A new day is dawning for public television in the streaming era, with PBS and Amazon reaching a deal to bring 150 local stations, PBS Kids and two new FAST channels to Prime Video.
As in the longstanding linear broadcast model, station programming will only be available to viewers located in a given market. The new national offerings, PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries, as well as PBS Kids will be available everywhere.
The pact marks the first time PBS programming will be available for free on a major streaming service. PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries will be available exclusively for a limited time on Prime Video starting November 26. PBS Distribution will also offer a “pop-up” FAST channel featuring a rotating selection of classic PBS shows, starting with Reading Rainbow.
In order to preserve the primacy of stations in the public broadcasting ecosystem, programming on the FAST channels will be at least five years removed from its original broadcast window.
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The multifaceted agreement is designed to take advantage of the surging FAST business, as research shows that two in three U.S. viewers access the channels. FAST Channels on Amazon can be found through Prime Video and Fire TV, with non-Prime members able to also get them via the “Watch for Free” section in Prime Video.
PBS local and national programming will also continue to be available via the subscription service PBS Passport, which requires a minimum donation to a subscriber’s local station of $5.
Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, PBS, told Deadline that the deal “gives us a model we can hopefully replicate with others in the FAST space.” While the “a” in FAST – advertising – is missing, which is a significant thing for a very-much-for-profit tech giant like Amazon, the inclusion of PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries gives Amazon well-established programming it can use to keep viewers engaged. That made it worth the “engineering challenge” and “complexity” of knitting together dozens of local stations, with underwriting messages needing to go only to specific markets.
In a press release, Rubenstein said the deal is “part of the PBS commitment to make trusted content available to all households across as many platforms as possible. We thank Amazon for giving PBS Member Stations a new and exciting way to grow their digital footprint while engaging with audiences old and new.”
Ryan Pirozzi, Head of Prime Video Marketplace, said the new offerings bolster the “highly personalized experience” and “leading selection of channels” already available on Prime Video. “We know our customers will be excited to discover that their beloved PBS member stations and two new PBS FAST Channels are now part of our growing offering.”
PBS, PBS KIDS, and local station content is also available, the release noted, on PBS.org and pbskids.org, as well as the PBS app and the PBS KIDS Video app. The apps are on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and smart TVs from Samsung, Xumo and Vizio.
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