The Paley Center for Media

Drawing upon its curators, collection, and relationships with the media community, The Paley Center for Media examines the intersections between media and society.

At The Paley Center for Media, you have the opportunity to access an international collection of over 160,000 programs spanning more than 100 years of television and radio history, including news, public affairs programs, documentaries, performing arts programs, children's programming, sports, comedy and variety shows, and commercial advertising. Programming from some 70 countries is represented in the collection.

In our library, you choose a program from the collection to watch or listen to it individually, or with up to four people at a family console.

You can also drop in on a screening in one of the Paley Center’s theaters. We screen a wide variety of programming from our collection, ranging from David Bowie in performance to a look at the work of Jim Henson, as well as the short films of Saturday Night Live. In our theaters, you enjoy the communal experience of watching television together. All of the programming is also available for you to watch or listen to in the library.

Throughout the year, we offer numerous public programs that bring together writers, directors, producers, actors, critics, journalists, and artists from various disciplines to discuss topics ranging from the creative process behind television and radio to current trends in media and popular culture, as well as global political situations.