PBS SoCal

PBS SoCal is the flagship PBS member organization for Southern California, serving Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and the surrounding region from offices in Costa Mesa and Burbank. It is operated by the Public Media Group of Southern California, a donor-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and states its mission as fostering a love of learning, culture and community using the power of public media.

The organization unites two public television stations with long histories. KCET (channel 28) first broadcast from Hollywood in 1964 as Southern California's first public television station, and in 2012 it merged with San Francisco-based Link Media to form KCETLink. KOCE-TV (channel 50) signed on in 1972 as Orange County's educational station, became an independent community licensee owned by the KOCE-TV Foundation in 2004, and in 2011 became the region's flagship PBS station under the PBS SoCal name. KCETLink and PBS SoCal merged in 2018, and in February 2024 the two stations were brought together under the single name PBS SoCal.

PBS SoCal broadcasts over the air on seven channels: PBS SoCal (KOCE), PBS SoCal Plus (formerly KCET), PBS SoCal Encore, PBS SoCal KIDS, PBS SoCal World, PBS SoCal Create and NHK WORLD-JAPAN. Its programs also stream free on the PBS and PBS KIDS apps, and members get PBS Passport. It says it is available to more than 22 million viewers in the region. Alongside the national PBS schedule, it carries a long record of local production, from KCET's Cosmos, California's Gold and SoCal Connected to Lost LA, Artbound and Earth Focus, and it runs cultural events, community conversations and early learning services that prepare children for school. Its parent organization also carries the Link TV channel nationally.

PBS SoCal hires across content and production, marketing and communications, fundraising and advancement, early education, community impact, events and operations, and technical roles, and offers internships throughout the year. The benefits it lists include medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, a retirement plan with up to a 4 percent match and no vesting period, vacation, sick time, paid holidays, an employee assistance program and remote work.