The American public television station that produced the Arthur TV series was WGBH, the Boston-based public broadcaster now commonly branded as GBH. The show was produced for PBS and PBS Kids, but PBS was the broadcasting network rather than the originating production station.
WGBH approached Arthur creator Marc Brown in 1993 about adapting his books for television. Brown was initially cautious about giving up control of his characters, but he agreed after WGBH emphasized the series’ goal of encouraging children to read and use libraries.
WGBH officially announced the television project with Montreal animation studio CINAR in 1995. The series premiered on October 7, 1996, and its animation and much of its voice work were produced in Canada. Later production partners included Cookie Jar Entertainment, 9 Story Media Group, and Oasis Animation, while WGBH remained central to the American production and educational identity.
The common mix-up is answering PBS. PBS distributed and aired the program through member stations; WGBH was the public television producer behind it.