PBS Loses 50TB of TV History

A St. Louis PBS station, Nine PBS, has lost access to over 50TB of archival data, including 70 years of TV history, after its cloud storage vendor, Open Source Storage (OSS), went out of business. The station is now suing Iron Mountain, the data center that hosted OSS's services, to ensure the preservation of its data.

The data in question includes the station's coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, East St. Louis' history, and The Great Flood of 1993. According to the lawsuit, most of the data is unique and irreplaceable, making its preservation crucial for the station and the community it serves.

Nine PBS had been working with OSS and its predecessor since 2019, storing over 50TB of data with the company. However, when OSS went out of business, the station lost access to its data, despite having a 30-day grace period to retrieve it. The station then discovered that OSS had utilized Iron Mountain's services to store its data, leading to a demand letter being sent to Iron Mountain to preserve the data and facilitate its transfer to a new vendor.

Initially, Iron Mountain agreed to turn over the data, but later backtracked, claiming that OSS owned the data it stored. This led to Nine PBS suing Iron Mountain to ensure the preservation of its data. A judge has since ruled that Nine PBS has the right to access its data and that Iron Mountain must cooperate in any way possible to retrieve the data.

## What's at stake The loss of this data would be a significant blow to the station and the community, as it includes unique and irreplaceable cultural artifacts. The data is not only important for the station's history but also for the community's understanding of its past. The preservation of this data is crucial, and the station is taking all necessary steps to ensure its safety.

## Why it matters The case highlights the importance of data preservation and the risks associated with entrusting critical systems to external tech companies. The sudden shutdown of OSS and the subsequent change in ownership have put the station's data at risk, emphasizing the need for additional backups and contingency plans. The outcome of this case will have significant implications for the station, the community, and the broader media industry.

The lawsuit is ongoing, with Nine PBS seeking to regain access to its data and ensure its preservation. The station is committed to protecting its cultural artifacts and ensuring that they remain accessible to the community. As the case progresses, it will be important to monitor the developments and the implications for the station and the industry as a whole.