High-quality, diverse content - 📺 Ability to watch shows on-demand - 🎬 Exclusive access to shows through Passport - 🌍 Variety of international and British shows - 🧠 Informative and educational programming **Cons** - 🤖 Buggy app with frequent crashes - 🔍 Difficulty finding and resuming shows - 💰 Paywall for most content, even for donors - 🇨🇦 Limited availability for Canadian users - 📢 Intrusive ads even for Passport members - 🔀 Inconsistent navigation and user experience **Commonly reported bugs** - App freezes and crashes frequently - Unable to cast or stream content reliably - Watch history and progress not saved properly - Incompatibility issues with certain devices - Inconsistent behavior when navigating the app **Most requested features** - Add option to skip ads for Passport members - Improve resume functionality to remember progress - Enhance discoverability of shows and categories - Provide more free content for non-Passport users - Optimize app performance and stability - Expand availability to international users ## Newest reviews (14 of 921) ### 3/5 — Love pbs. App is awful *2026-08-01, version 5.24.0* Problems connecting, then loading content. The tv is the same. The app is just so buggy that it’s hard to watch. ### 4/5 — Go back to original logo *2026-07-17, version 5.24.0* Please bring back the previous, more neutral logo colors. I understand the appeal of red, white, and blue as a nod to American patriotism, but given that Congress recently cut federal funding for PBS, the color choice now feels tone-deaf, almost like celebrating an identity the government just abandoned. A neutral palette would better reflect PBS’s independence and its role as a trusted, non-partisan public resource, especially at a moment when that reputation matters more than ever. ### 4/5 — Enough with the “Messages”!!!! *2026-07-11, version 5.24.0* I LOVE PBS!!! I love all the amazing content on this app and access to it for my donation!!! But, PLEASE stop beating me over the head with the shows you want me to watch on every single video!!!! If I’m in the middle of a video and accidentally exit, I STILL have to watch an advertisement…switching between multiple 2-5 minute mini episodes (as a lot of content on here is…) and it’s an ad before each one!! Not a brief 10 second ad, either…usually 30-45 seconds…and often the same exact one over and over and over!!! It’s literally worse than for profit TV apps!!! I will continue to love PBS. I will continue to give to PBS. But the ads…I’m going to lose my mind, possibly. Please fix this! 🙏 ### 2/5 — There was a problem connecting *2026-07-10, version 5.24.0* Every time I tap to watch the latest Newshour episode. Wish it was a rare occurrence. ### 4/5 — FIXED—- Crashes trying to open *2026-06-20, version 5.23.0* I had to delete the app on my iPad and then download it again. Now it works! ### 2/5 — Nova Season 53 bad *2026-06-19, version 5.23.0* Latest season of Nova was not good. The substitute for news hour weekend is awful. This app and my subscription get less valuable every season. ### 5/5 — Easy Access to the Best Shows *2026-06-05, version 5.23.0* So much more than you can find on broadcast PBS. Interesting shows from other states, great BBC, Masterpiece, and other back catalogs. Where else can you find this quality and variety for as little as $5 per month? And you can stream live PBS anytime, too. ### 5/5 — Antiques roadshow *2026-06-04, version 5.23.0* Antiques roadshow is a cultural map of the world. It brings all levels of art, relics, hearsay, crafts & lost stories in a venue that doesn’t exist any where else in the world. Offering expert advice to common folk & objects that otherwise would’ve been lost in time, translation and ignorance. There’s something of value in every level of the human condition from baseball card collections to lost heirlooms from wars to ancient cultures beyond that are priceless! Where else but on PBS would such a show of die hard experts who treasure history, art & story telling be willing to gather, share their wisdom, enthusiasm with such integrity & value of random collections of people, places & forgotten treasures! ### 5/5 — Quality Television *2026-06-04, version 5.23.0* PBS allows this retired educator, with a love and devotion to history, to escape each day’s mundane tasks, settle in and get reeducated. ### 5/5 — Finding your roots and nature, nova, especially masterpiece, PBS is everything to me! *2026-06-04, version 5.23.0* Always magical always fascinating! ### 5/5 — Love PBS app but…. *2026-06-03, version 5.23.0* Lately, the feed freezes and I have to exit the app and open it again. This is just in the last week or two. Was there an update. None of the other streaming apps have had a problem. Thank you ### 5/5 — Antique road show *2026-06-02, version 5.23.0* I’ve been watching for years, love this program ### 5/5 — My “go to” news source *2026-06-02, version 5.23.0* Here I get the entire story, with respect for the listener to consume information to make our own decisions; not telling us what to think, but allowing us to think. ### 5/5 — Quality *2026-06-01, version 5.23.0* Absolutely the most engaging entertainment. Wonderful dramas mysteries science. I use it much more than any other streaming service. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Heaven forbid I pause *2026-08-24, version 5.25.0* Why in 2026 can I not pause in the middle of an episode of Downton Abbey and have the app save my spot? I can live with the repetitive ads, but the least you can do for making me sit through them over and over again is let me stop and start without having to scroll through and find where I left off. ### 1/5 — Horrible app *2026-08-14, version 5.25.0* Subscriptions are horrible on this app. Won’t let you sign up. Whoever designed the mechanics of the sign service apparently has never used the internet before. They also want to text you three times a month. To send spam is the reason why. Not to tell you about their app. Total BS. Disgusting. ### 1/5 — Professor T *2026-08-10, version 5.24.0* Season 5 episodes 3- the rest have only music. No dialogue can be heard. ### 1/5 — No donation no service *2026-08-01, version 5.24.0* $60/year to access their content. ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work *2026-07-30, version 5.24.0* Couldn’t get app to work at all ### 1/5 — Good content unfortunately stopped streaming main channel *2026-06-19, version 5.23.0* This app was superb and in many ways still is for streaming passport content and viewing PBS substations. Several weeks ago, the app stopped streaming the main PBS station in my area KERA) on all platforms (AppleTV, iPad, website, etc). Trying to get support or to inform PBS of the problem is a throwback to stone age support. I know the station is not off the air since I can view it on my antenna. Also did all the troubleshooting including deleting and reinstalling the app. Since the problem is on multiple platforms, it must be related to PBS streaming service itself. ### 1/5 — Led to believe that if I donated that I would have access *2026-05-07, version 5.22.1* I donated so I could get access to Daniel tiger like it told me I had to do when looking at a specific episode. I no longer trust PBS bc this is misleading. You can not access Daniel tiger by donating. Bad form. And the dishonesty shows that they only care about the money. ### 1/5 — “Donations” *2026-04-27, version 5.22.1* This is a public network paid by our tax dollars yet we have to “donate” at least $5 a month to watch something like the American Revolution. Ridiculous… ### 1/5 — Cannot sign in *2026-04-17, version 5.22.0* The app suddenly logged me off 2 months ago, and I have not been able to sign in again. When I try to sign in, a blank white pop up box appears. There is no sign in field, no way to sign in. It used to be a great app, but it’s broken and useless now. ### 1/5 — Can’t open app *2026-04-15, version 5.22.0* Need to open app!!! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Nature Jaguar Beach *2026-08-02, version 5.24.0* Well documented w amazing photography!!!! ### 5/5 — SO EDUCATIONAL! *2026-07-27, version 5.24.0* What a treat to have brilliant masters, scholars, scientist, and scholars at my finger tips. Priceless! ### 5/5 — Great *2026-07-14, version 5.24.0* Great ### 5/5 — Great! *2026-06-24, version 5.23.0* Easy to find the information you are searching. Easy to access programing. Thank you PBS! ### 5/5 — 5 Stars *2026-06-19, version 5.23.0* Great programming and easy to stream! ### 5/5 — Best television today *2026-06-15, version 5.23.0* Every category PBS is the best. ### 5/5 — Love PBS! *2026-06-12, version 5.23.0* Great easy app to use & programs are interesting and fun! ### 5/5 — The Count of Mt Christo *2026-06-08, version 5.23.0* Excelllent, I will read the story again and look for similarities. It was a long time ago. I urged my children to read the classic Thomas Chisholm ### 5/5 — The Paris Muders *2026-06-07, version 5.23.0* Excellent! The series has captured my interest. ### 5/5 — Patience *2026-06-06, version 5.23.0* Very entertaining, unique, and engaging, well done…Thanks PBS for bringing it to your audience. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*