ARLINGTON, VA; May 21, 2025 — Today, Sir David Attenborough received the 2025 Beacon Award for his pioneering contributions to natural history broadcasting and his advocacy for conservation, over a career spanning more than 70 years. As the highest honor in public television, the PBS Beacon Award pays tribute to individuals whose work inspires Americans and enriches our nation.
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger presented the award at the organization’s Annual Meeting of Member Stations.
“Sir David Attenborough has built an extraordinary legacy by creating programs and shows to help us understand how we are all interconnected,” said Kerger. “We are honored to present PBS’s highest award to him for pushing the boundaries of what television can do to inspire people around the world to protect our shared natural heritage.”
A legendary British Broadcaster, naturalist, and documentary filmmaker, Attenborough has participated in over 100 hours of natural history programming, redefining the way audiences experience and understand the natural world. He expertly transforms complex scientific concepts into accessible and engaging narratives. Beyond his trailblazing work as a natural history presenter, Attenborough’s advocacy has been instrumental in raising public awareness about environmental challenges and conservation. His masterful narration, paired with his iconic voice have brought award winning documentaries like LIFE ON EARTH, THE GREEN PLANET, PLANET EARTH, THE BLUE PLANET, and FROZEN PLANET into the homes of millions worldwide.
NATURE celebrated his life and work in “Attenborough’s Life Journey,” an intimate portrait of Sir David Attenborough’s life, from his boyhood days as a fossil hunter, through his early days as a BBC host, to his revered status as the foremost natural history presenter.
Attenborough’s groundbreaking and vivid storytelling has captivated audiences and inspired generations to take action for conservation, sparking a deeper appreciation for the world around us and advancing the field of natural history.
The PBS Beacon Award, formerly known as the Be More Award, was established in 2004. Last year’s recipient was AUSTIN CITY LIMITS. Other former awardees include Fred Rogers (2004), Jim Lehrer (2005), Bill Moyers (2006), Neil DeGrasse Tyson (2008), Ken Burns (2009), Joan Ganz Cooney (2010), Rebecca Eaton (2011), Gwen Ifill (2012), Alberto Ibarguen (2013), Miles O’Brien (2014), David Fanning (2015), Newton Minow (2016), Bill Isler (2017), Stanley Nelson (2018) Judy Woodruff (2019), Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2021), Sonia Manzano (2022), FRONTLINE (2023).
Sir David Attenborough Biography
Sir David Attenborough is a giant of the Natural History film-making world. He began presenting television programmes for the BBC in the 1950’s with the most well-known of his early programmes, the Zoo Quest series. In the 1960s he became controller of BBC Two, creating a portfolio of programmes of enormous variety across genres as diverse as music, archaeology, the arts, comedy, travel, drama, sport, science and natural history. He later became Director of Programmes, with responsibility for programming on both BBC One and Two.
In 1972 he left the BBC to pursue his career as a programme-maker and presenter. With his seminal Life on Earth series, broadcast in 1979, he set a benchmark for Natural History programme in both its scope and scale. This was followed, at regular intervals over the next 30 years by his other ‘Life’ series: Living Planet; The Trials of Life; The Private Life of Plants; Life of Birds; Life of Mammals; Life in the Undergrowth; and Life in Cold Blood.
During this time, he narrated, and often presented, numerous other programmes, including The First Eden, about Mediterranean natural history, 253 episodes of Wildlife on One and 50 episodes of The Natural World on BBC Two.
From 2001 he narrated, and often made an appearance to open and close, the ‘Planet’ series, starting with Blue Planet in 2001, followed by Planet Earth; Frozen Planet; Planet Earth II; Blue Planet II; A Perfect Planet; and Our Planet. In this same period, he also narrated and often appeared in: Life; Life Story; Dynasties; The Hunt; The Mating Game; Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur; Attenborough’s Paradise Birds; and Attenborough’s Life in Colour. He has also narrated and presented a range of programmes for Sky and UKTV, and in 2014 was one of the presenters of Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day.
He has increasingly used his position and the programmes he makes to speak about the current environmental crisis. His long history as a naturalist and presenter of the highest integrity and his well-known insistence on basing what he says on scientific fact, has made him one of the world’s most influential and respected environmental advocates. He has made series on environmental subjects, such as State of the Planet; Extinction: The Facts; Climate Change: The Facts; A Life on Our Planet; and most recently Ocean.
Other recent series that David has presented and narrated include The Green Planet; Mammals; Frozen Planet II; Seven Worlds, One Planet; Dinosaurs: The Final Days; and Asia.
His next project for television will be Parenthood, expected to air on BBC One this summer.
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