Nine PBS Battles to Recover 70 Years of Archival Footage After Cloud Provider Collapse

Nine PBS, the St. Louis PBS member station (KETC, Channel 9), lost access to more than 50 TB of archival video covering over 70 years of regional history after its cloud-storage provider, Open Source Storage (OSS), abruptly cut off service. The station filed lawsuits against both OSS and Iron Mountain Data Centers, the Colorado-based facility that housed the data, seeking a court order to preserve and return the material.

GizmodoThe DeskPBS broadcaster loses access to 50TB of data comprising 70 years of TV history after contracted cloud storage vendor goes defunct — public TV channel sues Iron Mountain data center, which hosts archiv

Nine PBS entered a hardware, software, and cloud-storage agreement with a predecessor of OSS in 2019 and renewed it annually. The contract required the station to retrieve its files within 30 days of termination. In February 2026 the station sought a renewal meeting with OSS but received no response. On March 6 the contract expired and OSS terminated access without warning. Nine PBS later discovered OSS’s website was offline and the company was listed as delinquent with the Colorado Secretary of State.

PBS broadcaster loses access to 50TB of data comprising 70 years of TV history after contracted cloud storage vendor goes defunct — public TV channel sues Iron Mountain data center, which hosts archiv

• 2019 – Annual cloud-storage agreement begins.

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• Late Jan 2026 – Lawsuit filed in Denver federal court after OSS cut off access.

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• Feb 2026 – Renewal request ignored.

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• Mar 6 – Contract expires; OSS disables access.

PBS broadcaster loses access to 50TB of data comprising 70 years of TV history after contracted cloud storage vendor goes defunct — public TV channel sues Iron Mountain data center, which hosts archiv

• Early Mar 2026 – Nine PBS learns data are stored at Iron Mountain’s Denver facility.

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• Mar 13 – Letter to Iron Mountain requesting preservation and return.

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• Mid-Mar 2026 – Judge grants temporary relief preventing deletion; hearing scheduled.

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• Apr 2026 – Default judgment against OSS confirms station’s ownership and orders transfer.

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• 50 TB of video files at issue.

PBS broadcaster loses access to 50TB of data comprising 70 years of TV history after contracted cloud storage vendor goes defunct — public TV channel sues Iron Mountain data center, which hosts archiv

• Archive spans more than 70 years, including coverage of East St. Louis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Great Flood of 1993.

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The station’s attorney notified Iron Mountain of the pending Colorado case; Iron Mountain initially neither confirmed nor denied possession, later acknowledged it held the files, and declined to turn them over, citing OSS’s ownership of the physical infrastructure.

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James Tramel, managing partner of a group that acquired OSS’s assets, told Nine PBS he had “been defrauded” into purchasing the company and that ownership had reverted to the previous owners. He subsequently stopped responding, and an automated reply indicated he was no longer affiliated with OSS.

PBS broadcaster loses access to 50TB of data comprising 70 years of TV history after contracted cloud storage vendor goes defunct — public TV channel sues Iron Mountain data center, which hosts archiv

• “We are committed to ensuring we can recover and restore full access to this valuable content, which Nine PBS rightfully owns, as it holds significant historical importance for St. Louis,” — Leah Freeman

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The court-ordered temporary relief remains in effect while the dispute proceeds. Nine PBS must secure a final order compelling Iron Mountain to release the archive or to facilitate its transfer to another vendor. The station’s ability to restore access hinges on the outcome of the ongoing litigation.

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