Amazon has expanded its partnership with PBS. Under new terms of service, the company’s Instant Video platform will now serve more children’s shows. Programs now offered on Amazon include Calillou , Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood , and Wild Kratts, and others.
Anyone with Amazon’s $79-per-year Prime service can watch the shows, and they are also available to Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited program for Kindle Fire owners.
The expanded PBS licensing also includes popular documentaries including the Nova science series, shows from PBS’ Masterpiece division including Downton Abbey, and documentaries by Ken Burns.
Amazon says exclusive streaming rights for Downton Abbey will be granted by the end of the year. With an exclusive in place, Netflix and Hulu will no longer have access to the popular British series.
Grabbing new content from PBS and landing a highly lucrative British series highlights Amazon’s fight against Netflix and Hulu. All three networks have been attempting to win over customers with expensive original TV series, exclusive studio deals, and an increase in quality content.
The children’s market is highly lucrative for streaming TV networks because they often fulfill a demographic that has no problems watching reruns of their favorite shows repeatedly.
The online video streaming fight continues not just in terms of content but also the reach of each network. Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu all offer their own dedicated smartphone, tablet, SmartTV and other apps.
Will you be taking advantage of the Amazon Instant Prime platform now that an increasing number of children’s shows are being made available?
