Thirteen Explore vs Valley PBS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Thirteen Explore
Stream full episodes of popular PBS and THIRTEEN programs, including Masterpiece, Nature, and Frontline, directly to your iPhone and iPad. Access New York-centric shows and livestream THIRTEEN if you're in the NYC metro area. Cast content to your TV using Apple TV and Chromecast.
- Stream full episodes
- Masterpiece, Nature, Frontline
- New York-centric shows
- Livestream THIRTEEN (NYC)
- Cast to TV
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Your favorite THIRTEEN and PBS programs like Masterpiece, Nature and Frontline - streamed right to your iPhone and iPad! THIRTEEN Explore includes: * Full episodes from programs such as Masterpiece, American Masters, PBS NewsHour, Great Performances, Nature, NOVA, Antiques Roadshow and Frontline * New York-centric shows like NYC-ARTS, MetroFocus, Treasures of New York and NJTV News * Stream via Apple TV and Chromecast to your TV * Livestream THIRTEEN (must be in the NYC metropolitan area)
Valley PBS
Stream national, acquired, and local PBS productions on your iPhone or iPad. Access on-demand content, explore TV schedules, and enjoy educational resources and PBS Kids programming.
- Watch full PBS episodes
- Explore TV schedules
- PBS Kids live stream
- Educational resources
- Share programs easily
- Access social media and events
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The Valley PBS App allows you to easily access all national, acquired, and local productions streamed right to your iPhone/iPad – whenever and wherever you roam! The app provides On-Demand content of all your favorite local shows and PBS Kids content with easy access to the TV program schedule plus the ability to explore additional educational content! The Valley PBS app lets you: - Watch full episodes of your favorite PBS programs, such as Masterpiece, Nature, NOVA, Antiques Roadshow, Great Performances, FRONTLINE, PBS NewsHour and more - Explore full TV schedules for Valley PBS, Create, World and PBS KIDS channels. - Watch the PBS KIDS live stream and access other great PBS KIDS videos and games. - Education resources at your fingertips. Additional features: - Quick access to related social media channels, local events calendars and other news and updates from Valley PBS - Easily share stories and programs with family and friends via the “Share” button. - Quick access to station info, help, and contact info. Please support Valley PBS by becoming a member today! http://www.ValleyPBS.org
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Thirteen Explore at 70% against Valley PBS's 0%. Thirteen Explore also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.6) and ratings volume (5.8K vs 14). Valley PBS's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thirteen Explore holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thirteen Explore has 5.8K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Thirteen Explore's written reviews are positive against 0% of Valley PBS's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Thirteen Explore | Valley PBS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.8K ratings) — better | 2.6 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.4% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.8K — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Thirteen/WNET | Valley Public Television, INC |
Customer experience
Thirteen Explore
Valley PBS
Bugs and requests
Thirteen Explore
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login screen freezes or doesn't work
- Playback issues, such as app crashing or getting kicked out
- Incompatibility with certain devices (e.g., Firestick)
Requested features
3 requests- Add episode tracking and resume playback functionality
- Improve Chromecast support with features like closed captions
- Expand Passport content library to include more archived shows
Valley PBS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Thirteen Explore
No in-app purchases
Valley PBS
No in-app purchases
