Help

If you need to reach us for help, please see our Contact page. Or peruse our Frequently Asked Questions below.

KCTS 9 Passport is a membership benefit, offering qualifying donors access to an exclusive library of on-demand streaming. 

Our Passport library currently offers members more than 1,000 episodes, with new PBS programs being added weekly. The library features episodes from popular programs like American Experience, American Masters, Antiques Roadshow, Nature, NOVA, and Masterpiece. In addition to these signature series, the library is full of public television’s acclaimed arts, science, history, and lifestyle programs; and a rotating selection of films.

Look for the compass rose icon: 

Passport icon

It indicates content that is available for you to stream as a KCTS 9 Passport member.

To access Passport, Log in here with your PBS account or follow this step-by-step guide to create a PBS account and begin streaming your favorite PBS programs.

If you are not sure if you qualify, please visit the member lookup page. If you still have unanswered questions or problems, please contact us and we will be pleased to assist you. Please note, Passport is a membership benefit for KCTS 9 members who donate at least $60 a year (or $5 monthly). 

Unfortunately PBS Kids programs are not available to stream with Passport or on-demand video using KCTS 9 platforms. A selection of PBS Kids programming can be found streaming on pbskids.org. Also, the PBS KIDS Video app gives viewers access to thousands of free videos, including full episodes and clips from top PBS KIDS series. With these options you can watch your favorite PBS KIDS shows anytime, anywhere!

KCTS 9 does  broadcast PBS Kids 24/7, which is also streaming live on our website. Anyone in our broadcast area of Greater Seattle can livestream KCTS 9, PBS KIDS, Create, and World channels on this website. KCTS 9 Passport members can also livestream from anywhere within the United States.  Unfortunately, due to rights restrictions beyond our control, the livestream is not available in Canada.

Yes. Many of our programs are available for free on various digital platforms, including KCTS9.org, PBS.org, mobile applications, and the PBS Video App for Roku, Apple TV and other streaming services. Livestreams of KCTS 9 and KCTS 9 PBS Kids are available on this website. And of course, PBS programs will continue to be broadcast to the public, for free, over the air. See the Ways to Watch page for complete details.

KCTS 9 Passport is a membership benefit offered to those who donate at least $60 a year (or $5 monthly). To make a Passport qualifying donation with KCTS 9, please call 1-800-443-1999, or done online. 

Passport is a membership benefit available to donors with a yearly contribution to KCTS 9 of at least $60 (or an ongoing monthly contribution of $5 or more). It cannot be purchased separately.

The KCTS 9 Passport library currently offers members more than 1,000 episodes from popular shows like American Experience, American Masters, Antiques Roadshow, Nature, NOVA, and Masterpiece — including all six seasons of Downton Abbey. In addition to these signature series, the library is full of public television’s acclaimed arts, science, history, and lifestyle programs; including How We Got to Now, Earth a New Wild, Austin City Limits, and a rotating selection of films from Ken Burns. More shows are being added all the time. Search all available programs
 

Canadian members are eligible for KCTS 9 Passport.

Due to licencing agreements, not all seasons, or episodes of each series are available for streaming outside of the USA. PBS is currently in negotiations to obtain the Canada streaming rights for all Passport content, but at the moment some limitations for Canadian residents still exist. Recognizing this, KCTS 9 has intentionally worked to acquire several films and programs with international streaming rights for our Canadian audience. More information on these programs can be found online, here. Also, when you visit KCTS9.org , the show pages are tailored to show only what is available for on-demand and Passport streaming in Canada. 

If you are an active KCTS 9 member giving at least $60 a year (or $5 monthly), and we have a valid email address on file, simply create an account with the same email you used to donate to start using Passport. If you are not sure if you qualify, please visit the member lookup page. If you still have unanswered questions or problems, please contact us and we will be pleased to assist you.

If you made a qualifying donation online you should see an activation link on the confirmation page for your gift. You will also receive an email message from KCTS 9 at the email address you entered when making your donation.

If you gave your donation over the phone, it may take a few days for your gift to be entered into our database and your activation code assigned. Please email customerservice@KCTS9.org and one of our member services staff will make sure you get your activation code as soon as possible.
 

At the time you activated, you were asked to choose one of three sign-in methods: using your Google, Facebook, or PBS account. You can check for your “login provider” with our KCTS 9 membership lookup tool (which will send you an email with your membership information.) Or you can just try each login method without doing any harm to your accounts.

Each has its own process for resetting passwords if necessary. 

KCTS 9 Passport is only available to eligible KCTS members within the United States. If you are served by another PBS station, please contact your local station to find out if they offer the Passport benefit.

Passport enables online video streaming, and is accessible from this website (KCTS9.org) or PBS.org on your computer, smartphone and tablet. It is also available via the PBS Video apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV and other streaming devices.. Full Details can be found on Ways to Watch.

Passport supports the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer.

Watching PBS through your local PBS station on your television remains the same and is not affected by PBS Passport.

Your PBS App may be synced to a different email than the one you assigned to Passport. Or your account may not be activated.  Full step-by-step written and video instructions are available on the PBS Video App help page for the following devices:

 

No. We only ask that you share your viewing history on KCTS9.org and PBS.org. The purpose of this is so that we can see what types of content our viewers like and base future programming decisions upon that. Also, it provides a way for KCTS 9 to easily communicate with its members and recommend content they may enjoy.

All broadcast content remains available to all viewers on air per our broadcast schedule and will remain online and on mobile for at least two weeks and, in some cases, longer. We believe the new arrangement allows for ample viewing of excellent content, albeit for a more limited time for some programs.

Use the PBS Passport Reset Tool (https://www.pbs.org/passport/reset/) to change the email address you use to access your Passport account.

Due to rights and restrictions, some programs do expire from the Passport catalog. However, there are sometimes issues playing certain episodes on the kcts9.org site that are available. If you experience this issue, please try starting the program first on pbs.org. Once started there, the program should then become available on kcts9.org.