NEW YORK—Nine broadcasting luminaries were celebrated at the Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts event in New York Thursday. Held at Gotham Hall, “Nightline” anchor Juju Chang emceed. The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation hosted the event.

Former “CBS Evening News” co-anchor Connie Chung, CBS Television Stations President Peter Dunn, “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt, PBS President/CEO Paula Kerger, Urban One CEO Alfred C. Liggins III, Patrick Communications founder Larry Patrick, The CW President Mark Pedowitz, Advanced Television Systems Committee President Emeritus Mark Richer and Premiere Networks President Julie Talbott were named Giants.

Chung shared a bit about getting a one-on-one with President Nixon in the midst of his Watergate mess. Doing a full impersonation, she spoke of Nixon asking the young reporter how much money she made. “Just remember one thing,” she said Nixon said. “You have to make more money!”

Chung admitted she was a bit confused by the interchange. “To this day, I don’t know what he said,” said Chung. “And that’s the way it was.”

Juju Chang then resumed hosting duties. “We expect impressions from all of you,” she quipped.

She spoke about Peter Dunn getting lost at the massive CBS Broadcast Center as a kid, visiting his father at work. “I still get lost at the CBS Broadcast Center,” said Dunn.

He admitted he wasn’t used to being labeled a giant. “Being here today makes me feel a few inches taller,” said Dunn.

Next up, Holt admitted he “broke a lot of rules along the way,” and did not enjoy a formal journalism education. “I made some spectacular mistakes and miscues,” he said. “Thank God there was no YouTube.”

He urged those in the room to “spot the raw talent” in their shops, and “make them better.”

Pedowitz, for his part, said he wasn’t a giant of anything, except, perhaps, “a giant pain in the ass” to those he works with. He said he was a little uneasy at the podium, preferring to “let the work speak for itself.”

Pedowitz said his longevity in broadcasting is an asset. “If you survive in this industry long enough,” he said, “someone might notice you.”

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—PBS is joining the streaming age, as the network announced at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour that it has secured carriage for its member stations on YouTube TV’s live TV and on-demand subscription service. PBS described the deal as the first digital partnership of its kind for the network and one that expands its digital footprint to “engage viewers where, when and how they consume content.”

“Our goal is to reach as many Americans as possible with content that educates, inspires and entertains,” said Ira Rubenstein, PBS’ chief digital and marketing officer. “As a broadcaster that is rooted in communities, we appreciate YouTube’s commitment to local content, and we are pleased that this service provides audiences with access to programming that is produced and distributed by our member stations.”

PBS has more than 330 member stations across the country, and as part of the deal any member station that wishes to participate will be live streamed on YouTube TV. In addition to having access to live PBS and PBS KIDS content, YouTube TV subscribers can access PBS content through the platforms on-demand and DVR services.

YouTube TV is expected to begin carrying the PBS livestreams starting later in 2019.

Some other PBS news came out of the TCA event, as it was announced that PBS President Paula Kerger, whose 13 years as president makes her the longest tenured president in the network’s history, has re-upped for another five years.

PASADENA, CALIF.— PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said Saturday that the public broadcaster is speaking with virtual MVPDs about offering PBS content.

"We've been in discussions with them,” Kerger said during PBS’s Winter TCA executive session. “I’m not making any announcements today. But stay tuned. We definitely are in discussions. We think that's certainly a place that our viewers would appreciate."

Kerger also addressed PBS’s place among streaming giants, such as Netflix and Amazon, saying that the content PBS produces is different.

“I think that part of the challenge that we have is making sure that we're punching through the fray so that people are aware of the programs that are on public television, that are available through their local stations,” said Kerger. “I mean there are a lot of people that go to the Netflixes and then just get lost in the jukebox effect of scrolling through lots of stuff...We look for ways to bring them into their local station.”

She added that Netflix and Amazon are not in every community but PBS stations are.

“The more that we can continue to focus on that unique aspect of the fact that we are a media service that lives and breathes at the community level and that there's stuff there that they can't find on Netflix, that is going to be of great value,” she said.

PBS does have content on both Netflix and Amazon as well as the public broadcaster’s own digital app. At the station level there is Passport, a service for station patrons.

"We have tried lots of different possibilities with what we've done in the streaming space and we'll continue to do so,” said Kerger. “And we'll also continue to look at the new platforms as they continue to roll out."

PBS is funded largely through Congress and has at times become a political pawn.

"I never assume that that money is just going to come,” said Kerger. “Even though we have this long legacy of work that we have done and I think we can point to some extraordinary work that we do at the community level, it really requires each and every day for our stations to make sure that their elected officials know that this is important."

"I think we should be asked to prove each and every year that this is important and this is where the money is invested, she added. “And we'll continue to do that."

Kerger also fielded a question on the broadcaster’s commitment to American dramas in light of the glut of content. "If a really great project came in the door, we certainly would look at it very carefully,” she said.